Since We Last Spoke

Okay, so a short while ago, your friend (if you're lucky) and mine requested that I document each show I attend, in an effort to keep track of exactly what the hell we do with all of our time, money and brain cells. So, let's go back and see if we can do a quick rundown of what we've been through since last time I got down on one of these.

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This particular chapter takes us back to November concert week, so here we go:

Malajube and Young Galaxy - November 3, 2009 - Call The Office - London: We almost forgot about this one, Scott calls while we're watching Year One (it had it's moments), asks what he and Phil can do on this night...and it occurs to me, super rad French Canadian indie masters Malajube are in town. We made the venture to meet them. So Team Concert be: Me, Laura, Scotty, and Phil. We chilled in the back, missed 95% of Young Galaxy, and loved the shit out of Malajube. Check em out.

Most Serene Republic - November 4, 2009 - London Music Hall Lounge - London: This one came together nicely...after a surprise awesome hilarious visit to amateur night at Yuk Yuks, we met up with some awesome ladies and made our way to this beauty of a show. Although not the most remarkable of the week, it was nice to finally see this super melodic, now-Toronto superband. Phages being the obvious (but still surprising) highlight of the evening.

Boys Noize - November 5, 2009 - London Music Hall - London: I was unceratin about this one from the beginning; cash was already getting short, the scene at these shows is always alienating and pretentious, and I was in the zone painting a piece for the source of my recent inspiration. Long story short, I finished the piece (cause she inspires like crazy), and met Scotty to make our way to what we were about to discover was a UWO scenester fashion show with a phenomenal DJ. The crowd seemed more interested in rocking scarves and power ranger shoes than absorbing the super energetic, mindblowing performance put on by Germany's electro/techno front runner Alex Ridha aka Boys Noize. But we didn't go for them, we went for him, and it was well fuckin worth it.

Dan Auerbach - November 7, 2009 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto: Woods bros and Mitchell bros joined forces for the long anticipated Toronto performance by the front man of the legendary Black Keys. After several pitchers and an evil doobie I found myself on the receiving end of a disgusting headache slightly hindering my ability to rock out sufficiently. Auerbach was great, obviously, this being my 4th time seeing him, he never ceases to amaze. Unfortunately we left a little early, part way through 'When The Night Comes' and missing 'Whispered Words', but we sure did catch everything else we wanted. All in all, good times yo.

Fiery Furnaces and Cryptacize - November 8, 2009 - Call The Office - London: Show of the week. Hands down. Being introduced to Cryptacize was the surprise none of us were expecting, the California foursome was nothing short of engaging from start to finish. As for Fiery Furnaces, I had seen them at Pemberton Festival 2 years ago, and this kicked the living shit out of that. Playing 20+ tracks, going from breaks to folk ditties to metal to punk to chillout indie shit and back, sometimes in a four minute span. Duplexes of the dead was possibly the best song I saw live all week, and realistically I probably saw almost 200. This was not a show to miss. Can't wait to check them out again.

Pigeon John - November 9, 2009 - London Music Hall Lounge - London: This is my night to DJ, but thankfully Scotty is a hookup king who covers for me so I can check out one of my favorite MCs for his triumphant return to London. Meeting many friends there, I traveled with Meghan and Will, and we were super impressed by PJ's high energy, hilarious, hard to follow, solo set. I swear if you don't like or have never heard of this guy, just watch him do Hello Everybody live. You'll be a fan for life. Unfortunately we didn't stay for Josh Martinez (who was apparently amazing), but that's okay, cause I got to see my favorite girl instead. And that's better than pretty much everything.

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We were due for a bit of a break after checking out 7 great shows in 8 short days, so I took a few days, painted a shitload, made some new friends, did some homework, pretended I had a job, and you know, partied way too much.

