He hit the stage and from the outset it was infectious. I remembered the voice from hearing it in my youth. I don’t know what songs he sang but I did recognize some as bluegrass standards. The place was turned into a hoedown. The whole audience was up and dancing. The air was electric with his energy.

I just might have been converted.

I am currently immensely enjoying the Avett Brothers. I first heard their music on a tv show or a movie and then listened to everything they had. They appeal to my punky side as well as my folky side. It’s fun to see how they got everyone up and dancing.

We got a brief taste of ‘Po Girl. Hopefully we will hear a lot more of them. This is just a great venue for the festival. I’m looking at sailboats, the city (in the distance) and the mountains. It makes it easy to forget the stresses of the day when sitting here.

Yesterday I was up at Whistler.  We got up at 3:30 a.m. and got ourselves to the bus for the 5:05 departure.  It was all relatively pleasant and painless.  I had been dreading it because of all the negatives I had heard, but our departure couldn’t have been more seamless and pleasant (they even gave us free bags of chips as we boarded the bus).  I tried to sleep on the ride, but I couldn’t.  I was too excited about going to see an Olympic event.  We were headed for the women’s giant slalom.  When we arrived at Creekside it was snowing like mad.  Winter!  We made our way over to Sunnyside for a quick breakfast before we headed up the mountain.  It was a big disappointment.  Nothing about it was good.  The hashbrowns were not the usual delicious mix of onions and veggies and thinly cut fries.  Perhaps they were tired of all the Olympics visitors that kept them hopping, but the dark brown, overcooked potatoes that were passed off as hashbrowns were terrible.  My poached eggs were like rubber, and the toast was pretty soft and not toasted.  I like my toast light, but this was as though it had been warmed under a broiler.  Even the coffee was a letdown.  The bill came, and it felt high for breakfast – higher prices, a surcharge and tax all made me realize that eating out was getting too expensive.  This is a place I have eaten at many times, so I was sad that it was so bad.

We headed up the mountain.  We had to climb a fairly steep climb to get to the security checkpoint.  The snow was falling and everyone was cheerful, so it wasn’t that bad.  We cleared quickly, and then climbed down a whole bunch of stairs, and down the side of the hill to get down to the Creekside chairlift.  We loaded and got to the top where the downhill area was set up.  There were lots of Swedes, Fins, Norwegians and Germans up there.  It seemed like Europe had hit Whistler.  Lots of people had “fan club” jackets of the athlete they were supporting, and there were lots of banner and flags of the favourites.  It was interesting that I saw lots of Mancuso flags, but nothing for Lindsay Vonn.  I did see a few signs for Britt Janyk – but it was the Europeans who overwhelmed the site.  It was fun, everyone was happy (except the couple that wanted to pound out the guy who kept waving a big flag and blocking their view of the video screen), and with the snow falling it was almost magical.  It was a little concerning because the weather wasn’t great, lots of snow had fallen and there was a fog bank hanging over the middle of the course.

We walked around the crowd and noted all the people dressed up for their respective countries.  We were kept entertained by this and the information that would come up on the big screen.

When the race got under way, it was exciting to see the women come blasting over the hill and into full view.  We were anticipating seeing “the great” Lindsay Vonn, but she was less than stellar.  Just as she came into view she crashed, got tangled up in the nets and had to be freed.  She broke her pinky finger in the process.  Now she will have even more reason to slam the runs at Whistler.  It’s a world class resort that comes highly rated, but all she can do is complain about it.  She makes me want to stick my fingers in my ears and hum lalalalalalala.

We left Whistler before the second run which was subsequently cancelled due to the bad weather conditions on the hill.  The ride home was just as easy as the ride to Whistler had been.  We walked over to the bus, got directed to the correct bus and then waited about ten minutes until the driver deemed the bus ready to go.  It wasn’t full, but the crowds hadn’t come down the hill yet, and it was probably 75% full.  The weather was clearing to the south, so those on the bus could actually look over Howe Sound and get an idea of how beautiful the area is.

We were unable to take advantage of the tickets back to Whistler today to see the end of the giant slalom.  We had bigger fish to fry – HOCKEY!  We were going to the bronze medal women’s game which was Finland vs Sweden.

