Review: Mother Mother – The Orpheum – December 19, 2012

This is what happens when I don't have a deadline: nothing for weeks and weeks. For some faboo photos by Derek Robitaille on behalf of Concert Addicts, follow THIS link. My favourite from the show is the one just below and features Jasmin Parkin.

I like a punctual show, this evening, I thought it may have begun a bit early. In a darkened theatre, using a mobile phone is very noticeable so when I saw 8:08 pm on the Samsung Galaxy beside me, I thought either the songs were really short (we were halfway through the third song at that point) or we didn’t have the anticipated 8 pm start. Either way – Hannah’s set started with Elephant followed by Enemies. These two songs are similarly constructed when they start out, but Enemies has a lovely slow build in both sound and intensity. Next was Robotic, the song currently on radio airwaves. Live it has more vocal flexibility than the recording suggests. I thought it was better live than what I hear on the radio and that version is already very good. Chit Chat has a nice little rhythm to it and I enjoyed it. Lovers Breakdown was interesting because it had multiple levels to it, as if it were emulating a relationship’s life cycle. Fantasize was next and this was one of my favourite songs so far. It even came with a clapping invitation (I generally decline – I equate that with being part of the sheeple.) Millions was almost more rock than pop (nothing wrong with either) and has a really good energy. The band was introduced at this point: there was Richard on guitar, Luke on drums, and Andrew on piano keyboard. Her set was winding down at this point, Somebody was next and Hannah tells it as a song about falling in love with your best friend; the lyrics tell the story that this love was not returned and seems like a song from the vantage point of the knee-jerk pain that comes from that vulnerability. Structurally the song is well grounded with good rhythmic underpinning. The ballad Ode to Mom was the second to last song and Waiting Game concluded her set.

This was my first time seeing Hannah Georgas live and although she is not the most dynamic of performers, vocally she is strong and consistent. There isn’t a lot of interaction between band members, they tend to just stand, move along with the music they’re playing and generally just get on with it. As an observation for ‘the rest of us’ (those of us not blessed with a size 0 physique) it was refreshing to see some inner thigh jiggle as Hannah tapped her foot in time to the music. She has a slender build, but tapered trousers/leggings really ARE the great equaliser. For a person in the spotlight, with so much focus these days on appearance, it’s nice to see a singer and performer as a human being. YES! As a band, they have a noticeable respect for one another. During a longer introduction to a song that Hannah wasn’t playing in, she moved to the shadows of the stage as if to acknowledge her colleagues’ time in the spotlight.   

As so often happens with Vancouver, this was the last show of the Hannah Georgas/Mother Mother tour, and a lot of times a certain kind of energy comes with that. From Hannah, nothing but gratitude. Happy to be here, Mother Mother are awesome (they are friends, after all), sad that it’s over, but being at the Orpheum, in Vancouver, for this last show, was really special to her. Her set was approx. 45 minutes long.

From 8-year olds to moustachioed grey haireds, Vancouver was well represented this evening. Writing a review for a Mother Mother show for me is akin to carrying coals to Newcastle – redundant. After a show at The Commodore in 2011, I think it was members of the band Said the Whale who compared the show to a master class and I would agree. The vocal, instrumental, rhythmic, harmonic precision this band possesses is second to none. Only Franz Ferdinand come close with that kind of precise feel to their performance, but Mother Mother make it seem so effortless. They just ARE this tight and this good.

Fog began to fill the auditorium at 9 pm and 2 pairs of spindly looking trees (think the album art of The Sticks) were placed upstage, centre stage framing the semi-circular set-up of instruments. When the band came onstage Ryan Guldemond offered himself as host of the evening – “we’re here to serve you”, he said. I probably said thank you. The first song was the title track of the CD, The Sticks (a.k.a. the lah-dee-dah song - I don't know why I don't count Omen, but at just over a minute and a half, I think of it as an extended intro to The Sticks). Body of Years was next – the spotlights matched rhythmically, they even seemed a bit syncopated in the intro. What made this performance interesting is that Molly interspersed this song with another that I didn’t know (lyric search seems to indicate it MAY have been Cactus by David Bowie as well as the Pixies). Immediate segue into The Stand in which Molly and Jasmin were softer in tone than usual. Next came Business Man followed by Verbatim at which point it seems like everyone in the Orpheum is on their feet. Two songs from the current release are next: Cry Forum and Infinitesimal. There’s an almost Spanish guitar-sounding introduction to Ghosting which appears to also be an audience favourite – it was followed by sustained applause before the band continued with Hayloft. The song wasn’t immediately performed, it had a long introduction of Ryan noodling on guitar and Jasmin doing stuff that I can’t read on my notepad now, but let’s just say it took a bit before the band went back to start the song from the beginning and carry through. Simply Simple was next, followed by Bit by Bit, which featured an Ali Siadat drum solo as part of the extended ending.

On a more serious note, Ryan and the band did a bit of a song I didn’t know (the wind and the rain that makes you feel afraid) in memory of Amanda Todd, the 15-year-old girl from Port Coquitlam who was cyber-bullied to taking action: filming and releasing a virtual cry for help on YouTube, and then within a month, sadly took her own life in October of this year. I think it was out of respect to her memory, that they omitted Little Pistol and continued the set with Dread in My Heart, which went right into My Baby Can’t Dance and then Oh My Heart. Current single Let’s Fall in Love ended the set at about 10:35 pm. Happily the audience did not have to wait too long for the encore of Love It Dissipates for which Hannah Georgas was beckoned back on stage. The band took the opportunity to thank their entire crew  individually by name (I was impressed by George Gordon’s lighting skills), including the members of Hannah Georgas’s band. To round the show off, the intro to Wrecking Ball was given a very Sabotage-y by Beastie Boys undertone before it became recognisable.

The only fault to this show was mine: I hadn’t bought The Sticks yet so wasn’t as familiar with the songs they played from it as I was with all the others. All caught up now – let the music and the shows continue!

Setlist Summary:

Omen

The Sticks

Body of Years

The Stand

Business Man 

Verbatim 

Cry Forum 

Infinitesimal

Ghosting

Hayloft

Simply Simple

Bit by Bit

Dread in My Heart

My Baby Can’t Dance

Oh My Heart

Let’s Fall in Love 

Encore:

Love It Dissipates

Wrecking Ball

Imagine Dragons - Commodore Ballroom - March 14, 2013

Attended on assignment from Concert Addicts who published the original article here.
Photos here by Jamie Taylor.

