Where I've Been

There are probably a few of you out there who are probably wondering why the past couple of days have been kind of devoid of posting here at www.michaelappleby.blogspot.com.

I've been busy with live shows. Mind you, not my own shows, but rather a couple of actual big name acts that rolled through the city.

Tuesday night saw Henry Rollins grace the stage of the Winspear Centre once again with nearly three hours of spoken word greatness. This was the fourth time I've seen him live and once again it was absolutely incredible how a man can just talk for three hours straight and I could listen and my ass wasn't even getting sore just sitting there. He told a lot of great stories and got the audience laughing out loud on numerous occasions. What I love most about Henry Rollins' shows is that he is a grateful pseudo-celebrity. He touched on, in his talking, the sort of big names of the current North American cultural landscape like Paris Hilton and Ashlee Simpson almost with a contempt. I found myself thinking about why Henry is so great and I think that what it is is that he is truly appreciative of the audience he gets and I think he really realizes how lucky he is to be the man that he and have the job that he does. It's always a treat to see him and I hope he comes back to Edmonton sooner rather than later.

Wednesday night had Nine Inch Nails come to town with Queens Of The Stone Age and Death From Above 1979. This show was loud. My ears are still ringing. I was really there to see NIN and QOTSA, but I have to admit that I was pleasantly shocked by the music of DFA79, whom I never really heard at great length before. Queens rocked as I expected them to with a set that played most of my favorites by them except "Hanging Tree." Nine Inch Nails, of course, were stellar. Their set was interupted much to the crowd's dismay when the security barricade was broken and Trent Reznor had to instruct the audience to step back a few feet to let security repair the damage. A lot of NIN were played and I can honestly say that I have never seen a show like theirs live before. It was a truly unique experience. The highlight of the night for me was "Eraser" which was performed with a giant transluscent video screen in the foreground displaying images of war and greed. Amazing stuff.

I promise that I will return to form in the next-to-immediate future. Sorry about the interuption in my service.