Is your face still sore?

I went to this over the weekend.

Due to my school and work schedule, I was not able to attend all of the concerts, but I did manage to catch Carly Rae Jepsen and Marianas Trench on Friday, as well as OneRepublic on Saturday. Lots of kids and parents and teenagers and people like me who don't really ever want to grow up. 


In case anyone reading does not know, Playland is Vancouver's biggest amusement park and the oldest in all of Canada. Located in northeast Vancouver, it is open from April until October and during the month of August, hosts a fair with the Pacific National Exhibition. During this fair, the number of rides at the park doubles and there are additional shows and exhibits for visitors to enjoy. 


SPF is an outdoor music festival which takes place at the PNE Amphitheatre, located in the north side part of the park, surrounded by bleacher seating that faces the North Shore mountains. The view is absolutely breath-taking and the music was equally beautiful and fitting.


Carly Rae Jepsen performed songs from her album Tug of War as well as her EP Curiosity. She exudes a cuteness that few popular musicians out there have, and her voice is quite impressive live. After releasing one of the most popular songs of 2012, it was a bit strange to see her here at home, basically talking to the audience as if she were in her own living room. Jepsen was accompanied by a group of dancers in the crowd, who seemed to have a choreographed dance to every one of her songs.


Marianas Trench were perhaps the biggest headliner of the weekend, performing to a full crowd that had acted as if they hadn't seen these guys in years. There's definitely something special about performing to your city, and this was something Josh Ramsey constantly reiterated throughout his band's set. Perhaps one of the greatest moments was when Ramsey himself hopped off stage onto the floor. I could feel this collective gasp amongst the crowd, a quarter second of silence and then a rush of people running towards him. Fans were fleeing the bleachers, racing towards the singer as he ran (with bodyguards beside him) through the crowd, all the while singing the lyrics to the band's latest single "Desperate Measures." At one point, he ended up in the bleachers before rushing back to the stage and declaring that he felt as if he "had just gotten to second base with my hometown." I know how that feels, dude. I know how that feels. (no I don't)


OneRepublic serenaded the crowd with cool instrumental ambiance that was pretty perfect for the warm, comforting summer weather that seeped through Vancouver this weekend. Ryan Tedder kept throwing in French words to charm us. It kind of worked. Performing everything from their hit singles to covers of "Stand By Me, "SexyBack" and "Seven Nation Army", these guys squeezed as much variety as they could into an hour long show. I'm not an avid admirer of this band, but I really love it when musicians perform like it's the first show they've ever done and the last show they'll ever do. These guys really enjoy what they're doing, and their energy was very infectious. I was highly impressed with their performance. In addition, they have a cellist, and any band with string instruments gets bonus points in my book.


There is definitely nothing like a summer music concert in the great outdoors of Vancouver. It was nostalgic and fun and heart-pounding and cringe-worthy all at once.


I must say, there's nothing like hearing thousands of kids singing the lyrics "They slap you like a bitch and you take it like a whore" simultaneously in their squeaky little youthful voices. 


It must be experienced to be believed.

How long till October?

Holy shit, Minnesota Wild.


This hockey franchise just got their cake and ate it too.

The Minnesota Wild just signed free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to a 98 million, 13 year contract.


That's practically a marriage. The Wild are pumped, the Red Wings are pissed and Penguins fans are going WHHHYYYY NOT USSSSS. 


I have a feeling the Minnesota Wild are going to crush every team in the Western Conference next year. This is going to be just GREAT.


With regards to the Canucks, we've lost the following players:


Mike Duco

Marc-Andre Gragnani

Victor Oreskovitch (Oreo)

Sami Pahlsson

Ryan Parent

Aaron Rome

Sami Salo

If it feels like we've lost half our team, we kind of have. Let's have a moment of silence for all these wonderful players. For having donned a Canuck jersey, we'll always have a soft spot for these guys, and wish them all the best.


