Whistler Vancouver 2010 Olympics Day 6
by Nick Vail on February 21, 2010
On the 6th day of the Olympics Whistler Live brought to me, Ali Milner live on stage.
I’ve seen Ali play a few times live on stage and have enjoyed many of her songs while at work. The first time I saw Ali live on stage was last year at the Whistler Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival live on stage with Animal Nation while playing at the base of Whistler mountain.
Ali Milner Live on Stage
Ali is a singer songwriter who has a very contemporary rhythm blues jazzy style with her exciting on stage performances. During her shows she sings with her smooth voice while playing the piano along side her amazing drummer, guitarist and bassist. When Ali was 13 she sang for Prince Andrew of England who was hosting the North American Childrens Hospital Benefit at the BC place in Vancouver. Such an amazing feat for a singer at such a young age.
Ali Milner Live on Stage
The Vancouver Childrens Choir was a source of a lot of Ali’s musical foundation while singing the lead voice in the Elite Cantata section. According to Pique Newsmagazine, “. . . the musician’s voice has developed, both literally and figuratively. She’s moved away from that pure, unadulterated jazz feel and developed her own distinct, poppy take on the traditional . . .”
Ali Milner Live on Stage
Whistler Live!
Rocking with the band to a crowd of over a thousand!
Whistler Village is teeming with people all day and almost all night. Lots of live music. Six sites with big screens where you can watch the events. And our own medals plaza. Right in the middle of it all is Village Square with a big stage set up. Ali and the band played to a crowd of over a thousand. She had them dancing. One guy wanted her phone number (which she declined to give out....very graciously of course.)
Ali performs at Robson Square as part of the BC Experience!
Ali playing on the stage under Robson Square
Right in the middle of all of the action in Vancouver, the BC Experience at Robson Square is a must-visit for all of you "I want to catch the Olympic buzz" types. Robson Street itself is teeming with people, closed to cars, and throbbing with excitement. Go down the stairs to find a full a panoply of things to see and do. One day, the best chefs in Vancouver were serving up their best fare; you can rent skates and try out the new ice rink; overhead the zip line is busy with brave souls; or, you can sit on the steps and listen to some great music. That's where Ali came in.
Ali and the band played a 30 minute set of up-beat tunes. To the delight of the crowd, a couple of gymnasts took centre pit to show off some pretty impressive impromptu tumbling to 'Gonna Dance'... great fun.
Three shows to see – Tom Harrison, The Province
| Appeared in The Province, Thursday, February 11, 2010 |
1. MATISYAHU (FEB. 14, 4:10 P.M.)
Like an extraordinary number of acts appearing under the Cultural Olympiad banner, Matisyahu erases the boundaries separating all music. The catch when he started was that Matisyahu blended his Jewish lore with reggae, which was interesting but proved limiting. He since has branched out to take in other contemporary rhythms and riffs.
2. ALI MILNER (FEB. 17, 2:45 P.M.)
MILNER SLOWLY BUT STEADILY HAS been making an impression. She veers from Motown exuberance to more reflective pop balladry with elements of jazz also popping up. There also is an appealing sassiness that makes her one to watch.
3. WINTERSLEEP (FEB. 26 4:30 P.M.)
THIS HALIFAX BAND SEEMS TO BE everywhere in the coming weeks so the show at Whistler won't be the only chance to see it. Melodic and appealing, Wintersleep has been establishing itself as one more of the country's diverse but substantial new bands, which has garnered a lot of international recognition. Wintersleep opened for Paul McCartney last summer.
And What a Day it was…
Unbelievable experience. We were walking to the bus stop to go into Whistler to hear Ali Milner and her band play at the Olympic Torch Lighting celebration. As we got to the corner the torch was actually going by! A life experience. Made me cry. So rather than wait at the bus stop, we followed it out to the highway.
