Ever since I first heard Patrick Watson's The Great Escape on The Peak--or let's rewind further back to when I heard The Cinematic Orchestra's To Build a Home on So You Think You Can Dance Canada in 2009, I was enamoured by the sound of his voice and the quiet beauty of the music. When I found out a few months ago that he was coming to Vancouver, I quickly bought myself a ticket even though I only knew a few songs. This was easily one of the concerts I had been most looking forward to seeing this year.
Then at the Bon Iver concert, a friend's boyfriend who had seen Patrick Watson (name of lead singer and the band) a few times said that they put on fantastic shows, all of which were among his favourite concerts ever. A couple days later, I reflected on this again and thought that it would be a good surprise for Boy (his blog nickname from now on). I just had to make sure that he a) kept the evening free and b) I didn't give the surprise away.
The only details I gave were a vague start-time and that it was in downtown. Later on, through a bit of questioning, he also learned that he would need to wear comfy shoes, that we'd be out a bit late, and that he would need earplugs (my excuse was that we were going to the shooting range). I realized that perhaps I was being hypocritical and giving him high expectations when I always try to do the opposite for myself so as to avoid disappointment--spes humilium, I say--so I worried that this would backfire horribly and that I'd realize one of my fears: of taking someone to something they did not enjoy.
We first had dinner at Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, a Nepali restaurant that had taken the place of Mis Trucos, site of tipsy-inducing white sangria (how I mourn thy loss still!) that I had enjoyed on an evening with Pleuve many moons ago. It was our first time trying Nepali cuisine and it is best described as Oli had said to me--a fusion of Indian and Chinese. We shared the gurkha platter (your choice of 3 appetizers) with:
- Bhatmaas Saandeko: roasted soybean mixed with Himalayan herbs and mustard oil
- Aalu Achaar: potato salad garnished with lemon juice, mustard oil and mixed with Himalayan herbs (yummy!)
- Kathmandu Sekuwa: tender pieces of boneless chicken marinated in yogurt, fresh ginger and spices and grilled to perfection (this one was just for me, the carnivore; it came in a skewer and was also yummy!)
For our mains, Boy got the Jhaaneko Daal (lentils soaked and cooked with Nepali spices and tempered with onion, cumin seeds and garlic; he thought they were liquidy and a bit bland) and I got what Oli had highly recommended to me: Momos!-- specifically, Haku Momo (described as pan-fried Tenzing or chicken momo). They were like Indian dumplings. There were ten in my order and unfortunately I could only finish eight, so I would recommend this as a dish best shared.
I led us slowly to the Vogue Theatre and when we were a few metres away, I stopped, threw my arms up, and said, "Surprise!". The name "Patrick Watson", however, meant nothing to him as it wouldn't to most people, but I told him my reasoning for taking him and he seemed appreciative to be going to a concert, noting that all my answers to his questions were starting to make sense. We were there right at 7:00pm when doors opened but had to head to the back of a long line to make our way in. We decided to sit on the balcony so that we could be comfy, and my experience with this venue told me that there would likely be a subdued mosh pit of some sort that would obstruct the view of those sitting downstairs. I rushed us upstairs and we found a couple of seats in the second row, right-centre, before changing our minds and going up to the fourth row, left-centre, for want of better visibility.
The opening act, a New Yorker named Cat Martino, was a bit boring. She had a great voice and would do cool things with her looping machine (is that what they're called?), but one could only take them in small doses. I found myself wishing that The Belle Game was opening like they had the last time I was there for Gotye.
But that was all quickly forgotten once Patrick Watson (the band) came on to a pitch black stage. All we saw at first were Patrick Watson's (the person) hands on the grand piano as each of the band members were wearing white glowing wristbands that would only light up when they were playing. And instantaneously, you could feel that the whole audience was already in for the ride, swept up into the cosmos on a cloud of some sort where all you could hear was simply beautiful music.
It was dreamy.
The band consisted of a pianist/vocalist, a drummer/xylophonist, a guitarist, a bassist/guitarist, and a violinist (the only girl). One of the standout moments for me was when the violinist musically duelled with the other band members during one of their last songs. She would pluck the notes, then the xylophone would mimic her, then the guitar and piano, and so on.
I left the show wishing that this was something I could replay in my head forever, or at least be able to see live on a regular basis. But what surprised and made me most happy was when Boy said it was probably the best show he had ever been to.
That far exceeded my expectations for the success of the surprise. Spes humilium indeed!
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