I seem to be copying a certain radio host’s program name in a different form. At least it’s not “Waking Up With,” so it is not a morning blog entry. Before the Martha Wainwright concert, my twin bro and I went to Rideau Centre earlier and then walk to Chu Shing Restaurant to meet up with Amanda Putz and the winners to tickets for Martha Wainwright in Ottawa concert. I got a chance to meet R3 fans/bloggers like pbandjam, zandron, Declare, Crozon Ottawa and tommy321. If I am missing out some others, let me know. Meredith Luce and Amanda’s husband, Tim Edwards (who is Kathleen Edwards‘ brother) were also there. It was a fun and hilarious time at the restaurant as we all talked about jokes and funny stories. Lots of Chinese foods were ordered and I won’t say how much it came to. In a way, it felt like a Christmas dinner, Chinese style. Nothing can beat out a noodle dish, rice with BBQ Pork & shrimp, veggies and BBQ Chicken.
After the fine dining at Chu Shing Restaurant, we walked to The Bronson Centre for Martha Wainwright. The opening act started off with Jason Bajada. His performance was good but I didn’t know his set was 30 mins. Never expect it to be that short. The slight problem I had was the light, I was close to feeling sleepy probably because of eating lots of Chinese food and maybe they added MSG.
On to Wainwright’s performance, she was amazing and dazzling. At the begining, there was a funny scene which dealt with an object. As PG-friendly as I can be, that’s how far I will say. The R3 fans will know about it. During the performance, her mom, Kate McGarrigle came on stage and performed some songs with Martha and another set by herself. Overall, the crowd totally loved her performance and being with Putzy and the R3 crowd, it was as fun as I can be. This is probably one of my favorite event because I got to hang out with several people and enjoy it.
The photo above shows Putzy and the R3 crowd with Jason Bajada and a Martha Wainwright poster. Apology for the shadow on the bottom left.
All I can say to anyone reading this entry, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
2008
The Acorn and Ohbijou at Barrymore’s Music Hall, The Final Live Act Played at the Venue? – S04E08
Due to a bus strike that started on December 10, 2008, I almost could not make it to The Acorn concert at Barrymore’s Music Hall. Luckily, I had a friend who gave my brother and myself a ride and enjoying the concert. The only part I panicked was thinking the tickets were sold out and my friend would miss out. Eventually, I was saved by extras tickets and the guys who guard the entrance of Barrymore’s were kind enough to remind me about my friend. It was funny how my friend told me the guys remembered when he returned. In a way, it was memorable to do something in a worrying way. Despite the on-going bus strike, I did not expect to see a big crowd at Barrymore’s. It was also great to see Amanda Putz as she is a big supporter of The Acorn. Almost a blast from the past was seeing a few people from high school.
On to the concert, Ohbijou gave an excellent performance as it was elegant to hear their music. The Acorn’s performance was by far the most important as they are the hometown band. They totally lit up Barrymore’s and the crowd. A slight change in the members of The Acorn as they added Mike Dubue of Hilotrons. It has been in the local media that Barrymore’s had a change in ownership and it’s been said that The Acorn concert was the last live act to be played as the music hall will hold ’70s and ’80s night dance music and cover bands. What I will like about Barrymore’s Music Hall is the interiors of the building and how it is bigger than Zaphod Beeblebrox and other venues in Ottawa. I love the bigger space and the early 1990s look of the building. Let’s hope that there will be live bands performing for 2009. The photo on top is the final act of The Acorn with Ohbijou helping them out.
Here’s the link to view the photos, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157611134555189/.
Enjoy and I haven’t had the feeling of Christmas yet. I haven’t seen any Christmas music videos but have been hearing some of the songs on the radio via the Internet.
Been a Sparse November – S04E07
It has been almost several weeks since going to a concert in Ottawa. Aside from the Ottawa Food & Wine Show from 2 weeks ago, I haven’t gone to any fun and interesting concerts lately. On Thursday night, I went to The Rainbow Bistro to check out The Balconies, who were one of the opening or ending acts for Whale Tooth. Another band that perform was Under The Weather. Overall, I enjoyed Whale Tooth and The Balconies as both bands brought some dynamic energy to their performances. Finally, The Balconies get a good crowd after usually being the opener acts at other concerts.
Here’s a silly photo my brother took using someone’s Canon EOS 5D. Pointing or thumbing at one of the members of The Balconies.
