The Confectionery - 12

These are the things that I think are great.  So great that I want to sing about them.

CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY

Marketed as "a party game for horrible people", Cards Against Humanity is not a game for the terribly PC, or a game I will ever play with my parents - the thought of explaining some of these cards makes me physically ill.

The rules are simple: a black card is drawn, & everyone plays a white card from their hand of 10 to answer.  The most appropriate (usually the funniest) card wins, & that player gains the black card as an Awesome Point.  Whoever has the most Awesome Points at the end of the game wins.

Recently I played this game with some horrible people whom I adore, & it was tons of fun.  I knew we would all be at our most awful (especially with drinks flowing), & the game didn't disappoint either. (Except when my "Teenage pregnancy" card didn't win for "What can't you have just one of?"  COME ON.)

There are House Rules I liked: You can discard any card you don't understand, but "must confess your ignorance to the group & suffer the resulting humiliation".  It helps if you play with a super-smart dude like Anthony Oliveira, who can explain both "smegma" & "Hutus & Tutsis" without sounding like a know-it-all.  (It's quite possible he actually knows it all.  All of the things.)

There are House Rules I am still bitter about: An extra white card is submitted every round, belonging to an imaginary player named Rando Cardrissian.  If Rando wins the game, "all players go home in a state of everlasting shame".  I can't completely despise him because of his amazing name, but damnit if Rando didn't beat me.

A completely random drawing of cards gave me this potential outcome.

You can get Cards Against Humanity from the official website in 2 ways: order a physical copy for $25, or you can download the PDF, print & cut the cards yourself, & play right away.  We had them printed for $6 by a very nice printer lady we know, & while she probably thinks very poorly of us now & will never make eye contact again, $6! 

STAGEIT

The other fun thing I did this week was attend an online concert from my home office.  Stageit is a site that offers "a front row seat to a backstage experience".  Broadcasting live, online concerts, it's a much more interactive experience than watching YouTube videos.  A streaming forum next to the video screen makes it easy for the performer & audience to connect with each other.  As a fan, you buy a ticket (most are under $5), can directly tip the artist, request songs, ask questions...it is very cool, & truly a new way to share your talent or attend (not just watch) a show.  Read about my first experience with Stageit via a Glen Phillips show here.  I felt like I was sitting cross-legged on his California lawn while he played for everyone, & everyone had a front row seat.

BLUR

There are some bands that bring you right back to the age you were when you first heard them.  Blur is one of those bands for me.  There was a time in high school when I may have existed inside a BritPop bubble.  My 6-disc CD player held a rotation of British bands like Pulp, Menswear, The Charlatans, Manic Street Preacher, Elastica, Cast, Suede...but none of those bands got as much play as Blur.  They had such a progressive pop feel: unique guitar sounds, odd song structures, & observational lyrics that made you feel like you were in London with them.  They were also 4 cute boys.  In 1997, I went into a Blur concert in love with Daman Albarn & came out in love with Graham Coxon.  Something about that nerdy-looking boy playing the guitar, the musical mastermind behind Blur's original sound.  Adorable, & so very British.

How I wished my name was Cheryl.

I watched the entirety of Blur's fantastic 1994 London concert "Showtime" via YouTube on Saturday; I immediately was 17 again.  Listening to Parklife, doing homework on my bed, wearing my puke-green cords & an R.E.M. tour t-shirt, while my dog (Einstein) chewed on my suede Converse shoes.  Enjoy the fan-favourite "To The End":

I got caught in a Blur YouTube spiral after that, & was pleasantly surprised at the amount of Graham Coxon solo material.  He has released 8 solo albums & YouTube is full of performance videos, including this treasure, "In The Morning".  The guitar is mesmerizing in this Beatles-esque beauty.

I had read that Blur would be performing for the last time together for the Closing Ceremonies of The Olympics, & they did...but in Hyde Park, with none of it televised.  It was a sad "Sunday Sunday" for me.  By tonight, the audio from the concert will be available on iTunes.  Next week, a 3CD set will be released with bonus live tracks.  November brings my Christmas present: a DVD/CD set of the concert, plus extra bonus tracks, plus a 60 page hardcover.  Yes, please.
Watching the videos already uploaded from last night's concert, Blur sounds & looks as great as always.  Their last live song, "The Universal", reduced me to tears from the first notes, & it didn't help when Damon blinked back tears of his own.  "Just let them go."

Note that Graham walks offstage carrying what looks like a cup of tea, so he remains the most adorable ever.  High school Lisa has resumed Graham-crushing.

CALL ME MAYBE - CHATROULETTE

This has been posted on my facebook feed by at least a dozen friends, but I had avoided watching it because I can't stand the song.  I'm glad I finally gave in, because Steve Kardynal video-bombing random people is hilarious.  I still think Chatroulette is creepy, & all the shirtless guys reaffirm the high douche factor...but it really is nice to see how many people were quick to have fun with it after the "WTF" moment passes.

