Grey Cup Half Time Show ??

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Belize City Lion
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TheLionKing wrote:Can they be any worse than the Black Eyed Peas ?? I was at the stadium and because of the poor acoustics can't make out a word they were singing.
I feel that way when I hear them on the radio
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Hambone
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Belize City Lion wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:
Belize City Lion wrote:I guess Trooper and Loverboy were already booked to play Studebakers that night.
Along with Prism and Chilliwack .... LOL.

Man, how lame can they get. Has the budget for this suddenly dried up after a nice run of bigger stars??? This was apparently Bruce Allen's baby as he could apparently pull the necessary strings to bring in a big act. Too bad his string was apparently about an inch long. I was thinking Adams or Nickelback who have yet to do a Grey Cup and have a new album being released on Nov. 21.
The fact there is no big press conference in Vancouver to make the announcement but rather at halftime on a TSN telecast suggests that it's nothing more than an afterthought as far as the organizers are concerned.
If Nickelback was to do a Grey Cup they should wait for it to be played on the prairies. Too many people in Vancouver love to hate Nickelback. It would be embarrassing if you hear a chorus of boos when the half time act came out.

I actually don't mind old nostalgic Canadian bands for Grey Cup. I thought Bachman-Turner rocked. Neil Young would be cool. Or Rush. The Hip. In fact I could probably go along with Trooper, Loverboy, Streetheart, Kim Mitchell, etc. just for fun. But Sloan brings nothing. They are not relevant now and they were never that good back then. They have no nostalgic value either. :thdn:
That's one of the drawbacks with top Canadian acts. It doesn't take long to cycle through most that are relevant in recent times before you're down to recycling the wrinkley rockers of 25 or 30 years ago who are mostly on nostalgia tours of their own playing smaller music halls or clubs like they did on their way up. Nickelback probably would be the one act that is at the top of their game now who hasn't done a Grey Cup. Having said that Neil Young or Rush would be acts I haven't seen but sure wouldn't mind seeing at a Grey Cup.

2010 - Bachman & Turner (Edmonton)
2009 - Blue Rodeo (Calgary)
2008 - Theory of a Deadman, Suzee McNeil and Andree Waters (Montreal)
2007 - Lenny Kravitz (Toronto)
2006 - Nelly Furtado (Winnipeg)
2005 - Black Eyed Peas (Vancouver)
2004 - Tragically Hip (Ottawa)
2003 - Bryan Adams and Sam Roberts (Regina)
2002 - Shania Twain (Calgary)
2001 - Sass Jordan and Michel Pagliaro (Montreal)
2000 - The Guess Who (Calgary)
1999 - (Vancouver)
1998 - Love Inc (Winnipeg)
1997 - Trooper (Edmonton)
1996 - The Nylons (Hamilton)
1995 - Jack Semple (Regina)
1994 - Tom Cochrane (Vancouver)
1993 - (Calgary)
1992 - Celine Dion (Toronto)
1991 - Luba (Winnipeg)
1990 - Aretha Franklin (Vancouver)
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TheLionKing
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Celine Dion ? You got to be kidding me ? Is she relevant anywhere in Canada outside of Quebec ??
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Coast Mountain Lion
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Hambone wrote: That's one of the drawbacks with top Canadian acts. It doesn't take long to cycle through most that are relevant in recent times before you're down to recycling the wrinkley rockers of 25 or 30 years ago who are mostly on nostalgia tours of their own playing smaller music halls or clubs like they did on their way up. Nickelback probably would be the one act that is at the top of their game now who hasn't done a Grey Cup. Having said that Neil Young or Rush would be acts I haven't seen but sure wouldn't mind seeing at a Grey Cup.

