The Hour's Blog

The Hour's "Just for Laughs Comedy Week" Contest

2009-07-13T18:17:24Z

Stay tuned into The Hour's "Just for Laughs Comedy Week" for your chance to win a trip to the 2009 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.

To enter The Hour's "Just for Laughs Comedy Week" Contest, watch Comedy Week on The Hour July 13 - 17, 2009, then go online on July 16 and 17, 2009 to answer a question about the program content shown within Comedy Week on The Hour.

Visit the entry form here

The Hour's "One Week" DVD Contest

2009-07-10T19:34:22Z

From July 13th until July 23rd The Hour will pick one lucky entry per day to win a copy of "One Week" on DVD.

On July 23rd tune in to see Joshua Jackson's appearance on The Hour and answer this question "Where was Joshua Jackson born ? ", two correct answers will be chosen at random and those two people will each win a Roots "One Week" leather jacket - a replica of the one Joshua wore in the film! Valued at over $400.00

Entries received before July 13th will be ineligible.

Visit the contest entry page here

Jeff Goldblum Still With Us

2009-06-26T18:33:51Z

With all the rampant media coverage yesterday surrounding the death of both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, false rumours began circulating on the net that Jeff Goldblum had joined the ranks of deceased celebrities.

Search Engine Land has an interesting article that looks at how the rumours of Goldblum's death spread and how users on Twitter got the news of Michael Jackson's death out before the traditional news networks.

The aricle points out that the Goldblum death rumours had gotten so out of hand that Kevin Spacey relayed a message on Twitter stating, "Jeff Goldblum is alive and well. I just spoke to his manager." and that an Australian newspaper had printed a story saying the rumours of his death were true.

But fret not, Jeff Goldblum is doing fine, check out his appearance on The Hour here.

George Vs. Ellen in Convocation Showdown

2009-06-24T15:29:32Z

In 2007, George earned an honorary degree from the University of Calgary and his acceptance speech was enthusiastically shared, blogged and discussed online by recent grads who all wished he was at their ceremony. Watch an excerpt of George's speech here.

Well this year's commencement speech to talk about comes to you from Ellen DeGeneres who delivered a touching (and of course hilarious) speech at Tulane University for this year's graduating class.

So who does a commencement speech best? George or Ellen? Leave your opinion in the comments.

NXNE in a NIGHT

2009-06-22T15:22:46Z

What was suppose to be a wild weekend of music and late nights, turned into a one night outing thanks to a bout of bad chinese food. I don't know if it was the chicken or the shrimp that got me, but once it had me, I couldn't shake it, hence only a mere one night of music was had :(

That night of music, was however a good one: Spiral Beach, Matt & Kim, Band of Skulls, Spinnerette, Burning Brides, Melissa Auf Der Maur and The Parralells. Oddly however, it wasn't the music that captivated me the most, it was a venue... Find out which one here:

My new found favourite venue is the underrated Whipper Snapper Gallery. Located in Little Italy, above a bar, this little gallery is home to a local youth art collective with ever-changing exhibits, oh, and the odd concert. Occupied by NXNE last weekend, I caught the concentrated Spiral Beach on the makeshift stage in the back of the gallery. The backdrop for the band and consequently a part of the 'Yeah I have a third eye' exhibit showing at the gallery, couldn't have been better: a colourful patchwork of emotions, just like Spiral Beach and their pylon covered stage. Check out this video I shot on my Flip Camera of the song, "Vagueries"

Up next and likely the reason most attendees packed the gallery was, Brooklyn's Matt & Kim. The duo's buzzed about and catchy little number, 'Daylight' as seen here, (also taken with my Flip) with an added intro of Europe's Final Countdown was obviously the highlight of their punchy set. Though, Kim confessing that she had just eaten Thai food and had the cha cha cha's proved also to be equally as memorable. It was nice too, that Matt requested that everyone stay at the hot and sweaty venue to check out the rest of the bands that evening. Points for effort; unfortunately I don't think many listened as it took longer to get out of the gallery than in.

