I’m not so sure

I got the feeling that quite a few people at the Daniel Johnston gig last night weren’t there for the music, but were just there to see what he’d do.

I quite like his music (I was more there to hear McCa) and I’m glad he’s making a living from it, but he’s clearly not doing too well on stage. Random playing, forgetting the words or tune, massive tremor while he was singing, complaining of being tired — he’s not well. I felt particularly sorry for him when his keyboard mic kept slipping lower and lower, and he had to hunch down to sing into it; no stage crew came out to help him.

I had to leave early. Too many of the crowd were there to laugh at him, I felt.

in the running

Almost ‘Best of The Year’ time. In the running are:

A Hawk and a Hacksaw – The Way the Wind Blows
A.C. Newman – Souvenir of Canada – EP
Beck – The Information
Calexico – Garden Ruin
Casper & the Cookies – The Optimist’s Club
Colin Meloy – Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins
Eels with Strings – Live At Town Hall
Elf Power – Back To The Web
Erynn Marshall – Calico
Faun Fables – The Transit Rider
Grandaddy – Just Like The Fambly Cat
Grant-Lee Phillips – nineteeneighties
Hidden Cameras – Awoo
Joanna Newsom – Ys
Jolie Holland – Springtime Can Kill You
King Biscuit Time – Black Gold
Mayor McCa – Cue Are Es Tea You
Peter Stampfel – The Jig Is Up
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – Olé! Tarantula
Sufjan Stevens – Songs For Christmas – Volume V: Peace
Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche – Outtakes And Extras From The Illinois Album
The Be Good Tanyas – Hello Love
The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
The Essex Green – Cannibal Sea
The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
The Handsome Family – Last Days of Wonder
The Instruments – Cast A Half Shadow
The Sadies – In Concert Vol. 1
The Wailin’ Jennys – Firecracker
Thom Yorke – The Eraser
Thomas Dolby – The Sole Inhabitant
Wendy Arrowsmith – Crying Out
Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Miraculously, all of them fit on my iPod Nano, so they’ll be in heavy rotation over the next week or so while I decide.

the mayor is back in town (or will be)

Mayor McCA is touring in Canada soon!

May 4-Ebar Guelph ON
May 5- The Jane Bond. 004 Princess St, Waterloo ON
May 6- Music Gallery- The Over The Top Festival Toronto ON (advanced tics recommended for this one).
May 7- Casbah. Donut Rock City (Hamilton) ON,
May 8-10- TBA
May 11- The Paramount. Moncton NB
May 12- World Cafe 2412 Agricola St , Halifax NS
May 13- Gus' Pub 2605 Agricola St, Halifax NS
May 13-17- TBA

Farewell, Mayor McCA

I hear that Hamilton’s beloved Mayor McCA is heading off to London (UK, that is) indefinitely. We’ll miss you, CA. Our loss is London’s gain.

Published
Categorised as choons Tagged

torrent: Mayor McCA, Lee’s Palace, 18 June 2004

http://www.easytree.org/torrents-details.php?id=12213

Mayor McCa
Lee’s Palace, Toronto
18th June 02004

172MB, FLAC format

Set List
========

I’m So Poor. Buy My CD : 4’13”
That’s A Wrap : 3’14”
Hey Man, You Gotta Nice Job : 4’58”
I Got A Haircut : 3’11”
Funky Fresh Beets : 7’45”
I Can’t Pay The Rent : 3’13”
You Better Watch Out : 4’34”

Recording Details
=================

Audience recorded by Stewart C. Russell
Sony ECM-909A microphone -> iRiver H120 digital WAV recorder
(Direct digital file transfer to host Linux box)
Tracks split using Audacity
Levels normalized using the ‘normalize’ command-line tool.

This recording was made with CA Smith’s permission.

About the Artist
================

CA “Mayor McCa” Smith — One-man Band Singing Sensation, Cartoonist,
Tapdancer, almost-Mayor of Hamilton, ON — is probably best explained by
visiting his website: < http://mayormcca.com/>.

MP3s live here.

The Multi-Talented Mayor

mcca_colour.jpg
One-man band singing sensation. Tapdancer. Comic book artist. Sometime mayoral candidate in Hamilton Donut Rock City. Is there no end to the talents of Mayor McCa? Why is he unknown outside Ontario?

I was on the guest list for his show at Lee’s Palace on Friday. CA was on first, so there wasn’t much of a crowd. This is the first time I’ve seen him in his one-man band persona. Much fun was had.

I recorded the show with the Mayor’s permission. I had the files online, but took them off when I ran out of space. Let me know if you want to hear them.

The return of Mayor McCA

Back on June 6, I lamented the lack of interest there is in determinedly indie Canadian musician Mayor McCA. How wrong — or premature — I was.

I just heard from Mark at Sonic Unyon records that not merely does the Mayor have a new CD out, but that they’re sending me a copy! Whee!

Better yet, the Mayor is playing a free show later in the month at The Horseshoe, Toronto. This is all on his website, mayormcca.com, along with a track from the new album. Great stuff!

Christian Anderson Smith, where were you in our hour of need?

Norvin just lent me a great CD; Welcome to McCALand, by Mayor McCA. It’s exactly my kind of music — quirky, folky, trippy, witty. Think Robyn Hitchcock sings Of Montreal.

What’s sad is that Christian Anderson Smith (aka Mayor McCA) doesn’t have a major recording contract. I had to go direct to the distributor, Sonic Unyon (phone 905-777-1223) to get his CDs. There’s no justice.