The National

On November 29th, I met up with Nicky to go apartment-hunting and for lunch at Siegel's Bagels. Mmmm...Montreal smoked meat and Snapple.

In the evening we had dinner at Acme Café, a cute diner-type place in a seedier part of town that Nicky recommended. We found ourselves with front seats to a protest (literally) as the only seats they had left were bar-style facing out the window, getting a direct view of a huddled bunch of occasionally-singing protesters. At one point, a photographer was taking pictures of them and I didn't know whether to hide my face with my (delicious) "high falutin'" grilled cheese sandwich, duck, or stare off into the distance. I ended up doing all three. Nicky would look at the protesters once in awhile and they'd smile at her and I distinctly remember them wanting us to come out and join them. Ummm...no. Later on we realized that this protest had closed off all of Hastings Street so it was a pretty big deal. I think it was for more low-income housing.

Foodwise, my sandwich was, as I mentioned earlier, yummy--a ciabatta panino grilled with cheddar, swiss, brie, cranberry-Grand Marnier relish. I was so stuffed from my half that I had to save Nicky's veggie half-sandwich (we shared) for another time. My bag ended up smelling like mediterranean vegetables but it was so worth it since it was even tastier than mine!

I was amped for the concert. I had purchased row 2 seats at the Orpheum and kept bragging about it to RaeRae and Nicky by saying/typing, "ROW 2, BABY!!!!". I'm pretty sure I also had a dance move planned in celebration upon our entrance into the theatre. The excitement turned to disappointment though when we were going to find our seats and realized that I had gotten row 2 of the dress circle, not orchestra. Epic fail. It was like a repeat of last year's birthday gift to Nicky: seats in the senior's section for Arcade Fire. I don't think I should ever be trusted with seated ticket purchasing ever again.

In the end, though, perhaps it was all for the best. If we had sat in row 2 orchestra level, I'm pretty sure the mosh pit would have hidden our view of the stage (?). And we were pretty entertained by the five girls sitting in front of us in row 1. They were hilarious to watch (maybe either drunk and/or high) and danced for pretty much the whole concert, which was a bit annoying since this obstructed our view completely if we stayed seated, but by the time The National started we were fine with standing anyway.

There were two opening acts with an early start time of 7:00pm. Wye Oak was a two-person band with a cool sound. The drummer somehow played the keyboards with his left hand while drumming with his right. How someone can be that coordinated I will never know, but I imagine it to be at the level of Dick Van Dyke's portrayal of Bert in Mary Poppins when he has the harmonica, accordion, and walking drum-set.

Wye Oak: which begs the question "Why Wye Oak?"

Next up were Local Natives, a band whose music I really enjoyed. The dancing girls in front of us seemed to know all the lyrics, and the band dedicated their last song to "the balcony" because of their great dance moves.

Local Natives

Can you see the dancing?

The National took the stage. They are one of Nicky's favourite bands and the lead singer has a very nice deep tone. I only knew two of their songs ("Terrible Love" and "Bloodbuzz Ohio") and still appreciated the band--lately, in fact, I find myself preferring this way of exposure to new music--especially the lead singer's awkward humour. I found it quite refreshing that he wasn't the typical rock god-casanova and was also amused by his drinking from a wine glass.

The National

I really love concerts at the Orpheum. It just brings a whole new level to mood and quality of sound. This is where I've seen Chantal Kreviazuk, Regina Spektor, and Renée Fleming perform.

My camera's zoom was pretty good

 All in all, a pretty successful vacation day and continuation to my concert marathon!

Last song (with heads)