Last night we went to see The Smashing Pumpkins, and it has pulled me out of blogging obscurity. I know. Weird. It's only been, what, a year? More? Meh, whatever. 

When I was a kid, grade 6, I bought a mix tape from this kid in my middle school. The Mix Tape is called "Chuck's Kick Ass Mix' and it was indeed, a kick ass mix. On it was a pretty incredible mix of bands - Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Blind Melon....and The Smashing Pumpkins. And so began my love of this band. 

There are many bands that I love more than SP, it's not that I'm a superfan. But, this band is my CHILDHOOD. Hearing the song Today takes me right back to the first time I listened, right after I went downtown and bought the tape with my allowance. And hearing 1979 takes me right back to laying in fields in the summer with friends, trying to figure out where we should go, what we should do, nothing but time on our hands. We weren't all absorbed with technology, we were just kids, wild and free, right on the cusp of the technological revolution that is slowly robbing our children of their childhoods. 

Anyway, last night Billy and I saw SP at Massey Hall in Toronto. What. A. Show. Every song was perfect. Lots of acoustic. Lots of electric. A Bowie cover. A Stones cover. All so perfect. But to me, the best part of the show came when they played 1979. Everyone stood and sang with him. It was everything. I was instantly transported to my teenage years, to summer, to the days when you would just sit and listen, REALLY listen, to a good song. And when Billy stopped singing, the crowd went crazy. Standing ovation. And no one would stop clapping. It was the middle of the show, so it was no encore clap. And I can't speak for anyone else there. But for me, it was just my way of showing him that 1979 is one of the best songs I've ever heard, the song of a generation. The song that represents everything, before it all became something else. 

Anyway, I think I'll pop in here again now, because honestly I'm just too long winded for Instagram and I have lots to share. I've been crazy busy with my business and I would like to share some posts on that too (and maybe share some tips and tricks, that sort of thing. 

If you're looking for me until them, I'm over on IG of course! Personal @adrianeduckworth and The Wild @thewildkidsapparel. 

Arcade Fire!

I happen to know this pretty amazing girl named Rachel who I love and adore and who recently invited us to see Arcade Fire. As if I didn't already have enough reasons to love this girl.

We went early and popped in to the CNE. So much fun!!



And after a terrifying ride on this thing and a lot of very bad-for-you food it was time for the show!!



Couldn't have had a more fun time. Here's a little picture of us and our handsome bearded men. Not a bad looking group I'd say.



I'm ashamed to admit that I forgot that Arcade Fire prefer a more theatrical dress code. Whyyyy did I forget this? Do you know how amazing I would have dressed if I had remembered? Needless today, I have since purchased a fancy mascarade mask for the next time they're in town. True story.

We love shows.

Last night Billy and I went to see Gaslight Anthem and they were AMAZINGGGG. We had such a good night. A perfect night really :)

We've seen a lot of shows. Seeing bands live (good bands, that is) is pretty much the most fun thing to do ever. And I decided recently that I wanted to keep a running list of every band we've seen. This isn't all of them at this point, more will come to me, but for now these are the ones we could think of. 

This list includes shows we've seen together and other big shows (we can't possibly list all the shows Billy has seen, the list would never end) that one of us has seen. This list also doesn't include bands who were at various Warped Tours that weren't very good. Or bands at bars that we happened to be at that weren't very good. 

Anyway, here goes.

• Alexis On Fire
• The Ataris
• The Arcade Fire
• Beck
• Billy Talent
• The Black Keys
• Black Sabbath
• Blink 182
• Bob Dylan
• Coheed and Cambria
• Coldplay
• Dallas Green
• Death From Above 1979
• Deftones
• Dilinger EscapePlan
• Drop Kick Murphy's
• Emery
• Eminem
• Fallout Boy
• Finch
• Finger 11
• The Gaslight Anthem
• Guns 'n' roses
• Hot Hot Heat (2)
• Janelle Monei
• Jimmy Eat World (2)
• The Killers (3)
• Kings of Leon
• Korn
• Limp Bizkit
• Linkin Park
• Marylin Manson
• Matchbook Romance
• Metric
• Muse
• Nine Inch Nails
• Our Lady Peace
• Papa Roach
• Paramore
• The Pixies
• Rise Against
• Rob Zombie
• The Rolling Stones
• The Shins
• SilversumPickups
• Slipknot
• Smashing Pumpkins (2 after today)
• Snow Patrol (2)
• Story of the Year
• The Stills
• Sum 41
• Thrice
• Thursday
• Tragically Hip
• The Verve (my first show, ha ha)
• Weezer
• Wilco
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Yellowcard

Shows we still want to see (some are not possible, we realize)

• Beastie Boys :(
• Bryan Adams (yeah, I want to see him, so what.)
• Foo Fighters
• Neil Young
• Oasis (ha ha, I know, I used to LOVE them)
• Radiohead (yes, we were suppose to see that show that was cancelled. NO COMMENT.)
• Rage Against the Machine :(
• The Strokes
• Temper Trap
• The Tragically Hip (ok, so Billy has seen them, and yes, I'm probably the only Canadian who hasn't, but it just hasn't happened).

