Tag / Downsview Park

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #10

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

Today, we break into the top 10 and slow down the pace a bit, taking one act at a time.  Formed in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, this band released their first album in 1975 and have been rocking the world ever since, selling more than 200 million records worldwide.  At #10, we have the powerhouse group known as AC/DC.#10: AC/DC
iTunes stats: 558 plays
Previous ranking: #10

The Australian hard rockers stay even with their previous ranking to kick off the top ten.  20 songs, from 7 different albums, make up their play total, which increased 63%.  The most popular song, Thunderstruck, has a tremendous amount of plays due to the White Sox use of it when running out on to the field and its inclusion on my various victory playlists.  Another entry, Back In Black, has also made an appearance or two over the years, most recently thanks to former catcher James McCann’s use as his walkup song.

In 2015, I saw the band in concert in Toronto, at Downsview Park.  I’d be lying if I said that seeing AC/DC was at the top of my to-do list musically speaking.  In fact, they were playing Wrigley Field the following week and I had passed on the chance to get tickets.  But, as a wise man once said, you only live once, and, seeing as this is likely their last go-around, I guess you can say that I’m glad to have seen them.  After missing the opening act thanks to traffic, we got in to the show just as AC/DC were starting.  The show itself was both good and bad.  The songs are what you expect, but there was no real flow to the show, probably due to the band’s conditioning, or lack thereof.  After each song, the lights went down and there was a brief break before the next song would begin.  The net result of this was a disjointed experience, where each song stood on its own without there being any coherence in the set.  This ended up being their last tour with Brian Johnson before the unfortunate Axl Rose experiment, so I guess I’m glad I saw them when I did.

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Vacation Recap – Toronto

toronto-condoTwo weeks ago, I headed out early on a Friday morning for the long drive northeast to the Canadian city of Toronto.  I arrived in the early evening, with my allergies inflamed after an afternoon of driving through the wilds of Michigan.  After a quick trip to find a pharmacy, we settled in at the sports bar just around the corner from our condo for dinner before calling it an early night to recover from a day of travelling.

Saturday morning was spent walking around the lakefront, enjoying the views and trying to get a little lay of the land.  The afternoon was spent at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays easily handled the Orioles to keep their hold on first place in the AL East.  Eventually we ended up at the fancy Italian restaurant across the street for dinner and drinks.

Sunday was another day of exploring.  After a late breakfast, we ended up on a bus tour, which, due to street closures, was not following its normal path.  It managed to drop us off a few blocks away from the Royal Ontario Museum, where we headed to enjoy some culture, including a special exhibit on Pompeii.  Thankfully, the tour was back on its normal path afterwards, so we grabbed a ride back to the condo before heading out to the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre for the Oddball Comedy Fest, which I went into much detail here.  After the show, we eventually managed to catch a cab back to the condo.

niagaraMonday was time to bid a temporary farewell to Toronto, as we headed south to Niagara Falls, where we spent the afternoon.   Continue reading →

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Fitbit Week 32

Week32_FBThere’s something about being on vacation out of town that seems to get me moving, and last week was no different.  In fact, it was the most successful week I’ve had since I started tracking such things over 5 years ago, finishing with nearly 100,000 steps.  2 of the days have found themselves in my Top 5 step days.

Things got of to a tremendous start on Sunday, when I found myself doing more exploring of the greater Toronto metropolitan area, including the Royal Ontario Museum and, at night, the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre for the Oddball Comedy Fest.  The day’s total of 18,259 placed it as my 3rd most successful step day.  Monday we left Toronto behind and headed to Niagara Falls, where walking back and forth across the falls left me just shy of 14,000 steps.

Tuesday found me in Cooperstown, NY for a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which left me with close to 11,000 steps.  Wednesday was the lowlight of the week, with much of the day spent driving back to Toronto.  Still, the day ended up at nearly 9000 steps, thanks to dinner at the CN Tower.  Thursday was back to nearly 11,000 steps, thanks to the AC/DC concert at Downsview Park.

Friday, my last day in Toronto, ended up being another huge success, with 17,889 steps, my 4th most successful day, thanks to trips to the Eaton Centre mall, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a few other stops.  Saturday managed to just pass 10,000 steps, despite spending 8 hours in the car driving home, thanks to a trip to US Cellular Field to see the White Sox defeat the Twins.

Total steps: 90,702

Daily average: 12,957.4

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We Salute You

acdcThe whole starting point of this Toronto trip was the AC/DC concert Thursday night at Downsview Park.  I’d be lying if I said that seeing AC/DC was at the top of my to-do list musically speaking.  In fact, they are playing Wrigley Field this week and I had passed on the chance to get tickets.  But, as a wise man once said, you only live once, and, seeing as this is likely their last go-around, I guess you can say that I’m glad to have seen them.

Thanks to traffic, we completely missed the opening act, who I had never heard of.  It actually turned out pretty well, as we got in to the show just as AC/DC were starting.  The show itself was both good and bad.  The songs are what you expect, but there was no real flow to the show, probably due to the band’s conditioning, or lack thereof.  After each song, the lights went down and there was a brief break before the next song would begin.  The net result of this was a disjointed experience, where each song stood on its own without there being any coherence in the set.

Years from now, I’m sure I’ll be happy to say that I saw AC/DC at some point, even if it was near the end, so I guess it was worth it.  After 40 years of rock and roll that has been the soundtrack of a generation, they deserve to go out on their own terms.