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Apostle of Hustle - November 17 - London Music Club - London: Okay, I'm being biased when I say this may have topped them all. As I've said in the past, it's all about the company, then the entertainment. But this night had 100% of both. Myself and a semi-skeptical (note: skeptical, not cynical) Laura made our way through the cold way too early, to chill in the unparalleled chilled out atmosphere of LMC, enjoyed too much great conversation and acceptable house wine. No doubt, there wasn't anything to turn this night sour. After the surprise excellence of opening performer Fraser, everyone was mellowed out and anticipating where Apostle of Hustle would take it next. Minus their bass player, AOH took the stage and within seconds had everyone in the room wondering if they should be laughing their asses off or gasping in amazement at both the hilarious stage antics and undeniable talent and creativity between guitarist/lead singer Andrew Whiteman and drummer Dean Stone. Running through a wide spectrum of tunes from the entire catalog, we both had an awesome time, and are better friends for it. This girl makes me awesome, and if you don't believe me, check out what I've been up to lately.

Art Fusion - November 21 - Il Tenore - London: After 2.5 weeks of painting my ass off, thanks to my new inspiration (if it's getting old and you think I should stop, too bad, I ain't gonna), the night finally arrived. I harassed Mahy until he gave me a top spot, and I'm glad I did. Everyone's art looked fantastic, the music was on point, and the company was perfect. I thank everyone who came to support, it really means the world. I wish that everyone could know how it feels to have the person who inspires you like crazy be that proud of you. I'm not really sure if it gets a lot better than that.

Here's what's coming up:
Nov 24- Wooden Sky and Jenn Grant
Nov 25- Matt Good and Mother Mother
Nov 27- DJ Klever
Nov 28- Champion and His G Strings
Dec 2- Friendly Fires and The Xx
Dec 3- Zero 7

Here's the tunes I've been diggin like crazy!

Cryptacize-Mythomania

Zero 7-Yeah Ghost!

Until next time friends...I love ya.

I Answer Questions With Questions, Fight Fire With Fire

When I'm Expressin' Expressions, Take You Higher and Higher, Goin' Deeper and Deeper, To Read the Fine Print, Didn't Like The Definition So We Redefined It...

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If anyone were to ever be jealous of me for anything, the only thing it could possibly boil down to are the fucking amazing people I find myself surrounded by. The past couple weeks have been turbulent, to say the least, and the amount of support and love and appreciation has been nothing short of legendary.

Whatever I did right to deserve this, I have no idea. But I love y'all, you'll never know how much. You have no idea how great you all are, and if you're reading this, chances are I'm talking about you.

After the past weekend of partying way too much and having way too much fun I found myself in a subsequent booze fueled depression. It has been happening more than I would like, but at least I know what's causing it. I set out for some quality conversation with some of my nearest and dearest, and found myself back on the right track. I'm not gonna name names...actually yes, I will: Munroe, Kate, Riley, Scotty, Kim, Rhoslyn, Rob and Tommy B. You are amazing, wonderful people and I thank you sincerely for being such great friends.

I was intending on reviewing the shows I went to this week, before the long term effects of Call The Office's draft "beer", shots of Jameson, bad red wine, quarts of Heineken, too many Steamwhistles, and of course doobies erase the memories forever. But I thought I should first attempt to document my gratitude toward these incredible human beings who have turned me back into myself again. You're the best friends anyone could ever ask for. Picks of the litter.

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Anyways, Thursday, Oct. 22 - Hidden Cameras - Call The Office...This show was grossly undersold, and with a gang of two (myself and awesome lady Meghan), team concert was incredibly underrepresented. Either way, we missed the opener, we drank a couple of pitchers, we sat in a booth at the back the whole time and talked through a good portion of it, but it was fucking solid times. If I had to guess I would say they played almost half of Awoo! which was sick, and all of their new songs sounded excellent. But, as the next two will also point out, the fun had was more about the company than the party. And that's how it should be.

Friday, Oct. 23 - The Stills and Metric - Centennial Hall...Due to the shitty weather, we brought Rock Band pre drinks out. Of course, after taking the summer off we were all pretty rusty, but myself and the Woods's still managed to rock out Sunday Morning way more times than necessary. After being joined by the homegirl Rio and her lil cuz, we made our way to the show. Missing 99% of the Stills (except for Being Here and Snow In California), we were treated to a sweaty mess of a drunken dance party. Woods's were stuck on the balcony until half way through Metric, when I circumvented security and brought team concert together. And that's when it got retarded. Our obnoxious team definitely stood out as having way more fun than most groups, but hey, sometimes ya gotta do that windmill dance move shit.

