Today, is Robbie Burns Day. It is celebrated by Scottish and Anglophiles all around the world. Now I don’t really know why he’s so special that everyone celebrates his birthday but any excuse to gather around a bar and drink scotch is good for me, although I don’t think many Scottish people really need an excuse.

For a country that isn’t very large, it has done very well for itself in establishing themselves into our everyday culture. So without further delay, here is our tribute to Scotland, in images.

The Scotch Egg – I had it for the first time in 2010 and it was delicious.

Scotland also has the finest drinks. Here are my favorites

I remember the first time I had Oban, my friend Nick brought it over from Edmonton as a gift. I didn’t know it was an 80$ bottle of Scotch and just drank that thing like it was water. Now I know better.

What a movie (and soundtrack)

This movie was pretty good, one of the last good ones Mel Gibson made before he went crazy.

Scotland has pretty good bands. Some of my favorites.

Jesus and Mary Chain are so good Sophia Coppella wrote an entire movie just so she can use their songs.

Primal Scream’s classic Screamdelica. Iconic album cover and iconic album.

These twins set the bar a bit too high for any man pursuing a women.

Another staple

Finally, this guy isn’t even Scottish but like them so much he still walks around like this to this day.

Happy Robbie Burns Day!

We here at the Panic Manual have been fans of Brighton act Fujiya and Miyagi for awhile now and I actually reviewed their 2008 release Lightbulbs. They took a bit of a hiatus shortly after that album but returned in full force with the release of Ventriloquizzing last year. One year after the release of that album, they will be taking their light and dance show to the Wrongbar on Tuesday night. If you ever feel like dancing during the week, this will be a good time. Local buzz band Volcano Playground will be opening.

We have a pair of tickets to give away for this show. To win, do one of three things

1) Retweet this on twitter
2) Email panic@panicmanual.com with the subject “I want to see Fujiya & Miyagi”
3) Translate this post in Japanese and post it on youtube.

You might have noticed, but there’s a lot of blackout sites today including wikipedia, The Oatmeal and Lolcats.

Why, you ask? Because our neighbors down south are once again taking some crazy pills.

The US Government is trying to pass two bills – SOPA and PIPA that will basically make us feel like Christian Bale in the movie Equilibrium, only we won’t have blessed sword skills like he did. For more information on these bills click here and here

Seeing how I like to be quite literal, the song of the day is nicely titled Blackout by one of my favorite bands, British Sea Power. The song was on their debut record The Decline Of.., a highly underrated album in my opinion. Check out this track, it’s good.

Toronto – For those who keenly feel the bite of Winter, even during one as mild as this has been (no snow on Christmas? C’mon), and despair that summer is further away than it’s ever been, it will comfort you to know that everyone’s favourite annual summertime fest of theatre and wackiness, the Toronto Fringe, is bringing the Next Stage Theatre Festival to a stage near you once again.

Now in it’s fifth year, Next Stage brings you a selection of remounts of shows from recent Fringe’s and beyond to warm your hearts and minds in the dead of Winter from January 4 through the 15th. Plus there’s an outdoor beer tent, which may not warm you that much, but the tent is heated, so at least you won’t get too cold. The Panic Manual will have at least a couple of reviews, baby permitting (I think this is going to be my new catch phrase. “Yes, I’ll be at your house party – baby permitting, of course”), but until then here are some projected highlights of the festival.

Uncalled For Presents: Hypnogogic Logic

A hit not only at last summer’s Toronto Fringe, but an award winning show in Montreal’s Fringe as well, I reviewed Uncalled For’s offbeat show last summer. It’s funny, inventive, and polished sketch comedy from a seasoned troupe who really know what they’re doing. Watch for the sketch about the “Falling Wish Foundation,” who’s hardboiled officers won’t grant your wishes for money or power but will happily bring Freddy Mercury back to life in your body if you ask.

Living With Henry and Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go

Two shows that were also hits of the 2011 Fringe, though two I didn’t see myself, both these shows are musicals but slightly different in tone. Living with Henry is about living with HIV/AIDS; Tiki Bikini is a parody of 60′s beach party movies. So yeah, one is likely a bit heavier than the other, but they both got five N’s from NOW in the summer, for whatever that’s worth. See them both in the same evening and you might gain some insight into what it’s like to have a manic-depressive episode!

