Some may wonder why I write about the last weekend on a Wednesday, but yesterday I had a really busy day followed a brain-dead evening, and on Monday I was still technically in my weekend because it was Victoria Day. And having started my weekend on Friday at noon it was clear that this weekend was going to be filled with nothing but Awesome.
The festivities started when I joined up with my friend André, the world's most generous music lover. This is the guy who takes me to an unbelievable amount of shows; in his own words, "the shows I attend are shows I would attend whether or not I was accompanied, so might as well buy a second ticket and invite someone who would appreciate it." And about one out of five shows I'm apparently the lucky someone! I do try to make it up to him by inviting him to pre-show suppers and stuff, and last Friday before seeing The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway we went to Vallier Restaurant, owned by one of my friends from the Virtual World days, where we had lamb ironically enough. I didn't see the irony until the next day! Anyway, the supper was great and after a nice walk we were ready to have our brains exploded into next week. You see, "The Lamb" is one of those shows I never thought I'd be able to see because it was performed in 1975 (I was 5 at the time) and Genesis started to go their separate ways soon after. But Genesis is really big up here in Montreal and there are a few covers bands, but The Musical Box took the cover band thing to the next level, reproducing the old shows so accurately that even the Genesis members approve. To make sure they get everything as close to the old performances as possible, Genesis has helped Musical Box with equipment like the slides for the background projections and the insane Peter Gabriel props and costumes, as well as with old techs and engineers that worked on the original shows. The result is nothing short of the genuine Genesis experience. And oh my Gods did it rock! I can safely say "Scratch one off the Bucket List, I have seen The Lamb!"
Coming out of the Bell Centre and floating a few inches off the ground, I was stopped by a street drummer who noticed my Rush 2112 T-shirt. I told him I was also a drummer and a short discussion ensued. The fun part was his attempt at a parting shot: a one-handed roll with the stick bouncing off the rim. "Not bad" I thought (insert Obama face here). "Nice! Can I try something?" says I. "Sure man!" says he, and he gives me his weird disco-reflective sticks. I crouched down because his snare was really low and proceeded to play a truncated version of Three Camps as fast and hard as I could. The crowd loved it so I was happy :)
After parting with my buddy I was still very much on the post-show high so I decided to drop by my favorite watering hole, Brutopia, where I was treated to a blues band, great beer and the friendliest waitress in the universe. Perfect way to end a night! Of course I would go back to Brutopia the next day because of our EVE Meet, which was going to be a lot quieter than the last one, which is a good thing because OMFG the hangover last time! Other bonus, Friendly Waitress Caity is in our section on Meet nights :) But previous to the meet I got to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time: practice my drumline parts outdoors on a beautiful summer day, Drum Corps style. I WILL be doing this more often!
On Sunday the beautiful weather was still very much in effect so I didn't stay inside for long, but in the afternoon it got pretty damn hot. This was fine because I was going to my friend's Airsoft business for his Gun Tech Day event. My buddy Moogy made this event to teach Airsoft gun owners the ABC's of weapon maintenance, and it also gave the n00b that I am the chance to test the comfort of a lot of different rifles that are great for what I want to specialize in, close quarters combat. I had already mentioned to Moogy that I had a thing for the H&K G36cv, but he wisely told me "Come to the store, try out a few, and see which rifle is the comfiest." It turned out we were both right: the G36cv is very comfortable, but I did find one that feels slightly better, the SIG SG552. But even with that in mind it's looking like I'll be getting the H&K for a few reasons. It can be modified to use M4 magazines, which can be great on the field if you run out of ammo as the majority of people use M4 variants. The other reason is the ease with which the spring can be replaced, to go from an outdoor gun to an indoor gun and back in a few short minutes. And another plus is that should the battery die the gun can still be manually cocked and shoot single shots. The slight downside, my expert buddies are steering me away from the cheaper model, but for good reasons. Cheap versions are cheap and not as easily fixable. So yeah, I'll have to bite the bullet so to speak and spend a good 400$ on my gun when I start out. Ah well, I still have my crazy summer to go through :) The event was followed by a humongous BBQ at Moogy's place. How could a great day end better?!
And finally on Monday I was able to take things easier, just go outside for the simple pleasure of going outside, and in the evening I was having supper with my dad for the first time since he came back from Thailand; now you know why I have "Bangkok" in my time zones list! Once again I ate a tad too much and rolled out of the restaurant, full to the breaking point of BBQ'd chicken.
The only thing I found missing from my weekend, there wasn't time for bike rides. It was pretty hot during the days but I always prefer evening/night rides because it's cooler and no sun is burning you, and the winds are usually a lot calmer. Plus, there's something about that evening summer scent that just tells my brain "You are free!, Enjoy it!"
And voilà! One awesome weekend down and the official summer hasn't even started yet. Here's to more awesome weekends, maybe a bit less booked but always with great people. Thanks to each and every one of those who made this one so special!
Fly with a good crew
o7