Oh yea, I am happy to get Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series on DVD. I have not got a chance to look at the special features and listen to the audio commentaries for the episodes.
Another yearly tradition is getting toques at Roots.
I am still video gaming with Guitar Hero World Tour on the Nintendo Wii but I hear so much talk of people playing Gears of War 2 and this zombie game on Xbox 360, Left 4 Dead.
That’s all for now.
Enduring The 23rd Annual Ottawa Food & Wine Show and The Week That Was – S04E06
At The 23rd Annual Ottawa Food & Wine Show
What a way to endure the 23rd Annual Ottawa Food & Wine Show at the Lansdowne Park/Ottawa Civic Centre. It was my second time to be at the event as I previously went when it was at the Ottawa Congress Centre several years ago. This time, I went with my bro but he was with his friends and I was hanging out with a professional photographer, local singer, Ana Miura (pictured above) and two other people. Great moments were seeing some people I know from elsewhere and it couldn’t of made me any happy seeing them for a bit. I didn’t go for the wine as I was interested in the food aspect of the event. I only went for Big Daddy’s Crab Shack & Osyter Bar’s osyters and Arc The Hotel’s smoked salmon. Overall, it was fun time but later on, it was getting insane with the huge crowds as we tried to go through them. Four hours of walking straight was really straining. After leaving the Civic Centre, I did not expect to see a very long lineup, it was just crazy.
As you see on the photo that I was being very silly with the facial expression.
In other past events that happened, the US finally elected the first African-American President, Barack Obama. I stayed glued to CBC’s coverage instead of the US networks. I did flip through the US networks at times. I did not know about CNN’s “so-called” use of hologram for their election coverage.
I had a blast volunteering CKCU’s 2008 Funding Drive. I did 3 phone shifts to answer donation pledges. I met some radio hosts and they were pretty nice and funny to talk to.
Even the news was over a week old, I was saddened to hear David Tennant leave Doctor Who after four 2009 Specials. Tennant’s Doctor has become my favorite and best of the Doctor played so far. Let’s hope the 11th Doctor will fill in his shoes in an excellent manner. Tennant was “fantastic” being the lonely Time Lord. Fantastic was the word used by the current and the 9th Doctor.
To end the entry, it was totally awesome to have the warm weather hit Ottawa this week. It gave me a good time to put up Christmas lights outside of the house. I wouldn’t put them if the weather was pretty cold. What a wonderful week to start November.
Last Night at Writers Festival’s Songwriters Circle – S04E05
I had an opportunity by ‘force of choice‘ to check out the Writers Festival’s Songwriters Circle. It was held at Library & Archives Canada on Monday, October, 27, 2008. The performers on hand were Glenn Nuotio, Kryie Kristmanson & Justin Rutledge. The host for the musical event was none other CBC Radio 3‘s Amanda Putz. Each of the performers sang and discussed what books they have read which is linked to their song writing. It was a fun and interesting night to see how the three singers are from various areas of Canada. Glenn, originally from Newfoundland, now finds Ottawa. Kryie, from Regina, SK and then to New Brunswick and Quebec. She finally made Ottawa home and currently, she is in France for an exchange program. Justin is from Toronto. A very funny story that happened during the performance, there was a guy from a row behind me and heard snoring. My reaction was, “oh gee,” because it was just an akward moment and kind of inappropiate to have interruption like that.
Here’s the photo of Amanda Putz pointing to me with Kyrie and Justin. For the photos at the event, just go to this link, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157608452223103/.
On Sunday, I was able to get Activison’s Guitar Hero World Tour for the Nintendo Wii. All I can say that it was an adventurous trek because I decided to bike out on 7am. One of the stores I went did not have it, so I had to trek over to Best Buy and wait until it opened at 11am. I succeeded in getting the super bundle package. So far, I have been able to play a few practice rounds on drum because I am not familiar with the setting. Overall, I am pleased with the game and the tracks provided.
Seeya for now and Halloween is on the horizon.
