2024: Songs of a Lost World—VA’s Best Music & Media of the Year

(Graphic by VA)

2024 was indeed a strange one with a disturbing ending that I don’t need to re-hash here, and hence the graphic.

For me personally, it was a mixed affair with some absolutely amazing things happening to and for me along with some tough stuff, like my mother passing away at age 97.

The second half of the year became relentlessly busy for me, hence so few podcasts and blog entries for 2024.  I assure you, those who are still reading and following, that I have not lost one iota of interest in the mylifeinconcert.com series, it’s just that there is only one of me and only so many hours in a day (hence also why this recap is so late) and my life is so packed right now.

Let’s hope some spare time comes seeping back into the picture for me this spring resulting in more episodes.

Musically, it was another good one, with some of my favourite local and regional acts finally unleashing their debut LPs (Wabi Sabis, Jesse James Medicine Show), great returns (The Cure, Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, The The, and more) and new(er-ish) voices shining with great releases (The Lemon Twigs and Thee Sacred Souls).

This was also the year when I once again able to see lots of live shows both in and out of town.  My return to regular live gigging has finally returned, and it was a true highlight of my year.

As for 2025, it’s already a shitshow but remember that history is filled with many dark turns and turnarounds.  Don’t give up the fight at this time.  I am thinking of Bruce Cockburn’s line about “got to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.”

Also, check out my companion Spotify playlist MLIC>2024: Songs of a Lost World—VA’s Best Music, Media, and Archival of the Year highlighting tracks/artists featured in this recap below.

15 BEST LPs OF 2024

1. THE WABI SABIS 22 Heartbreaking Works of Staggering Genius My favourite local band finally releases their debut LP, collecting their previous EPs with extra material.  They are at the forefront of a recharged local live community, with many of the alt-older-timers coming back out and onto the stage, creating a new scene here in the Forest City.  The band’s trademark is lots of hooky tunes played with passion. Well done and thanks for the music.
2. THE LEMON TWIGS A Dream Is All We Know A great set of songs and harmonies merging The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and The Byrds circa ’66.  Played this one to death in ’24.
3. THE CURE Songs of a Lost World The Cure’s first in 16 years is their best in 35.  Among their finest and worth the wait.
4. KIM DEAL Nobody Loves You More Breeders and Pixies dynamo finally issues her own years-in-the-making solo album full of sonic and genre surprises + great songs.
5. THEE SACRED SOULS Got a Story to Tell More-ish set of sublime 70s-impacted soul.
6. CROWDED HOUSE Gravity Stairs The great tunes never stop coming from the mavens of melody.
7. THE THE Ensoulment Matt Johnson returned with one of his best.
8. NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS Wild God A terrific set of songs, among Cave’s finest and most accessible—relatively speaking.
9. LUCINDA WILLIAMS Sings The Beatles from Abbey Road My favourite so far in the Lu’s Jukebox series, matching up two of my favourite acts via rootsy Beatles covers.
10. THE JESSE JAMES MEDICINE SHOW The Jesse James Medicine Show  This rocked out stomper captures the manic energy of the duo’s live show.
11. KIM GORDON The Collective Strong second solo album from Sonic Youth alumni.  She seems ignited on this one.
12. JOHN CALE POPtical Illusion How is Cale still turning out great stuff like this?  Filled with terrific tunes.
13. GARY CLARK JR. JPEG RAW Multi-groove offering from Clark with a wrath of guest stars.
14. ORVILLE PECK Stampede His evolution continues and another star-studded affair that works well.
15. J. MASCIS What Do We Do Now A melodic and appealing solo set from the Dinosaur Jr. frontman.

15 BEST SINGLES/EPs/TRACKS OF 2024

I love this video as well.  Nice motorcycle choreography in this one.

