A hot summer night in Jason Mraz company

Just as summer finally hits Toronto with its 30C ++ so does Jason Mraz brings sunshine & heat along with his band. From reggae to pop to rap Jason Mraz can play it all!

Although I'm not one of his biggest fans I can still appreciate every single note of his, reminding myself that stars are shining above my head and that his music is just relaxing. If I were on a beach surfing waves I'd probably have one of his songs in my head.

Jason Mraz can be resumed in simple words: sun - surf - beach. Does that remind you of anyone else? You got that one right: Jack Johnson. Often compared to him, Jason Mraz mixes more reggae & rap to his music style.

The Molson Amphitheatre crowd was as broad as one could get: from teenagers to people in their 40's/ 50's, Jason Mraz seems to reach them all. What he might still need to achieve is getting his own crowd into the "party". All around me, the crowd seemed almost too polite and laid back,just like Jason is known to be. Everyone sitting in their seat, not daring to get up and dance.

Jason Mraz might have felt exactly the same way when he said: "alright everyone, get up and dance. You're here to dance and have fun! So get your hands up in the air and follow me!"

A definite highlight of the night was when Jason Mraz was joined by K'naan and G. Love, to perform "Curbside Prophet", followed by personal favorite reggae remixed "The Remedy", and crowd favorite "I'm Yours".

The reggae & rap mixed songs went on but didn't seem to reach the crowd who was definitely too laid back to get up and dance to the beat. Blame it on the heat? Maybe, but most of all it might be because Jason has too many mellow songs on his setlist.

Jason Mraz ended the night on a positive note, singing " You and I Both" that sealed the singers connection with his crowd. The only down part of this, is that it took him almost two hours to warm up the Toronto crowd.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corinnecopreni/sets/72157621934098873/

My videos from the concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHcuKLSFnes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7N-Ejk8EfQ&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPitkzvsYw8&feature=channel

Viva La Vida Coldplay!

Last night at the sold out Rogers Centre here in Toronto 45,000 people were singing along with the biggest band in the world of the moment: Coldplay.The U-shaped stage was dominated by massive screens and glowing lights allowing the crowd to see Chris Martin's band from anywhere in the venue.Chris Martin used all bits of stage to run around and get closer to his beloved Toronto crowd. Starting off the concert was "Life in Technicolor", followed by the new single "Violet Hills" and one of their biggest hits "Clock". And suddely, while the first notes of "Yellow" came on dozens of enourmous yellow balloons descended upon the crowd, making them screameven louder! "Are you ok?" asked Martin, inviting everyone to sing along: "Consider this your Canadian Idol audition ... Even if you're in row 706 and you're only here because of your girlfriend," he joked.He went on talking, asking "what is there to do on a Thursday night in To-ron-To!? I'm glad you could all come to see us! All the garbage, all the stuff you have to get through, to get to us. Even the hairdresser are on strike! " joking about his crazy hairdo! Coldplay played lots of slow ballads, amongst them " Fix You" that made the entire crowd light up their lighters and sing along. When the long awaited "Viva La Vida" came on then it was an uproar of "Ohhhhh ohhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" that went on and on.If you though you were having an amazing time you had yet to see all 4 band members moving to a mini side-stage right in the concert bowl and startan acoustic version of "Green Eyes" , "Death Will Never Conquer" sang by drummer Will Champion and Michael Jackson's"Billie Jean".One of the best moments was probably when Chris Marting asked everyone to turn on their cellphone and make a "Coldwave" as he called it.The entire Rogers Centre was glowing like a christmas tree!When we though we had seen it all, down came butterfly confetties while they were singing "Lovers in Japan". Another surprise came right at the end of the show, when Chris Martin said: "This band is made of 1 idiot and 3 very shy guys! And its William's birthday so lets everyone sing happy birthday to him!" Coldplay managed to put on an intimate show although playing in a place like the Rogers Centre. They truly are the biggest band in the world at the moment and thats why, no matter the recession they still manage to sell out any venues they go to.A bonus or as Martin would say: "the best value we've ever given out for free" was the free CD of live tracks Coldplay gave out to everyone in the crowd,entitled "Left Right Left Right Left". What more really can you ask for?
Watch the video of Viva La Vida I took

Sasha Fierce aka Beyonce was in town: she just forgot to pack some soul into her luggage!

Definitely not my music style, but its a music blog and sometimes we have to bend to the public demand....

Monday night at the soldout Molson Ampitheatre Beyonce's alter ego Sasha Fierce came out full force. With big hair, big heels, big costumes and an Hollywood production-like show that made the crowd go crazy even before she started singing.
I almost had the impression that Charlie's Angels were on stage, as all13 dancers and musicians were perfectly coordinated in their skin tight shiny suits and big hair floating!

