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Canadian Celebrity Watch Part IV
 BeX and I experienced a brush with greatness on Saturday. We took the kids to a new grocery store, trying to avoid the hell of constant begging we hear when my four-year-old is bombarded with Baby Bottle Pops in every aisle. Oh sweet, sweet candy, why must my mother deny me your coma-inducing goodness?
I looked up from my search for pasta after hearing BeX tell my boy, "Be careful, sweetie" and saw him back off from a very tall, older gentleman. I looked at the man's face to see if he was being friendly or scowling, to determine whether I'd have to curse him for being mean to my son. Not only was the man smiling, but his face was familiar. I'd seen him every week on CBC television, when my parents watched his show. It was Tommy Hunter. At first I wasn't sure, but he looked at me with these strong blue eyes that said, "Yes, my child, I am He." It's a good thing I'm fairly shy, otherwise I would have shared my thoughts out loud. "You look great! I thought you were dead!"  Everyone else ignored him, but BeX and I were absolutely giddy. At one point, she and I stared at the canned vegetables in embarrassment because we'd just turned into his aisle. "Let's get out of this row," she grumbled under her breath. "But, but, I need beans!" I sputtered.
Now, I've run across Canadian celebrities when I lived in Toronto, but in those instances I'd see them on the street or in a shop, and just walk by. This, however, was one of those mega-grocery stores, and because of the nature of shopping aisle by aisle, we kept running into Tommy Hunter. In the pudding and cake mix section (Tommy Hunter loves pudding), he was just standing there for awhile, next to a woman choosing spices on the other side. They were both blocking my way, and since Tommy was just standing there (as old people tend to do at the grocery store), I said "Excuse me" to him, forcing him to back his cart a bit and let me through. I won't let celebrity intimidate me. Not a chance! Not even Tommy Hunter can stand in my way! He even said something to me, but I was too in awe to remember what it was now.  Later, in the dairy section, BeX asked what song she should perform in front of Tommy Hunter. She figured she'd take the opportunity for an audition. Never mind that those bastards at the CBC cancelled his show in 1992 (after bringing in more than a million viewers each week for 27 years). This was her big break.
As we continued to chatter about Tommy Hunter in housewares, he turned into our aisle. Ohmygod, Tommy Hunter was following us! We nearly broke into hysterical laughter, but somehow managed to keep it to a titter. That's how we kept referring to him too. Tommy Hunter. Not Tommy, or Mr. Hunter. We said TommyHunter, like it was a one word mantra. God forbid we ever run into Neil Young at the drug store. I'm positive we'd both spontaneously combust.
 Happy Canada Day, Eh? Oh to be enjoying a tall cool one at Sunnyvale Trailer Park with Julian today, rather than sitting here at my desk trying to actually work. It's the day before Canada Day and there are only four other people here in the office - which is limiting my brain capacity to basically staring into space and dreaming about things I could be doing if I wasn't here.  One thing I'd prefer to be doing is watching Trailer Park Boys - currently the best fucking show on television. If you're not out enjoying the fireworks over Lake Ontario tomorrow night or getting smashed at your own trailer, I highly recommend you tune into Showcase's Trailer Park Boys Fan-A-Thon, which airs July 1 from 10 p.m. - 12 a.m.
Enjoy the holiday tomorrow - it sorta sucks that it falls in the middle of the week this year but hell, a day off work is still a day off work. Don't forget to toast The Boys and this great country of ours. Cheers!
 Be The Rain: Last night was the second time I was actually in tears during a live concert. Of course the circumstances and reasons are very different for each but I don't think I'll ever forget the way I felt at either of these shows. I was a little kid when I saw The Bay City Rollers (christ, how embarrassing to admit that!) in 1976, they had been my heroes and it was the first live concert I'd ever seen, which made it very emotional for me. I've got a new hero now and his name is Neil Young. I saw Neil at the Air Canada Centre last night and I can honestly say I have never been so moved at a concert in my entire life. The first two hours were songs from a new musical he has written called Greendale. The whole thing was staged with actors and dancers and props much like a live theatre production. It focused on a family in a small American town called Greendale, brought up issues like The Patriot Act (from, Leave the Driving: And we'll be watching you - No matter what you do - And you can do your part - By watchin' others too), polluting the environment and unjust wars and included montages of John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld and a street sign that proclaimed "Support Our War" on a screen behind the stage. It was like a travelling peace protest. I was lucky enough to have had a preview of Greendale a week before the show. A friend who I went with had downloaded a bootleg copy and mailed me one so I did get a chance to hear the songs in advance. I was a little wary going into the show because I was thinking I'd really like to hear a lot of classic hits. I'm sure a lot of people were surprised and others disappointed - one idiot sitting behind us yelled "What does this have to do with Canada?" which was responded to by fans with "Shut the fuck up!" Neil did do a couple of classic tunes for his five encore songs, including Hey, Hey, My, My which was very cool, but by then I was still so blown away by Greendale and its messages that it didn't matter what he played at