I wasn’t expecting to go to the Imagine Dragons show at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on Thursday, March 14. In the ‘bridesmaid, never a bride’ sense, I was someone else’s back-up. Fortunately for me (and I hope all is well with my colleague), the stars aligned and I got to experience a pretty special show.

Before we get to Imagine Dragons, Nico Vega, a 5-piece from California, got the show started. The floor was about ¾ full by the time Nico Vega started and when the singer and guitarist walked on-stage, there were a number of enthusiastic “woooos” from the crowd. The song they performed to just acoustic guitar and vocals was called Bang Bang. For the second song, a drummer and bassist join the two already on stage. It was a vaguely ska-sounding rock song featuring a lot of screeches, yeahs, etc. but not a lot of words that I could understand sufficiently enough to do a lyric search OR, the lyrics I was able to discern didn’t yield any results either. For this song and most of the other ones, fail.

The singer has a great set of pipes, similar to Bjork at times and can also sing with a Grace Slick-like edge, but rather poor diction. For the next piece the singer did some on-the-spot vocal loops to create vocal layers for a song about her childhood. It started out rather quiet and built to full-on rock. The singer uses stage levels quite a bit – there were three oil drums lined along the front of the stage (stage left, centre, stage right) that she likes to climb onto quite a bit (and the drums in back). In painted-on leather-looking pants, that can’t have been easy. She has a big voice and as a band they have a really big sound. She can do the vocal gymnastics, she has great energy and presence, and she sometimes even functions as a second drummer wearing what looks like a tenor drum and playing it with mallets. Coal Miner’s Song (Yay! I found a song title!) started a capella and reminded me of the Irish ballad She Walked Through the Fair. In the meantime, the other three members have taken up position at each of the oil drums with drum sticks and when they start she accompanies them on the tenor drum. At this point, it’s only percussion and it sounds like pure energy before the musicians go back to their regular instruments to finish the song.

I did like this band, quite a bit actually – they’ve got polish, they really showcased themselves with the 9 songs they chose to fill their 45-minute slot; I just wish I’d actually been able to understand what was being sung.

Imagine Dragons – what can I say? They impressed me. The 5-6’ vertical drum alone made me curious. There’s applause from the get-go and the excitement builds palpably before this touring 5-piece band based in Las Vegas go on stage. You can tell the difference, because that’s when the screams erupt. Imagine Dragons begin in half-darkness with 3 sets of drums against a chord-heavy synth track. Then, the electricity gets turned on and the audience participation for the first song Round and Round is just buoyant. A guitar solo begins Amsterdam and the audience participation again is a fully engaged one. Singer Dan Reynolds reciprocates – he looks at his audience, he’s not one to stare into a neutral point in the middle of the crowd – he does look like he’s trying to make eye contact with as many people as he can. Vocally, I can detect a little “Brandon Flowers School of Vocals” – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Tiptoe is full of echoes and sing-alongs for the audience who take advantage of every opportunity to show their appreciation. A genuinely floored Reynolds asks “How do you people even know about us?” of the crowd. His only answer is yet another round of deafening applause.

Like the Cincinatti band Walk the Moon, it looks as though this frontman may also have started his career as a drummer and now that he’s singing really likes to keep a hand in the percussion department. Hear Me was the next song and it sounds a bit Killers-ish in its pop-rock anthem qualities and overall vibe.

At this point, only 4 songs in, I am sold on this band. A CD of theirs must be bought. End of. They are capital G, double O, capital D GOOD! They remember when they played in Vancouver the last time. Reynolds describes it as having played across the street and looking at the Commodore and wishing they could some day play there. He thanks the fans, this show sold out very quickly, and acknowledges that everyone in the room really wanted to be there.

Cha-Ching starts off with a falsetto vocal and is definitely a rhythm-based song with 3 sets of drums in use in addition to bass guitar. I really enjoy that they are multi-instrumentalists. For Rocks I like the double percussion sound. The drums are the focus of the bridge and the audience is encouraged to clap along (try and stop them). For Radioactive the drums around Reynolds have been rearranged to surround him: a set of multiple drums (smaller than a tenor drum but not a set of bongos either) behind, the massive 5-6 footer to his left, a smaller 3’ (ish) vertical drum to his right and a different kind of drum in front. The band is fully immersed in the song as is the audience. They sing along from start to finish, they get the chorus solo, but they are with this band 100%. I have rarely felt like I want a video recording of any song as it was performed live, but if I had to choose one, this one would definitely be at or near the top of the list. Reynolds pretty much killed one of his mallets when the felt wrapping started to come undone. During the song, Reynolds and bassist Ben McKee (who is also the primary back-up vocalist) play both sides of the massive 6-footer. Guitarist Wayne Sermon takes the 3-footer beside Reynolds while drummer Dan Platzman is on the multi-set behind Reynolds until it’s time for him to jump back behind his kit and Reynolds takes over on them. I lost track of keyboardist Ryan Walker during this one. This song alone almost brought the house down. It was most definitely a WOW experience.

After a high like that, it was time to bring things down a notch or two. Reynolds and Sermon stay onstage with a spotlight on Sermon and the other three leave for the next song, Lay Me Down. It’s a gorgeous song and it would’ve been so much better had the majority of the people in the balcony behind me where I was sitting not been so busy being rude and talking throughout the entire song. Hello? Just because you can now hear yourself talk doesn’t mean you should. Anywho, the other band members return for Bleeding Out and it’s bassist McKee’s turn for a spotlight. Tool would be proud; he puts the guitar back into bass guitar. The spotlight then switches to Sermon and as the song continues the audience gets to finish choruses. Demons is next and on the whole I thought it was a bit short, but certainly not on crowd participation. As far as ballads go, it’s a pretty intense one lyrically and the melodic repetition puts the emphasis squarely on those lyrics. Brief conversation with the audience: this is YOUR night, no one’s judging you here. A license to let loose and have fun.