Love is a Poverty You Can Sell and Morro & Jasp: Go Bake Yourself

Next Stage is trying something new this year, staging a couple of shows in the Factory Theatre “Antechamber.” I don’t know exactly where that is, but I think it must be in the small bar space they have at the top of the stairs, near the entrance to the Mainspace. At the very least, it’ll be cozy. Anyway, Love is a cabaret show that apparently had a cast of eleven at the 2010 Fringe, so you’d have to think this is a somewhat scaled back version. Morro & Jasp are one of the city’s favourite recurring Fringe acts; this appears to be a new show, so if the space is small you might want to get advance tickets. Both should be worth checking out just to see how they use the space.

LoveSexMoney

There is significant buzz at the moment around Theatre Brouhaha, who’s playwright/artistic director Kat Sandler won the Fringe’s 2012 New Play Contest. This is noteworthy, because last year’s New Play winner, Kim’s Convenience, was a runaway Fringe hit. LoveSexMoney is not the play that won that contest, which was a work called Help Yourself, but rather is a show that had a brief run last February at Factory. Based on a 2009 news story about a woman in Nevada who attempted to sell her virginity online, it’s said to be a comedy that explores “intimacy in the Information Age,” which sounds like a name for a line of really bad romance novels. Anyway, sounds like it could be good, and if you see it and Help Yourself is good next summer, you can be all “well, I heard of Kat Sandler WAY before you did” to somebody.

For a full listing of shows and the festival schedule, check out Next Stage’s website, and watch for a couple of reviews this weekend.

Hail to the digits. The 9:30 Club came through in fine form on December 23rd. Despite the fact that 90% of DC’s residents get the hell outta the nation’s capital come the holidays, the venue put on a great show with four awesome, and mostly local, bands.

The Blackbells were the first of the four – hailing from faraway Brooklyn, New York. I’d seen the band perform once before at DC9, and remembered them as pint-sized energy bombs (for some reason the musicians all look diminutive on stage). They did not betray memory. The musicians put their all into the show, complete with guitar-waving, stage-kneeling, and general rocking-out. They remind me a good deal of the artists of my first-ever CD – Oasis –and I generally enjoy their sound. Try This is Home if you’re looking for a sample.

Next came the Silver Liners, a five-man band from Washington, DC. First thing’s first: kudos to the unassuming, mussy-haired, glasses-wearing keyboardist who was balling in a BRIGHT teal/emerald muscle shirt. As my concert companion, Ursula, remarked: “Dude looks good in gem-tones. NBD.” Hats off to you, Sir. The band was great – my favorite songs included American Girl and Just Like the Rest. The Silver Liners also made an attempt to cover a Vampire Weekend track which didn’t sound quite right, but it was still fun to hear. Another thing to say about the band: they were pretty exceptional in terms of the members’ instrumental flexibility. They not only switched instruments throughout the show but also had an interesting set-up with two drummers. One drummer had the more conventional drum-set, and the other was jamming on a set that included all types of percussive tools, including a tambourine and a cowbell-esque device. Whatever the exact combination was, it sounded good.

Unexpected highlight of the night was definitely The Static. Again, to quote my ever-articulate bestie Urs: “O. M. G.” The band claimed it was their debut performance but the impeccable showmanship they displayed honestly made me doubt their claim. They were sooooooooo good. The lead singer sported a mo-hawk that was literally a foot tall and his dance moves were, for lack of a better, word stunning. It helped that he was dressed in skin tight jeans, a mid-ruff shirt, and…. Wait for it…. Snake-skin boots. Win, win, and win. I also <3’ed the variety of costumes on stage – apparently a few of the band members got different memos re: dress code. The keyboardist came on stage in a suit tie, eventually stripping to a muscle shirt and suspenders. One guitarist was rocking out in a very suave looking brown leather jacket, creating an almost Euro-feel. Loved loved loved. The band performed several great original songs and amazing covers, including songs by Bob Marley and the ever classy LMFAO – they also incorporated a costume change and a Santa guest appearance into the show. In super unfortunate news, I cannot find a single link to either the band’s website or songs – so all I can do is wish them luck in getting their act out of DC and around the country.