Ali on the big screen at the Olympic Torch Lighting
When we got into town, we went over to Skiers' Plaza. Huge stage. And absolutely enormous crowds. Finally we saw the flame coming in from up the mountain, driven by our friend Julia Murray on snowmobile. Julia is the daughter of Crazy Canuck, Dave Murray, and she will compete on the Skier Cross team this Olympics. She handed the torch off to another Crazy Canuck and also a good friend, Steve Podborski who skied down the mountain with it. I cried again. Steve handed it off to Tyler Allison, a grade 12 student here in Whistler, who is a future Olympic hopeful for the London Games. Tyler lit the cauldron. Ali sang O Canada, and guess what, 9000 people in the Plaza sang along with her. What a moment!
After some speeches, Ali and the band played a terrific up beat set that had the crowd dancin' on the snow. Lots of folks were filming. I hope it ends up on YouTube. Let us know. Then Ali grabbed her keyboard and raced over to the Whistler-Canada Olympic House to play for another party with the Premier. An absolutely fantastic night. We are all caught up in Olympic fever.
CBC Radio 2 – Canada Live
Next! Celebrating The Up And Comers
Posted by Li Robbins on Friday February 5, 2010 at 3:00 AM Comments2|Recommend3
You might remember Next! from last year -- an excellent series profiling some of Canada's up and coming musicians across several genres of music. You can view the line up at Next!
Today Canada Live kicks off Next! 2010 with a concert by 19-year-old Ali Milner, recorded in Vancouver.
Someone at CBC (not sure who) is on record as saying Ali Milner is "the next Joni Mitchell," but she's also been compared to Fiona Apple, Sara Bareilles and Estelle, and been called a "female Sam Cooke." No pressure there!
Maybe all the comparisons are because Milner is a very flexible vocalist -- she cites her own influences as ranging "from Puccini to Ella, and of course Zeppelin to Queen."
As for the Cooke comparison, for sure that comes from songs like this, I Dare You.
At YouTube one listener says "I'm a Metalhead, but, this rocks my world. It's PERFECT."
Certainly a perfect person to kick off Next! -- a boatload of talent, and at the beginning of her career.
Ali on CBC Radio 2’s Canada Live – Feb 5th, 7pm
So for those of you who can't be at the Torch Ceremony, tune in to CBC Radio 2. Ali is part of the Canada Live national broadcast at 7 pm. This recording was done last fall at her concert at the TELUS Theatre at the Chan in Vancouver. It is magnificent. It was the first introduction of her new CD, I Dare You. Here is a review by THEUBYssey...
At the Chan Centre: Ali Milner
Talent is timeless
michael thibault photo/the ubyssey
by Steven Chua
contributor
Sunday, October 4th, 2009
Walking into the Telus Studio Theatre in the Chan Centre can be a magical thing. The lights are dimmed and the setting is intimate—a perfect place for the jazz-pop artist Ali Milner to show us what she’s made of.
As the spotlight goes on, she sits alone at the piano and immediately begins serenading the audience with her soulful voice and impressive piano work. The crowd seems to be put in a trance. Taking advantage of the effect, the rest of her band creeps on stage and begins to power into the groove-heavy reggae inspired song, “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” and keeps the momentum going for the rest of the show.
Milner takes the audience on an impressive journey through boogie-woogie, soulful ballads with orchestral arrangements, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, show tunes, old school—she does it all.
Fans of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Liza Minelli and other classic artists would be pleased to hear her as she integrates many elements of these artists into her own sound. Much of the audience was drawn from a 30-plus crowd, but those of you who want to take a break from your iPod indie rock play lists will be well rewarded, because talent is timeless.
Ali…before the Olympics even start
Living in Whistler is definitely living in the middle of the Olympics. New stuff happening every day. Even new bus stops, new hydrogen buses, new fences, new stages, army guys in fatigues, helicopters, F18's....I mean Wow! So how does this impact a 19 year old redhead who grew up here and who everyone knows as the go-to-girl for entertainment.
