That deadly duo of Old Man Winter and Santa Claus are once again having their merry way and creating slim-pickings in the concert listings. Ok, sure, there are Christmas-themed concerts happening in cities everywhere, but in general the regular gig calendar takes a backseat as everyone kicks, (or gets kicked), into a Christmas mood - wether they like it or not.
There really aren't that many shows happening anywhere in December and January. This is why every music magazine you see on the shelves at your local newsagent is now doing their annual 'Christmas Special' or 'Best Of 2008' edition.
Right now there's nothing much happening in the world of 'music news' either, aside from a few show cancellations - the latest notable cancellation being
Machine Head pulling out of their final two dates in Europe with Slipknot after their guitarist
Phil Demmel collapsed on stage near the end of a show in Sheffield, England. Oh, and in other 'news',
Metallica will feature in a special edition Guitar Hero game next year...big deal! Another band jumps onto the video game gravy train? Nobody is surprised.
Of course, bands deserve their time off to go eat turkey and drink mass amounts of alcohol and egg nog. Ergo, expect to see a few new less show reviews on Music Vice for a while due to all the semi-hibernation and drunken inebriation that the winter season brings to the gig calendar.
Oh, the other problen with shows in winter is getting coughed and sneezed on by that guy in the pit with a cold. I myself am currently laying low with blocked sinuses and a generally BLAAAAH feeling as once again I've been KO'd by the North American version of the common cold. I'd hoped to see
Laura Barrett and company play a show tonight in Hamilton but I self-assesed myself as being in too much of a cold & cough med induced stupor to attend. I really didn't want to be 'that guy' coughing and spluttering on people either. Though this Thursday, the 18th, is the Undergroud Operations bash in Toronto at the Sound Academy with
Protest The Hero,
LIGHTS, et al and I'm not gonna miss that one for anything. For the next few days I'll continue to nuke my virus with Vitamin C, and hopefully I'll win the war, but if not then apologies in advance to anyone I may share airspace with at that show.
Good luck to anyone braving the cold to make it to shows this winter, and thanks to all those bands playing shows in the upcoming weeks and offering us something a bit more interesting to listen to than all the usual Christmas music that's polluting shopping centres and radiowaves. (The royalty holders to
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus must be rolling in it!)
The editor,
MusicVice.com
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