The game was a lot of fun.  It was sooo exciting at the end when it went into “sudden victory overtime” as the announcer said.  Finland scored the winning goal and history was set.  The gold medal game was after, and Canada women won the gold medal in that one.

But I digress – back to Jann.  The show opened with her stepping out in front of the curtain with her guitar and singing “Free”, the title track from her new album.  Then the curtain opened and her band was there (minus Russell Broom).  They were rocking to “Looking For It(Finding Heaven)” and “Where No One Knows Me”, and the sound was so good in the theatre. She also went “as disco as someone her age can” and sang her now song “Million Miles Away”.

She sang a lot of old favourites (Sleepless, I Would Die For You, At Seventeen).  She also sang “Leave Me Now” – a song from the “Happy” album which she has never sung in concert.

Her jokes were hilarious and had me busting a gut in my seat.  She did a family slide show which was torturous but hilarious because of the stuff she said.  She showed pictures of her band when they were kids and made all kinds of comments about what they were wearing or what it looked like they were doing.  She poked fun at her parents, siblings, uncles…nobody was immune.  It was sooo hilarious though, which is what made it tolerable.

Jann was inducted into the BC Entertainers Hall of Fame by Red Robinson and Elizabeth Ball.  Her acceptance speech was a riot and funny.  She stood in the light not knowing what to say, holding onto her plaque and said “I believe in gay marriage.”  “I believe everyone has the right to be miserable”.  The crowd went wild and she broke into song.

As long as Jann performs, I will continue to go to her shows.  Heck, it’s been sixteen years since I first saw her, why stop now?

The first time I saw Kiss was September 14, 1977 on their Love Gun tour. I went by myself, waited in line for hours for general admission, ran like hell when the doors opened, and found myself at the end of Gene’s feet with my arms hammering on the stage. I was an excited 14 year old, out on a school night at a concert nobody approved of me attending.

I went on to see the band many times over the years. I saw all their major tours, including their farewell tour. I saw them on the “Alive II” tour; “Dynasty” tour; “Unmasked” tour; “Lick It Up” tour; “Crazy Nights” tour; “Kiss My Ass” tour; “Alive” tour; “Psycho Circus” tour; “Farewell” tour; “World Domination” tour and now the “Sonic Boom” tour. I always maintained that my favourite tour was the “Alive II” circa 77-78 but this show last night really kicked ass. They opened with “Deuce” and wound up with “Shout It Out Loud”. In between was a rocking good time. I still get a kick out of watching Gene fly up to the lights and play from high above the stage. The pyrotechnics have gotten to be so much more over the years. All the flame throwers, fireworks, confetti just makes for an absolute assault on the senses.

The show lasted just over 2 hours thanks in part to a 20 minute guitar solo by Angus. He can play and I found myself wondering if that guy has blisters on his fingers! This is the set list:

Rock n Roll Train
Hell Ain’t a Bad Place To be
Back In Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Shot Down in Flames
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack
Hells Bells
Shoot to thrill
War Machine
Dog Eat Dog
Anything Goes
You Shook Me all night long
TNT
Whole lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock

Encore:

Highway To Hell
For Those About To Rock

The crowd was wild. There were little kids to grandparents. There had been a whole lotta drinking before the show by a whole lotta people. The AC/DC girls were there ready to rock and the guys honed their fist pumping and air guitar skills. As they say…a good time was had by all.

Once again BC Place sucked as a venue. The sound is soooo bad in there. I put in ear plugs which made it a bit better but you couldn’t even understand what anyone was saying when they spoke (although Brian was really the only one who said a word). Our view was through a speaker tower which kinda sucked and they were having major video problems with their right side screen, but it was still a great show.

Another Saturday another show. Oops…I’m slipping into my broadway mode when I should be getting into my rock n’ roll mode. It’s difficult to describe AC/DC and the cultural effect/shock they have had on my life. I was a teenager growing up in Ottawa, listening to Donny Osmond and Kiss when they knocked on my musical door. My best friend had a brother who listened to them at great volume (much to her father’s chagrin) and it was impossible to not be exposed to them whenever I was at her house. One day I went over and her brother was blasting Highway to Hell. Nobody was home and he was in full out air guitar mode. My poor ears. However, I went home with them jangling around in my brain. I found myself listening to them. I would tune into rock radio (goodbye CFRA, hello rock radio) and I even bought an album. I had to do this in secret because Donny was my man, and I was a shy teenager who hated rock n’ roll.

