Montreal You Are So Dope!
So we—Matias, Liam, Ming & I—had the fantastic idea of going to an Osheaga after-party, but decided the day before. It was the long weekend so all car rentals were sold out and Ming stole our spot in a buddy’s car with Liam… now what?
I find Matias and I a ride share, check. Matias, 6’4’’ , myself, 6’2’’ and a very nice woman named Helene, also around six feet tall, crammed in the back of a Honda Accord to Montreal. We had some very interesting conversations on the ride, conversations that varied from relationships to music, women and family.
Being last-minute we also did not have a place to stay, but luckily I bailed out the group by having awesome friends. Catalin let us crash at his place at the very last minute, and all it cost us was a ticket to the event and a few beers! Thanks man!
Oh yeah, you are probably wondering where we were going. We were going to see Rich Aucoin doing Daft Punk with Toronto-based musician Diamond Rings opening up… now back to the story. Once we arrived we headed to a park across from the venue, Theatre Corona, to indulge in a little drink. The park was an extremely well-lit baseball diamond and had me wishing I had brought a ball and some gloves, or a football, or a Frisbee… I digress. While waiting for our partners in crime, Ming and Liam, we got a visit from a skunk. Luckily he had no interest in us and was just looking for food scraps. The team finally united, we indulged a little more and then made our way to the show.
Diamond Rings was doing his thing spinning like mad and getting everyone amped up. We met up with some more friends at the show and were so ready for Rich Aucoin. Just before he started his set, he came by and hugged some of us and shook hands with us. He also posed with some of us for a picture, but unfortunately I pulled a major beer induced fail and botched the photo-op. I’m not sure I will ever be forgiven but I’ll work on it, sorry Jill.
Rich and his merry men blew the roof of the theater. His set-up consisted of two drums, a guitar, a bass, and of course his turntables. Brass instruments also made a triumphant appearance on stage, although how frequently is a little foggy. The energy was unreal, the sound was great, the remixes were perfect and the visuals were awe inspiring, love the rainbow parachute. The highlight for sure was when Rich got in the crowd to sing his heart us with us all around him.
The next morning we awoke and set our sights on Disco Brunch at Le Nouveau Palais. Catalin, Liam, Matìas, Ming and myself ventured down for some sweet grub and some flowing tunes. I ordered Fried Chicken and Waffles and an extra spicy breakfast Caesar, which had a freaking quail egg on the tooth pick…so delicious! The DJ was great, playing a bunch of slick tracks and to top it all off he was wearing a Refused t-shirt.
It was now time for Matias and I to say goodbye to our friends and goodbye to Montreal. We got ourselves a ride share back home and high-fived over a most excellent adventure.