For Underdog it’s not just back to double percussion but also for Nico Vega to be invited back on stage and they grab every drum and mallet/drumstick they can find. Apparently it’s the first time they’d done that – they should keep it up as the tour continues because it worked. Nico Vega leaves a bit awkwardly and then Reynolds leaves for a brief spell. It’s the other Dan’s turn in the literal spotlight for a drum solo with the other band members supporting. Reynolds returns again for On Top of the World, a bit of a jumper for him and the audience. It’s impressive to the band as well I think because after the song ends Platzman takes a photo of the super-enthusiastic crowd. It’s Time is predictably a full-on audience crowd pleaser. They take over for the chorus and the band admits to being overwhelmed. There’s talk of beginning a love affair with Vancouver and the intent to come back again soon – the audience is loudly in support of this idea (and I really hope it comes to pass). At just after 11 the band leave and are persuaded back for an encore (they’re done by quarter after 11). The encore choice is Nothing Left to Say and it aptly finishes with a nice big juicy instrumental part.

There is just so much love in this room, it’s really quite remarkable. Reynolds made an odd comment about it ‘sucking for them in the US right now’ and he appreciated how people parted with their money to be there tonight (the couple I sat with had bought their tickets through a third-party reseller and cost them $150 total – a price tag they thought was worth every penny). I can’t imagine why things would be sucky – they’re sooo gooood! I went into that show mildly curious about what their other songs sounded like (knowing only It’s Time, Demons, and Radioactive) and before the show was halfway over I wanted to be in the front row for the next one.

Again, thanks to my colleague for affording me the opportunity of being here. This night, this show was exceptional!

Setlist:

Round and Round

Amsterdam

Tiptoe

Hear Me

Cha-Ching

Rocks

Radioactive

Lay Me Down

Bleeding Out

Demons

Underdog

On Top of the World

It’s Time

Encore:

Nothing Left to Say

Great Big Sea - The Orpheum - March 10, 2013

I attended this concert on behalf of Concert Addicts where this review was first published. You can see photos by Derek Robitaille from the show (including the one below) at this link.  

This is Great Big Sea’s 20^th anniversary tour – they had their first gig in 1993 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. It took about a year or two for their music to permeate to Toronto, the centre of the universe, where I lived at the time. But they were different. Their music was positively infectious. I got caught up with it all and made some cracking good friends along the way. Together, we toured our corner of Canada and northern NY state, even driving as far west as Chicago on more than one occasion, drove as far east as Long Island, as far south as Baltimore, Maryland (that view across Chesapeake Bay was unforgettable),  but took the train to get to a Great Big Picnic in Charlottetown and drove the rest of the way to Halifax for the next one. Until I moved to Vancouver in 2002, when this band was touring, it was a HUGE part of how I spent my summer holidays, weekends, and some really short nights (as far as sleeping was concerned) driving across the border and back. In the same sense that you can never go ‘home’ again, you can never go back. Not really. And this is essentially what tonight taught me.

The backdrop of the stage were the two Roman numerals for 20 and the space between the Xes was used to display different images or film. The first thing shown was a retrospective of the band’s beginnings to the soundtrack of Great Big Sea – the first song from the self-titled first release. Crowd reaction to the Morse code of Ordinary Day as the band came on stage was something akin to pandemonium. This was the kind of applause you usually hear after a job well done, and this was how Great Big Sea was greeted at the Orpheum on Sunday, March 10.

Setlist *Set 1:

Ordinary Day

Billy Peddle (with the lovely and long instrumental introduction)

Captain Kidd

Heart of Hearts

Goin’ Up

England

Concerning Charlie Horse

What Are Ya’ At? (or phonetically: whaddya at)

The River Driver

The Mermaid

Beat the Drum

Alan said this song was for the next record. Lyrics included “There’s no place underneath the stars I would rather be” and “we’re all here where we belong”. If someone has a title, please advise.

Lukey

*Set 2

Let my love open the door

Love me tonight

The Night Pat Murphy died (a.k.a. Paddy Murphy)

When I am King

When I’m Up

Good People

Scolding Wife

Let it Go

Hockey Song (partial, in tribute to the recent passing of Canadian legend “Stompin’” Tom Connors)

Helmethead

Consequence Free

Mari-Mac

Run Runaway

1^st encore

Forever Light Will Shine (Paul Hyde cover)

Excursion Around the Bay followed by a set of jigs and

Fortune

2^nd encore

Live this Life

The Old Black Rum

Rant & Roar (abbreviated and a capella)

This was pretty much an all-ages crowd in the Orpheum and it looked like a sell-out right up to the back of the balcony. The first set began at 7:35 pm and went to 8:40 pm. The second set went from 9 pm through 9:55 pm. Six songs comprised the encores (three and three). A tired and happy band retired for the evening at 10:20ish pm. I went home singing Rant & Roar under my breath. I was sorry to not have heard General Taylor – one line in it, if Sean ‘went for it’, always gave me chills, but, with so many songs to choose from to make a setlist every night, I don’t think I’m alone in not having heard my personal favourite, but all in all, it was a good mix of old and newer (to qualify, in my very subjective books, everything from Sea of No Cares and later is ‘new’). Alan and Sean could still do a comedy segment with their banter alone,

Notes and Observations (from my seat in the house right balcony):