2010 - Bachman & Turner (Edmonton)
2009 - Blue Rodeo (Calgary)
2008 - Theory of a Deadman, Suzee McNeil and Andree Waters (Montreal)
2007 - Lenny Kravitz (Toronto)
2006 - Nelly Furtado (Winnipeg)
2005 - Black Eyed Peas (Vancouver)
2004 - Tragically Hip (Ottawa)
2003 - Bryan Adams and Sam Roberts (Regina)
2002 - Shania Twain (Calgary)
2001 - Sass Jordan and Michel Pagliaro (Montreal)
2000 - The Guess Who (Calgary)
1999 - (Vancouver)
1998 - Love Inc (Winnipeg)
1997 - Trooper (Edmonton)
1996 - The Nylons (Hamilton)
1995 - Jack Semple (Regina)
1994 - Tom Cochrane (Vancouver)
1993 - (Calgary)
1992 - Celine Dion (Toronto)
1991 - Luba (Winnipeg)
1990 - Aretha Franklin (Vancouver)
The Nylons also appeared in 1984, when they were a current thing. In 1996 they were on the skids but so was the CFL at that point. Rush would probably have been too loud and aggressive in their day by GC standards, but if they can have The Black Eyed Peas they have no further excuse.

Chilliwack, the archetypal Vancouver band, a band that could appeal to just about everyone, has never done a GC?

If you think Sloan is a bad idea, consider the first suggestion in this thread (which the poster at least has the good taste to diss).
http://www.friendsoftheargonauts.com/ta ... h-Grey-Cup
:puke:
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Hambone wrote:The love/hate thing for Nickelback isn't a BC only thing. They are booked to play halftime for the Packers vs Lions Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit this year. There's a big fuss going on about it. People in Detroit are upset that a Canadian rock band is playing instead of a Motown type act.
It isn't even a North America-only phenomenon. This happened in Portugal nearly a decade ago:
[youtube][/youtube]

And here's the get-rid-of-NB story from Detroit.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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sj-roc
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While we're all slagging some of the candidates/choices for Grey Cup halftime entertainment, let's recognise that this isn't just a Grey Cup thing. The Super Bowl in recent years has served up some veritable fossils as well. Before BEP at the latest one, you had in reverse chronological order:

* The Who, or really only half of The Who (The Vo?), what with both Entwistle and Moon long since dead, and with only one new album to their credit since 1982.

* Bruce Springsteen, a generation past his Born In The USA peak.

* Tom Petty, who was already openly vocal in song about how radio stations had abandoned him.

* Prince, whose Purple Rain had gone good and grey by this point.

* Rolling Stones... even the jokes about their ages should have jokes about their ages. Not to mention that the SB was in Detroit that year and they might have more reasonably opted for something a little closer to the region's vast musical history.

* Paul McCartney... sure, he's a legend like all the others above, but at least half the world's population today wasn't even born for the split up of the vehicle for his most significant contributions.

It's also worth noting that half of these acts are not American. If they can get past foreigners headlining the half time show of their football championship, I don't see why we can't. So I don't insist on necessarily having a Canadian act, but if there's a suitable one available, then no problem.

But I wouldn't put Rush in that category, ever, and I'm a Rush fan. Even had they appeared during their peak from, say, 1976-1984, the complexion of their music, with all the deep sci-fi/fantasy themes, just doesn't mesh well with a football game for me. I mean, it's not like you ever hear The Fountain of Lamneth or even Tom Sawyer over the PA at any sporting event.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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cromartie
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Big Time wrote:If Sloan is the case, then that's a huge disappointment. That band hasn't been relevant in ten years. That's almost as bad as the year they had Theory of a Deadman.
You're nuts. The new album is awesome. I can see if you're disappointed because they don't rock in the traditional sense or aren't a high level pop band, but those of you who bag Sloan wouldn't know a decent melody line if it shoved it's foot up your hind end.

