Fun times! Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw from Metric stopped by CFOX today to perform a couple songs and have an interview. Metric are currently on tour with Imagine Dragons. We had a grand time and now Meredith, me, Emily and Jimmy are all best friends.
***
Coral and I are home from the show (thanks Uncle Matt for watching Jack!).
The show was solid. I enjoyed “Help, I’m Alive,” “Synthetica,” and “Gold, Guns, Girls.” All ripped live.
Imagine Dragons also sounded pretty good. Coral and I didn’t get to stay for the whole thing but they played “It’s Time” and that’s the song by them I love. The arena was full…and the crowd was excited for Imagine Dragons, so they’re doing something right. I thought they lacked some punch. Couldn’t keep the energy up and stopped down every song to drag it out. But they did sound good. Their audience loved them and they worked the stage and the light show.
Their first song of the night was this one.
Coral said, “if you want to download the whole new album for me and put it on my phone, you could.” There you go IG, you sold one new 30-something on your tunes.
Coral and I are off to Metric and Imagine Dragons tonight. I have never seen Imagine Dragons in all my years of mainstream rock DJ-ery./…weird. Coral is amped on the new Metric song “The Shade.”
Metric is stopping by the radio show today. I hope to have a couple songs recorded here to share? We’ll see how that plays out.
Canadian indie rockers, Metric, are in Victoria for a show at the Save On Foods Memorial Center with Stars. Before the show, Metric hopped on the radio to lay down a couple songs from their album Synthetica.
The Zone @ 91-3 signed on the radio June of 2001. And since that time, The Zone has sponsored a large number of Zone Shows. I didn’t come to the Zone till the spring of 2003, but I have done my best to reflect on some of the best concerts I can reckon from our extensive list of Zone Shows.
Were there better shows? maybe… in fact I can think of a bunch of great shows that aren’t on this list. I didn’t include anything that wasn’t a numbered Zone Show or anything that wasn’t in Victoria.
I wanted to include Rifflandia, it was Zone sponsored, but not a Zone Show… but it deserves a mention because it was so darn fun and the few shows I caught this year completely ripped! About half these shows I was at,m the other half I am relying on eye witness reports of their greatness and my jealousy of not being there. Here we go.
10) Sum 41 #1 Legends August 15th, 2001
The first Zone Show. I was not there but after talking with Sara, she felt that it would be important to mark the historic first in the franchise of “Zone Show” that featured a band that would continue to grow. When Sum 41 returns to Victoria now, they take up residence at the Arena, so if you were there back in the summer of ’01, you saw something special.
I originally wanted to include Sloan #60 Legends October 19th 2003. Sara asked, “what makes that show so special?”
I remember it as being one of the first big rock shows I got to MC as a young buck rocking the evening show on the Zone, but more importantly, there is this Zoner that phones my show from time-to-time that told me the story of his life and that show.
He brought a girl out on a first date to that rock show and they would end up getting married and are still married to this day. He always tells me how special Sloan and the Zone are to them because of that first date. awww, cute.
Our first big arena show was aptly, Zone Show #91, Our Lady Peace Save On Food Memorial Center, April 26 2006.
09) Sam Roberts w/ The Killers #74 Centennial Square September 4th 2004
One of my great modern rock shames. Being the junior announcer on the Zone still, I had to work while everyone else went down to Centennial Square to see this hot new band with a hit single called “Somebody Told Me” open up for Sam Roberts!
08) Beck w/ Band of Horses #159 Royal Theatre August 27th 2008
I included this show for a couple reasons. One: Coral and her friend Alix got to meet the lead singer of Band of Horses outside the Theatre. Two: Beck totally slays. Three, Band of Horses just keep getting better. To see them in the theatre is a treat.
07) Billy Talent w/ Rise Against, Moneen and Anti-Flag #115 Save On Foods Memorial Center January 18th 2007
Fuck it rained that day. I was outside huddled under a tent in the down pour for an epic live-to-air pre-show that included performances and interviews from all the bands involved. It was Rise Against’s first time in Vic and marked Billy Talent’s rise to the top of the Canadian Arena Rocking pyramid.
06) The Killers #169 Save On Foods Memorial Center April 23rd 2009
They came in ’04, they conquered in ’09. The Killers jammed out a bevvy of radio friendly hits, were gracious to allow an interview on the Zone, fired up an impressive stage show and just generally exceeded expectation.
05) Metric #101 Legends March 29th 2006
Metric’s first time in Victoria was a handful of years earlier opening for Hot Hot Heat at Sugar, then again headlining with Death From Above 1979. Those shows were good, but this show, headlining in the basement of the Strathcona Hotel was great! Metric was starting to firmly establish themselves and you knew then that these guys were gunna be huge! Just read the The Zone DJs top records of the year and almost everyone has Fantasies on their list.