1. Big Dreams AMYL & THE SNIFFERS  I love the idea of Amyl & The Sniffers and Amy Taylor is great, but a lot of their previous tunes just didn’t work me.  I like about half of Cartoon Darkness but LOVE this off-beat track (for them) like the dickens.  I like the slow, brooding garage rock-y feel, how it builds, and Amy Taylor’s phrasing, delivering some sharp lines (Hey! When ya get down, oh you’re a lit one / Never been a dull one).  More like this, please.
2. They Don’t Know How to Fall in Place THE LEMON TWIGS
3. BYE BYE KIM GORDON How to make a checklist sound ominous.
4. Wild God NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
5. Risin’ Above the Need THE THE
6. Black Water, White Circle CROWDED HOUSE Is this The Association?  Or The Free Design?
7. Live for You THEE SACRED SOULS Favourite lyric of the year: “Learn to love yourself / The way you love the idea of love.”
8. Alone The Cure
9. What About the Children GARY CLARK JR with STEVIE WONDER My favourite Stevie vocal appearance in some time on this groovin’ Gary Clark Jr. track.
10. Davies & Wales JOHN CALE
11. Prism In Jeans RICHARD HAWLEY
12. The Patron Saint of Freaks, Geeks, Nerds, & Weirdos (EP) THE WABI SABIS Love the use of the serial comma
13. Can’t Believe We’re Here J. MASCIS
14. Living in a Monet KATE PIERSON Kate gets funky amid a psychedelic Monet dream
15. Hot Sun Cool Shroud (EP) WILCO

10 BEST LIVE SHOWs

As mentioned in the intro, 2024 was the year that I had the means to return to regular gig-going.  I dove right in and had the best year, live-music-wise, since 2016.  Here were my favourites.

Performing one of the songs I most wanted to hear: 50 Ft. Queenie, one of the numbers performed only at the Thursday night show. The crowd went nuts. (Video by YouTuber nodeachunter)

1. PJ HARVEY, History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Thursday September 26, 2024 (The second of two nights at the venue)  As much as a theatrical performance as live gig, this artfully conceived and delivered show was a lifetime concert-going highlight.  Wow!  My best show of this decade, so far.
2. ALLISON RUSSELL with AYSANABEE, London Music Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Sunday March 10, 2024  I chose her excellent The Returner as my 3^rd fave LP of last year and this London appearance I was so looking forward to did not disappoint. She and her band delivered and then some.
3. THE DAMNED with THE ICHI-BONS, The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Monday May 27, 2024  It was amazing to see the 1980 lineup of the punk pioneers at top form in front of a sold-out, adoring crowd.  Screams of “Rat!” were heard.  And the Ichi-Bons blew the roof off the joint.
4. GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR, London Music Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday November 6, 2024  They said but nought a word and delivered a trippy, contemplative audio-visual experience to a crowd numbed by the previous night’s US election results.
5. SQUEEZE, DAVE WAKELING’S ENGLISH BEAT, THE BOX, & THE SPOONS, Western Fair/The Ranch, London, Ontario, Canada, Sunday 8, 2024  This has to be one of the most fun gigs I’ve ever been to.  A beautiful late-summer date with a decidedly cheerful crowd, with each band besting what I was expecting of them.  It was my first time seeing Squeeze and they certainly overdelivered on what I was expecting.  Also, a shout out to the increasingly trashed duo from Detroit who we spent the day partying with.
6. HOWARD JONES, ABC, & HAIRCUT 100, Caesar’s Colosseum, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Thursday August 29, 2024  One of two 80s fests which were a blast, with ABC being the big draw for us, while Howard Jones and Haircut 100 (3 original members!) were fun.  And, cor blimey, Howard had Nick Beggs from Kajagoogoo on bass and Chapman Stick (and, yes, they did “Too Shy”).
7. COWBOY JUNKIES with ALFREDO CAJAX LATIN JASS ENSEMBLE, The London Music Hall, Thursday May 9. 2024  This performance was in tandem with a municipal city hall presentation, and the Junkies played a terrific set while initially having to endure chattering bureaucrats until Margo Timmins told them to Shut the Fuck Up.  This was also my first time since leaving working for the Feds in Ottawa about a decade ago where I was in any kind of government-defined social setting and the ambience of the milieu (of the event, NOT the band) was eye-rollingly familiar to me.  Mondo rushes of that taupe bureaucratic vibe abounded via mortifying remembrances of team-building exercises, out-of-the-office asskissing “get togethers”, etc.
8. ANDY SHAUF with LeREN & ANDDRE MARFA, London Music Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Sunday October 6, 2024  Shauf’s Norm was another fave LP of 2023.  While I was slightly disappointed that this solo acoustic show didn’t feature the terrific woodwinds on the album, this was a engrossing set of excellent songwriting.
9. BRUCE COCKBURN, Grand Theatre, London, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday May 28, 2024  My first time seeing Bruce in 38 years.  He looked and sounded great, playing a 2.5 hour show filled with wit between the numbers.  An interesting counterpoint to the Damned, the night before.
10. HEATHER BAMBRICK, Aeolian Hall: London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday April 3, 2024  This was a wonderful, intimate jazz show for about 30, with us all up-close-n-personal with Heather playing two engaging sets.

