My 'weekend' was awesome!
Finding old friends, George Clinton, Peter Murphy's birthday, high class meal and ROLLER DERBY!!!
Read more after the cut.
What the hell just happened?
On the week/weekend of July 9th to the 11th some really cool things happened to me. Christina and I decided that it was a good idea to go check out George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. The show was free and a part of the Ottawa Bluesfest… we arrived downtown and ran into a friend of ours from 15 years ago! This in itself was awesome, as he was one of those friends we all seem to have in which we just ‘lost touch’ with… I’m sure that I am one of those to some of you out there… know this: Life just gets in the way sometimes- which makes re-connections like this mean so much. It was AWESOME to see him. He took some great photos of the show and promptly sent me his contact info the next day instead of the posturing that normally takes place.. ‘I’ll call you!’ or ‘Let’s get together soon.’ Still on the tip of my tongue, but this time I’m hoping I can REALLY make it happen. The show itself? It was fun, but maybe George was sick or something because this outing was pale in comparison to what it was last year when we saw George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars. There just seemed to be too many times when someone else would pick up the mic to ‘cover’ for George. What do I expect… he is 70 after all? I was also happy to walk away with a Tee shirt from the show, which I missed last year.
The next day (and show) I was THRILLED to get tickets to see Peter Murphy (also part of the Bluesfest). Now, while I was a pretty avid ‘spooky kid’, Bauhaus was not the biggest part of my music collection (the Cure was) but I REALLY loved Peter Murphy’s album ‘Deep’. So to get a chance to see him was going to be cool… the bonus part was a buddy was supposed to open up for him (ad ver sary) and I’ve been meaning to see him perform… 2 birds, one stone! We had also found out our re-found friend was ALSO coming to the show!
We arrived to the line-up (I hate line-ups) at about 9:45… there was already a bunch of people there standing outside. The show was slated to begin at 10 with Murphy taking the stage after 11 sometime. Well… it appears the stage was not sufficient for Murphy to play his ‘tour show’ and needed to take some extra time to re-configure the stage, P.A. and the set list, but he’d perform a ‘stripped down’ version of his show with some songs that would not be normally performed on this tour! While the show would be altered we would get a show that no one else would see…WICKED! The only downsides … we’d have to wait some more, AND Ad ver sary got boned out of playing (boo!) We waited until about midnight which saw the line get longer and longer… People were chatting to each other and joking around, overall it was a pretty decent atmosphere…and then the weirdest thing happened. I started getting recognized from my days in ‘the Haunting’ (and PaLE- but this was more a ‘spooky kid’ crowd so the Haunting was the ‘big’ one). Random people were coming up to me and saying hi, and catching up…asking what I was doing now etc. Then I had ANOTHER re-connection with another old friend! Wicked! Funniest thing- he was wearing a Utilikilt (so was I) and the girls asked if we called each other to plan our outfits. This time we all hung out for the show- and tentatively planned a ‘Freak show BBQ’ (I love this idea).
The show: Fan FUCKING tastic. I was so close, I could have given Peter Murphy a High Five (I didn’t though). I got another tee shirt, (with graphics from the aforementioned ‘Deep’). I went in to the show with a sense of seeing an aging troubadour that might not live up to the potential that was in my head…was I ever wrong. I am hoping that if I ever perform on stage again I can deliver a quarter of this performance. He not only proved he still has it, he showed us that he could do it without a band by opening the show A cappella! The audience had our own surprise for him though, as it was after Midnight, it was technically his birthday- so we sang to him as he took the stage to perform an encore. Peter Murphy was engaging, entertaining and musically awesome. Best of all, it felt like a private party for all of us lucky enough to attend. After the show I spoke to the guitar player a bit, and then one of those ‘moments’ happened: Now, before I reveal this moment, allow me to put this into perspective, I’ve had autograph requests, screaming fans, and some moderate fame back in the Haunting (and PaLE, but the Haunting was more ‘known’). I’ve been interrupted eating meals, propositioned backstage, and followed in the Mall. But that was all a LONG time ago. Every once in a while I get recognized, but now I find it …weird? I mean, flattering, yes… but it’s a bit weird too. I’m just a dude who used to be in a popular band… it’s AWESOME that anyone would even knows that, so when it happens it makes me kinda shy in a way. I’m also not used to being in the audience, but then again…Peter Murphy! So there I was, post show chatting with my friends when I get approached with “I don’t want to embarrass you or anything, but you guys (the Haunting) were the first show I ever saw live at Zaphods. It was my favorite show” … I had no idea how to respond to that… It was really cool and humbling that he even told me that. I cracked some lame ass joke I’m sure… but I have to say it moved me a bit to be remembered fondly. It makes me feel really good that my music stuck in his head. If I needed to sum up some of the more memorable moments outside of my music career, but still related to it: this would be on that list. I must have had 10 other people come up to me and ask me about music or what I’m doing these days that night, and while I appreciated every one of them asking me and catching up, this was head and shoulders above that.