Saturday, Oct. 24 - Broadcast and Atlas Sound - Lee's Palace...It's funny, up until now I completely forgot that I ran into Ian Doig Phanuef at this show, I like that guy. Anyways, I almost didn't come to this show, but with my recent requirement for people doing what they say they're gonna do, it was a no brainer (plus I fuckin wanted to). Anyways, I got to the capital city, and quickly linked up with bros Rob and Zack, and then Kate. I was drunk within an hour, and enjoying some high quality vegan chili at the always awesome Victory Cafe. Conversations started out amazing, and turned emotional for everyone involved (except Zack). It got intense, and then it got cool again, that is a great group of people who I would never trade for anything ever. If you ever have a chance to befriend the Greens, just fuckin do it, don't hesitate. Anyways, finally we make our way to Lee's, and right into the Jagers and Jamesons. I drank like Jimmy McNulty, which caught up to me in no time. Long story (semi) short, I missed Broadcast, and I was pretty happy to see Phil. We got stoned and rode the bus home, which is usually a sobering experience. Not this time.

I woke up this morning depressed and braindead. And that's when I was reminded not to be a negative jerk by so many beautiful people. This was a fucking epic few days, and life is good (oh so good), but sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the good stuff, that's why I wrote this. I love y'all, it's you that makes me awesome, and I'll never forget it.

Here are some things I've been enjoying/keeping busy with lately, or whatever...

Jeff Tweedy, techno drops right at the point in a conversation where someone says exactly what you wanna hear, chili, hard work paying off, dancing like an ass, pints of Labatt 50, new friendos, drinking red wine out of an old popcan, 10 mixes in a year, Fiery Furnaces coming to London, cats chasing feather toy things on a stick, the Astronomy remix of that Metronomy track, polaroids, unexpected visits, sad bastard emo rap about feelings, realizing that you're a crazy person and taking the appropriate steps, avoiding silly drama, staying focused, Boston Terriers named Roy, vocoders (or autotune, whatever, robot singing is dope), Wilco twice in three months, people getting what they deserve in a positive manner, realizing that the word swagger is being used on the wrong species (dogs have swagger, not people), Major Lazers, finding shelter, shirts with wolves on them, asking people what they are doing, Zombieland, drinking coffee out of a rocks glass, the hot/crazy rule, people crying while laying eggs while being laughed at by a smug little 8 year old boy, djing in a suit, cut copy remixes, have you met Ted?, the video for Wolves 1&2 by Bon Iver, pop n chips, Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder's birthday song, yolengo, Pomeranians, gettin discounts, writing lists like this one, the rain, the snow, scooters, vacations, fall, lying down in the grass, knowing that there is at least a slight chance that you might be on the right track, Monster energy drinks, dryhumping, oh and finding like, the best barrel.

Check this out!

A couple of my good friends, who most of you probably know, have posted online blog/portfolios. The genius of Tom Bradnam and Jason Kraft are now on display for us all to stay up to date with...don't sleep!

Jay Kraft

Tommy Bradnam

Seriously, worth checking. Seriously. Cheers!

It's Gonna Be Another Long One

Sorry again for promising to update and then not actually doing it. It seems I can only do one every few weeks and then they end up being way too long. But here it is my friends...this is what I've come across in the last few weeks that has been life enhancing and generally worth looking into. Make sure you read this whole post, there's goodies at the bottom!

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This past weekend, I had the good fortune to repeat last years' idea of checking out 2 shows, with Nuit Blanche sandwiched in between. Last year i saw Ratatat on Sat and then MGMT and Beck on Sun. This year I had the opportunity to see slightly more obscure but just as (if not more awesome) Yo La Tengo on Saturday and Anti Pop Consortium on Sunday.