Also sending lots of love to my favourite local and regional acts: THE WABI SABIS, BETAMAXX, THE JESSE JAMES MEDICINE SHOW, THE RIZDALES, and others. 

BEST ARCHIVAL SETS

My favourite Laura Nyro song, Poverty Train, from Monterey Pop, 1967.  I wish the whole performance of Wedding Bell Blues was there.

LAURA NYRO: Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995

I will cut right to the chase and say I am a longtime Nyro nut: she has to be in my Top 10 favourite artists. She finally gets the box set and extravagant packaging her work deserves via this 19-CD set.

One beef: it’s missing Laura! Live at the Bottom Line from 1988, an exceptional live album now long out of print.  WTF?

JONI MITCHELL The Joni Mitchell Archives—Volume 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980)

These exemplary Joni Mitchell sets keep coming, with Volume 4 covering her most experimental period in the later 70s.  Fewer unreleased numbers here, but some incredible embryonic versions of various songs.  I assume that there will be two more of these: one for the Geffen Years (1982-91) and another for after that.  As these years can be a lot of hit and miss, especially the Geffen stuff save Night Ride Home, it will be interesting to see what they do with those box sets.  I am hoping for lots of sparse demos of the over-produced tracks on the LPs.

N.F.G.  Weekends on a Monday Night

A great collection of recordings from one of London, Ontario’s first punk bands and one of the first I saw (I have podcasted and written about seeing them in EP 13, What’s In the City: NFG’s Second Annual Halloween Bash with The Regulators and Sinners, Polish Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Friday November 2, 1979, Concert No. 5).  I hadn’t heard these songs in years and they came right back.  Great package, too.  Thanks to Bob Gliddon for putting this together and including an excerpt from my blog (even if you did spell my name and mylifeinconcert.com wrong). 

LOU REED/VARIOUS ARTISTS Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65

Lou Reed worked as a songwriter for hack label Pickwick during 1964-65, churning out knock-off entries that parroted the sounds of the biggest hits of the day.  All of those compositions are now assembled in this one, excellent package.  While Lou himself only sings on a few of the numbers (including two Beach Boys covers!), it’s interesting to hear this group of songs Lou wrote for money early on.  While no classics, there are some terrific tunes here, such as r&b number “Soul City” by The Hi-Lifes.

And finally we have a (relatively) cleaned up official release of The Primitives’ “The Ostrich” as well as its b-side, “Sneaky Pete,” which to my ears sounds like they are singing “Stinky Feet.”  Of course, The Primitives morphed into The Velvet Underground.

Kudos to whoever put this together, and with such a beautifully detailed, substantial booklet, Light in the Attic do so many incredible reissues. 

Personally, I would have really loved to have heard Lou sing “Really — Really — Really — Really — Really — Really Love.”  Too bad he couldn’t have fit a version on to Street Hassle.

OLDER ARTISTS, ALBUMS OR TRACKS FROM THE PAST THAT I DISCOVERED IN 2024

KAREN DALTON In My Own Time (1971)

After reading and hearing the multitude praises through the years from tasteful people about this 1971 sophomore release, why did it take me so long to finally check it out?  Whoops!  Dalton was a key—and mercurial—person in the early 60s Greenwich Village folk scene, yet she rarely recorded owing to her career-damaging purism.  Like a folk, latter-day Billie Holiday.  Absolutely captivating.  She did not write her own material, instead uniquely interpreting the words of others, turning them into her own in the process.  Glad I finally fell down this rabbit hole.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE Toast (2022)

Cowboys to Girls THE INTRUDERS (1968)

Billy Sunshine BILLIE DAVIS (1969)

Picture Me Gone DAVE BERRY (1966)

LPs or SONGS FROM THE PAST THAT I REDISCOVERED THIS YEAR

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Love Junk (1988)

Hadn’t heard this one in some time and fell in love with it all over again.  Side 1 in particular is one of those “perfect sides” where every track is a 10.  And Side 2 ain’t shabby either.