Over the years they got played more and more. Their music pounded out of stereos wherever I went. I’ll never forget defying my father and staying up late to watch them perform on Don Kirshner’s rock concert. (Parents were out and I was supposed to go to bed on time…but I didn’t…..hovering over the tv hoping they didn’t come home and catch me). I was then taken to see them perform at a show where there were lots of other bands performing. I was about 15 or 16.

Over the years, they have become part of the soundtrack of my life. Highway to Hell defined how I felt about school/Thunderstruck was the 80′s/Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap defines a Christmas I spent in New York and on and on. Now, my $7.50 tickets cost $100 and I can’t afford a t-shirt or program but at 60 Angus and the boys rock on.

Yep, another bunch of old guys still rocking me into middle age, when I first loved them as a teenager. Yeah Donny is still going too, but he’s a Vegas lounge lizard who subsidizes himself with cheap tv gigs. (No bitterness here at still trying to pay off the Vegas trip when he cancelled his appearance for the second time)!

I can’t wait till the show.

They are coming to Vancouver on Nov 14. Gene Simmons is now 60, and Paul (my fave) still looks fabulous. I never thought they were great musicians, but they put on a killer show. Nobody does a show with all the pyrotechnics and guitar thrashing like they do. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

Her set list was:
Ain’t It Heavy
Message to Myself
Ruins
I Need to Wake Up
Chrome Plated Heart (which she REALLY rocked out to)
You Used to Love to Dance
The Different
The Weakness in Me
Come To My Window
The Boy Feels Strange
All Apologies (Nirvana Cover)
Giant
How Would I Know
I Run For Life (another ROCKING rendition)
I Want to Come Over (drawing the fans to the stage)
I’m the Only One
Bring Me Some Water
Like the Way I Do
Piece of My Heart

I loved the Nirvana cover song. She had to do it as she was in Washington playing to a largely Seattle crowd she said. She never did mention Canada or Canadians or Vancouver – but we were all there. There were quite a few familiar faces in the crowd. She doesn’t play here and now she’s forgotten that we exist .

There was a moment of humour when this drunk girl who had been a spectacle all through the show and had even been chased by security, managed to get up on stage. Melissa’s guitar tech approached her and she moved to the side of the stage then took her shirt off and swung it around. Melissa by this time was on the opposite side of the stage still playing, and she finally beckoned security over the side and they all came running up en masse to get her off the stage. Amazing. I have to say, I’ve never seen such useless security as I did at that show.

George came out 45 minutes late, which didn’t really impress me, but I guess he had his reasons. I didn’t appreciate knowing he had been in town and it wasn’t because he “just got in” but what’s a girl to do when her one true idol is in the building. Yeah, that’s right, Donny Osmond was deposed from that position after one too many cancelled concerts, but I digress.

He came out onto the stage to screams while the band played “Waiting”. The set was spectacular. He had his band off the stage on risers which we could see on both sides of the centre of the set. The centre and far left and right served as high tech audio visual screens for the various graphics and animations throughout the show.

Fast Love was next and then he started to sing a really bluesy version of “I’m Your Man” then he said “fuck Vancouver, I can’t do this to you” and immediately the ’80′s video rolled and it was pandemonium in the arena. Everyone was on their feet dancing and yelling. We danced through some more ’80′s hits and then he slowed it all down by singing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to a hushed crowd. More hits, more dancing, more screaming and the first act was over. The screen then had a countdown (20 minutes) until the start of the second half.

He came out singing Faith and once again, everyone was boogying and dancing. He looked so good, but sometimes you could see him slow a bit as though his back problems were still an issue. However, this didn’t affect the high energy performance. More fast songs (Spinning the Wheel, Feeling Good, Amazing, Flawless) and more slow songs (Roxanne, Kissing a Fool) and we had a costume change. Yes, he donned the police uniform to sing Outside. The show ended, but we got 3 encores. The final one being a raucous version of Freedom with the whole audience fist pumping the air.