Things got off to a late start over at The Mod Club down the street, as the UK's Band of Skulls waited for a larger audience. They shouldn't have, that audience was there for one reason only, Brody Dalle the former voice of The Distillers and now of Spinnerette. The soldout crowd was going nuts upon the arrival of Ms. Dalle and her band. A newly-turned 19 yr old, Kristen and her friend Jimmy were among those in the crowd who pushed their way to the front, itchy to get as close as possible to the raspy Dalle. To my dismay, what she didn't lack in vocal prowess, she lacked in stage presence. Surely this is due to lack of comfort with her new bandmates, as I can't believe the Brody Dalle came off so blase back in her Distiller days. I bet by the time Spinnerette plays Vancouver's Virgin Festival on July 25th the energy will be there. In the meantime, check out their self-titled debut.

Channeling Courtney Love and digging the raspy voice thing, we headed over to the Elmo to check out former Smashing Pumpkins & reformed Hole bassist, Melissa Auf Der Maur. But not before getting a sweet taste of Burning Brides and their lovely bassist, Melanie Coats. Though the music was definitely something to bang your head and rock out to, she was the exact opposite, adding warmth and boisterous pep to their set.

Melissa's set, though plagued with tardiness, started off strong, performing songs off her 2004 seft-titled release. However it quickly went downhill after a few songs with a ever-long guitar/bass solo never seemed to end. "Yes, we know Melissa you're an awesome bass player, what we don't know is if you're an equally awesome front person....."

The most disappointing moment of the night came from Toronto's The Parrallels. Hyped as one of the bands to see, they turned out to be a clean-cut version of The Hour's fav, Crystal Castles. On stage vocalist, Holly Dodson flipped her hair and scarf around like a Barbie while playing the odd note on her keyboard, whereas the brains and beat came from drummer, Cameron Findlay. "Guys, your cd is great, pick up your live show please!"

Seven bands, one kickass venue and a never-ending bout of food poisoning, not bad for one wknd.

Feelings & Photos by Jess Watt

Pet Airways

2009-06-19T15:28:47Z

At first I thought this had to be a joke, but it looks like the real deal.
Not sure how I feel about it, as a pet owner I can see the appeal, but it seems like another step down the slippery slope of a world ruled by weiner dogs and pugs - Petmageddon if you will...

No Doubt, it was a Hella Good show

2009-06-17T15:46:12Z

Fans of all ages, including my parents(!) flocked to the ACC earlier this week to catch Ms. Gwen Stefani reunite with the ever catchy, NO DOUBT. Playing only their past hits with a few covers, the band came out to see their fans and not for a quick cash grab as some might say. And for the fans, the timing of this tour couldn't have been better: the entire venue was in the band's hand, singing and dancing along to all their favourite songs. See what the band played here:

Kicking off the high energy show with Spiderwebs, the band, consisting of all original members brought us back to the late 1990s in a flash. Bopping around the stage, taking turns dancing with guitarist Tom Dumont and bassist, Tony Kanal, Gwen has totally earned her great physic including those abs-WOW!
I bet every 30 something woman in attendance wished they could look that good after 2 kids.

Early on in the show, Gwen drew the crowd's attention to a guy in the front with a No Doubt tattoo. With her eyes on the crowd, she pulled up a random dude with a placard containing the lyrics to "Let's Get Back". Unplanned, she began singing, while he danced up a storm around her, till she noticed he had the wrong lyrics (!) and the song and his dance moves were cut short. Take note, re-forming bands, Gwen and her crew know how to connect with their audience, even in a huge stadium. The clean, shiny white stage and a UFO-like riser for drummer, Adrian Young made the band look even slicker on stage. Add to that, a huge video screen playing their actual videos in-sync with the songs and three costume changes by Gwen, they couldn't go wrong.

In no exact order, but with so much energy to share, the band played favourites:

NEW
HEY BABY
HELLA GOOD
SIMPLE KIND OF LIFE
DON'T SPEAK
JUST A GIRL
IT'S MY LIFE
RUNNING
ROCK STEADY
DIFFERENT PEOPLE

For the encore they covered Adam Ant's, 'Stand & Deliver', closing out with SUNDAY MORNING.

If you're in the London, Ontario area for June 30th check them out (tickets are still available), they are definitely worth it. Hell, even my parents loved the show.

