Heather Curtis

my music weekend=)

Okay, I had just about the best music weekend in like history of music weekends. On friday night I went down to see Going Coastal, Japaned, The Anti Q's, The Ride Theory, and St. Alvia Cartel. Then on Saturday I went down to the Music Centre in Burlington to see Summerhero, Ten Second Epic, The Georgeous and The Stickup. But unfortunately I couldn't stay for the last two bands, Sydney and Rosesdead. Then just tonight I went to downtown to the Hamilton Music Awards.
To start off the night on friday, St. Alvia Cartel came on. Wow, I loved these guys. They had mellow music that made you want to sway. I have never heard a reggae band before. I really got into them, even though I usually don't like that kind of music. Then the Ride Theory came on. Awesome band. I got some great pictures of them that will be on the blog soon. If you haven't already heard of them, I urge you to check them out. All of them had the stage presence thing down. Then the Anti Q's performed. The vocals for this band were just mind blowing. The message to the lyrics just made you stand there and think about what they are trying to say. Again I urge you to check this band out! Then It was Japaned's turn. Yay:). I have seen Japaned quite a bit. I've seen little snipets of their sets here and there and different places and saw them perform with Silverstein for the cancer benefit. I will never get sick of them. Their songs are so catchy and addicting you will have problems getting them out of your head. Vocals are also top notch in this band. Okay, last up was Going Coastal, which has always been a favourite of mine. I saw them at the Underground a long time ago, and wanted to buy their cd. I only had four dollars on me, and it was eight. So on friday I finally picked up the cd. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to it yet, I've been pretty busy. But obviously I'm looking forward to it. Their songs are very danceable. My friend and I spent their whole set dancing around like idiots. Check them out, you won't be sorry.
The next night was the Music Center show. I was really happy with the attendance for this show. Last week when I was there, not a lot of people came. But this show was totally sold out. The room was packed. Summerhero was absolutely great. The vocals were amazing. My friend and I stood their with our mouths hanging open. It was both of our first times seeing this band, and we weren't disappointed. I'm going to tell you about The Stickup now. They just got back from about a month on the road to a few places in Canada and a lot of places in the US. I was really excited to see them. The only bad part of the set is I got a bit deaf from being too close to the speaker. The Stickup always sound hard at their shows. Good head banging music. I've seen them at a lot of shows, and they get better every time. They have a solid fan base that was out there to support them at this awesome show. Ten Second Epic, coming from Edmonton Alberta. Wow is all I have to say. The music reached out and grabbed me. As soon as they were finished I ran out and bought their cd. Another band was The Georgous. I liked this band a lot. They were really hard and got the crowd going. The second they started playing, a huge mosh pit broke out. They had good stage presence and an overall good sound. You should check out all the bands I just talked about and also Sydney and Rosesdead.
The Hamilton Music Awards were a great time. First off, I just have to say congratulations to Porcelain Youth for winning THREE Hamilton Music Awards. I'm so happy for you guys! Okay, this was a great night supporting the talent from this great city. My dad and I had awesome seats. Front and center. It was really well run. The range and amount of talent on that stage that night was amazing. They had Ronny Hawkins, Dave Rave and tons more. The most important part of the night was the Life Time Acheivment Award given to King Biscuit Boy. Richard Newell (king biscuit boy) passed away about 4 years ago, so it was emotional. They brought up close friends of Richard while he was given his award. Oh and famous actor Eugene Levy was a presenter. Cool eh? It was an amazing night with amazing music. We truly have great music in this city.

This is just a random thougth I had: Okay, of course I totally respect that every kid has a different way of appreciating music. What I don't respect is when kids make fun of how other people enjoy it. Most of the people at the friday show were just standing, so my friend and I went behind the crowd and danced around and had an awesome time. We got so many weird looks and lots of people laughed. I don't feel that is right, everybody deserves the right to act how they want, or to enjoy the music in the way you enjoy most. So while at a concert, don't worry about what everybody else thinks. Just do what you want!

My friends often ask me, Heather why do you like going to concerts so much? I tell them, the music is great, and I love hearing new bands. I love the atmosphere and everything that goes on. When I started to like going, none of my friends really liked live music. I got a few close friends into what I feel is the best way to spend a Saturday night. Just dancing around singing and acting like an idiot with a close friend is the best.
I feel: don't just stay for the band that you know. Stay for the whole thing. Watch some new bands, and give them a chance. If you listen to a few songs, and you really don't like them, just go hang out with your friend. After, go back in and give the other bands a chance. If you don't actually listen you might miss out on a band that you could really like. There are so many talented bands that deserve to be heard.
With me, music isn't just one genre. I like everything. Classical, all kinds of rock, rap, pop, soul, blues, jazz. I listen to such random music. But I love it. Listening to just one type all the time would get a little bit boring in my opinion. Mixing it up a bit makes it fun and interesting. So if a friend tells you to listen to a new singer that they found on myspace, don't be quick to dismiss it. Go check it out, give it a listen, then decide. If you don't give other music a chance, you could be missing out on something that you would really like and appreciate.
Music is a big part of my life. I play flute and piano. I've played piano for almost 6 years and flute for 5. I feel like I accomplish a lot when I can do something not a lot of people can do. I'm just about the biggest band geek ever. I went to music camp where basically all you do is music. I had the best time and I didn't want to leave. Without music, my life wouldn't be like how it is today.

