Ottawa - Pop Culture Blog: Music, Movie and Humor

E-O-Twenty-Eleven

by Dave on January 21, 2011
in Heartwarming, Musical

What better way to kickstart my long-overdue blogging rebirth than the announcement of a Pixies show in Ottawa? That news certainly shook the dust off my semi-dormant pop culture nerdery. Like a soon-to-be-incarcerated nanny. As did the first hand realization that the lack of a regular creative outlet sometimes leads to very dark places.

And how could I have gone two whole weeks without screaming from the rooftops about the birth of my gorgeous little niece? The rooftop in this case being www.DavePye.com aka www.PyeintheFace.com? The world is a much better place with you in it, little Bonnie MacKenzie Helem (“Kenzie” for short). Yes, she’s named after my beloved Mother so feel free to shed a few tears. Or pounds – it is January after all.

I just got a better idea. Why not combine the two topics via my trusty Photoshop installation and then title the whole thing with an obscure reference to an old Rat Pack film? It’s as good a rebirth as any I’ve seen recently. Excepting, of course, Los Pixies themselves. On we go…

My niece may very well go on to become one of the most influential guitarists of all time. It’s not for anyone to say as the paint is still wet. Incidentally, the venue in question is the Ottawa Civic Center on April 16th and a ticket pre-sale begins today at 1pm over on www.PixiesMusic.com. Happy New Year, everyone. I’m back.

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Wednesday Wadio: Eagles of Death Metal’s ‘Taking Care of Business’

by Dave on August 6, 2009
in Musical, Wednesday Wadio

Holy mother bird – have I ever grown to love this band over the last 2 years. I mean it. Their name is meant to be ironic. It isn’t death metal. It’s incredibly catchy, guitar-driven, sometimes campy, heavily and unapologetically Rolling Stone-influenced, audio magic. Watch the video, read on and put on some tight pants. Yes, the almighty EODM came to the nation’s capital Friday night July 31, 2009.

Megan, Seamus and I drove 3 hours total to Ottawa and back to behold Eagles of Death Metal. I took a lot of HD video throughout the show (with my excellent new camera which I’ll mention in more detail another time) that I’ll be editing together and posting eventually, but I got the YouTube ball rolling with a tune which was definitely a welcome surprise for all in attendance. After the band left the stage for 10 minutes concluding the first half of one of the best shows I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot of them – Jesse Hughes returned to the stage solo. He proceeded to mention Atomic Dog, paid the audience yet another of many compliments and then broke into the BTO classic “Taking Care of Business”. I’ve never heard it sound better.

Jesse takes the 8:15 into the city. Of Ottawa?

If you’re unfamiliar with EODM, they are the close friends and protogees of QOTSA, right down to the long, ironic band name and cool-ass acronym. Although they already had a huge “underground” following, they got some major radio play earlier this year when the incredibly catchy WannaBe in L.A. became the first single off their latest – and incredibly solid throughout – record, Heart On. Have a look at the video below and you may find you’re not as unfamiliar with them as previously thought.

EODM sells their soul for rock n’ roll.

Prior to Friday’s Ottawa date, EODM played Toronto, Kitchener and a few other Canadian dates and Saturday they played in Montreal. I don’t know what my Northern brethren had been doing to the band, but Jesse said early in their set that the Ottawa crowd was amazing (watch the video for blatant proof) and that they “really needed tonight”. Perhaps their Canadian foray had been a bummer up until that point? Do you have any insight into Hughes’ constant compliments to us Ottawans? Were you at the show or any of the other Canadian dates? Do chime in and introduce yourself, babies.

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Friday’s Quizzlet: Little Chocolate Obamas

by Dave on November 21, 2008
in Boston, Musical, Politics

When I last wrote a Quizzlet 2 weeks ago, I mentioned that the site, www.FridaysFeast.com, from which I used to mine the questions, hadn’t been updated in 4 months. I emailed the woman who owns the site and offered to take it over myself. I received no reply, and when I checked a few minutes ago found that it’s been taken down completely.

