When music brings you to life....literally!

I still remember the first concert I ever went to - It was The Black Eyed Peas at Rexall Place in Edmonton back in 2009. I was pretty stoked too; I was a fan of the band and had never been to any live show before.

I made sure to get there early with my friend and that's when I quickly learned a few things about concerts.

a) The headliner never comes on at the time stated on the ticket.

b) There is something called a HEADLINER! Apparently you can't just go watch the Black Eyed Peas there needs to be another band to warm everybody up.

c) beers are expensive, concerts are expensive, parking is expensive, merch is expensive...

d) if you bought a ticket in the nosebleeds like I did, you better have some hawk eye vision cause you're pretty much watching them on the big screen.

e) Just because they sound one way on the CD does not mean they'll sound the same in real life.

For my first concert, I was slightly disappointed. The Black Eyed Peas didn't really sound like what they sounded like on a CD, maybe I just had ridiculously high expectations but I was hoping for a bit more.

To be fair, they did try hard and entertained the crowd quite well so I can't fault them for that. 

Top 5 acts that I would love to see live.

1. The Killers

"I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" -When You Were Young

OK, truth be told, I actually had a real chance to go see The Killers, right before I left Melbourne back in May of 2018. The problem was, I had spent way too much $$ in New Zealand and didn't have too much left so I was budgeting myself until I started working again. This girl that I really liked at the time (I still do, you know who you are) was also a fan of The Killers and I wanted to go with her. She was a student though and didn't have too much money either. I had enough money to go on my own but not enough for both of us. After learning my previous mistake of going to concerts alone, I decided if I couldn't go with her, I would just not go at all. Instead, I went over to her place and we cooked dinner while listening to The Killers on Spotify and then watched Black Mirror. 
As much as I love Black Mirror, I still wonder till today if I should have just gone to that show alone.

2. Imagine Dragons

I don't have a sappy story for Imagine Dragons. Plain and simple, I just think they're a fun band with lots of good sing-along songs. I feel like they'd put on a good show and I want to be front row, 5 wine glasses deep singing along to "Whatever It Takes".

3. Arctic Monkeys

"She's a silver lining, lone ranger riding through an open space" - R U Mine

That has got to be, hands down, one of my favourite song lyrics of all time. I tingle every time I hear an Arctic Monkeys song! Their lyrical flow is just mind-blowing and their album AM - don't even get me started, like, holy butter sticks on a warm French croissant, that is good! It's just banger after banger with songs like "Do I Wanna Know", "R U Mine", "Snap Out Of It" and "Why Do You Only Call Me When You're High". Heck, I like "Knee Socks" too. The only thing I'm worried about is my ridiculously high expectations of the show when I do go. 

4. Billy Joel

"Slow down you crazy child, you're so ambitious for a juvenile..." - Vienna

Billy Joel is the kind of guy who I would take my mother to see. I don't think she knows any Billy Joel songs but I think she'd enjoy his music. Apparently Billy Joel isn't a huge fan of performing "We Didn't Start The Fire" which is one of my favourite Billy Joel songs but I guess that's what YouTube is for.

5. Linkin Park

"and I know that I won't be satisfied
so why try ignoring him?
Make it a dirty dance floor again
say your prayers and stomp it out
when they bring that chorus in" - Bleed It Out 

This is actually quite sad as Chester Bennington committed suicide a few years back. I don't think I ever really had the chance to see them live even when Chester was around but I always had a special place in my heart for Linkin Park. They're quite versatile with their music as they are good to listen to to get you pumped up during a workout ie. songs like "Bleed it Out", "Breaking The Habit", "Waiting for a Light That Never Comes" and "Numb". They also have more mellow tunes that will relax you after a long stressful day ie. Shadow of the Day.

RIP Chester.
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Top 5 bands that I've already seen live

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers @  BottleRock in Napa Valley - May 2015

"She's a runner
Rebel, and a stunner
On her merry way, saying baby watcha gonna?" - Dani California


My friend who was living in San Francisco at the time had told me about this music festival over Memorial Day Long Weekend called BottleRock. Typically at most music festivals you get drunk off of beer. This festival was held in Napa Valley which is world-renowned for its wine so it made sense that the vendors were all selling cups of wine instead of beer. I thought to myself, "What a time to be alive" and after quickly checking the lineup, I was sold.