Do any of you like to go see live bands? Have you seen any good ones that we should add to our list? 

Smashing Pumpkins 2012

Well friends, it turns out that the Smashing Pumpkins are consistently awesome. What a GREAT night!

We headed in to Toronto, had dinner, made a quick stop to see this Banksy that Billy was pretty excited about. So cool.



After that we headed over to the ACC to see SP, and they were incredible.



Things I learned during our night out:

1. Billy Corgan is hilarious.
2. The guy behind us who yelled "Play something I know!" represents everything that is wrong with concert goers. WHY ARE YOU HERE???
3. Beer cups with sippy lids are both practical and brilliant.
4. Toronto is a really, really fun city.
5. I'm starting to look really old in pictures.
6. I need an iPhone5. I can no longer take unblurry photos. (However, the blurriness might be my best friend re: looking old).
7. My husband is awesome.

Smashing Pumpkins Day!

Today we're headed to TO to see the amazing Smashing Pumpkins. This is our second time seeing them, and we know they won't disappoint. The last time we saw them was at V Fest in 2007, and it was AMAZING. We're going in early to get dinner, maybe a little shopping if I can coerce Billy to make a stop at H&M....should be a fun night! Ben will be home with his Grandma so we are baby-free :)

We've been looking back lately at some of the amazing shows we've each seen, and I've decided I want to start a list to keep track of them all. I'll share it here for anyone who's interested (mostly just me), but for now I will leave you with this awesome SP song that I can't wait to hear later (plus the video is so cool). SO EXCITED.

The Shins and The Black Keys

On Saturday we headed in to TO to see one of the best shows I've seen in a long time...The Shins and The Black Keys at the Molson Ampitheatre. 

The Black Keys were ridiculously good, I can't wait to see them again. But, I have to say, my absolute favourite moment happened when The Shins were playing. We had just been in line for about a million years to get a beer, found ourselves a great spot on the lawn, and it started to rain. I'm not talking about nice light barely there spitting rain, I'm talking about gigantic buckets full of rain. Like out of a movie torrential downpour rain. We were DRENCHED, for the entire night. But, just as the rain got really bad we got to see one of my favourite songs of all time, and it was magical. 

This is a song that reminds me so much of the spring of 2005 when Billy and I were first dating. Ugh, I love it more than words. And to stand there watching it, holding hands with Billy in the pouring rain was a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life. Best concert moment ever.

I couldn't take any pictures or video because (a) I'm not kidding about the rain and (b) I was trying to just take it all in. But, this is a video of The Shins doing the song on Letterman. Still pretty good. Not quite magical though.



And, of course, The Black Keys were the coolest. Sorry, another Letterman video...this was by far the best song in my opinion. Oh, so good.

Best Parts of the weekend

Happy Monday kids! I know, it sounds like I have that smug Monday cheer...it's an act, believe me. But, I did happen to have an amazing weekend, so that helps things. Here are the highlights:

Friday, it all began with the purchase of my delightfully cute new bicycle.

As I do with all major purchases, yes, I have named her. And her name is Betty. Betty Draper.

On Saturday we  spent the day with some of our absolute favourite people on Toronto Island where we saw the amazing Arcade Fire. There are no words to describe the event. They are a perfect band. I will say, however, that the set could have been longer.

And, being the adventurous group that we are, we decided to not take the big, sturdy, definitely insured ferry to get to the Island. No, we took the tiny, sketchy water taxi (that Harflett ended up driving, as it happens).

Other things that happened this weekend, in no particular order:

• Our bedroom set is 100% sold! (For those of you who don't know, we decided to forgo the Ikea set and use our antique set that was feeling rather ignored in a guest room. We plan on buying this bed frame with the money we made from our old set)
• We replaced five more door handles in our house (bathroom, bedrooms and hallway closet), which leaves only the front and back doors with old ugly brass hardware, yay!
• I got almost completely caught up on Mad Men. In about a week I'll be watching it alongside the rest of the world.
• Quarter round has at last been added to the master bedroom. This room is going to be looking lovely soon!!
• The other set of dressers have been painted and hardware has been replaced!

• I took Betty out for a spin several times. And soon realized that I had to buy a more comfy (and pretty) bike seat:

via Everyday Bicycles

Muse

Last night we headed into Toronto to see one of our all-time favourite bands, Muse. Mike, Emma, Billy and I took the train in and met up with Rach, Shields, Jay and Ash for a bite to eat and a few pre-show pints. Sadly, our part y of eight couldn't squeeze into Overdraft, so we ended up at some other pub. As they had Rickard's White on tap, I couldn't complain.

After skipping the opening band (a tradition of sorts) we headed to the ACC. From the moment we walked in, it all began to feel insanely surreal. I don't think I've ever been on the floor for a big show like that. It was beyond cool. And when the band started to play, well, they blew my mind.

Here are a few of my favourite shots of us. The best group of friends ever. Love you guys.

The Killers 2009

Killers Day was amazing. Perfect weather, great food...and the best show EVER. Third time was a charm for me. A few pictures and videos for your viewing pleasure...