Another notable omission to this point off that list is Sam Roberts. (Bonus points to the poster who suggested Cuff the Duke.)
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Hambone
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sj-roc wrote:So I don't insist on necessarily having a Canadian act, but if there's a suitable one available, then no problem..
I'm with that too. When it comes to Grey Cup half-time shows I'm just as apt to take a pass on them and head to the concourse for a beer unless the act is something that piques my interest because of their profile or I simply had never seen them before. Lenny Kravitz probably would top my list of the best GC half-time performances I've witnessed. Certainly it's the only one that still sticks in my mind. Usually convenience is the only way Grey Cups can attract acts of a more global nature. If they happen to be on tour in the general vicinity of the Grey Cup on game day then there is a chance to land them for a 3 song performance at a reasonable cost. I think that was the case with both Kravitz and the Black Eyed Peas. BEP was on tour close to the Pacific Northwest at the time if I recall and I believe Kravitz either had just played Montreal or Buffalo a day or two before or were playing in TO the next day.
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dtrain
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How about 54-40?
Vancouver band, lots of hits, still going strong 30 years later,totally worthy of the opportunity.
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Hambone
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JohnHenry wrote:The GC halftime acts are probably open to the highest bidder. I'll bet the record companies pay a pretty penny to the Grey Cup organizers to have a band like Blue Northern perform at halftime (reaching a peak audience of 8-9 million Canadians)...in conjunction with a new album release.
For some reason I doubt that. Tours are normally used to promote new albums. Something like a half-time show I don't think does a lot to promote a new album because usually the band belts out 2 or 3 of their good old anthems that everybody already knows. Having said that I recall The Hip was distributing a bunch of mini-CDs in Ottawa in 2004. I can't remember if they were related to a newly released album or not.
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sj-roc
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Hambone wrote:
sj-roc wrote:So I don't insist on necessarily having a Canadian act, but if there's a suitable one available, then no problem..
I'm with that too. When it comes to Grey Cup half-time shows I'm just as apt to take a pass on them and head to the concourse for a beer unless the act is something that piques my interest because of their profile or I simply had never seen them before. Lenny Kravitz probably would top my list of the best GC half-time performances I've witnessed. Certainly it's the only one that still sticks in my mind. Usually convenience is the only way Grey Cups can attract acts of a more global nature. If they happen to be on tour in the general vicinity of the Grey Cup on game day then there is a chance to land them for a 3 song performance at a reasonable cost. I think that was the case with both Kravitz and the Black Eyed Peas. BEP was on tour close to the Pacific Northwest at the time if I recall and I believe Kravitz either had just played Montreal or Buffalo a day or two before or were playing in TO the next day.
I wonder how much of a factor, good or bad, the usually near-coincidence of Grey Cup Sunday and American Thanksgiving is on attracting higher level US acts. I looked into BEP as an example, and it turns out that while they were on tour in late 2005, they took a break for the whole second half of November aside from the Grey Cup stop. It looks like they might have initially planned that hiatus to decompress for a while, as many Americans do at that time of year, until someone wrote them a large cheque for this gig.

I also recall rumours in 2007 of Bon Jovi getting the Toronto gig based on a similar break in their tour at the time; they even happened to be touring that area right around that break.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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sj-roc
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SammyGreene wrote:The fact there is no big press conference in Vancouver to make the announcement but rather at halftime on a TSN telecast suggests that it's nothing more than an afterthought as far as the organizers are concerned.
Blue Rodeo was announced on TSN the same way in 2009; I remember they even had Cuddy & Keelor there for an interview, reminiscing on how they met on the football field during their high school days in the early 70s.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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sj-roc wrote:Blue Rodeo was announced on TSN the same way in 2009; I remember they even had Cuddy & Keelor there for an interview, reminiscing on how they met on the football field during their high school days in the early 70s.
Maybe TSN will have the guys from Sloan on reminiscing about how they met at the beauty salon, looking at pictures of Noel and Liam Gallagher in a Tiger Beat magazine, when they realized with the right hair cut they could start a band and get on Much Music. :wink:
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sj-roc
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cromartie wrote:(Bonus points to the poster who suggested Cuff the Duke.)
Thanks, C, that was me. BTW here's some pics (not mine) from their show here the other night you might like to check out.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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