And welcome White Rock native Jason Garrison, of the Florida Panthers. He took $1 million less to come home, which just tugs at your Canadian heartstrings like nothing other. Vancouver's gonna love him so much for the next six years he's not going to know how to deal with it. Not only is he a hometown kid, but his stats are amazing. I have a feeling no one's gonna love him more than David Booth though.

But then again, David Booth loves everybody.

Summer Music Series: Song #5

Whoa sunny week in Vancouver, coming up!!


Perfect weather for some lounging and reading and in my case, homework :P YAY UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK READING, YOU'RE MY DREAM COME TRUE.

Song #5 in this series is Sweet Thing's "Change of Seasons." It was my summer jam last year. I saw them in concert last February and August. Really nice bunch of guys and quite underrated. Their hometowns range from Montréal, QC to Toronto/Lindsay/Ottawa, ON to Victoria, BC. If Canada were a pop band, they'd most likely look and sound like Sweet Thing. 

Where we're going, I don't know

What it is and where it stops nobody knows

That moment when you go see a local play in the city and spend the entire time staring at the girl sitting next to you.


Who's an awkward turtle?


This guy.

Christmas came early

July 2nd is the new Christmas.

My two favourite people, Anderson Cooper and Megan Rapinoe, both came out of their glass closets to the general public on the same day.

Cooper did it in an e-mail, stating the obvious, obvious, as many of us never really thought of him as being 'in' any kind of closet in the first place. 

Rapinoe did it in a published interview with Out Magazine becoming the first American female soccer player to do so (David Testo was the first male, he did it late last year).

I'm drinking to both of them tonight. I think this deserves a bit of a party.

Closets and coats and Narnia

OMG somebody over on Autostraddle is claiming that a certain local someone whom I love way more than I should is actually a big ole queer.


I will not name them on here in case they're not officially out, but...


PLEASE, PLEASE LET THIS BE TRUE. IF SO, GOD EXISTS AND NO ATHEIST CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE.

Italy v.s. Spain

So, it happened. No, not the Italy v.s. Spain final for Euro 2012, although that did happen. Spain won. 


I'm talking about the CanWNT v.s. USWNT in their last friendly before the Olympic Games in London. Today, all eyes are on Alex Morgan, the young protégé who has a FIFA World Cup under her belt, and soon to be Olympic Games.

At the other end, we've got Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod, starting in what is to be her comeback from the CONCACAF final, where the US put 4 goals past her.

My quick review of the game:


1. I swear, Hope Solo walking onto a soccer field is equivalent to a gladiator walking into the Roman Coliseum. She exudes fierceness, like she's ready to kill anyone that dare cross her.

2. Megan Rapinoe walks on wearing a streak of sunscreen across her face. Warpaint. It's about a million degrees in Sandy, Utah. The players are going to have to fight the heat on top of fighting one another.

3. Anthem Girl messes up the lyrics for the Canadian national anthem. I mean, I know our anthem is boring compared to yours but seriously, seriously? This is your job, Anthem Girl. You can't slack this shit.
4. The Americans look like Waldo in their striped red and white shirts, while the Canadians look like history hipsters with their Pearson Pennant inspired jerseys with the popped collars (I have never, ever thought of popped collars as sexy until I saw them on this Canadian team. I am forever ashamed).
5. Utah crowd simultaneously shouting "You suck, Canada!" Putting in so much effort on coordination and way less effort on the insult itself. As usual, America.
6. I don't now how she does it, but Megan Rapinoe creates space. She's like the big bang theory personified. She takes the game and just runs with it. And when she's in a good mood (which, let's face it, is always), she can outrun and outplay anybody.

7. Carmelina Moscato accidentally kicks the ball past McLeod, deflecting a shot from Rapinoe. I was kind of hoping that this would be like hockey and the goal would be credited to the last player of the opposing team that had contact with it....but no, that's not the case. Full credit is given to Moscato, so even though it was a US goal, Canada still got to steal their thunder somewhat.
8. Alex Morgan has a ton of chances in between, but no sauce.

