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Live From Queen West… It’s The Social!

The Social

Melissa Grelo, Traci Melchor, Sarah Prince, Cynthia Loyst and Elaine Lui

I’ve been eager to attend a live taping of CTV’s The Social since it premiered in September. The Social is like a younger version of The View with a stronger interactive component, as viewers’ social media engagement is integral to the series.

The Social takes the second screen experience to a new level because it’s filmed live and selected Twitter and Facebook posts are displayed onscreen. Offering opinionated viewers an opportunity to gain exposure on national television is definitely a better incentive to follow the show’s social media accounts than simply for the sake of entering contests or seeing behind the scenes photos.

Interestingly, the invitation to live tweet the show is extended to audience members as well, so I think Bell Media should install a mobile charging station in the audience waiting area. That would be a cost-effective way to ensure more fans can post on social media with the show’s hashtag. If iPhone chargers were available, then I would’ve taken more pictures and tweeted more commentary. Nevertheless, I preserved my battery as much as possible and was able to take photos with the hosts after the cameras stopped rolling.

I was so excited to see Wednesday’s special guest Jessica Alba that I didn’t care what brought her to Toronto. The fact that Jessica booked interviews with Canadian media outlets to promote her new line of eco-friendly baby products rather than a new movie didn’t matter. Plus, I’m certainly not complaining about getting a free copy of Jessica’s book, The Honest Life.

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October 10, 2013 by

24 Hours, 3 Bands, 2 Cities

Molson Amphitheatre hosted an amazing concert with the Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox Twenty on Thursday night. The Goo Goo Dolls were up first and played many of their big hits, including Slide and Black Balloon, but the crowd didn’t stand up until they started singing Iris.

Goo Goo Dolls

Although it was disappointing that the two bands were never on stage together, they were both incredible. The Goo Goo Dolls’s music is more rock-heavy, whereas Matchbox Twenty’s set list was more mellow. Going to the nearly sold out concert was the perfect way to satisfy my nostalgia for the 90s and the crowd of 15,000 fans seemed to agree.

Matchbox Twenty

Typically that would’ve been enough live music to keep me happy for a few months, but then I went to another concert Friday night in Montreal. Just in time for Canada Day, Feist opened the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

TD was a prominent sponsor, which made sense considering their large presence seen at the Molson Amphitheatre on Thursday night, where they gave out neon green wristbands printed with a #TDmusic hashtag.

Feist took the stage a few hours after my VIA Rail train arrived, so it was very good timing. (Have I mentioned that taking the train is the best way to travel?) I’m not a huge Feist fan, but I’m always down for a good free concert, not to mention the opportunity to support Canadian musicians.

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June 29, 2013 by

iPhone Transition and Recommended Apps

After my last exam of the semester, I took the earliest train to Toronto the next morning, eager to finally pick up a new phone. Though my excitement was interrupted by a transportation-related delay, the shopping experience that followed was unlike any other. I finally got to browse though Yorkdale’s new extension, including Canada’s first Microsoft store, which was great because I’m a PC.

Photo Source: Mashable

Buying a black 16 GB iPhone 5, which’ll be protected by a black OtterBox Defender, was a fantastic way to start my winter break. The case is so mightily thick that my friends have been teasing me about how the phone looks, but having peace of mind makes it worthwhile. During the initial activation of my phone, it was immediately apparent that using it is as intuitive as people say. Once my contacts were transferred from my BlackBerry Tour 9630 (3 years old, with a trackwheel!), I could proudly call myself an iPhone owner.

I’ve had a lot of fun downloading and testing out apps. Here’s a list of 20 apps I recommend, sorted categorically:

Social Networking & Photo: Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Skype

Entertainment & Music: Flixster (w/ Rotten Tomatoes), GetGlue, Cineplex, Shazam, IMDB

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December 30, 2012 by

Concert Review: Chantal Kreviazuk

The setlist at Chantal Kreviazuk’s show Friday night at Centennial Hall made it seem like fans were privy to a unique live performance of soundtracks from popular films of the 90s and early 2000s. When she wooed everyone by playing popular hits like “Time,” this brought back memories of watching MuchMoreMusic before the channel’s re-branding, not to mention climactic melodramatic scenes from Dawson’s Creek.

Her career may have peaked in the 90s, but Kreviazuk’s commentary between songs was definitely timely for a concert in 2012. While introducing “Feels Like Home,” she shared that many couples gush about it being their wedding song, and then emphasized how divorces and multiple marriages have changed how people feel about it. Her anecdotes can be summarized by the themes of remarriage, rowdiness and rock stars’ lifestyles. Evidently an Apple customer, Kreviazuk also spoke about how much she loves FaceTime, especially when either she or her husband, Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace, are touring.

Early on, Kreviazuk made self-deprecating remarks about forgetting lyrics 12 times, joking that she needed a teleprompter, even though such errors weren’t noticeable. What was more frustrating, however, was how Kreviazuk repeatedly faced the orchestra rather than the paying ticketholders. Although she was understandably impressed by the orchestra’s seamless collaboration, it would have been nice to see more of her facial expressions while singing emotionally-driven lyrics, no matter how “honoured” she was to play with them. Apparently she assumed everyone was a major Orchestra London supporter, but the weak applause when she acknowledged them indicated otherwise.

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November 13, 2012 by

Rewind and Re-watch: Legally Blonde

To kick off a new category and series of HOTS blog posts, I’ve revisited one of my favourite chick flicks: Legally Blonde.

I first saw Legally Blonde at a theatre at The Eaton Centre, which isn’t there anymore. It was 2001. Little did I know at the time that the film about a blonde sorority girl disproving others’ perception of her by going to Harvard Law School would spawn sequels and propel Reese Witherspoon’s career much further than Election could accomplish alone.

As I re-watched it for the umpteenth time on DVD, I was more attuned to the product placement. Not just the Red Bull that Elle’s sorority sister drinks while exercising or the stack of Cosmopolitan magazines on Elle’s dresser, but especially the OPI nail polish bottles scattered across her colourful room. Even when Elle has the revelation at a nail salon to enroll in law school to win Warner back, the back cover ad on the magazine she’s reading is for OPI. I also thought about the contrast between Elle’s nerdy classmates on black PCs and her brand new orange Apple iBook.

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September 23, 2012 by