I had the pleasure of going to the Riverstage in Brisbane here to attend a delicious little concert. This is the same concert that I found myself watching all of the fantastic bands at Sunset Sounds at, but this was a little different. It was a lot less crowded.

Opening electro-giant Calvin Harris started the night with a fantastic set. I had watched him briefly at the Big Day Out festival on the gold coast, but wasn’t close enough to see how much electricity the guy has on stage. Listening to some of his music, one might think that he stood there rocking back and forth back stage staring at the ceiling, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Calvin rocks when he’s live and in front of you, hopping to and from his keyboard, giving it his all into the mic, and getting you amped to dance as hard as you can. Calvin Harris’ “Ready For the Weekend” album has been a favourite of mine this year and seeing him in person was the icing.

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I took a much needed break from swimming and suntanning to go to the Sunset Sounds Festival here in Brisbane, Australia last Wednesday and Thursday. The two day event showed up 35,000 people braving the heat, finding shade, listening to great tunes and keeping hydrated….with beer.

There were definitely a few highlights to the event. You can see my coverage and the best acts’ performances in the video below. In a nutshell though the festival was a blast. The surprise band of the event was definitely new breakout artist Art vs. Science. I highlighted my favorite hit song of theirs from down here in the video but they’re entire show even though on a smaller stage was just electric. The crowd was wild, the music was oh so danceable. Amazeballs.

Moby finished up the first night with a sub par performance. Even though a few of the songs hit everyone hard and got them moving, he’s lost his flair. I saw him when I was about 17 at a festival in Vancouver and was blown away by his over the top light show and passion. I saw none of it here. What was good, was REALLY good, and was was mediocre, was incredibly disappointing. The singer for his songs was an amazingly talented woman and showed Moby’s bongo playing completely up.

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Hey kids!  We’re half way through the week and only 9 days away from Christmas (oh my gosh – haven’t even started shopping) and if you STILL aren’t in the Christmas spirit, I have another concert that will hopefully help. And if not – then paint yourself green and call yourself the Grinch.

Last Friday I was lucky enough to attend the Seattle Women’s Chorus holiday performance Making Spirits Bright.  The sister choir of the Seattle Men’s Chorus puts on their own holiday show with it’s own little twists of humor while still putting you into the holiday spirit.  This was my first time attending the SWC, I will definitely be back for more AND I think y’all should check them out.  Much like their “brothers,” the Women’s Chorus starts their show off with some classic Christmas and classical pieces which truly raise the hairs on your arms – or in my case relax me so much I can’t help but drift away.  Cheesy as it sounds, their voices are heavenly.  But I wasn’t able to drift into dream land for very long because the laughs started to come.

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If you are a huge fan of Gaga or would consider buying tickets to her concert, I advise you to not read this article until mid-November, or until I have my ticket, thanks!

With a brand new album, “The Fame Monster,” to be released November 23rd, one might wonder when Lady Gaga will be making her next musical appearance in or around Vancouver. Many of her fans were recently given the unfortunate news that her tour with Kanye had been called off, which according to Gaga was a “mutual decision.” Despite this anticipated concert, and cancellation for that matter, Gaga announced earlier this month that she would be doing her own tour, “The Monster Ball.”

“The Monster Ball,” will hit all the same places as her and Kanye’s “Fame Kills” tour had been scheduled for. Luckily for us Vancouverites, Gaga has planned two shows here at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on December 9th and 10th with Kid Cudi, promising an energetic opening act. Gaga had praised how she felt the people of Vancouver carried themselves after one of her past visits and we must have made a lasting impression, as we are one of the four places on her concert calendar that gets not one, but two shows. The other three places being Boston, Chicago, and New York, which have all aided in the birth of Gaga’s momentous career.

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Wow. That’s the best way I could think of to describe the concert I went to on Friday. Well, that or Fucking wow!

After work, three co-workers and I went down to the Heineken Music Hall to watch Groove Armada. I knew a couple of Groove Armada songs from when I was younger, the only one I could remember by name was “Super Stylin’”. So, I’m not really into them that much, but when I was asked to go it seemed like a fun idea, so I got a ticket.

