Let Me Clean My Teeth, And I'll Be Right Down

Yet again, the desire to blog has taken over when in reality I should be acting studiously and writing my Women Studies paper.

This time I bring to you a Kelowna bred, three-piece band called We Are The City. Three best friends make up this splendid progressive-indie rock band. They are - Cayne McKenzie on vocals and keys, David Menzel on guitar and Andy Huculiak on drums. While reading this blog I encourage you to Google them but please, don't dare let yourself be fooled by their fresh and young faces. Their debut CD In A Quiet World is a pleasure to listen to from track 1 to track 11 and has a maturity and cohesiveness to it that a first glance might not give away.

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Aidan Knight and We Are The City perform this past Wednesday at The Gateway. A venue not new by any means to Aidan {Who has played here 6 times!} I was rendered speechless by the end of the night. Not a simple task if you ask any of my friends. The piano, drums, vocals and guitar are woven together intricately. Each melody feels brand new, but like it's just what you expected. Even with a crowd of only 20 or so people, both performances were beyond words.

Andrew, Cayne and David are so incredibly talented it makes me shiver! They are so rehearsed and in sync with each other. Maybe it has something to do with 9 hour van rides across the prairies, but either way it makes for the most incredible live show I have ever seen. And not to mention that the three of them are the nicest and most humble guys you will ever meet.

So, if you ever overhear of a We Are The City show taking place close to you, do me a favor. Hell, do yourself a favor and grab a handful of music loving friends and get your little keisters to that show. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed and leave with at least a smile on your face and a high five.

Peas & Luhv,

Brie

"Was it something dangerous? Was it something marvelous? I don't get out that much.. need you to be my eyes."

Being a full-time student and unemployed can be wonderful. Until it comes to that small issue of cash/money. I am slowly driving myself further and further into debt not by buying textbooks, or paying for parking at MR.U, but by buying tickets to numerous live shows around Calgary. If this isn't an appropriate use of a student loan I don't know what is.

Most recently I went to see Aidan Knight perform with Dan Mangan.

Aidan and his red toque hit the stage at around 10:30 p.m. which by this time I had already consumed half a bottle of wine and two beers. Part On Wayne, Party On Garth.

Mr. Knight was noticably comfortable on stage, after all he has been performing in bands since he was 17. He chatted amicably with the crowd and made cute jokes about pre-pubescent voice cracks. Personally, I would have been happy if he was the only act. But I was in for so much more awesome-ness. His first solo album Versicolour is available for purchase on March. 2nd. For those of you who would rather cozy up to the warm sounds of Vinyl, pre-order Versicolour on 12" Vinyl at www.aidanknight.bandcamp.com.

Dan took the stage a shortly after and put a huge smile on everyones face as he opened with Road Regrets. Later on, his band consisting of his drummer, Aidan on electric guitar, and his stand up bass player, joined him to play tracks from his critically acclaimed CD Nice, Nice, Very Nice.

Getting closer to the tail end of his set he realized he had cut open his thumb. To which, a very nice concert goer took it upon herself to find the nearest first-aid box and grab him a band-aid. For that, the entire crowd was rewarded with a everyone's favorite sing-a-long song "Robots". Dan and the band had the 400 person venue on their feet, hands clapping in the air shouting how "Robots need love too, they want to be loved by you".

I was still anxiously awaiting for Dan+Aidan to play "Jasper" {Aidan had promised in his set that it would get played that night}. They ended up finishing the set with it. Dan's deep raspy vocals offered a thick backing to Aidan's clear melodic voice.

As if the show couldn't get any better, for the encore they returned to the stage briefly only to grab the bare necessities and then head out into the middle of the exuberant crowd for an unplugged version of "So Much For Everyone". The entire venue was standing on chairs and singing harmonies never wishing for the song to end.

Oh, and then we made Aidan do shots with us.

Sorry for that Aidan.

Peas & Luhv,

Brie