I sorta feel like the ‘movie bad guy’ whose object of affection jumps off a cliff rather than become his girlfriend. I can’t think of any specific cinematic examples, but I know they exist. A little help, people? Regardless, looks like I’ll have to write them again myself this week. As always, please feel free to contribute your own answers in the comments!

Appetizer: What is your favorite John Belushi SNL skit?
I know a lot about the history of SNL, and I enjoy talking about it so perhaps I’ll make this a regular Quizzlet question. I knew the answer to this before I wrote the question so I was relieved to actually find this clip online – although I’m not able to embed it. Click the image to watch it.

“Little Chocolate Donuts have been on my training table since I was a kid.”

My favorite element is definitely the lit cigarette. And the facial expressions are unmistakably Belushi. All told, fitness was a very different pursuit in the late 1970s. My friend Doug Triconi first turned me on to this skit by talking about and reinacting it a million times before I ever actually managed to catch it on a re-run. I was happy to discover recently that it’s featured on the SNL Best of John BelushiDVD.

Soup: What does Thanksgiving mean to you?
Obviously it’s a time to reflect on your life and appreciate the people in it. I like to also physically enact this by getting myself to Concord, Massachusetts and hanging out with all my old high school friends once a year. I skipped it in ’07 and really, really missed being there – So much that I wrote about it and created a Ghosts of Thanksgivings Past photo gallery to share with everyone I wouldn’t be seeing. So, fully repentant, on Sunday I’m throwing wee Shep in the Charger and heading on down to MA for a week. Mon/Tues/Wed I’ll be in the office. Tuesday night Janet is hosting a birthday party for our dogs (also siblings) Rhubarb and Shepherd. It’s a family-friendly party that will allow me to spend some time with all my little North End buddies like Griffin, Maya, Bella and Lorenzo – and they’ll finally get to meet the pups they have heard so much about and been giving me drawings of for the past year. I have a bunch of them on the bulletin board over my desk right now.

Wednesday night Matt is having a bash at his house (which also happens to be right beside the high school) that we’ve used Facebook to invite 3 grades of early 90s CCHS students to. It’s going to be awesome. Thursday morning we’ll drive to Bedford for the big football game, our hands wrapped tightly around Dunkin’ Donuts cups spiked with Kahlua. Then I’ll eat with Jim and his family and likely end up back at Matt’s for more silliness in the evening. Maybe Papa Razzi on route 2. Maybe the Makaha – the suspense is killing me. Friday I have tickets to the noon Bruins game and will be hitting the Garden with Detroit Velvet Smooth, The Hammer, John David, J-Mac, Greg and a host of other old pals. Friday night DVS and his lovely (and likely hesitant) wife are hosting a gathering at their pad in West Acton. Saturday is earmarked for movies, New London Style grinders and recovery. Sunday I’ll be returning home after a week of professional productivity and sentimental sousey socializing. Jealous much? My liver isn’t.

Salad: Who is your favorite band of the moment?
We all have our all-time favorite bands well established, but my favorite group of the moment is definitely De La Soul. My previously-declared love for Q-Tip’s The Renaissance has encouraged me to have one of my own in regards to hip-hop. The two albums I’ve been spinning all week are De La Soul is Dead and Buhloone Mind State, the latter is gravely underappreciated and thoroughly excellent. Here is my favorite track off the 1994 album, Breakadawn.

“Yo, I don’t know who’s been on this mic but this thing smell awful here.” – ‘Stone Age’ from Buhloone Mind State

Main Course: Feel any better about Obama?
Not really. As I have stuck my neck out and said (it’s not a popular opinion within my social sphere) I am worried about national defense under Barry’s administration – but I plan to give him an ample chance to prove himself before I start whinging about it like every other unqualified hack in the blogosphere did about Bush for nearly a decade. I am showing remarked restraint thus far.

Dessert: What is your favorite vintage arcade game and why?
The first game I really obsessed about and would beg my father to drive me into Ottawa every weekend to play was the incredibly difficult (even today) Spy Hunter. Maybe it was my love of all things Bond in 1984 that caused me to dig it so much, but I did. In spite of the fact that once you switched into the high gear setting, your car flew up the road so quickly that – at 10 years of age – you had a better chance of remembering PI to the 300th decimal point.

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