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| The little red glow on the left side is the bottom of a rainbow believe it or not. It was like having two suns. |
I had some time to kill before I caught up with Stevie and her man, so I decided to drive up Centre Street. I had never gone up that way before and figured, what the hell. What the hell indeed! I ended up in a beautiful area filled with huge homes that looked like the belonged in a magazine for modern homes and museum architecture. This is an area of wealth, not just material riches but the view that these people have of downtown Calgary is amazing.
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| Must say that I'm becoming a big fan of Calgary. |
I met up with Stevie for the show and after getting turned around 3 times in downtown Calgary (too many one ways, and not in the direction we needed), we finally found a sweet and super cheap parkade with heated underground parking. Walking two and half blocks wasn't nearly as bad knowing we had a warm car waiting for us. Once we found our way out of the parkade and trekked through the cold, we ended up waiting in line to enter the venue for at least 15 - 20 minutes. Doesn't sound like much, but it feels like an eternity when it's nearly -25C outside. Luckily we had real printed tickets and we were bumped to the front of the line and welcomed the heat of the great indoors. My lovely friend Bashmore was not able to attend the show due to her roboknee but did create a link for us to some friends of hers that were at the show. These new friends happened to be the first to enter the venue and were able to grab the best seats in the house and save some for us. Stevie and I made some new friends that night: Cassy and Mike.
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| Mike (not nearly as far away as he looks here), Cassy, and Stevie. A BIG HUGE THANK YOU HUG TO CASSY AND MIKE FOR SAVING US SEATS! I can't thank you enough for that. |
Best seats in the house for sure (next to practically sitting on the stage like many people in the crowd). In the past, I never had the chance to see the same band (my favourite or not) play two nights in a row. It goes without saying that this was an opportunity that I could not miss. It was a blast and definitely interesting to see the differences between the two performances. Performance of The Tea Party was fantastic both nights, but Calgary seemed to give them more energy. Why? Because the crowd was so full of life and excitement that it fed the stage, naturally the guys get pretty pumped up from that, so it reciprocates. There was no denying that the Calgary fan base kicked the Edmonton fan base in the ass. Which is sad because Edmonton is usually the rowdy one. Either way, I got two shows. Plus! Get this! Bassist/keyboardist Stuart Chatwood and I caught eyes during a few songs. I was singing along (of course) and he shot me a full sweet teeth smile and wave. How cool is that?! VERY! It didn't happen once, but at least four times throughout the show and then a couple more at the end as he left the stage. I'm pretty confident in my knowledge of Tea Party songs that the only time I stopped singing along was to scream at the top of my lungs, matched with an applause for them throughout the night. I'm not just a super fan, I'm a true admirer of their work, their art, and a smile and some waves make all the difference. It made me feel good, great even! I imagine it to be this: A personal and special acknowledgment from him, out of all the fans in the room, he saw that I was right there along with him/them, every note, every measure. Every beat. I will add that feeling to memory box and ride on that wave until the next show (summer 2012!).
Due to such an amazing vantage point, I was able to get some good photos. I regretfully left the camera in the car, but never before have I been so grateful to have an iPhone (Q, thank you for "bullying" me into getting one). A good chunk of the shots turned out blurry due to the guys' constant motion but I don't care, I had a birds eye view and was able to actually WATCH them play, to see the instruments and the grace and focus with which they play them. It was wonderful. Stuart was focused and played with such calm fluidity, he was graceful and a natural. He is one with his bass. I'm sure he could do it in his sleep. Jeff Martin: you can tell that his guitars are an extension of his body. Music runs in his veins. Jeff Burrows: best drummer of all time! Such power and accuracy. And he's f*cking quick too! Watch the video or any live performance footage of "Save Me" and you'll see. Let me know your thoughts after you pick your jaw up off the floor. Anyways, enough babbling, I will now bombard you with photos from Calgary's show.
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| A cup of tea in between songs. |
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| My favourite moment that I didn't think I captured. Although blurry :( |
I surely did!
WE surely did.
PS: A big shout out and super thanks to the lovely Bashmore for letting me use her comfy couch as my bed. I'm delighted that you remember my pillow preference and made the couch-bed to my specifications. And thanks for the brunch and shopping date. We met a Pharaoh! That guy is slick. Anubis, you are mine. Thanks m'dear!
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