#thrush hermit

I met Ian when I moved to Canada to go to Guelph in 2000. I lived in Mac Hall, the all-girls dorm, with Ian's friend Christie and when our floor had its first party, Ian came and brought other guys, which we were all very excited about. One of those guys and Ian decided that I and my roommate (who was also American and also named Katie because Guelph housing had a sense of humor) needed a Canadian music education and proceeded to download HOURS of popular music from the Great White North onto our computers (The Hip, Tea Party, Our Lady Peace, Great Big Sea (no judgement), Matthew Goode, Blue Rodeo, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, Sloan, etc.) so that we would know more than just Celine Dion and Bryan Adams. 

The night ended with Ian's friend getting amazingly drunk and passing out in a pasture out by the veterinary college (no idea what happened to him after that), but I still listen to so many of the songs Ian downloaded that night. 

—Katie Bowell

Plaskett’s Kitchen Party with 1500 Friends and Family

Joel and Bill Plaskett rolled into the NAC in Ottawa this past Saturday for their third stop on their tour for Solidarity, the latest release in Plaskett’s catalog. Even a broken-down van didn’t slow down this crew as they launched into their hour-and-forty-minute show after Mayhemingways from Peterborough, Ontario, opened the night with thirty minutes of 2-piece-band glory, displaying a full…