Blogcritics Author: Triniman

Concert Review: Neil Young w/ Death Cab For Cutie & Everst, MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/16/2008

Triniman — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 21:43:01 EST

Still the longest running, coolest, most uncompromising rock musician alive in the universe, Neil Young put on a show befitting his legend.
I had a $75 general admission floor seat, and arrived just before 6 pm, when the doors opened. I quickly made my way to the floor where I parked myself, leaning on a railing at the front, for the whole evening. The barricades seemed farther from the stage than normal, and I quickly realized that this was done to provide the two guys with video...

Concert Review: Amon Amarth w/ The Absence, Belphegor & Ensiferum - Garrick Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/11/2008

Triniman — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:19:22 EDT

Fans brought along horned helmets and plastic swords for an evening of dragon-slaying Viking-themed metal.
Sub-genres of metal were presented in the form of melodic death metal upstarts The Absence, from Tampa, Florida; black metallers Belphegor from Austria, Finland's self-described "heroic folk metal" in the form of Ensiferum and the headliners, Sweden's Amon Amarth, a melodic death metal band, heavily focused on Vikings and Norse...

Concert Review: Joe Satriani w/ Mountain - Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/06/2008

Triniman — Wed, 8 Oct 2008 09:01:57 EDT

Numbing guitar solos wear you out in this otherwise stunning evening of instrumental prowess.
Attendance: 1646 (sold out)I was surprised by the number of old rock fans in the audience. Grey hair and balding heads were everywhere. Clearly, a chance to see Mountain, one of the classic rock's most popular early 1970's bands, was too much to resist for these 50 and 60-something fans.Leslie West's vocals weren't great but he...

Concert Review: Bobby Watson with Horizon - Berney Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/04/2008

Triniman — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 14:30:43 EDT

Re-united jazz stars Bobby Watson and Horizon deliver in spades.
This is the first concert of the season in the Izzy Asper Jazz Performance Series in the 180 seat Berney Theatre at the Asper Campus in Winnipeg, Canada. Each concert is also repeated on Sunday afternoon and evening, such is the demand for tickets. And, as in previous years, the entire series is sold out.The quintet Horizon is comprised of...

Concert Review: Opeth w/High On Fire - The Garrick Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, 09/29/2008

Triniman — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 10:21:58 EDT

Two very different but excellent metal bands including the masters of folksy-progressive death metal.
Sweden's Opeth are one of the most celebrated "progressive" metal bands around, and certainly one of the most unique with their unusual mix of folksy, acoustic passages juxtaposed with deep, guttural vocals and rapidly thrashing precise speed metal, with tinges of progressive keyboards. They command sonic textures and wrap up the...

Concert Review: Sheryl Crow At MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 09/27/2008

Triniman — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:09:14 EDT

Sheryl Crow is an unmistakable activist, so expect her to unload on Bush, climate change deniers, and Paris Hilton!
Around 9 pm, the lights went down inside the MTS Centre, Winnipeg's main concert venue, and taped music of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" was played for a few minutes before the headliners took to the stage. I had an excellent view from the third row on the floor and some of the people around erupted in excitement as they...

Concert Review: Elton John At MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 09/19/2008

Triniman — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:45:51 EDT

Guess no more about who the real "King of Pop" is. The King may be a queen, but he's still the King.
I was in row 32 on the floor for Elton John, and enjoyed the show more thanks to the two huge video screens that provided a great view. The giddy 50-something ladies I sat beside brought album covers and waved them constantly when they danced during the non-ballad songs.When Elton appeared onstage to a thunderous ovation, the crowd naturally rose...

Concert Review: Nightwish - Winnipeg, May 14, 2008

Triniman — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:28:58 EDT

A spellbinding performance by Finland's Nightwish.
The Finnish-Swedish group Nightwish performed to an enthusiastic and near sold-out at the Garrick Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada on May 14, 2008.The lineup began before 6 pm and the doors opened around 6:55 pm. After a brief queue for a t-shirt, it was about a 20 minute wait to get seated. Most of the crowd headed straight for the floor, but many of...

Concert Review: The Hives - Winnipeg, May 20, 2008

Triniman — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:56:47 EDT

Is the Hives lead singer Mick Jagger's illegitimate son?
After lining up for over an hour outside, I ended up at the front of the stage for this general admission show, and it turned out to be a blast despite not being sold out.The Hives' lead singer Pelle Almqvist channels Mick Jagger, right down to the cocksure rooster strutting. Guitarist Nicholaus Arson (Niklas Almqvist, his brother) was...

Google's Rapid Growth in Datacenters and Green IT

Triniman — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:10:56 EST

How Google's rapid increase in datacenters will dovetail with their strong environmental bent, resulting in "Green IT."
Google continues to remain one of the most interesting and not surprisingly, secretive technology companies in the world. Their rapid expansion, together with their goal to maintain as small a carbon footprint as possible (“Green IT,” as Gartner calls it), is as fascinating as it is challenging.Back in March 2001, Google had about...