I am SO glad I did. The show had a bunch of other performers, most notably Toronto DJ Deadmau5, upcoming DJ Kascade, and legendary British DJ Pete Tong.

When we got there, the schedule for the performers was posted everywhere. The show started at 9p.m., and went on until 6a.m. SIX A.M.! Oh my god. I know it was a DJ set, but they were still serving alcohol and everything, it was something you wouldn’t find in Vancouver. At least, not that I’ve seen.

We entered the hall and immediately I was impressed with the sound quality. No matter where we were in the giant warehouse like venue, you could hear the sound crystal clear. I’m no audiophile, but compared to the PNE, this was heaven.

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Well we all touched Beth Ditto  at some point during the concert on Thursday night, but I really was the one that literally shucked her oyster. More on that later.

The Gossip played to a sold out show at the Commodore, and deservedly so. I’ve been a fan of the Gossip for about 4 years now and have waited for an opportunity to see them. As soon as pre-sale tickets went out I was on them like…well okay let’s leave the fat kid references alone for this article.

The band’s third and most famous album “Standing In The Way of Control” went gold in the UK, and their latest album Music For Men, and my obsession since it’s release this last June, was released to rave reviews, and has kept my attention without bore for the last few months.

Beth Ditto’s performance and flaming red hair  blew the roof of the Ballroom starting out in a tight number and ending up in a onesie leotard, even tighter than the last. Girl likes to show off what God gave her, and POWER to her. Ditto’s unbelievable energy, ridiculously amazing voice, and currently unparalleled talent echo the likes of Siouxsie Sioux, Debbie Harry and Joan Jett, and as you can see from the comparisons, are unlike anything in this age of music. The band sure doesn’t try to take away from her, nor do you notice that they are virtually unmoving throughout the performance, because it’s Beth’s stage, and she does a perfect job of keeping the crowd wanting more.

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In a quick reversal that shows the growing power of the LGBT community, both AEG Live and Live Nation responded to the public outcry that resulted from their news release yesterday by canceling the Buju Banton concerts. I wrote an article yesterday title, “Homophobic Lyrics: The Show Will Go On?” I think it is great the the LGBT community has such a strong voice thanks to people and organizations like L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. It’s time to stop promoting hate.

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has released the following statement:

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AEG Live has refused the requests of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center to cancel concerts by Buju Banton, scheduled for October 14th in Los Angeles’ Nokia Club and October 10th in San Francisco and in Philadelphia on September 12th. CEO and President Michael Rapino only responded by saying the company is “looking into the situation.”

Buju Banton is a reggae singer with songs that include lyrics that promote the brutal and violent murder of gay and lesbian people.

Here are some examples of the type of stuff he is promoting through his lyrics: “Boom, Bye Bye” that “faggots get up and run” when he comes, that “they have to die,” and that he will shoot them in the head or “burn them up bad.”

“In his home town of Jamaica, Buju Banton and his fellow performers of ‘murder music,’ have helped to create and sustain a culture in which violence against LGBT people is not only tolerated, it’s cometimes celebrated,” said L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Chief Executive Officer Lorri L. Jean. “The center is an ardent supporter of free speech and artistic expression, but we cannot – and will not – tolerate speech in any form that promotes violence against LGBT people.”

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Apparently, his concert was supposed to start at 6:00pm at GM Place here in Vancouver and people were informed at about 5:15pm that the concert was canceled. A few sources have said that it is because the artist was not able to cross the border into Canada. “The Lil Wayne show has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond Live Nation’s control,” the promoter said in a news release. He was going to be performing with Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy, and Canada’s own Drake.

His sixth album is called Tha Carter III and it has earned him a whopping eight Grammy nominations this year, garnering the most nominations! This year so far he has won the MTV Europe Music Awards Artist’s Choice Award, MTV’s Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video, seven BET Hip-Hop Awards and has also received three nominations in the American Music Awards and won.

UPDATE: His management company has just released the following statement…

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