"A real love survives a rock steady vibe" - Tom Dumont's guitar pedals

Photo & Review by Jess Watt

One Week on DVD!

2009-06-16T20:01:14Z

Ok kids, exciting news to share. Joshua Jackson is going to be on the program July 23rd. Ladies I know you want to spend some quality time with Joshua, aka Pacey, so you also have to check his movie One Week, which comes out on DVD today. Make sure to check back with us the week his interview airs because we're having a web contest!!! Ya, that's right.

The Comfort Wipe

2009-06-16T18:13:12Z

Is there such a thing as too much innovation?

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Alexisonfire's New Album

2009-06-16T00:52:18Z

The Hour is psyched to be an exclusive partner for Alexisonfire's new album "Old Crows/Young Cardinals".

The guys at the band's label 'Dine Along Records' are really forward thinking and they've put the entire album up on their site for streaming. So essentially you can check out the new album before you buy it.

The Hour's partner song is "Burial".

I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but if it's anything like their last album I bet that George and several people in the office will be big fans.

DAVE MATHEWS CRASHED INTO TORONTO

2009-06-11T21:39:30Z

Dave Matthews Band brought some fire to their chilly open-air concert
in Toronto on the evening of Tuesday June 9th. Dave greeted the crowd
in his laid-back southern drawl as if it were a few of us in a pub and
not a near-full house at the Molson Amphitheatre: "We're gonna play
some old music, some new music - we'll try to get it right!" There was
a resounding roar in the crowd, which spanned ages 16-60. People seem
to either love or hate this band but those who love them, love them a
lot. Believe it or not DMB is one of the top 100 selling bands of all
time and this concert showed me why. Live shows are where they thrive
- the band even allows fans to record their live shows for
not-for-profit file sharing. The amphitheatre was absolutely
vibrating with energy and the best part was that the band looked like
they were having the time. Be there click here

As the sun started to go down the air overhead was full of smoke from
organic bud and seagulls circling to hear the show. At one point a
slightly paranoid Matthews joked "A lot of birds out here... let's
hope they don't turn on us."

It was an impressive set comprised of massive light screens that were
aglow with graphics, video clips and flashing lights that would put
Kanye to shame. The beams exploded out into the crowd through a cloud
of purple smoke along with the beats of "Funny The Way It Is," the
first single off of the new album "Big Whisky and The GrooGrux King."
The new album is true to their sound: rootsy rock-folk-funk-blues-jazz
fusion with, dare I say, a dash of pop. Dave Matthews is a true rock
star and his lyrics and prophetic voice are the driving forces that
make this eclectic mix of musical influences work. In their music you
can hear hints of everything from Bob Marley and James Brown to
Soundgarden and Peter Gabriel. The show was full of the band's
trademark marathon orchestral versions of new and old favourites in
which everyone had a solo. It may be called Dave Matthews Band but
the lead singer shared the stage liberally with his ultra-talented
bandmates that he has been known to refer to as his superiors.

However, there was a presence that was sorely missed - the beloved
founding DMB member LeRoi Moore who passed away last year and now
rests in peace. Finishing their Album "Big Whisky and The GrooGrux
King," and going on tour is the band's tribute to Moore's life.
Although the energy was flowing high there was a strain of melancholy
in many of their songs. At Moore's funeral Matthews is quoted as
saying: "He would put that horn in his mouth and make the most
astonishingly honest music that could knock you over, and it would
sink right into the middle of you." That sense of penetrating honesty
still resonates in the bands sound.

Grammy winning saxophonist Jeff Coffin is now playing with the band.
As a tribute to Moore they played "Why I Am," a song that LeRoi Moore
was "particularly fond of" Matthews said. The rendition left people
dancing in the isles as the lyrics rang: "and when my story ends it's
gonna end with him/ Heaven or Hell I'm goin there with the GrooGrux
King."

Matthews also slowed things down for a while with the haunting "Stay
or Leave." Its soulful melody and introspective lyrics hushed the
stadium.

Another of the major highlights of the night was the extended version
of "Aunts Marching." The crowd went crazy with those first three notes
and screamed the lyrics when Matthews turned his mic to the crowd.
Halfway through the song Dave threw himself into a jig while violinist
Boyd Tinsley took over the frenzied melody. Also shining throughout
the song were both trumpet player Rashawn Ross and saxophonist Jeff
Coffin whose instruments danced both alone and in unison.