THE PALE FOUNTAINS Pacific Street (1984)

Cruisin’ SMOKEY ROBINSON (1979)

Ai No Corrida QUINCY JONES (1981)

Western Union THE FIVE AMERICANS (1967)

What’s My Scene THE HOODOO GURUS (1987)

MY TOP 20 PLAYED SPOTIFY SONGS OF 2024

Looking over this list I notice that most of these tracks came from 1 of 3 playlists I played to death in 2024: JANGLE/BAROQUE/POWER POP, R&B etc. 1980s-2020s, and my always-evolving A LIST playlist featuring mostly the newest fave tunes I am listing to.

Nice nod to The Monkees’s Head in the video.

1. They Don’t Know How to Fall in Place THE LEMON TWIGS (2024)
2. Solar Sister THE POSIES (1993)
3. You Didn’t See ANDY SHAUF (2023)
4. Veronica Lake SPARKS (2023)
5. Rock On (Over and Over) THE LEMON TWIGS (2024)
6. 500 Up SLOAN (1991)
7. We Got to Move LOL TOLHURST, BUDGIE, & JACKNIFE LEE featuring ISAAC BROCK (2023)
8. I Want You to Want Me (Live) CHEAP TRICK (1978)
9. Rock & Roll Woman BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (1967)
10. Along Comes Mary THE ASSOCIATION (1966)
11. Lovely Day BILL WITHERS (1977)
12. BYE BYE KIM GORDON (2024)
13. Risin’ Above the Need THE THE (2024)
14. Wan Light ORANGE JUICE (1981)
15. Elevate Me Later PAVEMENT (1994)
16. The Rhythm Changes KAMASI WASHINGTON (2015)
17. One Evening FEIST (2004)
18. Wild God NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS (2024)
19. Davies and Wales JOHN CALE (2024)
20. Hard to Laugh THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (1988)

MUSIC DOCS & FLICKS OF 2024

As a music fan with particular foci, I felt spoilt for excellent viewing choices in 2024.

Small Screens

STERLING MORRISON: The Velvet Warrior (Part 1: Slow Initiation, Part 2: Crusading, Part 3: Entropy) by CAM FORRESTER

OK, so my two favourite bands of all time would be The Beatles and The Velvet Underground.  As a Velvets fan, there is of course limited footage of the band performing.  There has also been a paucity of film bios about them aside from 1986 South Bank Show and Todd Haynes’ excellent film from a few years back.

However, this 3.5-hour independently pieced together doc from musician Cam Forrester has to be the best and most thorough explorations into the Vevlets ever created.  While ostensibly viewed through the lens of guitarist Sterling Morrison, these three episodes truly look at the band’s career as a whole in a high level of detail.

I’ve been a Velvets nut for decades, and it would be hard for me to know where to start in listing all of the things I learned from this doc that I either did now know about or only knew about in a limited basis.  Also, there are so many interviews here I have never seen before.  Exceptional work, Cam.

Note: He also did a shorter doc on Maureen Tucker previously which is also essential Velvets viewing.

Also:

TRAGICALLY HIP: No Dress Rehearsal

Moving multi-episode doc on a band that started out in the Ontario bars in the 80s and went on to become era-defining superstars here in Canada.

ELTON JOHN: Never Too Late

A great companion piece to his 2019 book (See in Books section below)

BEATLES ‘64

I honestly thought there was nothing more that could be said about the Fabs first foray in the USA and was delighted to find a trove of unseen backstage footage shot by the Maysles brothers.  I had seen some of it before, but only a small portion of what appears here. Very interesting and well done with some great talking heads—who knew that David Lynch was at the Washington show?

Big Screen

A Complete Unknown

One of the very best music biopics I have ever seen.  It flew by in what seemed like an hour, constantly riveting.

Normally I am a fact-based stickler with biopics and it generally drives me nuts when unreal situations are invented.  Well, A Complete Unknown is rife with factual innacuracies and things that most Dylan fans know are not true (i.e., Pete Seeger was not there when he went to visit Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash was not at Newport ’65, “Sylvie” is really Suze Rotolo, “Judas” was yelled out during the Manchester, UK show in 1966, not during Newport, etc.) yet for some reason, that did not bother me in this movie.

Perhaps because these situations illustrated a very real deeper truth and significance about the dynamics of Dylan and the world around him vs actual events.  I also like that the film didn’t play down Dylan’s well-known assholistic tendencies while also celebrating his innovation, artistry, and commitment to both.