Those were my favourite internet sweets of the past week.  Come back next week for more goodies!

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Glen Phillips - Stageit Concert

Last night I bought a $3 ticket to a concert in California.  I attended this concert from our home office in Ontario...& not the Ontario in California.  $3 for a live, online concert given by a talented artist, straight from his backyard.  It would be an understatement to call this a bargain, even without factoring in the Canadian dollar's rise above parity!

Stageit is an online site that streams exclusive concerts to ticket-holders.  From their website: "Where performers can broadcast LIVE and interactive experiences directly from a laptop, while offering unique fan experiences that are never archived." (Out of respect for this, any videos I'll be posting will not be from Stageit shows.)  To be an audience member, you spend a minimum of $5 for notes (Stageit credit), & purchase your ticket.  Most shows are under $5 or pay-what-you-can, & throughout the shows you can directly tip the performers.  What a wonderful idea.  I am a strong believer in supporting the arts (come see me in Fiddler on the Roof!), & Stageit makes it so simple, so grassroots, so easy to say "I appreciate your talent, & that you took time out of your life to share it with us.  With me."

Glen Phillips is one of my favourite singer/songwriters & whether we're speaking of his work with Toad the Wet Sprocket, his solo work, or many of his side projects, I am a huge fan.  The name of my blog comes from Glen's solo album Winter Pays For Summer, & more specifically, from the song "Duck & Cover".

I knew that Glen occasionally gave "couch concerts" on Stageit, but they have usually fallen on Sunday nights (EST), so I've never been able to catch one.  This week, Glen held an "All-Toad" concert on a Tuesday, & I've never sat my kid in front of a TV so quickly.  You want a Coke at 8:30pm?  Will it keep you in the family room for 45 minutes?  Well then, absolutely.

As I've written before, I fell in love with Toad the Wet Sprocket in high school, just missing a rare Toronto concert in the mid-90s.  They broke up shortly afterwards, & my hopes of ever seeing them live were dashed.  In 2011, it was a very, very happy coincidence that newly reunited Toad was playing at the House of Blues in Orlando while we would be there on vacation.  It was one of the best concert experiences of my life - not only because their music brings me joy, but because I never thought I'd have the chance to attend a Toad show.

I had never been in a crowd where I didn't immediately hate everyone around me, but for Toad, everyone wanted to be there. No one was obnoxiously drunk, talking loudly or flailing rudely  - everyone cared about Toad the Wet Sprocket that night.  You know it's magical when the crowd is truly excited to hear a brand new song.  In this video, you can see my red hair in the front centre, to the left of my tall husband.  Just imagine a beaming smile on the other side of my head.

Thanks to Stageit, I kind of relived that happiness last night.  I enjoyed a Sam Adams Summer Ale in Ontario while humming harmonies along with Glen Phillips - just a guy in his backyard with a guitar & a beer of his own.  Beginning with "Crowing", it was like every song was chosen just for me, a feeling I'm sure every other attendee shared.  "Walk On the Ocean" made me tear up a little bit, & "Windmills" had those tears pouring down my face.  The deceptively simple-sounding beauty of this song just gets to me, always.

"Rings" & "Dam Would Break", 2 of my favourites from Coil, had me bouncing in my seat, & wishing I could play an instrument with such flawless ease.  (If you've seen my previous attempts with instruments, you know why I'm now a singer, not an instrumentalist.)

The whole experience was much more than watching YouTube videos.  Stageit has a running forum next to the streaming video for interaction with the artist & other ticket-holders.  It was clear that many of these fans were not first-timers - it seemed like a very welcoming club.  I had the screen full-sized most of the time, but Glen was reading along quite a bit, frequently losing his place in songs because of it.  I don't think anyone has ever been so charming when fucking up.

Glen took requests, asked questions, & shared his frustration that he really likes a lime in his Trader Joe's Mexican beer, but you can't recycle the bottle when there's a lime in it.  Adorable.

He even spoke of Bobak Ferdowski, everyone's new nerd crush, & asked everyone to make another ticket-holder (whom I believe worked at NASA as well, but wasn't feeling the same amount of love as Mohawk guy) feel just as sexy.

The result left me feeling as if I'd shared a moment with a great artist.  Feeling like I was sitting cross-legged on a Santa Barbara lawn while a friend played a few feet in front of me.  All from the other side of the continent, for $3.  I will be back.

There are lots of other artists using Stageit - Sara Bareilles has a benefit concert coming up on Sept 10 that is pay-what-you-can - so I suggest you support some artists for the price of a latte.  I'll leave you with Toad the Wet Sprocket playing Walk on The Ocean, just a few months ago.

It's all worth waiting for.
-Windmills

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