I have to admit, I'm not as familar with Yo La Tengo as I'd like to be, or should be, but they were great. They had a huge range from folkish to super grungy, with each member doing an instrument musical chairs, of sorts. I would see them again any day. Also, two encores, not too shabby.

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On Sunday, we got super lucky and got to check out a very under-sold Anti Pop Consortium (clockwise from left: High Priest, Beans, Earl Blaize and M. Sayyid) show at Lee's Palace. They were legendary, rocking old tunes and new tunes, as well as solo Beans tracks and Airborn Audio tracks. We got to chill with them all after, very chill group of dudes, looking forward to their triumphant return in February.

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Heard of Maya Jupiter? Some of us may know her from her appearance on the Aceyalone and Ab album "Lab Down Under", but other than that, she's kind of hard to come by. Well, I tracked her down, and she sent me a bunch of tracks for DJing. She is sick as hell, and not to be slept on. So please do yourself a favor and check out one of the dopest MCs (female or otherwise!) on the planet. Myspace!

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This Sunday is Major Lazer (Diplo and Switch) and Crookers at the Kool Haus. I'm not gonna miss it. You shouldn't either. Wanna see Diplo rock a crowd? Check out this short clip I took at Lollapalooza.

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Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. This is their myspace, you will not be disappointed my friends. I wasn't. Choice track: "Home".

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Seriously, still the album of 2009 thus far.

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Now that's looking over a city. Chicago, I fuckin love you.

But hey, here's a goody. I was inspired to tackle Party Exercise 4. And now you can have it, trust me, best one yet.

Party Exercise 4 by BigMitch

1. Deadmau5-FML
2. Harlem Shakes-Strictly Game (Kids at The Bar Remix)
3. Miike Snow-Black & Blue (Savage Skulls Remix)
4. Reverend and The Makers-Silence is Talking (Alex Metric Remix)
5. L VIS 1990-Flux
6. Phoenix-Fences (Nujax Remix)
7. Medina-You and I (Deadmau5 Remix)
8. Metronomy-Not Made For Love (Astronomy Remix)
9. The Xx-Shelter (Themjeans Drum Edit)
10. Band of Horses-The Funeral (Buckmaster Remix)
11. Crookers and Kid Cudi-Embrace The Martian (DJ Mehdi Remix)
12. Mr. Oizo-Cut Dick
13. Kid Sister-Beeper (Fake Blood Remix)
14. Lykke Li and Kings of Leon-Knocked Up (Death to The Throne Remix)
15. Cut Chemist-They
16. La Roux-I'm Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)
17. Friendly Fires-Lovesick
18. DJ Mujava-Township Funk (Diplo Remix)
19. Digital Manges-Manges (Sharkslayer Dub)
20. Steve Aoki and The Bloody Beetroots-Warp 1.9
21. Major Lazer-Pon De Floor (Cold Blank Remix)
22. Does it Offend You, Yeah?-Epic Last Song (Jack Beats Remix)


Enjoy it, and share it. And come see me on a Monday. Love y'all! Thanks to everyone for such inspiration!

What Can Be Done Today...

In an attempt to regress back to the original intention of this blog, I'm gonna update more and stick to the original plan. The original plan being an effort to counteract the negativity and constant complaining that we are constantly bombarded with. Hence, here are some things that are supremely awesome. It's time to stop and smell the things that smell good.


Kitties running through fields? Fuck yah! It's one of those things that you'll miss if you blink. So, seriously, we should all probably try to blink less.

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Next Thursday, September 24th, LA Riots will be back in London (At Mansion). I haven't seen these guys in any of their many appearances in London but will more than likely come check this one out. I caught the tail end of their Lollapalooza set right before Diplo, and their remixes (especially of Kid Sister's Control) make this seem like a very worthwhile outing.

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In the last couple months we've all been Hypemachining and have come across two (relatively) new, super talented bands known as The Xx and Metronomy. Although as far as I know, the two have nothing to do with eachother, they are both supremely dope and cutting edge. Both bands seem to have accomplished the feat of creating uptempo chillout music, which I am always down with.

