What is known so far…

np – The Posies / Dear 23

Lake Holiday! Tonight! Silver Dollar!

Okay, end plug.

Fans of the Dandy Warhols will be pleased to know they are playing the Opera House on September 8. Me, I never got into …Come Down and haven’t paid much attention to them since, but surely there’s others who are excited. Woo-hoo-hoo.

I have come to the conclusion that the TTC and The Weather Channel are in cahoots. Somehow, between the time I decided to take the subway in to work instead of riding my bike, the forecast went from 35mm of rain today to ONE. One freaking milimeter. Give me a break. Actually, it’s looking good and overcast out there now. I may get satisfaction yet.

Busy upcoming week. Pernice Brothers and The Tyde tomorrow night, Rainer Maria Thursday, Richard Thompson Sunday. To say nothing of two of my own shows – one tonight and one Sunday. Metric is still a maybe, but I’m gonna be bushed by Friday and no one else wants to get anyway.

np – The Dismemberment Plan / Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified

Two movies today – Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Bend It Like Beckham – both coming-of-age tales for teenage girls. And while I am not a teenage girl, I still found them both tremendously fun and enjoyable.

Beckham was pretty standard stuff, story-wise, but done with lots of warmth and humour. What was most surprising to me was that lead actress Parminder Nagra is a full decade older than her co-star, Keira Knightley, not that you could tell. And Ms Knightley… well, I’ll be going to see Pirates Of The Carribean sooner than later, that’s for certain. Anyone who looks like a cross between Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder with an English accent has my attention. Though she could use a cookie. Or a roast chicken.

Kiki’s was another Miyazaki film and was just as terrific as Castle In The Sky, but for totally different reasons. Where Castle was amazing in its adventurousness and epic scope, Kiki’s, the story of a 13-year old witch setting up her own delivery business in the big city, was just flat-out charming. I didn’t even bother with the dubbed version this time – went straight to the Japanese with subtitles. I hope Disney or whoever has plans to release the rest of Miyazaki’s catalog on DVD soon. I want to see them all! I want to live in a Miyzazki film.

np – Radiohead / Hail To The Thief

When bands break up, they should always do it like The Dismemberment Plan. After deciding to call it quits earlier this year, they first decide to undertake one final farewell tour that’s taken them all over North American and soon to Japan. Tonight marked their final show in the 416 area code… and the 905, probably 519 and 613 as well, but I digress. I first saw The Plan back on the Death & Dismemberment tour, and went mainly to see Death Cab. My knowledge of the Plan extended about as far as “The Ice Of Boston”, which was amusing to me and I had pretty much written them off as a quirky joke band, but I left that show a believer. The Plan put on one of the most fantastic live shows I’d ever seen, quite literally leaving me slack-jawed. A shame that my second time seeing them play would also be the last, but I figured it’d be a helluva farewell party.

The Rockit club was sold out and the inadequacy of the air conditioning and ventilation very much evident. The stench of rock’n’roll was in full effect by the time the headliners took the stage, and immediately tore into “Gyroscope”, and after the opening three songs they opened the rest of the set up to requests. The declined to play only one or two songs from their debut “!”, but were up to the task for everything else thrown their way. It’s amazing to me that they have so much complex material at instant recall like that, but I guess that’s part of the job description for a professional musician (which is why I had better not quit my day job). The Plan consists of some of the best musicians I’ve ever seen on the indie rock circuit – Joe Easley in particular is one of the most insane drummers around – mad skills, as they say – and Travis Morrison is easily one of the best frontmen a band ever had. Maniacal, charismatic and absurdly good at what he does, one can only hope that his solo output will bring his wacky-ass self back here to further entertain the masses.

And to the frat house guys in the back with the tank tops and baseball caps (the “Chewbaccas”, as Travis put it), who spent the whole night hollering for “Ice Of Boston” between whoops of “whoo!” and “yeah!” – did you really think that they wouldn’t play it? Or that your constant bellowing had anything to do with it? Dumbasses.

Neanderthals notwithstanding, the Dismemberment Plan farewell tour was everything one could have hoped for. Anytime you stumble into the night sweaty, dehydrated and all around gross but still feeling good, someone did something right. Cheers.

Photos from the show here.