The headliners were next. The Dance Party is an awesome band – I’d also seen them perform at DC9, and again, my memory and expectations were not disappointed. The lead singer just defies all physical norms – being probably over 6 and a half feet tall and maybe 50 pounds (10 of those pounds being his beautiful blond hair). He’s always all over the stage, channeling Michael Jackson, singing falsetto, dancing, just generally dominating the space. His guitarists and drummer are also super solid performers and they rocked their way through several of their well-known hits, including my favorite: Pretty Girl. It was also cool to see this local band give some loving to their friends in the crowd: lots of high-fives and thumbs-up.

All in all, a great way to rock out of normal life and enter the super laid back-food coma state of the holidays.

Twisted Sister – O Come All Ye Faithful

It’s basically just the old carol reimagined as “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” but really, nothing says Christmas more than a bunch of aging rockers wearing too much eye makeup.

Carol Of The Bells – Erlösung

While we’re on the metallic side of things, here’s Erlosung wishing all a very black metal Christmas.  Because sometimes Trans SIberian Orchestra is just not heavy enough.  Scary Stuff, kids.

Count Floyd – Reggae Christmas Eve In Transylvania

Speaking of scary stuff, here’s the host of SCTV’s Monster Chiller Horror Theatre with a reggae Christmas tune that easily bests Bryan Adams’ attempt.  Sorry, Bryan.

Bo Selecta – Proper Crimbo

This odd little track was all over British music TV when I was there last year at Christmastime.  I don’t think the humour really translates to a North American audience and I’m not even sure that it’s funny at all, but that might just be what makes it worth watching. Then again, probably not.

Mud – Lonely This Christmas

Nice Elvis-y sort of tune from this ’70′s UK glam band.  Sweet glasses on the singer too.

Jingle Cats – Holly Jolly Christmas

And finally, the internet’s greatest gift to humankind – cat videos.

Merry Happy!

Toronto – The holiday season is an interesting time of year, one in which one’s usual resitance to things that might be considered slightly corny or cheesy are in fact actually embraced.  Christmas specials we’ve seen dozens of times over, albums by Mariah Carey, all of them are kind of OK at this time of the year.  When this tendency to like Christmassy stuff is combined with a solid lineup of Canadian talent, it turns into something very much like the Andy Kim Christmas concert.  The annual charity event, now in it’s seventh year, was raising funds this night for Julliette’s Place, a shelter for abused women and their children and the lineup included such notables as Ron Sexsmith, Sarah Harmer, Sam Roberts, Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning and of course, Andy Kim, famous for his hits “Rock Me Gently” and “Sugar Sugar.” 

As I entered The Phoenix, Lights was just making her way to the stage.  After delivering a solo acoustic song, she welcomed Kim’s band onto the stage to back her up for a pretty decent cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.”  You can’t really go too far wrong with that song.  Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew came to the stage later in the evening to offer up some weird banter as they “killed time” before Honeymoon Suite came on.  For a bunch of old guys, Honeymoon Suite rocked pretty hard, playing their classic hit “New Girl Now,” then following it up with a pretty sweet cover of Greg Lake’s “I Believe In Father Christmas.” 

One of the stranger things (besides comedian Sean Cullen’s tribute to Bing Crosby)was when Steve Anthony and some other guy in a checked shirt who were doing mc duties introduced Jian Ghomeshi.  For a moment, I was confused.  The Arkells were setting up behind him and for a moment it seemed like Ghomeshi was going to sing.  He then went on to talk for a while, shoehorning in an awkward reference to Justin Trudeau’s recent outburst of profanity in Parliament before he went on to introduce the Arkells, who went on to do a 3 song set that included a surprise cover of Hall And Oates’ “You Make My Dreams,” which sounded eerily close to the original.  The question still remianed in my mind though: why do you need to introduce a guy who’ll just be doing more introduction?  Do not get it.