that point. During the final Greendale song, Be The Rain, all the teenage actors in the show were lined up around him singing and dancing "We got a job to do - We got to save Mother Earth" (one of them was waving a huge Canadian flag) and I started crying. I have never been so moved by anything I've seen live like I was last night. It's even difficult for me to write about how powerful Greendale is without tears coming to my eyes right at this moment. It was incredibly inspiring. Thanks Neil. Save the planet for another day Attention shoppers. Buy with a conscience and save. Save the planet for another day Save Alaska! Let the caribou stay. Don't care what the governments say They're all bought and paid for anyway. Save the planet for another day Hey Big Oil! What do you say? We were runnin' through the night Never knowin' if we would see the light Paranoid schizophrenic visions Livin in fear of the wrong decisions We got to wake up We got to keep goin' If they follow us There's no way of knowin' We got a job to do We got to save Mother Earth Be the ocean when it meets the sky You can make a difference. If you really try. Be the magic in the Northern lights Six Days... Six nights. Be the river as it rolls along It has three-eyed fish. And it's smellin' strong. Be the rain you remember fallin' Be the rain. Be the rain. Yeah, rain was fallin' and we're soakin' wet Hail is beatin' down on our heads The wind is blowin' through our hair Faces frozen in the frigid air We got to get there Alaska We got to be there Before the big machines We got a job to do We got to save Mother Earth Dream the hunter on the western plain The birds are all gone. Where did they go? Dream the fisherman in his boat He's comin' home empty. He's barely afloat. Dream the logger in the great northwest They're runnin' out of trees. They got to give it a rest. (There's no other way to cut it) Dream the farmer in the old heartland Corporate greed and chemicals are killin' the land. Next mornin' Sun was up at dawn She looked around and Earth was gone Dark visions he had last night He needed peace, he needed light. He heard the rumble and He saw the big machines The green army rose It was a bad dream He had a job to do He had to save Mother Earth Be the ocean when it meets the sky Greek freighters are dumping crap somewhere right now. Be the magic in the northern lights (The ice is melting!) Be the river as it rolls along Toxic waste dumpin' from corporate farms. Be the rain you remember fallin' Be the rain. Be the rain. Save the Planet for another day Be the rain. Be the rain. Be the river as it rolls along Be the rain. Be the rain. Be the rain, be the rain
 Robert Plant & Jimmy Page Hey lady- you got the love I need oh Maybe - more than enough oh Darlin' Darlin' Darlin', walk a while with me - oh you've got so much- Many times I loved Many times been bitten Many times I've gazed Along the open road. Many times I've lied Many times I've listened Many times I've wondered How much there is to know. Many dreams come true And some have silver linings I live for my dream And a pocketful of gold. Mellow is the man Who knows what he's been missing Many many men Can't see the open road. Many is a word That only leaves you guessing Guessing 'bout a thing You really ought to know You really ought to know If you haven't bought the new live 3 CD Led Zeppelin album, How The West Was Won, what are you waiting for? I usually don't buy live albums because the sound quality isn't as polished as the studio versions but this is the most awesome live album I have ever owned. When I was a 16-year-old kid, I used to go down to a movie theatre on Bloor Street every Saturday night with my friends to sit and smoke pot and watch The Song Remains The Same (sorta like the freaks who went to see Rocky Horror every weekend, except we were cool). Being a stonerish Zeppelin-head type teenager, I had been dying to see this movie. Unfortunately, the first time attending the film, I was with Maggie, my slutty best friend in high school (the one who is now my aunt and a preachy born-again christian) and her boyfriend at the time. She wasn't all that pleasant to hang out with at the best of times and on this occasion being with her was particularly unpleasant. We sat down with huge vats of popcorn, smoked a big, fat doob, the lights dimmed, images flickered onscreen and the music started. The opening moments of The Song Remains The Same show the band in Britain, flying to the States, and getting into cars that take them to a jam-packed Madison Square Garden in New York City. The pace accelerates as they show the band hurtling down the highways; and then Zeppelin is on stage, tearing into the music, from Rock And Roll to Whole Lotta Love. I remember I had chills and tears in my eyes - I was so thrilled to be there. That's when I glanced over at Maggie and noticed that she had bent forward and her head was down. I heard a gagging sound just before she spewed all over the floor in front of her seat. Well, that was that. I cleaned her face off with a kleenex, Maggie's boyfriend hauled her over his shoulder and out of the theatre we went. I'd gotten a five-minute glance of my heroes, which turned into a vomit fest. Of course, the next week I went with other friends to see it and I couldn't tell you how many times I did end up seeing it. Whe and I rented it ten or 15 years ago and I just could not get into it. Maybe it was too soon to see it again. I'm thinking now that not enough years had passed for me to really appreciate how great a concert film it really is. I saw The Song Remains The Same on MuchMore Music two weekends ago and the old feeling was back - I loved it and it convinced me the new 3 CD set would be worth the money. I've listened to it every single day since I bought it, so I'd say it was. Zeppelin Rocks!
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