Young Rival Tour Blog
Your Island is a continent
So, we're going to drive across the country. Why not? Since the strangest and most compelling things always happen to us in transit, we are up-keeping this blog for the entire trip. Here you will find out how our shows went (hopefully with a variety of photos & sounds) as well as get a taste for the minutia that makes up the whole tour experience. For example, we'll be taking on the big issues, such as "Why can we never get a Pizza Hut buffet?" "Can you pass my sunglasses?" "Where is Aron?" Reverse the polarities and get fully swept--Young Rival tour 2008 bud.
--Kyle
Check out these
exclaim.ca stories:
Young Rival - Oct. 08
NXNE Review - July 08
November 13th, 2008 by jumpthecouch
We had our last official show of our ‘fall tour’ happen last Saturday at Lee’s Palace. The night was incredible for a number of reasons. I’ll make a numbered list:
1) It was our official “EP release party” for Toronto
2) It was The Bicycles official release party for their fantastic new album: “Oh No, It’s Love”
3) The Bicycles put together an incredible lineup of musicians to join them onstage throughout the evening (Including, but not limited to: Sebastian Grainger, Matt Murphy, Jay Ferguson & Chris Murphy of Sloan, $100, Hooded Fang.. the list goes on and on)
4) Lee’s was packed shoulder to shoulder, and a guy in skin-tight cow spandex broke the record for body sufring at Lee’s Palace – starting form the stage, and ending up behind the bar at the back of the building.
So those are my 4 reasons why it was a magical night. A huge thanks to everyone who came out for it – as well as all our other shows on the road. We’ll be back in your town sooner than later.
This is John Smith, signing off.
(Lee’s Palace “Last Shmaltz II” pictures below by Philip Zuzarte):
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November 5th, 2008 by jumpthecouch
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October 31st, 2008 by jumpthecouch
Later that same day… after our in-store performance, we took to “the beach” with The Bicycles to kill some more time…
I think “Rock Bucket” could become this country’s next national sport. This video is merely a summary of the 2 hours we spent doing this…
Watch video on YouTube.
Aside from starting the rock bucket game, the Bicycles have also been teaching us new tricks on the road – such as how to prepare soup and/or zoodles through a motel coffee maker and how to make grilled cheese sandwhiches with a motel iron and some wax paper. genius.
Oh – and happy Halloween! I love Halloween. We’ll be sure to capture some scary footage tonight when we’ll be in Montreal.
-John
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October 28th, 2008 by jumpthecouch
As we pulled into Saint John the other day, we were welcomed by the usual glooms-day fog blanket and rainy mist that seems to always be hanging around there. We had some time to kill before our in-store show at Backstreet Records, so we wasted some time sitting in our van, filming random people walking down the street, while Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” played on our van stero via Aron’s iPod. The video below is our favourite “epic drama” pick from the 4 or 5 or 6 that we filmed.
-J
Watch video on YouTube.
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October 23rd, 2008 by jumpthecouch
Today
began like any other: woke up, examined our bodies for further evidence of bed-bug bites, and got a parking ticket. There’s a lot to be said for a healthy routine.We’ve become well-schooled in the whole “waiting” routine, so now we sit in a friend’s Ottawa apartment waiting for the shower to be free, waiting for laundry to finish, waiting for dinner, and, lastly, waiting for the show tonight. The Bicycles will be joining us, as we begin the east coast leg of our tour. For this, we are pumped.
If you’re in Halifax for the Pop Explosion, do come and party with us on Saturday night at Coconut Grove (formerly Stage Nine). We’ll be playing alongside The Bikes, Woodhands, and other great bands. Really looking forward to some Maritime good cheer and that weird intersection with 4 pizza stores. long live pizza corner.
shower’s free, i’m out.
noah
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October 22nd, 2008 by jumpthecouch
On our trek from Thunder Bay to Ottawa, we’ve finally come across a motel with some wi-fi, so I’ll go ahead and post a double-whammy installment of “Let’s Check In On Young Rival Now…”.
Here’s Part 3 – watching a hockey game in a completely empty arena is a surprisingly eerie experience.
Up next for us is Ottawa – where we’ll be hooking up with the Bicycles to conquer the east coast of Canada. Stay tuned…
-John
Watch the Video here.
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October 22nd, 2008 by jumpthecouch
Karaokee in Canmore… keep your eyes peeled for the cameo…
-John
Click here, or the image below to watch the video…
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October 17th, 2008 by jumpthecouch
I would like to take the pleasure of introducing yet another new Young Rival video series for you. This one is a brain child of Noah, and it’s entitled “Corners of Canada”. I think the name really speaks for itself. The videos will do the same. (Click links and images below to watch the videos on YouTube)
-John
Part 1: Sudbury’s Townhouse
Part 2: The Canmore Hotel
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October 16th, 2008 by jumpthecouch
Last night we arrived in Edmonton to the sad news that Teenage Head’s iconic lead singer, Frankie Venom, had passed away. Frankie meant a lot to the city of Hamilton. He was the real deal – a tough-as-nails-punk rocker who played until weeks before his death.
If you don’t know much about Teenage Head’s importance to Canadian music, you should take some time to look into it. Here’s an old clip below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlZGyPywouw
You will be missed, Frankie.
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