"Alligator Pie" was also a crowd favourite which Daddy DM said he
wrote because many of his songs had his daughter Grace's name in them,
and her twin sister Stella said "Daddy, when you gonna put me in a
song?" Hence they lyrics "Stella said Daddy, when you gonna put me in
a song?" No doubt, it was the highlight of the show for the girls who
were watching their Dad from the stage wings.

When Matthews busted out the piano for "Out of My Hands," he told the
audience that there was a little blue bug on it that he squished. It
was an emotional performance and he sang the lyrics as if ready to
explode with rapture. You could actually see the passion coursing
through his veins. His face winced and contorted as he sang and at
the point of crescendo his eyes rolled backwards as if he was
possessed by the music.

Crash was the smash of the night. Not a soul in the crowd wasn't
singing along, giving the song a choir-like echo during "I'm the King
of the castle, and you're the dirty rascal - crash into me!" The
stroke of the rain-like chimes blown up across the screens left me
with chills.

Other memorable songs that the band played included: "Crush,"
"Squirm," "Spaceman," "Out Of My Hands," "#41, and the Talking Heads
cover "Burning Down the House," which nearly brought the house down.

The band ended the show with "Two Step." Tinnsley plucked at his
violyn, playing it like a guitar, Stefan Lessard's humming bass
reverberated through the crowd and Tim Reynolds played an earth
trembling solo in which his guitar gently weeped then cried reckless
abandon with some heavy slide. The song culminated in a momentous
solo from drummer and back up vocalist Carter Beauford whose white
golf gloves and matching nike sneakers were moving to the rhythm with
super-human speed.

After a long period of applause, Matthews came back onstage solo for
the encore and announced that he felt really bad about squishing that
little blue bug. Everyone laughed but with his track record of
philanthropism I don't doubt that he was sincere. He did a very raw
acoustic performance of the classic "Rye Whisky" then was joined by
the rest of the band to rock out a few more tunes for the insatiable
crowd.

A classic Dave Matthew's Band show. I'd say they got it right.

Rating: some old, some new and a little blue bug who died in the name of music

by Laura Good
Photos Jenn Good

Russell Peters is hosting "The News" tonight!

2009-06-11T21:24:25Z

Tonight on the show Russell Peters is popping by for a quick cameo to host our News segment.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than Carol Burnett, we give you Carol Burnett AND Russell Peters.
He's kicking off his 20th anniversary tour right now, so if you want to check out when he's coming through your town, click here.

The Carol Burnett Contest is Now Open

2009-06-11T21:21:05Z

Listen up Carol Burnett fans, we've got a contest that starts today that could see you meeting Carol Burnett in person.

To enter the contest watch The Hour tonight and go here to fill out the entry form. You'll need a CBC member centre account to enter.

The winner will receive:

Two tickets to "Laughter and Reflection With Carol Burnett";
Two Flights from anywhere WestJet flies to Vancouver;
Two nights stay at the Westin Grand;
$500 spending money;
A once in a lifetime opportunity to meet Carol Burnett after the show.

It's a great contest, and a great prize.

One shot music video for "Let The Beat Build"

2009-06-11T19:58:46Z

I don't know much about Nyle, but this video for his track "Let The Beat Build" is pretty impressive.
Performed live, the whole thing was down in one shot on one take.

Nyle "Let The Beat Build" from Nyle on Vimeo.

Introducing The Hour's Widget

2009-06-11T18:27:06Z

Over here at The Hour, we do what needs to be done to keep you, the viewer, happy. And in these heady technological times, keeping you happy mean giving you the power to munch on content however you wish from wherever you are. So with that in mind we're pleased to be rolling out The Hour's widget today.

Don't know what a widget is? We'll a widget is a little gizmo that allows you check out the interviews from the show, without ever leaving your favourite web site. It's sort of like an electronic sticker. You can stick it on your Facebook profile or your iGoogle pages, or just about anywhere. It's very easy to embed, just click on the "Get & Share" button below and select where you want to put it, then munch away.