So yup, that's my random blog.

shows you HAVE to go to:)

November 16: High Voltage and The Saigon Hookers- The Underground, Hamilton Ontario

November 17: Going Coastal, Japaned- Burlington YMCA

November 17: Beautiful Nothing- J's Place, Brantford Ontario

November 18: The Stickup and more- Burlington Music Centre

November 18: High Voltage, Porcelain Youth and more- The Westside Theatre, Hamilton Ontario

November 19: Sauce Rock-it- The Underground, Hamilton Ontario

November 23: Joyride, Cain and Abel, Aberdeen, and Guilty, The Underground, Hamilton Ontario

November 25: Cain and Abel, Dead & Divine, and more, The Music Centre, Burlington Ontario

December 9: High Voltage cd release party- The Underground, Hamilton Ontario

December 22: Porcelain Youth- The Underground, Hamilton Ontario

December 27: High Voltage- The Underground, Hamilton Ontario

These are some shows that I think will be pretty fun. If you're interested in any of these shows go to the bands myspace to see details like time, and price.

Music Center Show

This show was fun. Good bands and a good venue. But what happened to the people?! The last time I was at the Music Center I came half an hour before the show, and the place was packed. You could hardly get to the bathroom. But this show, I came in about 20 minutes before Guilty came on, and nobody was there. I was surprised and a bit confused.
Starting off the night was Guilty. I have never seen them in concert before, so I'm not sure how they usually play. But I was pretty impressed. The lead singer was very talented. My favourite part of their set was the three-part harmony that the three guitarists went into. I was watching with my mouth wide open. It's a shame more people weren't there to support them.
Up next was White Elephant. I was a bit disappointed with this. I saw them a while ago, and I absolutely loved them. Don't get me wrong, they were still great, just not as great as before. I really liked the first song with the keyboard. The lead singer has a great voice.
I only caught a few minutes of Maddison's set, my friend wanted to go outside. But the part I saw I liked. The lead singer did a really good job in the song and a half I heard. The crowd seemed to like them a lot and got into them. Next time I see them, I'll have more to write about them.
Beautiful Nothing was next. The only bad part of the Beautiful Nothing show was the intro. It was cool the first time I heard it, but that was probably my 12th time hearing it. It hurts your ears after awhile. They started and a pretty decent group of loyal supporters started dancing around. It was pretty cool. Of course, Anthony had great stage presence. My first time seeing Beautiful Nothing, that was the very first thing I noticed. Beautiful Nothing has a way of getting their fans excited, and they did that. Fans were moshing, dancing with their friends, and having an awesome time. They played all my favourite songs which was great. I'm not going to go into detail about the music because I've done it a few times already on the blog, but anybody who wasn't there missed a great performance.
Unfortunately those are the only bands I saw — my friend had to go home. But I will tell you about something else I saw. It was during Beautiful Nothing's last song. I was dancing with my friends, and I saw one of them flinch. I looked over and see this really big guy on the ground with his face covered with blood. He was really close to me, he basically almost landed on my foot. Apparently he got punched multiple times in the face. A really big police officer tried to get him up. The guy who got punched seemed to be really dizzy. He might have gotten concussed. While I was walking out to get my ride home, I saw blood drops along the floor. He lost a lot of blood because it was all the way down the hall, and into the main lobby. This is partly a reason why I don't go into mosh pits. Sure, it's fun, but it's really dangerous as well.
So, overall, good show! Had a great time watching Beautiful Nothing and the other bands.
(Top pix: Mike Greggain of Beautiful Nothing. Bottom pix: Anthony Ludgate)

Music Centre

OK, this show is going to be so awesome. This Friday at the Music Centre in Burlington, Beautiful Nothing, Guilty, The Video Dead, Dear Jane I, White Elephant, Teen and Maddison are playing. I haven't heard Teen or Maddison, but all the others I'm big fans of their music. They are all amazing musicians. Beautiful Nothing, Guilty and White Elephant all put on amazing shows. I haven't seen The Video Dead or Dear Jane I in concert yet, but I'm looking forward to it. So if you want to see some amazing bands, go.

Beautiful Nothing and The Goodbye Celebration show

OK, last night was my first time at Absinithe. To start off the night, The Swiss Army Romance played. The Swiss Army Romance consists of one person. Her name is Elenor and she goes to my school. Her musical talent is so above anybody her age.
After her, it was Beautiful Nothing. As always, Beautiful Nothing did not disappoint. They put on such an amazing show. The musicality of all their songs is just mind blowing. The lyrics are so much more than just words. They go deep inside of you and make you think of what they really mean. As always, Anthony Ludgate's stage presence was amazing. Some singers stand on the stage without really knowing what to do. Anthony lets it all out. Other than singing, how he presents himself onstage is a way of expressing himself. You should really check them out at the Music Centre next week on Friday in Burlington. It's a DVD release.
After Beautiful Nothing, Out of Options came on. Out of Options is a punk-pop band from Burlington. Tonight was my first time hearing them. I really liked their sound. When all three guitarists put their voices together, it was a great sound. All of them are so talented, and I think that they could seriously go far.
The last band for me that night was The Goodbye Celebration. This was my first show with them, but I listen to them on myspace a lot. The lead singer got the crowd so into the music. He brought out a light atmosphere that made everybody feel very comfortable. After they were finished, I bought their cd. I am looking forward to seeing them again soon.
Overall, it was a great night. Amazing bands, amazing place. You guys should really check out these bands on myspace.

Beautiful Nothing Show:)

Hey. This blog will be short. I just wanted to say that on Friday I'm seeing one of my favourite bands, Beautiful Nothing. This show is a really big deal because I haven't seen them since July and this should be a really good show! Another favourite of mine that will be there is The Goodbye Celebration. So if you are looking for a fun night filled with awesome music, come down to the Absinithe to see some awesome bands. Thats all for now.