January has drawn to a close with a brilliant trifecta in the sky, a full moon, a lunar eclipse and lunar perigee (supermoon in common parlance). It was bitterly cold and very early in the morning in our part of the globe, Edmonton, Alberta. The air temperature was hovering around -25 C and the wind chill put it well into the -30’s as I pulled on my long johns at 6:00 a.m., my son Joel had already put in about 2 hours of watching and he got some great photos from start to finish of the eclipse. This is my own picture, not nearly as good as his.

Music, yeah, music. January closed with probably the worst concert experience of my life, and it takes some bad crap to reach the top that list. I won’t bother to mention the venue or the artist, both of whom I respect and have had good relations with apart from this isolated event. It was just a perfect shit storm. ‘Nuff said.

I expanded my listening to some crooning, R&B and hip/hop that I don’t normally listen to very much. I started with a Canadian who has 9 albums to his credit and with Real Love, David Myles tenth release, he hit an 8 out of 10 on my listening list. I really liked the way this smooth crooner shifts between rockabilly, reminiscent of Brian Setzer, adding a tribute to Elvis a bit of Sinatra and then manages to bring it all together in a mix that is all David Myles. I may have to get a solid copy of this one to spin on the old turntable. A very enjoyable listen suitable for just kicking back and relaxing.

Another record that will be arriving this week thanks to the great staff at Listen Records in Edmonton is Chris Dave and the Drumhedz. Chris Dave is a highly regarded session musician and an in-demand hard-working touring drummer. On this self-titled album, Chris Dave takes samples of the jazz that influenced his early life, thanks to his Dad, and the hip/hop that he has worked with such as D’Angelo and The Vanguard with their great album from 2012 titled Black Messiah.

Chris Dave and the Drumhedz is a wonderfully crafted trip that floats, jumps and mingles with so much going on that it has taken me repeated listens just to hear some of the nuances within this amazing recording. A 10 out of 10 on my listening scale. Trust me, I don’t give 10’s away easily.

Gwen Cresens, Diego Matheuz & Brussels Philharmonic my listening to a whole new dimension with their release titled Concertos for Bandoneon & Accordion. Very enjoyable and I love the building and release of tension that exists in much of this album. A little touch of new classical that needs more exploration, an easy 8 out of 10.

Nightmares on Wax, isn’t that a great band name? I love it, so I gotta hear it too. I heard it and I liked it. I listened to it again and heard more detail. And a third time. I have it on order for a full-on vinyl attack through the big stereo. I’ll keep you posted but for now, Shapes of The Future is looking good as a possible finalist for best of the year, right up there with Typhoon and their release Offerings.

All in all, it was a really inconsistent month for both the weather and the music experiences. I sampled a band from Greece, I didn’t know that Greece had anything other than Vangelis. They do and they are good. Tango With Lions is the band, The Night is the album, get it to the Greek on time and spin it. Good music.

And this listen took me down a wandering path of Vangelis, OMD, and samples of several other Greek artists, some really good music going on there.

Moving into February I see only one show on the horizon for this month, a local band, Mortar and Marrow. They will be at the Sewing Machine Factory on Feb. 9, check them out. I don’t have any albums jumping out at me for new releases so I might focus on some of the older music that I listen to. Lots of Beatles so far, we’ll see where else this goes since my listening is seldom consistent.