Tuesday 17 July 2007

Attacked...

The Attack of the Killer Bluesfest is over! And not a minute too soon!
Great bands, good times, fun people, fairly clean portapotties, nice weather, but going out late that many nights in a row (and, with the exception of one cab ride*, walking home) is hard on people of my advanced age. Kaff.

Overall, we definitely got our money's worth from the full-festival pass. We saw: Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, George Thoroughgood, (night off for Margarita's engagement party), White Stripes, Final Fantasy, (night off), (stomach flu), Blue Rodeo, Metric, (night off for Harry Potter movie), and Sam Roberts/the Sunday Night Solid Gold Dance Party.

A few words about the Dance Party:

First, I would like to know why I wasn't called to be a backup dancer, since that is a gig that I would love. Perhaps they don't have my phone number? I can be reached through this blog. I'm available. Seriously.


Second, I would like to know why they bothered to keep playing after the Village People's set was done, because you cannot top that, so why even try? They opened with American Band, did Macho Man (Hey! Hey! Hey hey hey!), and finished with In the Navy (I called Chris at this point; he had gone home to study, but I'm sure he appreciated the call)... complete with punchy dance moves and semaphore flags! It was really, really, really great, and makes me smile just to think
about it. I'm sure that I had a goofy grin on my face the whole time, while I was bopping along (with excellent dance moves, I might add. Call me.).

I left right after they finished, and walked home, along Wellington, by myself. The Hill was all lit up with colours and images... it was gorgeous, and I found myself appreciating (again) how beautiful this city is, and how much there is to do. I'm definitely going to make a point of coming back to watch.

All the same, though, it's nice to go home, read a book, and go to bed. Aaaah.


*Friday night, after watching Metric at the River Stage and having several drinks, we went back to Sue and Liam's at about midnight and had some more drinks. There was a good number of us, and lots to talk about...and beer and vodka to drink. To sum up, we were overserved. The cab was a very smart choice. I had a grumbly bear in my house all day Saturday, not unlike the last time we went out with Sue and Liam on a Friday night... could there be a connection?

Thursday 5 July 2007

Canada day update

(Canada Day update: got up, went to the gym, stopped by boutique GT for some festive buttons, hats, and flags, then made a pitcher of pretty lousy mojitos (later added sugar and vodka) and waited. Andrea stopped by at about 3, Chris (who was out for a run) and Sean joined us shortly after, and we started a 4-hour game of "President" that welcomed Jeremy and Jessica eventually, as well. Dinner was at Cornerstone - good, but the focus was still on the drinks at that point - and we made it up to a good fireworks-viewing spot at the top of Clarence just in time. Wow. Afterwards, we walked back to the condo, Chris dashed off to buy cake, and we closed down the night with some very, very loud karaoke in our living room. All in all, a good day.)

It's a marvellous night for a Bluesfest...

I am still in shock from the lineup at this year's Bluesfest. It's beyond ridiculous. It's incredibly cool. It's going to be my social life until July 15th, which is really, really cool. Not as cool as my neon-yellow Bluesfest wristband, but still fantastic. Actually, the LED lightup wine glasses you can buy there are pretty cool too; I'm planning to get one tonight.

Last night's headlining artist was Van Morrison. We unfortunately got to Lebreton Flats a bit after the set started, and thus, disappointingly, missed Moondance. The crowd ranged from the (forgive me) geriatrics, aka people old enough to actually know Van Morrison music, to the kids that only know him for Brown Eyed Girl; some of these whippersnappers cut in front of us at the beer tent, so I didn't and don't approve of their presence.


Van -- if I may call him Van -- sounded good. Great, in fact. Just like on the radio, very cool, very calm, and very mellow. To watch him, though, was just like watching him on tv. For such a great performance, there was one thing he wasn't doing, and that's performing. No crowd interaction, no encore, just up there doing his thing, not for us, but for himself.

Good for him, I sort of think.

Overall, the first night ran smoothly, as far as my "consumer's eye" could see... well, from this height, anyway (the height at which, some may note, it is silly to go to a concert... you might as well be standing in a crowd of people, staring at their backs, listening to a radio...). Good snacks (Chris approved the poutine), friendly volunteers, and a seamless transition from when Van left his stage to the less-than-a-minute-later when the next band started playing an amazing instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's ... um... song about Vikings and the land of the ice and snow... at the stage across the field. Well done!

Calling it a night at about 9:30 (kaff -- geriatrics!), we decided to not brave the transpo-bound hordes, and walked home hand-in-hand along the river, a quiet, moonlit, and very romantic spot. The temperature was perfect; it was a lovely end to a beautiful summer's night.

Well, almost the end. When we got home, I downloaded Moondance.

Oh, and the theme from Magnum P.I., too.

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