• People in the balcony sat for Heart of Hearts. It featured Sean on guitar and “Bobby on the squeezebox” but no visual aids between the XX set.
• To introduce Goin’ Up Alan thought it pertinent to mention they were “without professional obligations” tomorrow, so were encouraged to leave it all on the stage. During the first verse or two, Murray and Sean ganged up on Alan blowing in his ear trying to make him lose it. He didn’t and managed to soldier on.
• There was some reminiscing about their first gig in Vancouver at the Town Pump. They opened for a band called She Stole My Beer and it’s an unforgettable name to him. And apparently, the Pump had a low ceiling as well as a music appreciating rat, so that was the first thing whoever was standing centre stage would see when looking at the audience. Fact or fiction? With Alan Doyle, it’s always a bit of a crap shoot.
• England – Murray joining Alan with guitar, nice whistle interlude from Bob.
• Chat about how Vancouver has such a coffee culture. Sean though his heart pounding a bit stronger and faster than usual thanks to a triple venti something (from Café Artigiano (I like the place too – but mine is always a Spanish Latte. Delish, but I digress). And then they were trying to think of something else Vancouver was famous for. Puzzled humoured looks. Deep inhale. Wink.
• Concerning Charlie Horse had Bob on fiddle and Sean on guitar.
• What are ya’ at? was introduced via the Newfoundland telephone company commercial that got their names ‘out there’ when they were first starting out.
• The Central Newfoundland song The River Driver was a capella but for Sean playing bodhran. That scaled-down sound just amplifies the different textures the man can bring into song interpretations and the multi-part harmony for the chorus sounds so full and rich. 
• The Mermaid continued with Sean on vocals as well as tambourine, Bob was on button accordion.
• For Beat the Drum the balcony audience got back on its feet, at least those to the left of me. House right balcony people were comfy enough, thank you. Bob was on bouzouki and Sean bodhran.
• The next song is one I didn’t know. Alan said it was for the next record if I heard him correctly. If it helps, Bob played banjo as well as harmonica (via head gear) for it and Sean starts out on guitar and switches to tambourine. There’s an invitation to clap along for the lyric “we’re all here where we belong”. Suggestions welcome.
• Lukey – shocked that I still remember the lyrics. They’re not terribly difficult, but if you haven’t had occasion to utter the words in over 6 years…; GBS, you’ve taught me well. Sean on bodhran and shaker, Bob on button accordion.
• For the second set, Sean at least had made a costume change: looking less like a Jehovah’s Witness without the tie and suit jacket and more “let’s have a fun show” with an untucked shirt (I know, the things I notice, eh?). Let My Love Open The Door had Bob on button accordion and whistle for the bridge and Sean on guitar. 
• Love Me Tonight has that lovely whistle to accompany the verses (Bob switches to bouzouki for the chorus). Musical detour to I’ve Got A Feeling by Black Eyed Peas in between and it works; surprised to come to the realisation that Love Me Tonight sounds quite mainstream, less surprised that it works. This ain’t Great Big Sea’s first time at the proverbial rodeo.
• Paddy Murphy – what can I say? The audience was back on its feet in a hurry, everyone I saw on the balcony knew the words (even to the verses). Fun.
• When I Am King – the music video for it played in the background. As upbeat a number as it is, it wasn’t enough to keep my side of the balcony standing. For this one, Alan switched to electric guitar, Sean manned the acoustic, Bob on the bouzouki.
• Safe Upon The Shore, written by Murray Foster (way to go, Murray!) was sung a capella with Sean taking the lead for verses and multi-part harmony from the others.
• When I’m Up had a few solos: Bob on the fiddle and the audience for the first half of the last chorus. Good audience participation.
• Good People showed the results of the Good People Project – photos sent in by the fanbase were shown on the screen. Lots of happy smiley couples. Is this a “date night” band or what? Alan plays banjo for the song.
• Scolding Wife – Kris comes out to play – accordion! Sean alternates between bodhran and shakers. Bob on button accordion. Everyone but Kris has a solo verse for the song.
• Instrumentation for Let It Go is Bob back on bouzouki and Sean’s on the guitar.
• The first verse and chorus of Stompin’ Tom Connors’s Hockey Song played in tribute to the passing of “a Canadian legend”, in Alan’s words. Most of the balcony got up to sing along. They elected not to stay up for Helmethead, sung by Bob (the one who used to MAYBE, on OCCASION, be persuaded to sing Blister In The Sun as an encore. – I’ve only ever heard it once and I’ve been to A LOT of GBS shows in my time. He’s obviously gotten over it.). Sean is on guitar for it, Bob accompanies himself on button accordion. Classic hockey footage is shown in the background.
• Consequence Free – the balcony is up on their feet again. For a song that’s about letting one’s hair down it’s remarkably restrained.
• Mari-Mac – always a favourite. The video for it played in the background and Sean timed it perfectly so it ended exactly the same time as the head drop at the end of the end of the video. Again, not their first time at the rodeo, but it was cool enough that I noticed.
• Run Runaway – video played in the background, Sean was on whistle, Bob on fiddle. Audience got to sing one of the choruses – full crowd participation for it and the crowd stayed on its feet to cheer for the encore after the band left the stage.
• Staggered encore: first song was Alan and Sean. Sean introduced it as a song from Paul Hyde’s Big Book of Sad Songs called Forever Light Will Shine. Sean does lead vocals and accompanies himself on the guitar, Alan takes lead vocal after the bridge, he plays bouzouki for the song. These two have such complimentary voices – it’s a treat to hear them showcased. Don’t get me wrong, when the other band members sing, it doesn’t take away from them, it only adds. My point is that simpler sounds have their virtues and should never lose their place. This band can do complex and they can do simple and they can make it all sound effortless.
• Excursion Around The Bay – a capella with Sean on the bodhran. Audience get a chorus (or was it two?) by themselves with fists up for the “hey”. The song finishes with a jig set – Kris had got himself ready with accordion during excursion to back Bob up as he starts out with fiddle and then switches to button accordion when Kris goes back to the drums. Now that’s teamwork! Sean has an easier task, shakers. The jigs segue into Fortune and that concludes the first encore.
• Between the first and second encores the first people started to depart the balcony. They missed a good encore if all they were trying to do was beat Sunday night traffic (what Sunday night traffic?). Encore #2 starts off after less than a minute’s wait with Sean singing lead vocals for Live this Life and Alan and Bob each playing bouzouki at full volume. The ‘boys’ only do harmony for this one (in other words, Alan and Sean aren’t switching off to take turns on lead vocals).
• Alan does a little diddy on Vancouver (not foolish enough to think that was 100% improvised) with him playing the guitar oddly reminiscent of Heart & Soul. Thank yous to the crew at this point, and individual band introductions – how do you take a bow while you’re playing the guitar? If you’re Sean McCann, you get down on your knees first, take the bow and get back up again – without missing a beat.
• The Old Black Rum – Alan and Sean - 2 guitars, going full on accompanied only by bouzouki and drums. It’s a wonder they still have strength in their fingers, never mind the voices.
• The night winds down with a verse and chorus of Rant & Roar, the band downstage centre, side by each, singing completely a capella. I admit it, my eyes were wet.  Outside, I heard people talking about it, obviously noobs, and that’s okay. This has always been a band about sharing the music, sharing experiences and stories, sharing the joy. You can never go home, you can only go forward, and cherish the memories. The noobs now have memories too. Welcome to the club. 

Summary and Thoughts: White Collar - Series 4, Episode 1

Because writing it down helps me process. 

Neal’s gone – it’s been 6 weeks since he fled New York City. Peter is grilled by Kyle Collins played by Mehki Phifer from the Office International Affairs. 

