Guitar Licks and Tips

Iggy Pop is a man on a mission. His own mission, that is. What it is, only he is privy to it.

I never believed that U2 wanted to save the whales. I don’t believe that The Beastie Boys are ready to lay it down for Tibet.
Iggy Pop

I’ve never been a real big Iggy Pop lover but the man on stage is raw and inspiring. He work with the stooges is well known and now the man and his band is set to play in Toronto at the Yonge-Dundas Square stage. It’s all part of the NXNE Festival concert line up this year.

I’d love to go and check his show out live tonight but I have previous plans for today that cannot be changed! I just found out about the show yesterday morning after coming home from an early doctors appointment down the street from Yonge-Dundas Square.

I was walking to the subway to go home and get ready for work when I saw the stage being set up, so I had a few minutes to spare, so I just walked around a bit. I saw this cool older couple sitting a this outside venue at a table and they were having a smoke and a coffee. So I walked up to them and asked then what was up and they told me of the show. Damn, not enough time to change our plans.

Has anyone out there seen these guys live? Am I nuts for not ditching my plans today for the chance to see the great Iggy Pop and the New Stooges play that is 7.9 km (4.9 miles) away?

Keep on Jammin’

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James McCartney sounds nothing like his dad Paul but damn it does this guy rock! I noticed this while looking through some Google music news and I saw this article from the BBC talking about his father Paul McCartney’s band playing at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in June in front of tens of thousands of fans while his son will be performing at a much more smaller and intimate venue. I read it and then decided to find out more about this guy and I am honestly impressed with his style of music. I realize that James McCartney musical career is just starting to blossom but it looks like it will be a neat ride.

On James McCartney’s MySpace page, he has only 2 tunes up right now. The first one Angel has this indie/pop kind of feel to it. Then the track titled Medley is up next with bits and pieces of What does it mean, Fallen Angel and the last two I’m not sure of this.

The first song Fallen Angel has this clean rocking sound to it, with a hint of Nirvana thrown in. The only way to describe Jame’s vocal’s here are a full throttle scream! Then we’re introduced to Fallen Angel. This is a beautiful, delicate piano piece fading in with some nice strings (violins) soloing in it. The next one up is a return to a more pop/rock theme tune. The end part of medley, spins itself in yet another direction that resembles something that would not sound out of place if Steve Winwood sang this one. This one I like a lot.

James is certainly blessed with his father’s upper vocal range, that’s easy to see in this live version of Angel! He clearly demonstrates that he is a multi-instrumentalist in Fallen Angel. He also plays a mean mandolin as well! With a good profile shot of him in that video, he bears a striking resemblance to his old man don’t ya think?

“I went to Scotland a lot on holiday each summer with my family and I was in the womb when my mum and dad did Mull of Kintyre, so it means a lot to me – great memories of my mum and my family.” James McCartney

Keep on Jammin’

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Bruce Cockburn to play at this years 2010 Luminato Visual Arts and Fashion Programs Festival in Toronto! Cockburn’s showcase will also feature singer-songwriter Michel Rivard and guitarists Michael Occhipinti(please check out High Romance) and Colin Linden(some great guitar playing on Big Mouth). Luminato will pay tribute to the Canadian’s greatest singer/songwriter/guitarist Bruce Cockburn at its annual Canadian Songbook event, set for Massey Hall on Wednesday June 16, 2010 at 7:30 PM.

Bruce will be on stage with a stunning assortment of musical talent celebrating his contribution to music. Hawksley Workman, Margo Timmins, Michel Rivard, Michael Occhipinti and Colin Linden. If last years tribute show to Neil Young in any indication of what this years show will be like then it will be a must see event! Also last years Luminato attempted, with your truly in the audience, to break the Guinness World Book of Records for the most guitarist in a musical ensemble. We played Helpless from Neil Young.

The show is called The Canadian Songbook with tickets starting for $55-125 (Cdn). Hope to see ya there!

Keep on Jammin’

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