Opening the show with Crazy in Love, Beyonce set the crowd on fire launching confettis in the air, while thousands of women starteddancing and screaming, while shaking their "booties" imitating Beyonces world famous moves. The show was visually supported by a gigantic LED screen that played videos of her fans and substitued her while she was making one of her costume changes. While songs like Single Ladies (Put a ring on it), or Naughty Girl made everyone dance, the Ave Maria combined with Sarah MacLachlan's Angel came out like a bizarre mix. What were they thinking really!?

The highlight of the night was probably "Irreplacable". Calling out to the crowd, Beyonce had the entire Molson Ampitheatre singing to her :"To the left, to the left", while waiving their hands. "That is so beautiful" she said.

Beyonce's performance seemed almost too perfect and staged, but after all it truly lacked of soul.

Check the videos I took of the concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBoUDYKIY2o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdEhSqYfymY

Yeah! the Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Ottawa BluesFest 2009

If Karen O didn't seem too thrilled to sing on a Sunday night, she certainly pulled an amazing performance. Although it took a little while (and a massive eye-shaped balloon) for the Ottawa stucked-up crowd to get into the groove and dance, I'm positive this was a very nice ending to this years Ottawa Bluesfest edition.

Karen O is not only a singer, she's a damn fine entertainer. Her thriller-movie like screams and moves all combined with her amazing voice and band, make of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs not only a must see but a must live performance.

The set list consisted mainly of songs from their new album "It's blitz!" with Gold Lion, Skeletons, the crowds favourite (and personal!) Heads will Roll and of course Zero for which Karen O wore a black leather jacket. The now heated up crowd sang along to the acoustic version of Maps (a real treat!) while the mega eye-ball surfed on top of them.
Now, if you missed their Bonnaroo show, their Quebec show, their Ottawa show, then you better get onto next week performance in Toronto or go up to Montreal for Osheaga. Some say they are "tour whores" this year, but really they are THE ONES that are worth seeing this summer!

Here's a couple of videos I took at Yeah Yeah Yeahs performance at Ottawa Bluesfest this past week-end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Gc-PfFh20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVl9cPcSmk&feature=channel

Cheers,
Corinne

BONNAROO:10 reasons why you should consider packing up next year and head down to Bonnaroo in Tennesse!

So if you're reading this you've either missed Bonnaroo this year; or you've heard about Bonnaroo and you're still biting your nails for not going; or you were there and feel like you "still" didn't get enough of Roo!

Here's 10 reasons why you should consider going!

1) The l ineup. From Bruce Springsteen, to Phish (double performance including a surprise jam with The Boss), to NIN, to Beastie Boys,to Mars Volta, to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to MGMT, to Plubic Enemy,to Crystal Castles, all the way to Jimmy Buffett surprise appearance this year Bonnaroo's lineup had something for all (including DrewBarrimore watching MGMT show from the VIP section).

Photo: Peter Buck from REM

2) The venue. Nothing better to host 85,000 + festival goers than a 750 acres farm field. Located in Manchester (Tennessee), Bonnaroo will give you a good excuse to drive 16 hours down South(*from Toronto).

3) The stages. All 13 of them! Big screens, big sound system, big crowd!
Or If you're tired of running around just head to the 24h movie theatre and relax.Yes even that is included in your package!There's also a comedy stage, just in case you need a good laugh.

4) The sound system. It'll blow your ears off while still making you dance your night away!PS: **consider packing some earplugs**

5) The crowd. Amongst 85,000 + people you'll certainly make new friends, you'll see weird and random costums, hats, body painting etc. The bestone till now was Eugene (see pic). Did I forget to mention I saw Santa Claus? That's maybe why Bruce sang: Santa Claus is coming to town!

6) The hippies. If you're a hippy kinda person then you'll likely never leave this town! Don't worry, if you forgot your tent, you'll certainly find an old WV ready to host you!

7) The food. Lets just mention these: alligator jerky & blackened catfish burrito. The rest is yours to discover!!

8) The soap bubbles, the hula hoops, the bongs. Lots & lots of those. See # 6 !

9) The weather. We were blessed by the sun, the 32C+ and also the mud. Nothing better for pictures than people dancing in the mud trust me! If then they all head down to the massive water fountain its even better! (see pics)

10) You. Having fun in Bonnaroo is all about you and what you make out of it. We were there 16 hours a day, running around, shooting pictures,discovering new music, enjoying good brewery beers, the sun, the atmosphere, life all with a big smile on our faces. We had a blast and maybe all that smiling gave us a couple of new funny rinkles on our tanned faces!

Go check out the pictures of the venue on www.flickr.com/photos/corinnecopreni
Don't miss out on next year's edition of Bonnaroo.
Cheers!

Bonnaroo 2009

Go check the photos from Bonnaroo on

www.flickr.com/photos/corinnecopreni

Keane @ Sound Academy

Keane @ Sound Academy

May 23 2009

come back for the full review

Photos : http://www.flickr.com/photos/corinnecopreni/sets/72157618772067372/