Surrounded by art (turns out they're copies) Neal appears to be in a warm and Spanish speaking country – viewers don’t know where, they have to wait until someone figures it out. Clues include an archipelago, situated on the Atlantic, and without a US extradition treaty. Neal is also making friends with the locals, including a young boy selling fruit named Hector. Using aliases Neal is James Mayne and Mozzie is Barry Satoro. Mia Maestro, who I last saw in Alias, is the latest object of Neal’s affections as a local coffee bar owner. Their stay in their island paradise costs them $25,000 a month as it’s owned by / under the control of an entrepreneurial American whose own stay has been almost 20 years long but he owns law enforcement, so for Mozzie and Neal, he’s a good person to know. 

Back in New York, Peter follows Collins because he has access to information he doesn’t: Witness Protection files and Ellen’s whereabouts. Remember the Season 3 finale with the impressive escape from Roosevelt Island with the alleged Raphael? Yes, that Ellen. Collins strikes out, so Peter gives it a shot. Ellen blows him off too. Elizabeth, who’d brought Peter a sandwich for his stake-out, gets that look in her eye.   

Neal has a romantic evening with Maya on the beach orchestrated by Hector who has been paid for all the papayas that Dodds’s man stole from him. She finds out that Neal was the one who got it arranged, and she softens towards him. Neal permits her 20 questions about New York but the scene ends before she gets very far. 

Peter comes home to find that Elizabeth has persuaded Ellen to come to their house. In conversation he finds out she was Neal’s father’s partner and convinces her that he really Neal’s friend. She tells him that in cases of emergency she and Neal had exchanged pagers and they were the only ones with the numbers. She gives Peter the number.   

Neal in bed with Maya – the pager goes off. Neal and Peter talk as friends. Neal enquires after Peter’s career and Elizabeth’s well-being. Peter warns him about Collins. They hang up as friends, but Peter is bound and determined to find him and records the call. The team come to the brownstone and analyse the information contained on the tape to figure out where he is.

Mozzie does some research on Collins, he’s bad news – his record as a government bounty hunter is more dead than alive and does not bode well.

The team find something in UTC-1, they cinch it to Cape Verde and circle the islands on a map. Glee – next job: figure out how to bring Neal home. BUT, oh my, unexpectedly, Collins exercises a search warrant on Burke’s place. Turns out he was watching Burke follow him and used Burke to lead the way in narrowing down Neal’s whereabouts. He finds the map. Elizabeth looks worried. 

Burke is put on leave when he goes to complain about and finds out Collins has left. He’s kind of / sort of given the opportunity to go after him, without protection from the agency. 

Switch back to the island, Hector arrives to tell Neal and Mozzie that Collins was in town. They decide to take the next flight out while Collins scopes out the main city. Meanwhile, Peter arrives – he was on the next flight after the next flight. Who knew that Cape Verde had SUCH good flight connections with New York. One would’ve thought there may be flights a couple of times a week at most, but multiple flights a day. Astonishing! Peter’s first stop on the island is the church that he had heard on the recording of his conversation with Neal. En route he finds the hat shop (so much for Neal being able to reinvent himself wherever he goes) whose owner tells him about his love of coffee. Peter flashes a photo of him and Neal to Maya (I’m a friend, really) when Collins arrives. He throws a wrench in Peter’s nice-guy tactics by in turn flashing a wanted poster of Neal and offering a reward of $500,000 dollars for Neal. He doesn’t mention alive because he doesn’t care. The cafe empties, all the men who had been sipping coffee had their marching orders for such a substantial reward. Peter looks worried. Collins looks triumphant. Maya looks worried.  

Hector steals Peter’s wallet, a chase ensues. Turns out it was a ruse so he can get him to where Neal is (and Mozzie) to talk uninterrupted. Hug. Brief discussion and they decide to flee. The locals catch on, as does Maya, another chase. Maya comes to the rescue with her Vespa after Neal separates himself from the other two to give them the chance to escape. She drops him off at Dobbs’s house. 

Peter and Mozzie secure transpo off the island and begin a long night’s wait, dum-da-dum-dum: Neal is stuck at Dobbs’s house when Dobbs decides the best thing for his own skin is to leave Neal to Collins to get the feds off ‘his’ island. End episode. 

I don’t know. This was never the most cleverly constructed show, it was always a vehicle for the friendship tests of Neal’s con-man-with-a-heart-of-gold core and Peter’s law-enforcement-to-the-core/smart-as-a-whip-but-how-much-has-Neal’s-con-man-charm-worked-on-him sensibilities. It’s a successful archetypal device: one character is very black and white – absolute, the other operates in the grey, the nebulousness: Sherlock Holmes / Dr Watson; Dean Winchester / Sam Winchester; Kate Beckett / Richard Castle; heck even Magnum / Higgins, when you come right down to it. Maybe because I have this so often I am starting to get bored. The eye candy that Matt Bomer is and the overall entertainment value (not to mention the selling point of the Willie Garson factor) might not sustain me to the end of this season. My PVR might be glad of the break if I do decide to call it quits. Question is: would I miss it? Hmmm.   

Sarah Slean - The Rio Theatre - Wednesday, March 6, 2013

I attended the show on behalf of Concert Addicts where this review is posted.

What a treat this show was. It was my first time at Vancouver’s Rio Theatre and from my spot in the first row of the mezzanine I had a good vantage point of the stage, albeit, it was a tiring one for my back because in order to see over the uncomfortably high concrete wall, I had to sit ramrod straight. But many times, it was just as well to sit back and let the music wash over me. 

I arrived in time to see Sarah Slean come on stage. Due to a previous commitment, I was unable to make Ian Kelly’s set (more on him later), and the musicians were finishing up their tuning when I found my seat. There is Sarah’s grand piano on stage right and centre stage by my count are 3 cellos, 2 violas, 6 violins, 1 contrabass, as well as a percussionist and a keyboard player (who also plays the piano and sings harmony) of towards stage left. The lights went down and I could hear the first shushers. Really? I was at the bleedin’ SYMPHONY last weekend and I didn’t hear a single “shush”!

Sarah Slean introduces her songs not necessarily by title, more by the story that inspired it or where she felt it came from. The first song Cosmic Ballet was described as being the “pulse of the universe”. With the song the sweeping sounds of the string section set the tone and Sarah’s sweeping vocals are not in competition with them. And that is how the evening continued. I’ve always enjoyed Sarah’s voice. She oscillates between sounding like a smoky jazz singer (but in a ‘good girl’ way, not a “whatcha doing later, I could be persuaded” way) and a chanteuse in the French tradition (not Celine Dion, think vibrato a la Edith Piaf). Her vocal strength doesn’t necessarily lie in her range (although she’s got that too), but more in the way she can flesh out notes and make them seem multidimensional.