Finally, there is a standout cast who are excellent across the board. There were times that I would forget that I was watching Ed Norton as it often felt and looked like I was viewing the real Pete Seeger.

MY FAVOURITE TV OF THE YEAR / SMALL SCREEN

Only Murders in the Building, Season4  My favourite show and new Schitt’s Creek is always great.  They have Martin Short and have had Andrea Martin and now Eugene Levy.  Paging Catherine O’Hara for Season 5.

What We Do in the Shadows, Season 6 Au revoir to this hilarious series.  I don’t know who I will miss more: Nadja or Nadja’s doll inhabited by her last human breath.

Feud: Capote vs The Swans

Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out (Reunion Special)

Murdoch Mysteries Season 17

Bake Off/Great Baking Show: UK, Canada, and Australia (RIP Cal Wilson + please get rid of the new judges)

For 2025: Can’t wait for the new White Lotus and Stranger Things seasons.

MY MUSIC READING 2023

(Scan by VA)

With my (final) advanced educational degree finished in the fall of ’23, I was able to fully re-engage with lots of reading, especially of music-related books, which is another of my passions.  Not all of these books came out in 2024 but here are some I read and enjoyed:

He Hijacked My Brain: Gary Topp’s Toronto 

This oral history about Gary Topp—of The Garys promotional pair fame—and his impact on Toronto’s alternative culture is essential reading—and viewing—capturing an important evolution in Toronto pop culture history.  He started the New Yorker rep cinema in 1972, brought the Ramones to Toronto for their first show outside of the US in 1976, and just kept going.

Not only does the book do a superb job telling an important story about a crucial time in the development of Toronto’s alternative subcultures, it is also gorgeously and creatively packaged.

The visual and physical ephemera included not only in the book but within its deluxe packaging are second-to-none.  It’s one of the best physical forms of a book I’ve ever seen, including replicated concert tickets, trading cards, and fold out histories of that period in Toronto during the 70s and 80s.

Whoever was responsible for putting this exceptional package together should be celebrated for this outstanding job.

I believe only 1200 copies were printed and, in an interview that aired last week (see the link below), he mentioned that over 1000 were already sold.  He also mentions that there will be no second printing owing to how much it costs to print.  So get one now if they are still available.

The book of course looks at the three Police Picnics that The Garys staged in Toronto and area between 1981-83.  I attended all 3 and links to my podcasts and blogs about them are also below.  One of the books replicated tickets is for the Police Picnic.

JEANNE BEKER Heart on My Sleeve

Another Toronto place-and-time tome with Beker, who started off co-hosting the wonderful and essential NewMusic before going global with her successful and pioneering FashtionTelevison series, recalls her life growing up in Toronto and her various experiences in covering creative worlds and the people she met.

CHER The Memoir, Part 1

Cher’s a pretty tough cookie who has survived decades in show biz, and the frequently harsh and difficult circumstances of her younger years show the roots of where that steely resilience comes from.  And, wow, what an asshole Sonny was.  In turn, they had one of the strangest co-dependent relationships I have read about.  Looking forward to Part 2 which starts in the 80s.

DAVID McPHERSON 101 Fascinating Canadian Music Facts

A very fun, breezy read looking back at decades of Canadian music factoids.  I learned plenty.

I caught up with a lot of books in 2024 which I had wanted to read from the last few years, including:

TONY KING The Tastemaker: My Life with the Legends and Geniuses of Rock Music (2023)

Tony King was the ultimate backstage insider, working with both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and then later Elton John, among others, and operating as a trusted and respected member of their inner circles.  He was everywhere, knew everyone and experienced everything with a bounty of tales to tell, although one gets the notion that there is plenty not said in these pages, out of respecting the privacy of others.

There’s still plenty of juicy stuff here, such as when he had to wrestle an out-of-his-mind John Lennon to the ground so that Lennon would not completely destroy producer Lou Adler’s LA home.  Or about the ad they shot together for Lennon’s Mind Games album, with King as The Queen and Lennon appearing out from under his dress.

He also talks about his experience as an openly gay man during the 60s and beyond and the huge impact the AIDS crisis made on his life.

If you’re a fan of The Beatles, Stones or the 60s/70s rock and soul scenes, this is a must-read.