The next night we got together with Clammy and went to the roller derby! Yep, gangs of girls tussling with each other, vying for position. That sounds hot. SIGN ME UP!
Before we met up with Clammy, we went to the ‘Prime 360’ Steakhouse for a nice meal as we had a 50 dollar gift certificate from Christmas that we needed to use up. I had a really nice rib eye with scallops, and Christina had the grilled salmon since we rarely cook fish. It was really nice; we accompanied the meal with some decent wine and followed it up with a desert that we split (crème caramel) and coffee. It was 119 bucks (before tip!) Thank God for the gift certificate… oh well, it’s not like we go out for a meal like that every day.
The only way to follow up on that much class was, of course, roller derby at the rink. For some reason I thought there would only be a few people there, but was I ever wrong. We met Clammy there and also saw Admin-man and his wife; we were crammed into the bleachers. It was hot. Like temperature hot. We figure there were about 500 people in there including the ‘suicide seating’ on the arena floor. We were enthralled by the Ottawa team, the ‘Slaughter Daughters’ taking on London’s ‘Thames Fatales’ team. Ottawa won 150 - 77 and the atmosphere was electric! Roller Derby is like my new second favorite spectator sport… maybe third- but still in my top 3. Christina and I also supported the team and bought 2 tee shirts, 50/50 tickets and drinks…oh, and a sticker! Go Slaughter Daughters! If you ever get the chance to go…GO!
So that was my weekend... as my tagline say: My live is weird sometimes... which is AWESOME!
Read more after the cut.
What the hell just happened?
On the week/weekend of July 9th to the 11th some really cool things happened to me. Christina and I decided that it was a good idea to go check out George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. The show was free and a part of the Ottawa Bluesfest… we arrived downtown and ran into a friend of ours from 15 years ago! This in itself was awesome, as he was one of those friends we all seem to have in which we just ‘lost touch’ with… I’m sure that I am one of those to some of you out there… know this: Life just gets in the way sometimes- which makes re-connections like this mean so much. It was AWESOME to see him. He took some great photos of the show and promptly sent me his contact info the next day instead of the posturing that normally takes place.. ‘I’ll call you!’ or ‘Let’s get together soon.’ Still on the tip of my tongue, but this time I’m hoping I can REALLY make it happen. The show itself? It was fun, but maybe George was sick or something because this outing was pale in comparison to what it was last year when we saw George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars. There just seemed to be too many times when someone else would pick up the mic to ‘cover’ for George. What do I expect… he is 70 after all? I was also happy to walk away with a Tee shirt from the show, which I missed last year.
The next day (and show) I was THRILLED to get tickets to see Peter Murphy (also part of the Bluesfest). Now, while I was a pretty avid ‘spooky kid’, Bauhaus was not the biggest part of my music collection (the Cure was) but I REALLY loved Peter Murphy’s album ‘Deep’. So to get a chance to see him was going to be cool… the bonus part was a buddy was supposed to open up for him (ad ver sary) and I’ve been meaning to see him perform… 2 birds, one stone! We had also found out our re-found friend was ALSO coming to the show!