Even after all these years, Sarah’s still a little impish, a little pixielike, but more settled. She doesn’t talk much per se – she whispers conspiratorially to her audience. She’s one of those people who has really grown-up thoughts but has a Peter Pan air about her – still quirky and still perky. The last time I saw Sarah Slean, it was at the Rivoli (the Riv) in Toronto at least 11 years ago. Sarah had been given a laryngitis diagnosis but she didn’t cancel the show – friends called singers and musicians in the community who in turn each learned one of her songs pretty much overnight. Armed with a small whiteboard, magic marker and her piano, she called the evening the “Cute Mute” night, and she accompanied each singer on the piano. It was a unique night – the music was great and it was grounded in community spirit and support. 

More than a decade later, Sarah still carries a good sense of community with her. A charity she supports, Environmental Defence, had a small table set up in the foyer of the theatre – if a patron signed up to be a monthly donor, they received her latest release, the double-CD Land & Sea as a thank you from Sarah (not from her personally, the gentleman at the table had a supply of the CDs). That’s putting your money where your mouth is. Also, the orchestra: the touring orchestra was violin, viola, cello, contrabass, concertmaster – every other string player was a local Vancouver musician. Respect.     

Intros/Observations: 

• Napoleon was introduced as a visit to his grave and his mummified heart stirring back to life – the song has a great Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens feel to it. Visually, the silver screen behind Sarah and orchestra had beach and ocean scenes on them – they didn’t move fast, they would last a song or more, for other songs nature-inspired animation was super-imposed on top. 
• For The Devil & the Dove there was a yellowish-orange plant on which leaf tendrils changed into blossoming butterflies. 
• For Lucky Me and California, Karen, the keyboard player moved over to the piano while Sarah ‘merely’ sang – California’s climax gave me chills: the strings in full bow, the tight harmonies of Karen with Sarah, and the honest emotion coming through on the song. Just gorgeous. 
• Parasol was introduced as “circus music”. 
• For The Rose, Sarah related how this song came about a good 20 years after she first understood mortality: of a pet, of family down the road, her own; and how the present is one of “spectacular richness”. 
• Chuckles from the local strings when she whispered that “classical musicians were so intimidating”. But in the dressing room, she had learned that one of them had a tattoo. She giggled then, saying she found it hot. You had to be there (why weren’t you?). She then explained how she admired TS Eliot’s works (as I do too) and that they were very sad/reflective and that he had “needed a girlfriend”. There were falling drops super-imposed against the beach scene on the screen for the actual song. 
• We’ll Meet Again was actually a song of Ian Kelly’s and Sarah had him come on stage to sing it with her. That was the first chance I had to hear his music and his voice – it’s got a warm and soft tone to it – complimentary sound to his honey-coloured guitar, reminded me a bit of Gordie Sampson. 
• For the next song, Life, Ian stayed to provide guitar back-up, but left a bit awkwardly while Sarah was thanking her orchestra again. 
• Sounds of Water had strings to the max – it was great, lively, not symphonically boring (it’s instrumental solos I generally find boring, this was a string orchestra used to its potential), they added depth and aural interest highlighting different aspects of the music. It was the big finale, I could tell. Well, until the encores. 
• I adore the first song of the encore The Right Words – it could be someone’s Rainbow Connection or Someone’s Waiting for You and it was very personal to Sarah – sent by the universe just when she needed it. Truly beautiful song – absolute poetry set to music.       
• Pilgrim introduced as "spicy tango". At its conclusion the entire house stood up for a standing ovation (a good 360 people, and then some). 
• For the second encore, her touring musicians accompanied her with their voices during the song’s chorus. Nothing too challenging (Sarah did mention they may have been mildly terrified that singing was going to be a requirement for the set of gigs, but by the last show, it looked like that had become less traumatic). 

Full setlist:
Cosmic Ballet
Duncan
Everything by the Gallon
Beauty Lives
Napoleon 
The Devil & the Dove
Lucky Me
California
Parasol 
The Rose 
The One True Love
Eliot
You’re Not Alone
We’ll Meet Again
Life
Sounds of Water

Encore:
The Right Words
Pilgrim

2nd Encore:
Attention Archers

With stories and songs, Sarah Slean and her orchestra brought a great 75 minute show. The two-song encore was under 10 minutes. Second encore was about 5 minutes or so. The lights went up again at 20 after 10. This was the last show of the tour – Sarah said that after having a string orchestra with her, how was she going to get used to touring with a band again? I think as long as she keeps on making music, the audience knows it’s going to get one aural treat after another. 

The balcony was the perfect place to get the full acoustics of the show. I spoke with a couple afterwards and they were towards the middle of the ground floor and they only heard music from the house right speaker. They had issues with how the sound was mixed (Sarah apparently sounding a bit shrill to their ears and they mentioned sibilants) – I had none of that where I was, I had backache instead, but what a show to have received it at. No regrets. 

The Neighbourhood - Biltmore Cabaret - Monday, February 25, 2013

I reviewed this show on behalf of Concert Addicts. My review is here. Jamie Taylor's wonderful photos are here. 

The Biltmore – that hole in the wall I secretly look forward to spending time in whenever I attend a show there. It’s not anything I can put my finger on with any degree of certainty, but maybe it’s that feeling about being a witness to something not a lot of other people in town are (according to the interweb, the Biltmore’s capacity maxes out at 362). For instance I saw Noah and the Whale there in 2011 and it was a really special show. On this particular visit, Monday, February 25, my focus was The Neighbourhood from California.

When the opener, a band called White Arrows, began, the majority of the 150 or so audience members who had up to that point been in all the side alcoves came onto the dance floor. White Arrows are a 5-piece who look to be in their early 20s with a keyboard/lead guitar/rhythm guitar/drums/bass set-up. The lead singer looks the part and has that nasal, quasi-whiny sound that the singer from Glasvegas also has and plays guitar. Their keyboardist has the nicer sounding voice and adds nice vocal harmonies while occasionally taking a lead.

Not a lot of audience interaction from White Arrows. They mostly stand there and play while kind of passively looking at what the other guys are up to. ‘Hey, guitar guy #2, you’re playing a drum. Alright.’ Drum solo starts the 6th song and it continues with a good beat. Some energetic dancing and whoops. And it ends rather abruptly. Abrupt like a power failure, except it wasn’t one. I thought they may have done it again later in the show. They also like timing chords to percussive elements.   

