At Mr. Mod’s request, Rock Town Hall’s self-proclaimed Official Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Correspondent, NorthVanCoveMan, is on the scene, bringing you the rocking news from north of the border an attempting to fashion it into a rock-related discussion..with yet to be determined results.
Yesterday I had some dumb luck. As many of you may be aware, and some of you may be avoiding completely, the 2010 Winter Olympics are happening in my fair city. I have made a point of pushing aside any misgivings or general grumpiness and really trying to get out and enjoy the whole thing. It has not been hard to do; the town is electric right now! And there’s alcohol!
Tonight is the first night I have nothing on tap (literally and figuratively) but I will be back in the swing of things Wednesday and Thursday with a trip to see some speed skating and hockey. The corporate pavilions, such as the ones set up by Molson and Heineken (50-75,000 sq. foot beer palaces) are at least as much of a draw.
But back to yesterday. A friend from back east who is in town for the games called with an extra ticket to the men’s moguls event up on Cypress Mountain. Turns out, the first Olympic event I have ever attended would be the one to break Canada’s gold medal drought on home soil (We were shut out in Calgary ’88 and Montreal ’76). Anyway, It is a really big deal up here. A virtual unknown, a young man from Quebec named Alexandre Bilodeau, took the gold. He seems to have been ordered from Central Casting under “Modest and Respectful Canadian Hero.” They gave him the gold tonight in front of a football stadium full of people. Twenty thousand more were singing “Oh, Canada” outside.
Now I’ll be the first to admit I don’t give a shit about moguls. And like most Canadians I didn’t know Bilodeau from Bordeaux at the beginning of this past weekend. But being there in the moment makes me feel different about it, I am drawn in. I’m hooked on the feeling.
Has a charismatic person or unexpected electric moment ever gotten you out of your comfort zone? Find yourself listening to reggae or jazz when you hate reggae and jazz? Who in music came out of nowhere and rocked your world and had you listening to stuff you normally wouldn’t?
Who is your Rock and Roll Bilodeau?
Thanks for checking in from the moguls, NorthVanCoveMan. Let’s see what other rock discussion blogs sport their own Official Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Correspondent!
I’m immediately reminded of my experience seeing North Mississippi All-Stars, which I wrote about here:
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/index.php/brian_jones_wet_dream_north_mississippi_
More recently I’ve caught some live performance by Jeff Beck, with one of those stand-out fusion drummers (yikes!) and a woman who looks like she’s 17 years old (and kind of cute) on bass. I’ve never dug Jeff Beck and his long fusion career, but in this concert he’s so into it in a straightforward way – and his rhythm section is also so joyously supportive – that I’m coming to see this entire phase of his mature career in a new light.
Thanks, MOD. I’ll be live on the scene a reporting from venues I attend exclusively for the RTH Network.
There is also something going on called The Vancouver “Cultural” Olympiad through which I saw Steve Earle for the first time (boring, Townes Van Zandt songs are boring an not as good as Steve Earle songs and brought Wilco for the Opening Night (3000 deep line in the rain -went to a bar instead)There are too many others to mention, but I am curious to know what RTH’ers think of kd langs performance of “hallelujah” during the opening ceremonies.
My Rock and Roll Bilodeau happened a few years ago: Spent a night with a buddy and some whiskey and he busted out some early ZZ Top on me. I didn’t really go seeking out other blues, but I was listening to and enjoying the blues for the first time!
northcoveman,
I would encourage you to crack open another bottle of sour mash and listen to:
Killing Floor – Howlin Wolf
Evil – Howlin Wolf
Who’s Been Talkin – Howlin Wolf
I Can’t Hold Out – Elmore James
Cry For Me – Elmore James
I Can’t Be Satisfied – Muddy Waters
If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day – Robert Johnson
If you’re interested in hearing a little more blues, those are a great starting point.
I think I’ve told this story before, but I had always hated ZZ Top. Then one day in I guess the early 80s I was driving back into New Orleans over the High Rise (the I-10 bridge over the Industrial Canal) when Tube Snake Boogie came on the radio. I was suddenly like Saul on the road to Damascus. I eventually got El Loco, the album that song is on, and to this day that’s the one album by them I like unequivocally, but I stopped there on the bridge hating the band for what I thought they represented and started listening to them.