Just to give you a sense, I'll tell you about Feb 5th and Feb 6th. Feb 5th of course is the day the Olympic Torch comes to Whistler and the cauldron is lit. We have watched it cross Canada, excitement mounting all the way. So you can imagine how our little town is lining up to welcome it. We expect up to 9000 people at Skiers' Plaza. And guess who will be playing with her band when it gets here. How exciting is that?!
As soon as the Torch Ceremonies are over, Ali has to grab her keyboard and race over to the Whistler Canada Centre (formerly known as the Whistler Library) for a post Torch VIP reception hosted by the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation. Now it's actually difficult to race when you are hauling a keyboard, so this should be something to behold.
Next morning, she is up for another reception at the Whistler Canada Centre which takes her to mid-afternoon. And then, she may just have time for lunch before a special Olympic car picks her up to take her to Athlete's Village where she will perform for the world's best. How cool is that!
So 4 gigs in 48 hours...and the Olympics don't even start for a week after that.
FUN!!!
Don’t Believe a Word I Way with Bob Segarini – FYI Music News
On Monday evening I was invited to the Drake Hotel to see a young woman from Whistler, B.C play the Whistler Film Festival reception.
Expecting the usual beer ticket and Doritos extravaganza the music business has become of late, I was completely shocked to find fabulous food, open bars, and a helpful and accessible staff. This is more like it.
As the room filled up, I found a spot in front of the little electric piano and waited for the music to start. There must have been 2 or 3 hundred people in the room by then…all talking at once.
Halfway through my first Alexander Keith, a young, well poised and confident redhead sat down at the piano, said a few words, and launched into a song she wrote, in fact, most of the songs she performed were written by her, and when I say songs, I mean songs. How can someone this young, (she is still a teenager), write material that stands up to God Bless the Child, (written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939), which she also sang during her set, giving it a reading worthy of both Billy Holiday and Eddie Harris’s fine versions. I am impressed.
The 400 conversations continued throughout her set, but a clutch of musos had joined me in front of her and the piano, (including her justifiably beaming mother), and applauded wildly after every tune. Even with the party raging, the conversations all blurring together like a rap throw down in a meth lab, she was completely focused, hitting every nuance, note, and emotional brush stroke of the music and lyric. She didn’t need an audience, she was there for the music. This young woman means every note she plays, every word she sings. This young woman is real. This young woman is special.
Her name is Ali Milner.
In the meantime, whet your whistles with these two videos…
Ali Milner – According to the New York Times
YOUTHINK – by teens for teens
Ali Milner: I Dare You
4 stars
Milner invites you to indulge in her simply wonderful debut album
Whistler's velvet-voiced singing and songwriting sweetheart Ali Milner perfectly blends old-school soul and upbeat catchy melodies with her debut album, I Dare You. The 19-year-old artist delivers passion and honesty with her soothing croon as she shows off her fantastic songwriting skills and accompanies herself on piano. This album has hooked me and I've sunk into lounge-y retro bliss.
Megan’s fave track: I Wanna Be Loved By You
Welcome to Alimilner.com
Ali just released her new album “I Dare You”.
Enter contests, listen to music, buy Ali Milner merchandise, sign up for the Ali Milner Newsletter, read the latest news, and generally discover one of Canada's best new singer/songwriters.
Here is what Bob Segarini from FYI Music says about her...
“She didn't need an audience, she was there for the music. This young woman means every note she plays, every word she sings. This young woman is real. This young woman is special.”
Showcase Products
I Dare You showcases a singer/songwriter with voice, composure and songwriting skills way beyond her years and phrasing which, as amazing as it is, is bound to only get better with time. Pile on immaculate production by one Don McLeod, who puts his finger on the pulse of Milner's musical heartbeat, and you have a winner. An award winner, to my ears. I'm serious.
Purchase It Here and Now!
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