White Arrows’s set went from quarter past 9 until just before 10. They played about 9 and a half songs because I couldn’t figure out if what was between 8 and 9 was a really long exit, a really long intro, or its own instrumental. While it was going on, the band didn’t look like they quite knew how to end it, but then it did go into the final song. In general, I don’t know if the diction was lax or if there was an issue with the microphone, but I found if I understood one word every 30 seconds or so, I thought I was doing well. The crowd participated in general foot tapping and head bopping and were at least mildly enthusiastic throughout, right up to the final thank yous.

Style-wise, they tend towards the upbeat side of pop-rock. They said this was the second-to-last show of their tour with The Neighbourhood. While the music itself was absolutely listenable and playable (I have no idea about the lyrics), I would suggest they attend some gigs of different music genres (songs did begin to sound same-y by the end), rehearse some more, and just generally work on their polish. “Guitar guy #2” who I sat next to later was worried I was going to give White Arrows a bad review and this really isn’t. Steven, you guys have something here. If you were from BC, I’d think you were perfect for a “Band of the Month” slot on Victoria’s 91.3 The Zone. So let me call White Arrows a ‘work in progress’ and suspend any verdict of mine until you come back with top billing and I review you properly. Deal?

The Neighbourhood (my inner Anglophile is pleased, pleased, pleased by the spelling, considering they’re from the US*!) is also a 5-piece, comprising vocals/lead guitar/rhythm guitar/bass/drums and they also look like 20ish is their average age. I knew one song going in, was curious enough about them to want to hear more, and was gratified with liking everything I heard. They have a nice edge and a nice energy/vibe to them. I like the lyrics and the imagery – there’s introspection, there’s storytelling, there’s vocal strength, there’s attitude, there’s variety in sound (incl. vocal effects). They have an EP (I’m Sorry) already in circulation with a new release (Thank You) coming out in late April (the 23rd, I think). They are on their first visit to Canada and I think they were genuinely pleased with the response they got from this Vancouver audience.

I heard the word “buzz band” tossed around recently after the radio station I listen to had played Sweater Weather and after seeing The Neighbourhood live, there’s a reason for that. Jesse, the toqued and tattooed front-man, alone has a good measure of charisma, good eye contact and ‘conversation’ with the audience while he’s singing – a must-have for a non-instrument-playing front person, and he has a very good sense for what’s going on around him. Even with a walk that is part strut and part slink, he can melt into the background when it’s someone else’s turn front and centre for an instrumental feature and while he’s front and centre, the rest of the band is sort of tooling around in the back. There’s no competition, I get a more synergistic sense from this group.

Vocally very consistent – the relaxed and staccato phrasing with the smoothness of the voice sounds just as good live as it does on the recording, which is one of the reasons the vocal effect microphone adds dimension to the overall sound. Tonally, I have to admit that until I saw them live I had no idea if the singer was male or female (in the vein of the surprised reaction many people had when they found out the singer for Alabama Shakes was female) – I obviously hadn’t paid close attention to Sweater Weather’s lyrics yet – I think it’s absolutely a ‘come hither/let’s get closer’ seduction song and I was laughing at myself a little for not figuring it out sooner.

The set was 40 minutes long not including a one-song encore with a total of 11 songs performed. For the 8th and 9th song, lyrics weren’t sounding so clear and because their music isn’t that well known (yet) and the songs weren’t introduced by name (neither were the members of the band), my usual tactic of lyric search only got me so far. Setlist.fm had a setlist for The Neighbourhood’s show in Portland, OR from February 22/13 and they list Let It Go, Female Robbery, Afraid, Baby Came Home, I Remember, Say My Name, What Do You Want From Me, Wires, A Little Death, Sweater Weather. Let’s assume they used the same list for Vancouver – I definitely heard Female Robbery, Baby Came Home, A Little Death, Say My Name, Sweater Weather (a slightly sped-up, amped-up version) with the audience singing part of the chorus, with something that sounded like it could be called Leave It Tonight as the encore, maybe.

To wrap things up, this band has appeal and the songs are definitely radio-friendly, especially with alt-rock/modern rock stations. I would not be surprised at bigger venues when the new CD is released, a good chunk of it the 250+ members of this Vancouver audience already had the chance to hear, and they liked it all.

* Nice way to sidestep the spelling issue of neighbourhood vs neighborhood for the URL of the website: www.thenbhd.com. Clever.

Why I hate Home Depot Canada. PS> Thanks for nothing, UPS.

2013 was supposed to start out better. After seeing an apartment size washing machine at a friend’s house, who spoke highly of it, I thought I would also get one. I spent New Year’s Day reviewing prices online, and settled on Home Depot Canada, because they were a reputable business and the price was right. Or so I thought. I placed the order later the same day. 

On January 2, I received an order confirmation email with an estimated delivery date of January 9. Fine. Wednesday, January 9 rolls around, I receive no email, no telephone call. I call the 1-800 number after work, and speak to someone who told me it had left the depot, gave me an updated estimated delivery date of Monday, January 14 and said I should expect a shipping confirmation email either later that day or the following day. It never came. After work on Monday, January 14 I called Home Depot’s 1-800 number again. This time the CSR told me my item was back-ordered, that they were expecting 24 to be delivered to ‘the depot’ and that I could expect it probably the following Tuesday (January 22). I queried why the person I spoke to the week before didn’t say anything about a back-order when I spoke to her. The CSR had no answer to that. So what if I was lied to. Asked me lamely if I had received a voice mail from Home Depot earlier in the month. Apparently, the mumbled phone call I got on January 9 that had started with “unfortunately you ordered an item from Home Depot” was a notification to say my machine had been back-ordered. If that was the case, why didn’t the CSR I spoke to a few hours later on January 9 have the same information? 

Nothing to be done, I waited some more. On January 17 I finally receive the shipping confirmation email from Home Depot! I read it. I re-read it. No tracking number. Time to call the 1-800 again! This time, I got a tracking number, the same information the Home Depot CSRs have, the rep tells me brightly. Yay. After 3 phone calls to Home Depot, misinformation, best guesses, and 15 days of waiting, here endeth the Home Depot Canada of the tale.

