January 2010

Hope everyone enjoyed part 1 of my Vancouver trip. The fish & chips and sushi covered in part 1 were a great introduction to Vancouver seafood. Things however we about to take a turn towards Pork Nirvana in a BIG way.

My friend took me to a very small meat store called J,N & Z Deli Smoked Meat located at 1729 Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Quite simply put, this small space is the best meat store I have ever been in anywhere, which includes Biltong stores in Cape Town, South Africa. The Viktualienmarkt in Munich and countless Boucheries in Paris and other parts of France.

I knew this place was gonna be cool when I caught Santa selling hand painted wooden eggs in front while smoking a hand rolled cigarette.

When you step into the store, it is like taking a step back in time. The staff is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about everything in the store.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

A Phantasy Tour user named Mod_Ov3rkill recently started a thread on PT to share rare tracks from the Trey.com A/V room. These tracks were posted for a short period of

Ex-Vida Blue keyboardist Page McConnell sat in on keys for Spanish Moon > Skin It Back last night during Little Feat’s show at Higher Ground. McConnell shared Billy Payne’s keyboard

British pop duo The Ting Tings, who are working on a new album, make their Saturday Night Live debut tomorrow night on NBC at 11:30PM. Actress Sigourney Weaver returns to

A week ago today, I was just waking up on the MSC Poesia about to enjoy the final day of Jam Cruise 8. Over the course of the trip’s five days, I caught one outstanding musical performance after another. For this week’s B List I’ve put together my thoughts on my ten favorite sets of Jam Cruise 8.

Now, as a disclaimer, I didn’t see every set so I can only comment on what I saw. I’ve heard wonderful things about the Sexual Chocolate set and the STS9 theater set, but I wasn’t there. I tried to catch as much music as I could, but I couldn’t see it all. With that said, let’s get down to business…

10. Ryan Montbleau Band – Pool Deck [LiveDownloads]

[Photo by Jeffrey Dupuis]

HT faves the Ryan Montbleau Band got on the boat by the skin of their teeth after an extremely close “Vote to the Boat” competition. The Boston-based band made the most of the opportunity all week long, showing up at various events and in the Jam Room each night. Ryan and the boys kicked off the action on Monday morning with a fantastic set that included old favorites, a new tune and a couple of slamming covers. Watch out for these guys in 2010 as they are ready to take the scene by storm.

9. Dark Star Orchestra – Theater [LiveDownloads]

[Photo by Dave Vann]

Once the show started off with a mixed bag featuring Shakedown Street, Next Time You See Me and Stir It Up, it was pretty clear DSO was playing an original setlist for their theater set on Jam Cruise 8. While this is clearly a band in transition, the connection between former long-time band mates Jeff Mattson and Rob Barraco was clear throughout. There were a number of people I talked to who hadn’t given DSO much of a shot in the past, but enjoyed the hell out of themselves in the theater this night.

READ ON for Scotty’s favorite eight performances of Jam Cruise 8…