TheADAMantium

Toronto Half Marathon

This past Sunday I ran my second half marathon and beat my time by more than 4 minutes. I finished in 1:35:52. I placed 242/4956 overall, 201/2119 males, and 28/245 in my age category. The photo was taken around the 7km mark while I was looking and waving up at my Dad in his condo balcony. I am super pleased with the results and very proud of my accomplishment… Now for a full marathon?

Silver winner in Cannes Young Lions!

A couple months ago I entered Globe and Mail’s film category for the 2012 Cannes Young Lions advertising competition with my co-worker Chelito and friend Jordan. It was announced today that we came in second place across Canada! I’m very proud of myself and my team. Our agency is currently writing up a press release to publicize our achievement. It’s so exciting and rewarding to see that your hard work hasn’t gone unrecognised. You can see all the winners here:

http://www.globelink.ca/insider/younglions/winners/#s2

Concert Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers @ Air Canada Centre

This past Saturday, April 28, 2012, Toronto got spicy… You may even say it was “red hot” as the renowned and mischievous funk rockers from California, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, performed for the second night in a row at the sold out Air Canada Centre. The four-piece band, now with an additional percussionist and synth player, proved they still have what it takes to bring the house down and jam out with the best. They are one of the only bands that formed in the 80s that I can name that are still considered modern instead of classic rock, and by their behavior, you’d never guess they are almost in their 50s.

Opening the night was the noise pop trio from New York, Sleigh Bells.  They were less than inspiring in my opinion. I quite enjoy a lot of electronic and house music, but this just seemed like repeated, loud bass noise. Considering the Mars Volta opened the last time the Chili’s were in town in 2006, I expected something a lot better.

At 9:15PM, the house exploded as the Red Hot Chili Peppers got things started with a bang. They opened with “Monarchy of Roses”, the second single from their newest album I’m with You. This was followed by a few mega hit from each of the three albums previous, “Dani California” from 2006’s Stadium Arcadium, “Scar Tissue” from 1999’s Californication, and “Can’t Stop” from 2002’s By the Way; all proven highlights of the night. Several other highlights followed including a crowd chant-a-long to “Suck my Kiss” from the Chili’s 1991 breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik and the Stevie Wonder cover of “Higher Ground” from 1989’s Mother’s Milk. Of course other crowd favorites included “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”, “Under the Bridge”, “Californication” and the main set closer “By the Way”.

My issue the first time I saw the Chili’s in 2006 was that singer and front-man, Anthony Kiedis, sounded a little weak on the vocals live. However, on Saturday night, both my cousin and I commented on how much better he sounded this time around… maybe he just had a sore throat 6 years ago. His dance moves were also coming out full steam, but the main entertainer proved to be bassist, Flea, who never seemed to miss a note despite his jumps, thrusts and even handstands. Drummer and Will Farrell look-a-like, Chad Smith, showed off his veteran drumming skills and even had a solo in the encore. The most interesting case was new guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer, who has big shoes to fill after the departure (again) of RCHP legend, John Frusciante. He sounded great though and in my books has earned his corn.

I’m with You is not my favorite Chili’s album. In fact, it’s probably my fifth favorite album of theirs. But it is a solid album and definitely the best non-Frusciante album.

The encore to the 105-minute set was a little weak in my opinion, or maybe I’m just bitter because they played my favorite song, “Around the World” on Friday in the encore and not on Saturday. Nevertheless, the night ended on a high with what has become a traditional ending, the in your face, Chili’s anthem, “Give It Away”.

With so many tallied hits, it is impossible to hear every song you want from the Chili Peppers in one night. But that also makes it worth seeing them again to catch the tunes you missed the time before. I saw them in 2006 and I’m looking forward to their set at Lollapalooza in August. Overall, this was a great show from a great, entertaining, and experienced band.

Rating: 8.5/10

Concert Review: Snow Patrol @ Massey Hall

Torontonians were chasing cars last night, April 17, 2012 as Snow Patrol gave an inspiring performance on their first of two nights at the legendary Massey Hall. I may be a bit biased as the band share the same Irish roots as me, but with the help of the amazing acoustics in Massey Hall, the boys sounded absolutely enchanting.

Opening the night was rookie Brit award winner, Ed Sheeran from Halifax, England. I must admit, I had never heard of this youngster, but the young ladies went crazy for him. He performed completely by himself and used two microphones, one of which recorded loops of sound effects and riffs he created with his voice and guitar. His songs were quite strung out and in fact, Ed played just four songs during his 30-minute set. Overall, he has great talent and performance, but not necessarily my type of music. Respect to him nonetheless.

At approximately 9:10PM, the six lads from Northern Ireland and Scotland hit the stage with the riff heavy “Hands Open” from the 2006, ever popular album, Eyes Open. The very mixed age crowd couldn’t decide whether to stay in their seat until the enthusiastic front man, Gary Lightbody, announced, “It’s ok to stand up… That’s what happens, the band stops when you don’t stand.” Then the show really lifted off as the band launched into “Take Back the City” from 2008’s A Hundred Million Suns and everyone was on their toes.

There are no Eddie Van Halens, Fleas, or Neil Pearts in this band; in fact most of the instrumentals are fairly basic. However it is the aforementioned singer, rhythm guitarist, front man and witty entertainer, Gary Lightbody, who is the most impressive part of Snow Patrol. His voice is really quite unique and captivating and you can even hear his Irish accent coming through. On top of that he really gets the crowd involved; cracking jokes, chatting with individuals and getting the audience to sing-a-long. And together as a unit, the band sound remarkable.

Snow Patrol is currently on tour for their latest album, Fallen Empire, which was released last year. I really enjoyed the new album and some of the new songs were indeed highlights of the night such as “This Isn’t Everything You Are”, “In the End” and leading single “Called Out in the Dark”. Other highlights of the main set included the big hits “Run” from the 2003 breakthrough album Final Straw and “Chasing Cars” from Eyes Open. Also, “Shut Your Eyes” with a ladies versus men sing-a-long battle and the closing song “You’re All That I Have”, both from Eyes Open, proved to be highlights.

The encore started very slow with the new song “Lifening” which had just Gary and lead guitarist, Nathan Connolly, on stage. The pace picked up when the rest of the band came back full force on the epic bridge of “Open Your Eyes” from Eyes Open and ending the night on “Just Say Yes” from the 2009 compilation album, Up to Now. On the last bit of the song, Gary decided to sing in the audience and share hugs.

Moreover, this was a beautiful band in a beautiful venue. A great night overall!

Rating 8.5/10