I used to watch MuchMusic a lot as a teenager, back in the days when they would actually try to cover all aspects of popular music and even focus on Canadian artists.
Shows like "The Big Ticket" would regularly play concerts by Jane Siberry, D.O.A. with B.T.O. (from inside a prison, no less), Glass Tiger, Gowan...you name it. If it was a touring Canadian band, you could see them on MuchMusic. Sadly, those days are long gone, as is MuchMusic which rarely play music at all.
But they have released a series of Big Ticket concerts on DVDs, obviously tapping into an archive to get some extra cash. But whatever the reason, it's great because I remember seeing these concerts and to have them in the best quality is fantastic. So far, I've picked up the Gowan DVD, and the Spoons.
The Spoons DVD is especially interesting because it contains two shows: one from 1982 as the band were in the middle of their new wave phase, wearing matching white jumpsuits, cheesy smoke machine and using a reel-to-reel tape instead of a drum machine. Recorded in Toronto, the band look scrappy, and slightly bewildered by their success in a charming guileless way. Their setlist contains some current hits like "Nova Heart" and "Arias and Symphonies" which was just released at the time, but it also contains some obscure instrumentals and experimental pop like "Red Light".
The second concert is recorded in Montreal from 1984, and it's an entertaining show, but it is really is a *show* now. It's interesting to note to the differences in two short years...everything is bigger: the budget, the venue, the stage, the band and the hair
So after watching these shows, I went online to see if anything on the Spoons was there and imagine my surprise to find the extensive and packed Spoons Archive website! (www.thespoons.ca)
It's got everything you could possibly want: free mp3 downloads of live shows, videos of all their promo music videos and live performances, interviews, album scans, articles, photos...wow! I wish every Canadian band was this generous and well-documented.
And the band is still playing! Unfortunately, you obviously have to live in the Toronto area, but the site is posting video clips of the performances, which is the next best thing. Perfect if you want to relive the 80s, or find out more about a seminal Canadian new-wave group. Get collecting!