Young Rival with The Balconies and The Bicycles on Thursday – S04E04
I can’t believe I did not create a good title for this entry. I want to write that I went to the Young Rival with The Balconies (of Ottawa) and The Bicycles on Thursday night at Zaphod Beeblebrox. I gotta say that all three bands were great. The Balconies had full of energy to start off as the opening act. Plus, it was also Jacquie Neville’s (the lead singer and guitarist) birthday. The Bicycles had a musical style simliar to The Beach Boys or The Monkeys which had a fun Pop feel. Even though they had a short set due to time, it was still enjoyable. Last but not least, Young Rival were totally rocking the house at Zaphod’s. It’s another week where another band still rememebring me from the previous gig. It was my second time to see Young Rival while it was the first time my bro got to see them live. Here’s the photo from above with all of the members of Young Rival. Also in that photo, you will see me with new glasses and no more browning from my glasses as I don’t have Transitions. I know it’s a very minor detail.
Unfortunately, I did not take any photos for the concert on Thursday night.
Oh yeah, a funny story before going to Zaphod’s, I was at Chapters and I somehow saw Liberal MP and former Ontario Premier (NDP), Bob Rae. There wasn’t a mob mentality or anyone approaching him thanking him for being elected.
What are my plans for this weekend? I don’t have a clue whatsoever. I got this exam testing for Saturday all day. I hope I can pass it.
Seeya!
The Flick Off Express in Ottawa – S04S03
This afternoon, I decided to check out the Flick Off Express down at Confederation Park in downtown Ottawa. It was an event to raise awareness on climate change. Musical acts who performed were Spiral Beach and The Constantines. Guests on hand were Gill Deacon and David Suzuki. I enjoyed the event except that it was a bit chilly out and I carried a small bag for the camera. I didn’t expect to get some free goodies like an aluminum water bottle and an enviromental package from Flick Off. Trust me, this is a good cause to go for because the environment is a priority to everyday lives in Canada and abroad. Photos from the event are also on my Flickr account, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157608148500002/. There’s a photo of myself and David Suzuki in the Flickr set. Enjoy!
2 Weeks of Being Kind of Hectic – S04E02
Of all the craziness happening throughout October, I could not get a chance to write an entry for what I did and what gigs I checked out. I didn’t have the time to do so. As you see from the new photo on top, that’s all of the members of Said The Whale and myself. I went to the Said The Whale and Sylvie concert at Zaphod Beeblebrox on October 17, 2008. Overall, it was an excellent concert and for some reason, I smiled the whole time because the gang of Said The Whale remembered me from the last concert at The Mercury Lounge. I also saw Amanda Putz and Adam Saikaley which were a great surprise because I had been on a slump being at concerts lately. I couldn’t be happier being surprised and enjoying a nice concert.
Past events, there was the federal election on October 14th and I had to work as a registration officer at a church in the Barrhaven area. Was it fun and entertaining? Not really. Prior the election from a few days back, I had to go to this concert with a political message. It was Sadie Hell and Brasstronaut. The concert was alright and it had a nice lead-in to voting day, which in turn had the lowest turnout in Canada’s election history. What a shame.
October 7-8, I had two lion dance performances for Taiwan’s Double Ten Celebration, the photos are on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157607975424528/.
As usual, I have been volunteering at CKCU FM at Carleton University. I’ve been doing the production side of radio. For the life of me, I had to do some voiceovers and I feel embarrassed over it because my voice sounds awful.
Well, that’s all for now. Last thing, all my entries from previous seasons have been moved to here. There’s no need to go to the other link to read it.
Double The Fun in Gatineau/Wakefield (Season Premiere) – S04E01
A new season is upon us and what a way to start the fourth season on a new home. You can still look back at previous entries from http://wildworks.blogspot.com/. What’s happening in Canada and United States are election fever. I only watched the Canadian English debate and it was pure laughter for myself having to watch grilling from good ol’ Stephen Harper.
Aside with the election talk, to start off this season, I had two ventures in Gatineau, QC today. In the morning, I had a liondance performance for this school. Overall, it was not bad and a nice workout. Later in the night, I went to The Black Sheep Inn for the Mother Mother with Wooden Sky and The Superfantastics. It was an amazing concert for all three music groups. Mother Mother is a 5 member Pop/Rock Indie group from Vancouver and it was their first time to perform at The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, QC. Here is a photo from the Mother Mother performance at The Black Sheep Inn.
Link to photos from Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157607755231224/
Becky Abbott at Zaphod Beeblebrox on July 25, 2008
Becky Abbott at Zaphod Beeblebrox on July 25, 2008, originally uploaded by Lenny W..
Another shot of Becky Abbott at Zaphod’s
WildWorks 