We arrived to the line-up (I hate line-ups) at about 9:45… there was already a bunch of people there standing outside. The show was slated to begin at 10 with Murphy taking the stage after 11 sometime. Well… it appears the stage was not sufficient for Murphy to play his ‘tour show’ and needed to take some extra time to re-configure the stage, P.A. and the set list, but he’d perform a ‘stripped down’ version of his show with some songs that would not be normally performed on this tour! While the show would be altered we would get a show that no one else would see…WICKED! The only downsides … we’d have to wait some more, AND Ad ver sary got boned out of playing (boo!) We waited until about midnight which saw the line get longer and longer… People were chatting to each other and joking around, overall it was a pretty decent atmosphere…and then the weirdest thing happened. I started getting recognized from my days in ‘the Haunting’ (and PaLE- but this was more a ‘spooky kid’ crowd so the Haunting was the ‘big’ one). Random people were coming up to me and saying hi, and catching up…asking what I was doing now etc. Then I had ANOTHER re-connection with another old friend! Wicked! Funniest thing- he was wearing a Utilikilt (so was I) and the girls asked if we called each other to plan our outfits. This time we all hung out for the show- and tentatively planned a ‘Freak show BBQ’ (I love this idea).
The show: Fan FUCKING tastic. I was so close, I could have given Peter Murphy a High Five (I didn’t though). I got another tee shirt, (with graphics from the aforementioned ‘Deep’). I went in to the show with a sense of seeing an aging troubadour that might not live up to the potential that was in my head…was I ever wrong. I am hoping that if I ever perform on stage again I can deliver a quarter of this performance. He not only proved he still has it, he showed us that he could do it without a band by opening the show A cappella! The audience had our own surprise for him though, as it was after Midnight, it was technically his birthday- so we sang to him as he took the stage to perform an encore. Peter Murphy was engaging, entertaining and musically awesome. Best of all, it felt like a private party for all of us lucky enough to attend. After the show I spoke to the guitar player a bit, and then one of those ‘moments’ happened: Now, before I reveal this moment, allow me to put this into perspective, I’ve had autograph requests, screaming fans, and some moderate fame back in the Haunting (and PaLE, but the Haunting was more ‘known’). I’ve been interrupted eating meals, propositioned backstage, and followed in the Mall. But that was all a LONG time ago. Every once in a while I get recognized, but now I find it …weird? I mean, flattering, yes… but it’s a bit weird too. I’m just a dude who used to be in a popular band… it’s AWESOME that anyone would even knows that, so when it happens it makes me kinda shy in a way. I’m also not used to being in the audience, but then again…Peter Murphy! So there I was, post show chatting with my friends when I get approached with “I don’t want to embarrass you or anything, but you guys (the Haunting) were the first show I ever saw live at Zaphods. It was my favorite show” … I had no idea how to respond to that… It was really cool and humbling that he even told me that. I cracked some lame ass joke I’m sure… but I have to say it moved me a bit to be remembered fondly. It makes me feel really good that my music stuck in his head. If I needed to sum up some of the more memorable moments outside of my music career, but still related to it: this would be on that list. I must have had 10 other people come up to me and ask me about music or what I’m doing these days that night, and while I appreciated every one of them asking me and catching up, this was head and shoulders above that.
The next night we got together with Clammy and went to the roller derby! Yep, gangs of girls tussling with each other, vying for position. That sounds hot. SIGN ME UP!
Before we met up with Clammy, we went to the ‘Prime 360’ Steakhouse for a nice meal as we had a 50 dollar gift certificate from Christmas that we needed to use up. I had a really nice rib eye with scallops, and Christina had the grilled salmon since we rarely cook fish. It was really nice; we accompanied the meal with some decent wine and followed it up with a desert that we split (crème caramel) and coffee. It was 119 bucks (before tip!) Thank God for the gift certificate… oh well, it’s not like we go out for a meal like that every day.
The only way to follow up on that much class was, of course, roller derby at the rink. For some reason I thought there would only be a few people there, but was I ever wrong. We met Clammy there and also saw Admin-man and his wife; we were crammed into the bleachers. It was hot. Like temperature hot. We figure there were about 500 people in there including the ‘suicide seating’ on the arena floor. We were enthralled by the Ottawa team, the ‘Slaughter Daughters’ taking on London’s ‘Thames Fatales’ team. Ottawa won 150 - 77 and the atmosphere was electric! Roller Derby is like my new second favorite spectator sport… maybe third- but still in my top 3. Christina and I also supported the team and bought 2 tee shirts, 50/50 tickets and drinks…oh, and a sticker! Go Slaughter Daughters! If you ever get the chance to go…GO!
So that was my weekend... as my tagline say: My live is weird sometimes... which is AWESOME!