list 7: the night starts here

So who’s genius idea was it to do a list every Thursday on the Thursday? I mean, who am I to be a day-of-the-week discriminator? From here on out, all days of the week get a shot at my silly weekly lists.  This week’s post was conjured after seeing a wicked show this pas Friday night. I started thinking about how wonderful it is to live in such a vibrant city with amazing indie (and not so indie) musicians traveling through with their instruments and their gift of sound for our auditory pleasure.  Going to shows is, indeed, one of my absolute favorite things to do in Montreal, ideally in venues no bigger than Metropolis or kick ass outdoor festivals like Osheaga.

My taste in music is eclectic and about as varied as all the colors in the spectrum, however you will be hard pressed to find any country or metal in my CD collection (though I’ve been known to occasionally rock out to some heavy Tool). From Nina Simone to Snoop Dogg, Mozart to TV on the Radio, Edith Piaf to Arcade Fire… I love music and not a day goes by when it’s not playing in my house.

Following in no particular order are shows I’ve seen during my time in Montreal (those I can remember anyways). Otherwise known as the list of a thousand links. If you don’t particularly care to give yourself finger tendinitis by clicking on all those links, I’ve packaged a little music mix for you here.

1. Sia: You may know Sia from her work with Zero 7 or from the last 10 minutes of Six Feet Under’s finale (hands down, best finale to a drama series EVER.). Sia’s voice is penetrating, soulful and dipped in honey, lulling my brain into a happy little place. Her album Some People Have Real Problems became my post-breakup soundtrack in 2008 and carried me through the hard times.
2. Thievery Corporation: Dare I say, perhaps one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I nearly lost my mind when they played Warning Shots.
3. Metric: I have such a girl crush on Metric’s lead singer, Emily Haynes. She is, by far, the sexiest rocker chic.
4. Cinematic Orchestra: British-based electro-jazz ensemble with a bonus guest appearance by Patrick Watson, who joined them onstage for this song.
5. Michael Franti & Spearhead: I’ve only seen them in show, like, four times.
6. Buck 65: I love Buck. Any man that carries glitter in his pocket, reaches in and throws it up into the light and showers the stage with sparkles is a wonderful entertainer in my books.
7. Death Cab for Cutie: Listened to by 20-somethings everywhere, I know. But I am drawn to bright melancholy in music and I couldn’t say it better than this review in Rolling Stone magazine: Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard is the poet of a particular purgatory — the holding cell in your head that’s filled with failed relationships and wrong roads taken.
8. Ramasutra and Conjure One: One of the first shows my friends Collin and Shawn dragged me to. They are the boys that really turned me on to Montreal’s music scene and I am now the one nagging them to come see shows with me.
9. Broken Social Scene: One of my very favorite Canadian bands, after the Arcade Fire.
10. Coldplay: Imagine an outdoor festival in Montreal, the same weekend as these fireworks popping on the other side of the island and you have a perfect concert. I don’t care what anyone thinks of Coldplay, they rock.
11. The Killers: The lead singer, Brandon Flowers, almost made me want to throw my bra on stage.
12. Jack Johnson: Oh Jack. Your music is happiness.
13. The Roots: One of those bands, which sadly, didn’t live up to my expectations live.
14. Elbow: One of those bands, which  I didn’t know before seeing and really enjoyed.
15. Cat Power: Would have preferred seeing Miss Power in some dark underground jazz bar than a big festival but her voice is liquid smoke.
16. Modest Mouse: Just plain amazing.
17. Calexico: Nothing like seeing Calexico live to make you feel like you’re in South America even on a snowy Canadian winter night. We’re talking a 7 piece band with accordion, pedal steel guitar, xylophone, trumpets, maracas and… wait for it… cowbell. If that don’t warm you up, I don’t know what will.
18. Stars: We pump out some pretty decent music in this country.
19. Great Lake Swimmers: Another fantastic Canadian band.
20. Lykke Li: Unfortunately, she nearly lost her voice during the show but her amazing dance moves and stage presence more than made up for it.
21. Matthew Good: Matt Good is a trip down the angst-filled memory lane of my early 20s.
22. Kinnie Starr: The first time I saw Kinnie was at an outdoor hippie festival in BC. And I fell in love. Might have had something to do with ingesting mushrooms of the magic variety but she was magnetic at the time.
23. Craig Cardiff: A friend of a friend’s and an amazing musician.
24. Yann Perreau: A boy from high school who is making it big in the Québec music scene. A beautiful poet. A colorful circus act kind of show.
25. Efterklang: Most recently. From Copenhagen. This band is tight.

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?