9. Fouls everywhere, girls tripping each other up. Kelley O'Hara gets tackled by the Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, Lauren Sesselmann's kit actually rips, Kaylyn Kyle winds up on the ground, yellow cards are being handed out like free temporary tatttoos. Someone needs to remind them that this is a friendly and that the Olympics are around the corner and NO ONE NEED BE INJURED, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

10. Kaylyn Kyle sneaks one dangerously close to Hope Solo after a smart play by Sinclair. It almost gets past Solo, who stops it just in time. A testament to how incredible she is.

11. Heather O'Reilly comes in for Tobin Heath. I've never been so sad to see a girl go only to be so happy to see the girl that would be replacing her.

12. Diana Matheson, the tiny Canadian midfielder, is fast as hell. She matches Desiree Scott's aggression quite well and acts as a good foil to Alex Morgan's baby horse legs.

13. Abby Wambach flies into McLeod's goal post. Once that girl gains momentum, I swear, there's nothing much out there that can stop her.

14. McLeod continues pulling out the stops, taking on the skillful Americans without fear.

15. Melissa Tancredi enters the game, replacing Brittany Timko. Almost immediately, Canada gains some distance, and Tanc scores a goal off a pass from Sinclair. Top left corner, nothing much Solo could have done to stop it. It is absolutely beautiful.

16. NBC commentators cannot pronounce Saskatoon and Saskatchewan for the life of them.


17. Alex Morgan goes down and looks hurt, everyone freaks out. Thankfully it's nothing serious. Tobin Heath tries to comfort her. It's a cute moment. Amy Rodriguez subs in for her. 

18. Sophie Schmidt gets substituted, but doesn't notice her number on the substitution board, leading to a delay of game. Since this is Schmidt we're talking about, no one really minds. The substitution board is substituted so that the numbers are a little brighter. 


19. Enter Sydney Leroux, the new golden child from Surrey, BC. Everyone wonders why she didn't get subbed in earlier. The game picks up a bit, especially on the US offence.


20. Fed by Rapinoe, Abby Wambach passes to Amy Rodriguez, who scores on Canada late in the 2nd half, making it 2-1. 

All in all, both teams put up a really good fight. Maybe a bit too much of a fight, to be honest, as there were some dangerous moments that we really shouldn't see in a friendly game, especially this close to the Olympics. Neither teams can afford to lose players. If I were to pick three stars who drove this game to the ground, it would be:

1. MEGAN RAPINOE

2. ERIN MCLEOD

3. ALEX MORGAN

*Honourary mention: Team Canada's Diana Matheson. I'm gonna call it now, that girl's gonna do amazing things at the Olympics.

Megan Rapinoe being interviewed by a journalist. I don't know how that journalist is able to keep her cool so well. If it were me, I'd probably say to fuck all hell with my job, I'm gonna seduce this girl if it's the last thing I do.

Melissa Tancredi blows a kiss to the Canadian-hating crowd as Christine Sinclair and an attached Kaylyn Kyle congratulate her. Tancredi actually planned all of this. 

Sophie Schmidt picking refreshments out of a cooler. Her west coast Canadian sensibilities are not accustomed to this heat. Her bleached hair is back, right on time for the Olympics.

Amy Rodriguez and Candace Chapman having a chat, probably confusing the crowd in the process. This was literally a friendly game. Players of opposing teams were constantly hugging and patting each other and checking one another for injuries. It was like watching monkeys picking bugs off their fellow monkeys. 

Team Canada is well on its way, which is a good sign. They just need to keep what they did in this game's second half and apply it to the entire game. This means playing less safe and getting more work done on the offence. There's no point in guarding your area obsessively if you're not going to advance your way into opponent territory and place pressure on their defence as well as their goalkeeper. It's all about confidence, and this is something we saw come out after the Tancredi goal. Team Canada need to believe that they've got it. Once they do, it'll shine through in their play.

Melissa Tancredi is clearly ready for Olympic glory.