The night ended as I imagine it always does, with Kim inviting a bunch of the night’s performers to join him for a performance of “Rock Me Gently” that had many in the crowd singing along.  All in all, a good night of music for a good cause.

The Occupy movement Vs. Tea party movement

Yes, I’m starting this list in the hot seat. And I’m even going to spare the whole Arab Spring phenomenon and the Debt crises in every other country. For those of you who have not read the New Yorker article about the history and early evolution of the Occupy movement, you should. For those extraterrestrial readers who immigrated in November, the Occupy movement is a protest against economic and social injustice and inequality. Yes, it was initiated by Canadians. No, it does not work. Not only do I think it’s an exercise in futility, but when coupled with very imposing stage props such as failing economies and rampant unemployment, it is also the ultimate expression of collective social hypocrisy and irresponsibility. It is an idea that people who despises “The System” and demand change should “occupy” themselves with inaction, in various prominent locations around the world. Make no mistake, every one of these protesters came from the system, and wants back into it when it’s renovated with bells-and-whistles, just for them (OK save maybe the hobos whose dwellings were invaded). The only problem – they don’t know how. It thus became a hippie perversion of a child’s temper tantrum. The entire ordeal is self-contradictory. If any of these people had the courage to become independent of the 9-5 job economies they criticize, they would be faced with innumerable options against sitting in a park, ordering pizza for the police. The true, unemployed 99%-ner may choose to help out at the local emergency/fire stations, during the Snowpocalypse earlier this year. If we’re talking about a selfish 99%-ner, use the hard-earned money that he/she no longer believes in to learn a skill/instrument, or turn capitalist and run a pizza delivery business for the other Occupiers. The intellectually-wealthy-yet-financially-deprived may sift through SETI’s data, work on protein/nucleic acid folding, write code to mine genomic/proteomic databases, restructure a budget proposal, pour over literature to ensure the originality of one’s manifesto, all from the comfort of home or public libraries. Even photoshoping officer pepper spray is more effective/productive. Standing behind a banner at a designated location is recreation, not a form of political dialogue, and the public awareness raised is as empty as an election promise until direct public action on the issue is marshaled (ex. changing the way the entire office works with an arrogant 1% boss could be a start.) Without aims, without consensus, and with zero organization, Occupy is a flash mob that quickly evolves back into the dominant form of government familiar to the people involved. Imbibed with little original thought, is it any wonder why nothing was achieved other than inviting and (not by design) exposing an Orwellian police brutality? Whereas in another, tangentially related arena, the conservative Tea party movement has been receiving substantial voter acknowledgement during this past year. You may think this is exactly the antithesis to Occupy, but it is a wholly (and surprisingly) populist movement that is now injecting its conservative views into the veins and arteries of the political system. I think it’s pretty obvious who is moving to the top of the ladder while kicking down. But I’m not sure which version of the world scares me more.

FTL Neutrino Vs. The Almost Higgs

As if Albert Einstein turning in his grave isn’t enough, we’re also about to disturb (the still living) Peter Higgs this year with news that physics as they knew it has been shaken but not stirred, respectively. I’m actually quite proud for coming up with that first line. Ricky had asked me a week ago what the announcement on the Higgs particle meant. Since I am completely out of my depth in that regard anyway, I won’t repeat my attempt. But I will relay Ricky’s response to my explanation: “I have no idea what you said in the past 10 minutes”. Which is a pretty good estimator of the lay response to both these news. If we (and perhaps our dogs from eating our homework) are intimately familiar with the equations/models/assumptions of Relativity and the Standard Model, we might have a similar response to Pulp’s Reunion Tour announcement. But back to the topic at hand. Neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light might throw a wrench into Relativity, and bracketing the Higgs in a certain energy range certainly helps with the prospect of confirming a 40 year old model of particle physics. But is there some interaction between the two? Shouldn’t one clothesline the other in the face? How is the Theory of Almost Everything (the Standard Model) complete without first explaining the FTL observations? Am I a poser? Are we anywhere close to curing cancer or predicting the weather? What about nuclear fusion? These are just some of the questions I require of a Theory of Everything – you can add your favorite. But I say this is as exciting as it gets for physicists and as confusing as it sounds to textbook editors and lay scientists alike.