04) Tragically Hip #174 Save On Food Memorial Center June 20th 2009
The Hip have had more than a few amazing shows in Victoria. I personally preferred their visit in January of 2007 for Zone Show #116. Then I saw them at the Commodore with my brother CJ. That show was spectacular. But talking with Dylan Willows, he said that #174 was the BEST Hip show he had ever seen. The special shout out that Gord had for the Times Colonist’s music writer Mike Devlin was go down in infamy ’round these parts.
03) Queens of the Stone Age #153 Save On Food Memorial Center May 1st 2008
There is a trend on this list for the best shows being later int he decade. I think that is happening for two reasons. The first being that I remember them better and second, the Zone is growing as a radio station and bigger rock acts are choosing our fair city. I’ll take it.
Queens is arguably the biggest band we play on the radio. Not only are these guy important to our playlist on the radio, Josh Homme delivers the goods on stage. Was a joyful man to interview and just generally owned the evening.
02) Tool #143 Save On Food Memorial Center December 1st 2007
It was my mother’s 50th birthday party on December 1st… and so I had a date in Coquitlam for the shin-dig. And I missed one my all-time fave bands. I am not too broke up about it however, I’ve seen Tool live more than once and every show they do is special. I can only imagine that a concert that sold out instantly was as insane as I imagine. this will be a show that Zoners will celebrate forever, along with,
01) Nine Inch Nails #161 Save On Food Memorial Center December 5th, 2008
Could there have been a more perfect live experience in Victoria of the arena variety?
The lights alone were worth the price of admission. Trent had an exceptional set list, great energy and excitement for the entire evening. I didn’t want it to end.
There were a lot of great shows in Victoria, a lot club gigs, little festivals, Meatloaf. I could write all day about some of the adventures I’ve had watching Bob make out with some random goer in the beer line of the Def Leppard concert, falling down a flight of stair and cutting my leg at Pirate Party (that was after puking and sharing the hot tub with the twins… male twins… awkward), Plants and Animals, Lucky Bar in general, open Air at Centennial Square (RIP) all those crazy SUB parties up at UVic, Band of the Month shows… oh the list.
This crazy fun summertime is doing a number on my blog hits which I can only imagine is damaging my March to 1,000 weekly CRC downloads… that said, if you are one of the fine few finding this website when really you should be at the beach, thank you and maybe take a second to subscribe to the podcast on either iTunes or by RSS feed.
No better way to get right to it, then to go to Paper Cranes female half, Miranda’s blog:
The gist of it: our label Unfamiliar Records has called out Factor for giving grant money to only successful bands who don’t “need” it. Large amounts of money going to groups like Nickleback and Metric.
While I agree with the sentiment and have been frustratingly rejected for multiple video and recording grants (written by professionals) we have also been approved for and relied on a couple travel grants in the past to play festivals.
I am a little worried that we will now never be able to get a grant as a result of this. It is pretty entertaining though…..
The letter has been picked up by thedailyswarm, exclaim news and the national post.
oh the dramz. i hope we have not been fully alienated.
I hope not either Miranda! But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Grants are free money, if you get one, score, if not… then you do like countless others and work for yours. Ryan and you are hard workers that make great music.
Finally on this weeks CRC, Zone Band of the Month, Current Swell. Some fine summer music that is perfect for the patio. CS is a great example of a band that makes music people like and work hard showing it. These guys don’t really “need” a band of the month showcase, but we’re happy non-the-less here at the Zone for the chance to share their fantastic music with our audience. The showcase tomorrow (July 30th) at Evolution Nightclub promises to be packed! So make sure you meet up with Pol early at 9PM.
That will do it for this week…. thank you for downloading my podcast and I hope you discovered some great new music.
Zoner Gina sent me a link on Facebook for this video from Metric. Its the new single “Gimmie Sympathy” done all acoustic like. Very pretty rendition.
Trolling Youtube after Metric and I came across this old video of Acres of Lions on my show… over a year ago, performing “Working.”
Youtube then recommend I check out this clip about “Flutter,” then new Twitter. What can I say, it brought the lolz.
***
Nice, “Sweet Jane” came on the stereo… and by stereo I mean laptop. I like using the old music jargon, even in the year 2009. The other word I’ve been feeling is vapid. Vapid, good word.
Some music getting some play on the home stereo over the past week here at the Baker homestead.
01) Frightened Rabbit
02) New York Dolls
03) MGMT
04) The National
05) All State Champion
05) Mission of Burma
07) Metric
08) The Killers
09) The Animals
09) Flo Rida
Flo Rida? I know right…. but I bought this new single of his that features or samples or he riffs off “Right Round” as in…
How can you not love the song?
New York Dolls had a strong week because that record is new for me. I bought it after watching the New York Doll documentary the other day.
The other odd one showing up this week is The Animals. I dunno why, just went on a Animals kick last week. I think I heard the song “I Got to get outta this place” on the TV somewhere and it triggered a need for further audio exploration.
The Morning After 