The Xx (left) are from London, England and will be in Toronto at the Mod Club December 2nd (The same night as Friendly Fires, blast!). And you can check their Myspace, but I highly recommend you head over to Hype Machine and track down the Them Jeans edit of their track "Shelter".

As far as Metronomy goes, they are apparently not as new as I assumed. Joining forces in 1999, Metronomy have released 2 albums and remixed a whooole bunch of greats artists like Lykke Li and Zero 7. Check them out on Myspace and do yourself a favor and Hype Machine the track Not Made For Love (Astronomy Remix). Def my favorite of the jams right now.

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The Toronto / Halifax duo More or Les and Fresh Kils have (finally) released their debut EP together titled Les Kils. Living in London, I haven't been able to snatch it up yet, but if Pop N Chips (featuring Timbuktu of Toolshed and Halifax's Ghettosocks) is any indication, this will be great. Check out the video, I dare you not to love it.

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Apparently I'm about four years late on this one, but How I Met Your Mother is most definitely my new favorite TV ish. Everyone who's seen it agrees with me, and everyone who hasn't most definitely will. The only thing that is out of place is the laugh track, which seems...out of place. But seriously check it out.

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Seriously it's fuckin delicious.

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Did you see One Week yet? It's actually quite excellent, filmed entirely in Canada (majority Toronto) and jam packed with Canadian icons and music. Again, I wouldn't post it if I didn't recommend it. I gotta say I love the Emm Gryner part. You will too.

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Who decided we need smaller hamburgers and way more of them? My jury is still out on this.

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Slum Village. Always dope, no matter the roster. RIP Baatin and Dilla. Remember the video for Tainted? Remember the song Tainted, it was/is dope outta this world. Thanks to people like this who are enriching our lives on a daily basis, I hope everyone out there is continuing to let them. Life is better!

Thanks for reading! Expect much more nonsense and somesense in the very near future.

One Month Later

So it's been exactly one month, and lots has gone down. But not enough to excuse my lack of posts on this, for which I apoligize. For now, I don't really have any stories to tell so I'm simply going to bring everyone's attention to a couple of things.

First, I know it's old, but I do enjoy stumbling past one of these, right?

In honour of this well played H&M ad, you should Hype Machine the Calvin Harris remix of Waking Up In Vegas, it is very very dope.

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Then, you should download or buy the spacey disco goodness of The Juan Maclean's new album, "The Future is Now". It's not too heavy or too soft so it works nicely for either morning music or party music. Highly recommended.

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Okay, here's a bunch of shit that's coming up for us to check out:

Sept. 18-19: Lolafest in London, with Akron/Family, Kaki King, Bruce Peninsula, Final Fantasy and a bunch more. Free show at Vic Park with afterparties at CTO. Definite must check.

Sept. 20: Kings of Leon at JLC, meh...we'll see.

Sept. 21: My own birthday party at Martini with DJ sets by myself, Scotty, The Girls Can Hear Us and DJ Hullewudd! (Hopefully)

Sept. 24: LA Riots at Mansion in London

Oct. 3: Yo La Tengo!

Oct. 6 & 7: Built to Spill at Lee's Palace!

Oct. 8: Steve Aoki and Mansion in London

Oct. 9: Fever Ray (from The Knife) at Kool Haus

Oct. 10: Major Lazer, Crookers, Rusko and Jack Beats at Terminal 5 in NYC, biiiiggggg maybe.

Oct 15: Wilco. Massey Hall.

Oct. 22: Hidden Cameras, Call The Office.

Oct. 23: Metric, Centennial Hall.

Oct. 24: Broadcast and Atlas Sound, Lee's Palace.

Oct. 29: Jay Z, JLC.

Nov. 7: Dan Auerbach, Phoenix.


That's all I'm gonna push for now. Hope the beginning of the school year is treating everyone nicely. Don't forget to check out soundcloud.com/bigmitch for mixins, make sure you've got Dude is Crazy, and look forward to Can't Say Nothin.

Peace!