Stornoway @ Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, December 8, 2010

And so like Blonde Redhead, I went to see Stornoway knowing only a couple of songs and really liking one of them - 'Zorbing' but this time, I came away from the show a FAN.  They were absolutely wonderful.  Terrific songs and they sounded great.  The lead singer was incredibly charming and funny and was very impressive with his knowledge of rats and the lack of them in Alberta (he'd done a bit of prep for his trip to Canada).  The only complaint I have about the show was that the guy beside me decided to also sing during the acoustic encore (so not cool ...), but such is live music.  Can't wait to see them again and a pretty wonderful way to end a great year of live music.

Leonard Cohen @ GM Place, Vancouver, December 2, 2010

I'm actually not a big fan of Leonard Cohen and I only know a couple of his songs - 'Everybody Knows' from Pump Up The Volume being my favourite.  I came away from the evening with two thoughts ... 1) the Man IS a performer.  Forget about his age, he's got it.  2) GM Place (uh, Rogers Arena blah blah) is an absolutely awful place to see anything but a hockey game (and I don't go to those anymore).  Such a shame, really, because a night with Leonard Cohen in a better venue would have made the $80 tickets (for not even good seats!) seem like a bargain.