Here we are at the end of an era.

Cornerstone.

For the past 7 years that word has evoked very strong emotions within me. It is 5 days of great music (and not-so-great music), unhealthy food, poor sleeping conditions, people from  just about every subculture (goths, gutter punks, anarcho-primitivists, hippies, metal heads, tough guys, folksy types, etc. etc.), embarrassingly cheesy slogans, love, laughter, and all-around good times.

This year was different for me. I had a lot of fun, for sure. I saw all the bands i had hoped to see, and discovered some new ones as well. However, over the last two days of the event i saw two bands in total, and spent the majority of my time by myself (mostly by my own choice). The sad part is that i found it all so overwhelming this year.

I didn't enjoy myself nearly as much as i have in the past. It could be due to a number of things that were on my mind that just wouldn't go away, or other factors that were influencing my mood in general.

So, it's looking like 5 is it for me. Don't get me wrong, i did have a great time for the most part, and i don't in any way regret having gone this year, i just doubt i'll go back.

That is, unless i get a rocker girlfriend who would want to go with me...

First we take Manhattan...Then we take Berlin.

"It's been about 14, 15 years since I was last up on a stage, like this, here. I was 60 then. Just a kid with a crazy dream..."

Well into his seventies, Leonard Cohen is still a phenomenal poet and, in all honesty, musician. His moody lyrics are some of the most evocative and inspiring words i have had the honour of hearing. His performance lasted 3 hours in total, and i am in no way a hardcore enough fan to list all the songs he performed. Highlights for me included such songs as Bird on a Wire, The Partisan, Suzanne, Hallelujah (cementing it as his own song in my mind, and the best version of it by far), I'm Your Man, First We Take Manhattan, Closing Time, If It Be Your Will (beautifully sung by Charley and Hattie Webb, more on this one later) and the spoken word piece A Thousand Kisses Deep. He ended with Ruth 1:16 (Where you go I will go..) set to music quite beautifully.

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come (to Winnipeg) to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

That is my favourite stanza ever to be put to music (the Winnipeg bit was a nice touch too). Leonard's lyrics are so poignant and emotional at times, an art that i sometimes fear has been lost in the music industry. He had a great stage presence and was modest enough to allow his back up musicians the spot light at times, and they so very much deserved it. He was incredibly respectful of his musicians, and had no air of superiorty over them.

Here is part of the wonderful prayer Leonard Cohen wrote, entitled "If It Be Your Will":

If it be your will
that I speak no more,
and my voice be still
as it was before,
I will speak no more,
I shall abide until
I am spoken for,
if it be your will.

If it be your will
that a voice be true,
from this broken hill
I will sing to you.
From this broken hill
all your praises they shall ring
if it be your will
to let me sing.

Nemo, my name forevermore.

Last night I got to see Nightwish perform live for the second time. I was unsure of how well Annette (Lead vocals) would replace Tarja (Former frontwoman) in performance but she actually was really good (though she lacked Tarja's vampiric poise, that's for sure). The rest of the band (Marco - vocals/bass, Tuomas - keys, Empuu - guitar, Jukka - drums) were as tight musically as I remembered them to be. I was lucky enough to miss the opening act, excepting the last few strains of their final song. From what little I heard, I know I didn't miss much.

Nightwish, for you who don't know, is a Finnish metal band whose sound runs the gamut from symphonic to gothic to folky, though that last one is more rare in their songs. So, here's a rundown of the concert:

Bye Bye Beautiful - Great opening song, one of my favourites from Dark Passion Play.
Dark Chest of Wonders - From the album Once, a metal song about Peter Pan. Need I say more?
Whoever Brings The Night - One of their more unremarkable songs, but still catchy.
The Siren - Another song from Once, also very good.
Amaranth - The first single from Dark Passion Play, pretty good, I expected it to come later in the set though.
The Islander - Marco and Empuu picked up acoustic guitars for this one. The fact that they would perform this one in concert totally took me by surprise as it is a complete departure from Nightwish's usual style. Awesome song for sure.
The Poet and The Pendulum - The 13 minute and 54 second epic from Dark Passion Play, another surprise since the y used a full choir/orchestra (and a boy soprano soloist) for the album version. This song is probably Tuomas' magnum opus (He writes 99.9% of their music. On a completely unrelated note, he had a 12" figurine of Edward Scissorhands on one of his keyboards)
dunno - yeah, they played a song I didn't recognize, it was also very unremarkable.
While Your Lips Are Still Red - Another slow number, pretty much one big stab at Tarja, the former frontwoman/diva.
Sahara - Another one of my favourites from Dark Passion Play.
Nemo - One of the best songs Nightwish has ever written, a great closer to a great set.

Encore set: Why do bands do the whole walk-off-the-stage-wait-a-while-for-the-fans-to-scream-themselves-hoarse-then-come-back-out-and-play-more-songs thing anymore? My buddy Cole compared it to "peekaboo", I found that sadly fitting. Anyways...
7 Days to the Wolves - A good song, but 7 minutes? A bit long imho.
dunno - *gasp*! another song I didn't recognise! Shame on me...
Wish I Had An Angel - While it isn't the greatest lyrically, it's a really awesome metal tune. Probably the best song to close the show.

Nightwish is one of those rare "secular" metal bands that not only doesn't try to sell themselves as "evil" but also isn't incredibly cheesey, like almost every fantasy metal band out there. Their onstage banter was amusing (mostly about how their hockey teams are doing), and their interaction as a band was borderline hilarious. They seemed really comfortable onstage and weren't scared to have fun. I definitely hope to see them again.

I'll Tell You Now That Grown Men Cry, And Irish Girls Are Pretty.

Last night, my family and I had the chance to see The Proclaimers live in concert. It was excellent...That is, it was excellent once The Proclaimers took the stage some 3 hours after the doors were supposed to have opened. Our tickets told us the doors were opening at 7:30, so Matthew and I lined up at about quarter after 7, and waited there in the cold until about 8:20 before we were let into the venue.

The opening band had demanded privacy for their sound check, so we had to wait for them to finish that before we were allowed in. Of course, once we actually got into the place it was still another hour before the show actually started. Needless to say, by this point we were all quite ready for it to get going.

Jeremy Fisher, both the name of the frontman and the band itself, is a folk-rock group based out of Vancouver. To be quite honest, I enjoyed them, but not so much that I would willingly wait an hour in the cold to hear just them. Their music was kind of cliché, and the frontman's onstage banter was boderline annoying. I didn't hate the band, but neither did I love them, I was there to see The Proclaimers. I was actually somewhat offended when they decided to do an encore. Opening acts should not do encores.

OK, half an hour after Jeremy Fisher relinquished the stage, Matthew and I managed to get within spitting distance of the stage. Enter the twins. Craig and Charlie Reid put on the show I was hoping for. They both were very comfortable on stage, and had a commanding presence, especially when hollering out their great songs. Their back up band was also quite talented on the various instruments they played (which included the typical: electric and bass guitar, drums, and the not so typical; pedalled steel guitar and accordian). While I didn't know all of the songs they performed, they did play my favourites: Cap In Hand, Sean (from which the title of this post is taken), I'm On My Way (which was featured in Shrek), Let's Get Married, Sunshine on Leith, Letter From America, a great cover of the song King of the Road (originally performed by Roger Miller), and of course ended their pre-encore set with the standard I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). One thing that The Proclaimers really know how to do is just rock. Their style is unashamed and open, and at the same time incredibly tight musically. Of course Matthew and I lined up afterwards to get their autographs, Matthew told them that he was going to play their music to his kids (I'm guessing he was referring to the choir class he teaches) to show them how to sing and Craig's reply to that was "Well, I hope it doesn't put them off (singing)."

All in all it was an excellent show, and one of the best I have been to.