After 3 cancelled Uber's we finally made it to the festival just in time to see The X-Ambassadors finishing their set. We then hit the wine stands hard so we could get absolutely wasted in time to see Gogol Bordello. By the time The Lumineers came on, I was lying on the ground face up to the sky with a bunch of people standing around me and the sweet tune of "Ophelia" serenading me in my drunken stupor. I finally summed up the courage to stand back up and saw that the crowd had grown considerably in preparation for The Chili Peppers. My friend who had gone to reload on wine had a struggle trying to find me in the crowd so I just extended my selfie stick and waved it in the air much to the chagrin of everyone around me. Hands down, this was my favourite show I've ever been to. The crowd went absolutely nuts when they came out and being inebriated on the wine left me with no shame belting out the lyrics to California while swinging my body in what some would call "dancing".

2. Muse @ Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne - Dec. 2017

I remember my last minute decision to go to Melbourne. I was on a bus to Venice with a bunch of Aussies who swore to me that Australia is the best thing since sliced bread. Sliced bread is pretty impressive so Australia has gotta be pretty cool. Sure enough, I book my flight on the bus and a few hours later after dinner, I got my visa to work there for 1 year. 3 days after that I noticed that Muse was playing in Melbourne so of course I purchased a ticket to that too. I was working as a server in Melbourne and one of the other servers happened to be going to the concert that night as well which made things way more fun. (I've gone to concerts alone and it's kinda meh). The actual concert was absolute mint you could tell he was tired as that show was the very last of their 2 year tour. They didn't really talk between songs but just got straight down to business and played banger after banger. My favourite was going crazy with the whole crowd as "Psycho" came on. The only drawbacks were I didn't get to hear "Dead Inside" and there was no encore. It seemed like they had rented the place until 11pm-checked the time when the show ended - 10:58pm. 

3. Mumford and Sons @ Lallapalooza in Berlin - Sept. 2017

"But this is all I ever was 
and this is all you came across those years ago
Now you go too far
Don't tell me that I changed because that's not the truth
and now I'm losing you" -Ditmas

We also saw George Ezra that night so we got this picture before he come on. Mumford and Sons was on the same stage but I didn't get a photo so this will have to do. (My friend in the picture is Holly - the most amazing person you'll ever meet).

I was so excited to finally get to see Mumford and Sons. It was a cold September day in Berlin and I had been hanging around all day without a coat. By the time Mumford and Sons came on, I could tell for sure I was going to have a fever the next day. But hey, for good music, you make good sacrifices, right? It took me half an hour to get onto the train, another half hour on the train till I finally made it to my bed where I got 4 hours of sleep. The next day I was on my way to NY to go to my brothers wedding. (Norwegian Air charges 3 euro for each cup of tea so on that 8.5 hour flight from Stockholm to New York, I dished out 27 euros to keep my head from burning up).

4. The Tragically Hip @ Rexall Place in Edmonton - July 2016

This is a tough one to write up about because Gord Downie was such Canadian legend. His music touched millions of Canadians across the country and his songs were very focused on Canadian identity and Canadian issues with songs like "Wheat Kings" and "50 Mission Cap". One of the things I liked most about this show is how dedicated everyone was to being a part of the show. The hallways outside the arena were empty and everyone was singing along and crying. Gord Downie was suffering from brain cancer which eventually took his life not too long ago. 
RIP Gord.

5. Cold War Kids @ The Commodore in Vancouver - Oct. 2016

I went to this show while working for a radio station in Vancouver. The Commodore is an absolutely incredible venue for live bands, lots of open space and you get that intimate feel with the band as opposed to larger venues where it feels like the band is separated from you. Watching them preform "First" and "Can We Hang On" gave me chills that lasted 6 hours!

Honourable Mentions

6. AC/DC @ Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton - Sept. 2016

-Bought the ticket for $155 and was offered $500 to sell it
-Went alone but still had fun
-Got soaked in the pouring rain

7. July Talk @ The Commodore in Vancouver - Nov. 2016

-Went to the show as part of the radio station promoting it.
-Saw Peter Dreimanis, 'nuff said.

8. Sam Roberts Band @ George Street Festival in St. Johns - Aug. 2019

-Went with my friends I made on Big Brother
-Loved the energy from the open air concert

9. The Lumineers @ BottleRock in Napa Valley - May 2015

-Technically didn't see them because I was so drunk, I was lying on the floor while everyone else was standing around me.
-"Ophelia" being performed live sounds really good while horizontal. 

10. Motley Crue and KISS @ The Molson Canadian Amphitheater in Toronto - Sept. 2012

-Went alone
-Got kinda bored and left in the middle of KISS set.
-Tommy Lee has a cool drum set up, it was like he was on a circular roller coaster.
-I have the same name as Gene Simmons - CHAIM
-Met a guy on the train ride back home who has been to over 100 KISS shows.


What bands are on your "must-see" list?

Happy New Years!
Mark D

IG: themarkdshow

And The Road Becomes My Bride...

Well today I learned something new. The word lyric comes from the Middle French word “lyrique” which means “a short poem representing emotion”.

One of the things I enjoy about music is how the words come together to create a poem or even better yet a story. I’ll be honest though, I’ve always been bad at picking up lyrics in songs. For the longest time, I had no idea what Ed Sheeran was saying in his song “Don’t”. My friend once told me that if you don’t know the lyrics to a song but you wanna pretend like you do, just mouth the word “watermelon” and it’ll look like you know what you’re saying.

With that being said, here are 5 songs that lyrically speak to me. Being someone who has a passion to travel and see the whole world before 2030, (It’s an expensive hobby, I’ll tell you that), any song that relates to travel is immediately put at the top of my playlist.

1. Metallica - Wherever I May Roam - I was only 1 when this song was released. It would take another 18 years for me to learn of its existence though. The lyrics are literally the story of my life though!

“And the road becomes my bride
I have stripped of all but pride, so in her I do confide
And she keeps me satisfied, gives me all I need

And with dust in throat I crave
Only knowledge will I save, to the game you stay a slave
Rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will”

As a former tour guide, I have racked up well over 100,000 kilometres on a bus over 3 years of traveling. I learned to embrace the road as my office. It didn’t matter if I was on the autobahn coming into Munich or on some pothole-ridden, compressed sand road in he middle of Laos. For me, the road represented freedom. The bus was my home and I was married to the road. She took care of me and provided me with some sort of eerie comfort especially on those long, seemingly-never ending journeys.

2. Tom Cochrane - Life is a Highway - This song also came out when I was 1. And again, I only discovered it in my later teens - from listening to radio, not watching Cars. (I wasn't really allowed to listen to much music as a kid). Fun Fact: This is the only song by Tom Cochrane to hit the top 40 charts in the USA. I listen to the lyrics of this song and take it at face value. My life IS a highway; and at the moment, it feels like I'm on a single lane highway marked by a double yellow line so I can't overtake the semi in front of me who is going 10 kilometres below the speed limit! My favourite lyrics in this song are:

"This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khybers Pass to Vancouver's lights"

Literally! For someone who has traveled to all 6 continents, I have only seen 1 of those things he mentions in those lyrics. Now that's bush league if you ask me!

3. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away - This song came out when I was 8. The first time I heard it was in Cuba when some live cover band played it. The lyrics spoke to me, it was about just getting away, taking a risk and jumping into something new. Let's put it this way, I had a good on-air job in radio and was about to move to a new city with a good salary when I gave that all up to go traveling. What initially was supposed to be a 6 month travel stint, turned into a 3 year long travel bonanza of which I have 0 regrets. I'm sure Lenny Kravitz would have approved of the alternative life decision.

"Let's go and see the stars
The Milky Way or even Mars
Where it could just be ours"

See, why limit yourself to just Earth? You can explore Earth but there's a whole universe out there waiting to be discovered. Get out of your comfort zone, and do something different!

4. Iggy Pop - The Passenger - When this song came out, my dad was only 15 years old. It would take another 13 years for me to make my existence onto this planet. The simplicity of this song is beautiful.

"I am the passenger
I stay under glass
I look through my window so bright
I see the stars come out tonight"

Sometimes even when I think I've got a grip on where life is going, another curve ball gets thrown in the loop and that's the where the real test comes in to see how I'm going to make it out of this kerfluffle. Sometimes, you just gotta sit back, take the passenger role and let life be the driver.

and finally...

5. The Raconteurs - Steady, As She Goes - I was 16 when this song came out and heard it for the first time when I was 19 in a shopping mall. Admittedly, this song doesn't necessarily talk much about travel, in my opinion, in fact it's more about settling down and finding some meaning in life. This is why it comes in as the final song because all roads eventually lead to somewhere, and the ultimate goal is, as Jack White says;

"Find yourself a girl and settle down
live a simple life in a quiet town"

Now granted, I am definitely a big-city boy; but the tune is still very relatable. Having a wonderful life with all sorts of cool experiences is amazing. In the past 10 years, I have worked as a radio show host, a tour guide, traveled to 6 continents and competed on one of my favourite TV game shows. What I think would be even better, is finding someone to share those amazing life experiences with.....or so I've been told, I wouldn't know first-hand.

The point is, when songs have an intricate composition of lyrics, the song becomes more of a story (an audiobook with a nice instrumental track underneath if you wanna get technical).

Now excuse me while I jam out to Daft Punk - Around The World.



Best,
Mark D
IG: themarkdshow

Musically Inclined, Lyrically Defined

Today I found out the origin of the word music. It comes from the Greek word "Mousike" which means The Art of Muses. Muses was an ancient Greek God who was the God of music in addition to a bunch of other things. 

Even though I am not the biggest believer in God, this is one God that I carry around with me wherever I go. Let's put things in perspective; I have 2 monthly bills as we speak - my phone bill and Spotify. I need music as much as my phone to survive!

I've always loved music and my taste in music ranges on my mood that day. I'm pretty sure there's got to be some science that dictates what music you're going to like that day based on the position your body was in when you woke up.

Welp, I had to wake up early to drive to the other side of town to pick up a FedEx package so these are the 5 songs that my body decided I like today:

1. Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky - whenever I hear this song, I think of a bunch of bouncy balls bouncing in alternating order while a marching band stomps their feet to the beat. (yah I'm weird). Also, the lyrics, "hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race" is a nice dose of positivity to my morning! 

2. The Hoosiers - Goodbye Mr. A - This song sounds so similar to ELO - Mr. Blue Sky that I can't listen to just Mr. Blue Sky without listening to this too. Both bands are from England and both songs have been played in multiple movies but I think that's where the comparison ends. I remember hearing this song for the first time in a hostel in Amsterdam while I was eating one of the best burgers I've ever had and it's been love ever since. By the way, if you're ever going to Amsterdam, make sure to stay at The Clink Noord Hostel. Its a very modern facility and close to the old town, oh and they also make amazing burgers!

3. City and Colour - Wasted Love - Dallas Green is an absolute Canadian legend in my opinion. He's got that sort of crooning calming voice which if everyone would listen to his music in their cars during rush hour - road rage would drop by 23 percent. Somehow waiting more than 2 minutes by a red light became ok with this song although the song is under 3 minutes so it's got to be timed right!

4. VHS Collection - The Sign - This is a band from NYC that I stumbled upon when I was scrolling through the "Spotify Recommended" playlist. Fun Fact: I used to listen to this song in the Big Brother House all the time which would take me out of the craziness that the house was. Of course, I only got my iPod for one week when I won HOH so I had to imagine the song in my head the rest of the time I was in that house. The song has this sort of relaxing electronic feel to it and will transform you to somewhere in upstate New York away from the hustle bustle of big city life.

5. Empire of the Sun - High and Low - I knew I'd love Australia from the first time I met an Australian person. Melbourne is my favorite city in the world and even though Empire of the Sun is from Sydney, listening to this song reminds me of all the good times I had in Australia and the hope that one day I'll be able to get a visa to live there permanently. The song has the most Australian lyric to it, "Let's get together and forget all the troubles and just float". When you're feeling meh, this song is a nice reminder that life can be like a satin cloud that you can float on and all will be well. One of the many reasons I love the land down under!

I'm always up for listening to more new music and expanding my Spotify playlist so if you have any suggestions, shoot me a comment!

Follow my Spotify playlist: "Funky Mark and The Bunchy Bunch"

Stay musically inclined!

Mark D
IG: themarkdshow