Armed with my trusty Tracking Number, I have a look-see at UPS.com. My package was scanned in Ontario on Thursday, January 17. When I got home after work on Wednesday, January 23 I had the yellow slip I’d been waiting for on my mailbox. I called the 1-800 for more information: 1st delivery was attempted at 1:26 pm and driver would try again on Thursday “between 2 pm and 5 pm”. I tried to change the time – no success. I spoke with an agent because I had a meeting Thursday afternoon. Not to worry, she said. If you don’t catch him tomorrow, you’ll catch him the next day. We make three attempts. I thought, I’ve been waiting for this thing for THREE weeks at this point, I’m not waiting any longer. 

I left work early on Thursday, January 24 and was home by 1 pm (he had been there the day before at around 1:30 pm so I thought, just in case he’s a little early, I’ll catch him. I checked the annunciator panel (where all the buzzers are for units in my building) and my mailbox (where the notice had been affixed) and the general lobby area (floor to ceiling windows). Nothing. I went upstairs to wait. I went downstairs at around 2 pm. Still nothing. I went again between 3 and 4. Still nothing. I checked again around 5. Nope. It’s okay, I thought. The rep from the night before had said they deliver as late as 7 pm. I went down again at 6 pm. Nada. Then, on a whim, I went down at 6:40. There was a notice. I called the 1-800 number. The machine tells me delivery had been attempted at 11:48 AM. BUT THERE WAS NO NOTICE ANYWHERE ON OR NEAR THE DOOR! I speak to an agent who told me it was a quarter to seven and that I really could have called earlier to get any results. I told her, if I’d received the notice any earlier, don’t you think I would’ve called you earlier? I could’ve made my meeting, I could’ve gone back to work and not wasted a half day waiting for the door to ring that was never going to ring that day, if he even rang then and if so, why did it take 6 hours for a delivery notice to materialise? Was he on the way back to the depot and saw the notice and swung by my house really quick? I call bullshit. I refused to accept that as a second attempt at delivery. The rep escalates my call and I am to hear back from the dispatch office in the morning. And why the hell was he at my house a full TWO AND A HALF HOURS before he said he would be.

Friday, January 25 at quarter to eight the dispatcher called. She had no new information for me but I got to explain the entire previous day to her. Said she would speak to the driver after he came in at quarter to 9ish and would call me back, which she did. She had no answers to my question as to why the time delay on the delivery notice but said he would’ve been by early because Air packages need to be delivered by 1 pm and there were some for my building and he can’t come back again for a Ground package but that he’d be by between 10 and 1130 am that morning. I said fine, but can I count on his help getting the machine to my apartment because it weighs 75 pounds and my building doesn’t have an elevator. She said okay. I mentioned the weight of the package on each of those phone calls and the fact that I needed help because I’m on the third floor and each time no protest was raised. I got ready for work and waited. 

At around 11 am the doorbell rings. I answer it, it’s the delivery guy. Finally! I buzz him in and let him know the door to the staircase is across the front door. Right. A few minutes later he buzzes again - maybe the buzz-in didn't take, it happens. I let him in again. I wait. After a few minutes, I go to the staircase. I don’t hear anything. Fearing the worst, I run downstairs, see my parcel (it’s as high as my chest), the front door is closed, and I hear the sound of a diesel engine starting up. I opened the door to holler at the driver to stop, yanking the carpet out the door so I had a doorstopper to get back inside (I had run out without my keys). The driver, maybe 30 years old, didn’t turn the engine off so I had to talk loudly while standing in the middle of the road. Aren’t you going to help me upstairs? Blah, blah, Home Depot installation will do that. Installation? I didn’t order any installation. I cleared it with your dispatch. Well, more blah, blah, I’m by myself. And? I’m by myself as well and you’re expecting me to get along just fine. Look at me. Blah, blah, it’s too heavy. We’re not supposed to lift more than 70 pounds. And you think I can? I talked to your dispatch, you’re supposed to help me. He drove away and left me standing there in the middle of the street. He didn’t apologise, didn’t offer the use of a dolly which I’m sure he had with him (health & safety and all), because this man with a trim build looking to be in good enough health likely did not lift it any more than the minimum requirement necessary to dump it in my building’s lobby – no effort at co-operation, hey let’s do it together (that way no one has to do all the lifting). Bubkas. 

I’m sure if I’d offered him money, he would’ve jumped down from his cab quick enough or if I were young, 5’8” and weighing 100 lbs I wouldn’t be writing. I’m not - and that doesn't make me any less of a customer. By the way, when UPS weighed the package, it came in at 72.6 lbs. I dead lifted it. All the way up to my front door. You’re welcome. 

I drove to work and called the UPS 1-800 again, this time to lodge a complaint and gave them the entire story. The CSR typed away and said I would hear from the local office. After that phone call, I still felt beyond stressed - I thought I might throw up. The local office called just after noon to acknowledge they got the complaint. Not a whole lot more as the driver hadn’t returned from his rounds, but I would hear back from them before 7 pm. Oh, they did mention it would go on his record. Oh, goody. Since then, he’s falsified the record some more:
Richmond, BC Canada   01/25/2013   10:51 A.M. The customer was not available on the 1st attempt. A 2nd attempt will be made.    

So, essentially, UPS isn’t even confirming delivery? Great – does that mean I get to carry another 72.6 pounds all by myself? 

Update: Friday, 8 pm. UPS did not call back. Have posted on their Facebook pages and on Twitter. No response. Not surprised.  
Update: Saturday, 5:00 pm. No phone call from UPS. No response via social media channels. Ran to hardware stores (both Home Hardware and Home Depot) for casters for my washer, no joy. With online only sales, HD doesn't carry "parts", I was told (it's not like I was looking for a belt drive, I need wheels for a product you sell!) Did some online searching. Apparently, the HD ones are NOT the ones to get because they're plastic and break easily (just what you want when the thing attached to them weighs 70 lbs plus water plus wet clothes), so placed an online order with Lowe's. It's either that or drive an hour to Queensborough and back. I've wasted enough time on this.
February's "to-be-fair" update: Home Depot will be using this experience as a 'teaching case' and updating some things on supply chain, etc. The rep in Toronto I spoke to had to laugh in spite of himself at the ridiculousness of it all. Home Depot gave me a choice of a $75 gift certificate (in-store only) or a credit against my credit card. Predictably, I chose the latter. UPS delivered an apology card from the driver and a bouquet of flowers. There had been some talk of a $50 credit on-file at UPS for which I was to be given a code in order to access, but nothing came of it. 


Here endeth the saga.