Diamond Mine (King Creosote and Jon Hopkins), Circuital (My Morning Jacket) & Rip Tides (Beirut)

There are no pests in this round. There are many other stellar albums this year (The Rapture, Fleet Foxes, Gillian Welch, Low, and Decemberists came to mind easily), but I have not had the time to listen to anything else as closely as I did these 3. They share a common characteristic: very low entry barriers. Circuital (MMJ), Bubble (King Creosote), or East Harlem (Beirut) are so effortlessly interesting that they shepherd you patiently yet steadfastly into the reminder of their respective albums. From then on, the albums take on different paths. Whereas (as I have previously reviewed), MMJ explores many ways to remake themselves after a long recording hiatus, Beirut plunges into a decidedly more reflective sound than the flighty, Polka-induced Gulag Orkestar. I listened to both efforts from Beirut and King Creosote on repeat for days, because they excel at creating an aural ambience that is difficult to escape. Now that I’m in pharmacology, I occasionally think of my music as drugs. So perhaps one of the best ways to endorse the weight and impact of a record isn’t with an overdose of hyperbole or a long string of expletives, but with a honest description of how you were affected by the music in day to day life, and your recovery upon stopping or administering placebo music. Slinking into the musty reminiscence evoked by the soft voice of King Creosote so invited introspection that my labmates stopped to ask whether I was OK. So by that definition, that’s some powerful pharmaceuticals whose return far outweigh their price.

And then there are these powerful parasites that I cannot seem to get rid of. I found Fleet Foxes’ new album a little wanting. But this song really stuck and have a automatic Send-To-Front gesture whenever I sit in a Starbucks. Don’t ask.
Fleet Foxes – Montezuma by squidrobot

Ricky’s facebook post some time in October caused me to look for this guy. I have since played this song (which is actually from 2010) on my way to work almost every other morning. Curse the both of you.
Trentemoller – Shades Of Marble by claudio crivelli

Also a 2010 song. But who cares – now that time travel might actually be possible with FTL neutrino (obviously that was sarcasm). I’m getting to the point where I refer to my spectra as “Zorbance”.
Stornoway – Zorbing by underhisempire2

Well I think that’s enough brain droppings to last all of us until the new year. For now, so long from Baltimore.

The gorgeous Toronto Centre of Arts was home to the opening of the award winning Broadway musical Memphis Tuesday night. Now as you know, I don’t general find myself in a theatre setting (or North York) but the lure of watching a Tony winning musical named after a city I am about to visit next March was just too great for me to miss out on.

Memphis is a play loosely based on the life of DJ Dewey Phillips, one of the first DJ’s in America to play black music on white radio. The musical plays out over a course of a few years and chronicles Dewey (renamed Huey…where’s Louie?) as he struggles to play black music on white radio and in the process, he meets and falls in love with a black female singer named Felicia.

The play starts off with Huey strolling into an all black night club, where Felicia is singing and the people in the club are doing crazy dancing (like you used to see in the Gap commercials). I personally, have never entered a club to see people doing choreographed dancing – maybe I am going to the wrong clubs. Anyways, as you would expect, all the black people in the club immediately stop what they are doing and tells Huey to leave (although I would have preferred if one of them said “You get gone, son”). Recognizing the racial tension within the space, Huey proceeds to tell them he is in love with their brand of music (if this happened in 2011, it would obviously be dubbed ‘blackwave’ or something) and that he wants to promote it on the local radio. The club’s owner, and Felicia’s brother has doubt about his character.

The rest of the show plays out like the movie Honey, where Huey struggles to gain acceptance from the black community and at the same time, struggles to put the music on the air. Soon enough he does play some black music on the air and of course, things start rolling. The youth start listening, people start dancing, haters start hatin’ and so on. I won’t spoil the plot but as you would expect, there are struggles, drama and ultimately redemption for the characters involved.

I’m not particularly sure how to review a musical so here are some short notes about Memphis. This way I don’t have to make any attempt in tying them together in some grand scheme.