DEBBIE HARRY Face It: A Memoir (2019)

Harry chose Face It as the book’s title because it is filled with fan art that has been sent to her throughout the decades which she cherishes but also that she had to go back and face all of these things from her incredible past.

What a life she has had, forging her own path and refusing to let anything stand in her way while having the resilience to face so many difficult and sometimes terrifying situations (“One Way or Another” is revealed to be about an actual, violent ex-boyfriend who stalked her and threatened to kill her, until Chris Stein showed up.)

A compulsive read.

BARBRA STREISAND My Name Is Barbra (2023)

This incredibly-detailed, 970-page Streisand book is one of the best autobios I have ever read, and of course almost everyone you can think of from that era pops up at some point or another.  A real page-turner, I enjoyed it’s intricate detail so much that I now want that level for every biography I read.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You (2023)

I’ve been a committed Lucinda nut since discovering her self-titled LP in 1988 and have seen her 5x since, so I was really looking forward to reading this one.  And enjoy it I did, along with finding out the backstories behind many of her songs.  While it is filled with insightful observations and great storytelling, I felt that at around 250-ish pages there was not enough of it ,as she skips over most of the last two decades.  I could have done with a couple more hundred pages.  But what is here is terrific.

ELTON JOHN Me (2019)

Elton is frank and hilarious throughout the page-turning, entertaining look back.  He’s one major celeb who is comfortable enough to truly have a few laughs at his own expense and seems grounded and insightful in his recollections.  Otherwise, mirthful tart wit abounds from the pages.

And back to Toronto …

DAVID MCPHERSON Massey Hall (2021)

Author McPherson takes a deep dive into my favourite concert hall’s storied history.  So much about beloved Massey that I did not know, including that it came thisclose to being shut down and destroyed on a few occasions.  I’m so glad that this historic hall is still alive and kicking and thoroughly enjoyed reading about its history.

MUSICAL HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR FOR ME

• ¾ of Sonic Youth (Thurston, Lee, & Steve) reuniting live + Kim’s great year
• The Cure finally releasing their long overdue album and it being every bit as good as I’d hoped for
• PJ Harvey finally touring and coming to Toronto again, and the show being ever bit as good as I’d hoped for

MY HOPES FOR 2025

That fascism stops its lurch forward and that we are safe, healthy, and happy.  Although I am not laying any bets.

SONIC MEMORIAM

This part of my recap just keeps getting longer every year, so I have been a bit more selective this year.

• Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass player and music arranger from Bob Marley & The Wailers)
• Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers guitarist)
• Eric Carmen (The Raspberries)
• James Chance
• Slim Dunlap (Replacements guitarist)
• Herbie Flowers (Lou Reed, David Bowie, and T. Rex bassist)
• Françoise Hardy
• Steve Harley
• Quincy Jones
• Wayne Kramer & Dennis Thompson (guitarist and dummer from The MC5 respectively)
• Kris Kristofferson
• Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead bassist)
• Melanie
• Sérgio Mendes
• Martin Mull
• Del Palmer (Kate Bush bassist)
• Richard Perry (Producer)
• Damo Suzuki (from CAN)
• Mary Weiss (lead vocalist from The Shangri-las)
• Peter Sinfield (King Crimson lyricist)
• Shel Talmy (Kinks and Who producer, among others)
• Karl Wallinger (from World Party & The Waterboys) 

Let’s try and have a great year, everyone!  Joy is an act of rebellion.

Next On Stage:  I’ll be selecting and looking back on my favourite London, Ontario shows that I’ve seen through the years, as well as those I missed that I would most like to have seen.

EP 035A: Real Cool Time: My Top 10 London, Ontario, Canada Live Shows That I’ve Seen

EP 035B: Miss You: My Top 10 London, Ontario, Canada Live Shows That I Wish I’d Seen

These entries will look at live London performances from a diverse array of acts while also revisiting past London venues such as Campbell’s, Fryfogle’s, Kiplings, London Arena, London Gardens, and Wonderland Gardens along with still-standing Centennial Hall, Alumni Hall, and the Polish Hall.

Following that will be an episode looking at two concerts by The Smiths.  Stay tuned for

EP 036 I Know It’s Over: The Smiths with Billy Bragg, Kingswood Music Theatre, Canada’s Wonderland, Vaughan, Ontario, June 9, 1985; and with Phranc, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, July 30, 1986

© 2025 Various Artists

PREVIOUS ANNUAL RECAPS: