Category Archives: Live Shows

The Big Mess: Busking in Nanaimo

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Who is having a blast busking in Nanaimo?
WE ARE!!! WE ARE!!!

The VoxMan and I got frustrated with having to make sure that our “case was closed”… so we purchased a group and individual busking licenses. Oh my god, we’ve unleashed a Monster!!

We’re having so much fun making music down at the waterfront. I mean REAL FUN. Dusk has never been the same!

The city of Nanaimo is very strict on what you can and can not do, so we purchased a small battery-operated but beautiful sounding system. Kyle recently purchased a cahon and the rest is history.

Last night, while we were in the middle of a song, our good buddy Mikaila Tombe appeared in the waterfront audience. As soon as I saw her, I had an idea… but it took all of us to play along… and it worked PERFECTLY. When we finished the song, I told Kyle to maybe ask someone in the audience if they might want to sing along with us. Kyle was on to where I was going with this, so he pointed to someone who he knew for sure wouldn’t join us. When they refused, he then pointed to Mikaila, who shyly played along… and then totally blew away everyone with “At Last”. I don’t think that anyone was on to our spontaneous little theatre act… even though Mikaila did a few more songs with us. Oh god, that was so fun!!

 

New concerts in April, with the one and only Joëlle Rabu

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Two Shows One Concert at Headliners in Nanaimo and Phoenix Auditorium on Gabriola Island

The Big Mess meets Joelle Rabu

This is a very special concert for The Big Mess because we are sharing the stage with Joëlle Rabu and & Nico Rodes. Joëlle is a world renowned vocalist and Nico is like Chopin meets Jackson Pollock on the piano. Not only are they dazzling performers and magnificent musicians, they are very dear friends of ours AND they are, like The Big Mess, a parent-kid collaboration. So there will be a lot of fun, authentic energy spinning around on the nights of these shows. They are two separate acts for the same price, but there will also be some interesting crossover. We joined Joëlle and Nico in Puerta Vallarta Mexico where we ended up rocking the stage together in some very tasty collaborative jams.

Due to popular demand, we are offering this show on two nights, once at Headliners in Nanaimo and once at the Phoenix Auditorium on Gabriola. Tickets are $20 and will soon be available to purchase at Artworks on Gabe and at Headliners in Nanaimo.

Stay tuned, stay happy, and bless ya

from da Big Mess

Another delightful show at our favorite place

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Big thanks goes out to Acme Food Co. for being our close friends and most comfy performance space. We had a truly delightful show there last Saturday. Delightful not only because were there at least two tables of folks who came because they saw our newspaper advert and youtube videos (marketing really works!!!), but also because we were using some new gear that reallllllly improved the quality of our sound.

I am now using a TC-Helicon VoiceTone for something called Adaptive Compression and Shape modelling, and a new microphone: the Shure Beta 87. And let me tell YOU, a $300 mic can definitely be a delicious improvement over a $100 mic. The sound of my voice is now crisp and present, and I don’t have to make-out with the mic in order to make my beatboxing audible. The inspiration from the nice new sound and the very appreciative, happy audience led me to surprise Marty with an encore tune that he didn’t expect…. mwa ha ha ha ha!

Now we are looking forward to our upcoming concerts in April! Which I’ll post about in a few minutes once the posters are ready!

Ciao for now, friendly fans and secret admirers.

– VoxMan

Primeval moaning and wicked beat drops

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This is VoxMan Kyle and Comox Valley’s Mantrakid voice-jam on aire during his Creamreefer show.

I am accompanying most of the tracks being played on this show. See if you can pick me out in there. As well as jamming, we get into some nicely deep philisopho-musical discussion about the use of the voice in music, community, and evolution.

VoxMan Kyle and Mantrakid on Creemreefer Radio

New Songs in Progress… VERY excited!

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Kyle and I are hard at work on some new tunes… a healthy number of new tunes. I’m literally adrenalin-rushing with excitement about most of them. There are some big challenges with some of these BUT I think that there is the potential for a good number of high end show-stoppers!

I think that it’s a bit premature to give out names yet. We hope to have some ready for Nov. 5th and all of them ready for New Year’s Eve. Lot of work ahead of us, but there’s lots of motivation, too.

Bite of Nanaimo – What a blast!

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We got a last second phone call inviting us to play at the Acme Food Co. booth at The Bite of Nanaimo. Not only was it really fun to play, but also the exposure in front of 900 people was pretty darn nice, too!

We set up at the back of the booth and it must have been a bit of a sound challenge for the brave Acme people. They had to attempt to hear what people were ordering over the sound of Big Mess tunes.

Ready for tonight’s shoot?? Yeah, right!!!

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We are kinda sorta maybe as ready as we can be for tonight’s video shoot. A few weeks ago, at an official Marty/VoxMan Kyle business meeting, the VoxMan stated that we should do a video shoot. After an obligatory protest, I very quickly agreed that it was precisely what we should do. Both of us wanted Tash Baycroft to shoot it and he’s a busy guy. So tonight is when we were all able to fit it in.

Much thanks to Kyle and Heather for baking brownies… and to the Acme Food Co. for letting us shoot there. I’m into this, even though Kyle will NOT let me eat a brownie!!

Seeking Audience to Enjoy Free Music and a complimentary beer & brownie, Oct. 19th

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The Big Mess is shooting its first ever live performance video!

Our videographer is Nanaimo’s Tash Baycroft, the creative genius behind Naked Jams. What an honour! We are documenting a number of our songs from a variety of angles so that we can edit them into a mini-concert, individual songs, and promotional medleys.

What we need from You, friends, is to come down and be in the audience and enjoy a free show and some free beer and brownies!

Place: Acme Food Company, Basement Lounge
Date: Tuesday, October 19th
Time: 6:15 sharp – 7:30ish PM

Wear what you wanna, be who you wanna. Prepare to bob your heads, gawk & giggle and Wiggle Yobutts!

Tash Baycroft’s blog: tashunkabaycroft.wordpress.com
Naked Jams: www.nakedjams.com
Acme Food Co: www.acmefoodco.ca

Marty gapes at the VoxMan whirling his scatanomical solo