- If I wasn’t so sure that Memphis took place in Memphis in the 1950s, I woulda swore that everyone on stage was a hipster based on their wardrobe. Cardigans, colorful plaid, skinny trousers, thick rimmed glasses, side parts, sun dresses – it’s like a stroll thru Trinity Bellwoods on a summer afternoon.

- Can’t believe they couldn’t of worked in Ebony and Ivory but for most part, the music was quite good. Who would have known Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan was capable of writing catchy doo-wop tracks. One of the things I liked a lot about the music was that it was catchy and told a tale without treading into typical show-tune territory. Like a night at shake-a-tail, with better dancers.

- Speaking of dancing, everyone on stage was fantastic. The choreography was a nice blend of what I imagine dancing would have been back then mixed with the physicality of dance shows these days. What I mean by that is that everyone on stage was completely too fit and can pull off moves that would normally break a person’s neck.

- One of the things that constantly amaze me at these musicals are the sets. It’s like watching a low grade Transformers movie. It might be a box one minute, but the next thing you know, they pull a few levers, press a button and that little box becomes a freakin piano. I kinda want whoever designed these theatre props to make all the furniture in my house.

- I also appreciated the story of a DJ struggling to play what he wants. As someone who has DJ’ed on various occasions, I can understand the frustration one goes through when you are not allowed to play what you want although in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t of cued up 2Pac’s Hit ‘Em Up at my friend’s wedding.

At a running time of over two hours, the musical might have seemed long for the casual musical goer like myself. However, with funny modern day jokes, good music, a nice story and exceptional dancing, Memphis was quite an enjoyable time. Those looking to dip their toes into this theatre world find Memphis to be a welcoming experience.

Information:
Memphis
Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Street
December 6-24, 2011
Tuesday – Saturday @ 7:30pm * Saturday and Sunday @ 2pm
Wednesday, December 7 & 14; Tuesday, December 20;
Thursday, December 22 and Friday, December 23 @ 2pm
Saturday, December 24 @ 1pm

Tickets can be purchased online at www.DancapTickets.com

Toronto – Anyone who know me probably knows that I am kind of obsessed with the show Community.  One of Community‘s defining characteristics is that it gets quite meta at times.  So in the interests of paying tribute to the show now that it’s going off the air for awhile, but mostly because this idea just snowballed out of a joke between Ricky and I, I will be doing a review of Ricky’s review of Austra’s Dec. 1 show at The Phoenix.  See?  So meta.  And in doing so, I hope that my review of his review will eclipse the original review in importance, much the same way that Hearts Of Darkness is way better than Apocalypse Now.  And yes, that was another reference to Community.  I may be a little too obsessed with that show.  But enough about me.  Here’s what I thought of what Ricky thought.

Any good review needs to have a hook, a story of some sort that will snag the reader and draw them in.  Ricky accomplished this nicely with the old “discuss how the artist has undergone an image change” trick.  This also works nicely as an introduction for people who don’t know who Katie Stelmanis and/or Austra is.  Who are these people and why are they reading our blog?  That’s not important.  What’s important is they’re reading.  Or at least looking at the pictures.

Also notable is Ricky’s trademark use of adjectives to coin a turn of phrase such as “platinum blond midnight electro goth sexpot.”  I know I’m excited when I see all those words strung together.  Who wouldn’t be?  Why it’s almost as good as his recent review of Lana Del Rey where he described her persona as “mysterious DIY meets James Dean meets Vogue magazine.”  Why was that description better?  Because it rhymed, people.  Description is important.  A good review needs to be descriptive, but not too descriptive.  Much like Ricky’s concert photography, you want to leave something to the reader’s imagination.  Look at that photo.  Are you certain that it even is Austra?  Doesn’t the mystery make it better?  Of course it does.

Despite the fact that Ricky “felt rather disconnected from the show” for whatever reason, he still wrote up a solid review of the show while resisting the temptation to describe what he ate for dinner and avoiding copious spelling mistakes.  This is the sign of a great reviewer.  Ricky, I anxiously await your review of my review of your review.  The ball is in your court, sir.