it’s getting hot in here.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this month marks our first year of marriage. Since we are still newlyweds, we allowed ourselves some serious celebration. We started it all off with the Queen of Rockabilly herself:  Wanda Jackson.

An intimate venue and a petite woman with such power in her. I couldn’t have asked for anything better to share with my partner.  We even got her to sign an 8×10 picture of her from the old days.  What a wonderful experience that was!

We spent the next night alone and had a delicious homemade dinner and some quality time. I love you buddy!

And just because we can and we get a little greedy, we decided to also go on a mini vacation to make the fun last just a bit longer. Direction: Jamaica.  We chose Hedo 3 after much research and reviews. We really wanted a place where we could just let loose and have fun without having to worry about anything. And honestly, there is no better place than Jamaica to leave all your worries behind.  Oh what a hot destination (and I don’t necessarily mean the weather)! If you have never heard of Hedonism you have to at least know right away that they are clothing optional resorts. The place is divided between the fully clothed pools and the nudist ones. Let me tell you that there was NOBODY on the fully clothed side! Most people who make the effort to go to such resorts are there to enjoy the perks of being naked. We didn’t know what to expect at first, but you are quickly introduced to the ‘anything goes’ policy. There are no rules at Hedo! You can even be in the pool and hottub all night if you wish! Just be aware that you are in prime time for all kinds of action.

I love the Jamaican attitude and especially the food. The weather was amazing and it was just divine to tan with no clothes on. Goodbye tan lines! (make sure you lotion up though or you’ll get an unpleasant surprise…) This was a very relaxing week  (5 days) even though I had some annoying back pain. Lying in the pool all day surely helps! The only flaws we found were the beach (they are very small and dirty in Jamaica unlike our beloved Mexico) and the food was a bit boring after the 3rd or 4th day. One very good perk was that compared to quieter resorts where the focus is mainly on day activities, Hedo has nightclubs and parties until the wee hours of the morning.

All in all, September was a month filled with love and good times.

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high heels and a cadillac.

As promised I want to write a bit more about Canadian Musicfest (CMW) because I think it is such a fun festival and surely is one that was well worth the trip when I still lived in Montreal. I always encourage people to go out and support Canadian bands as we need need art to be part of our culture to evolve.

So even after partying like mad on Friday, I still went out and checked out a few bands on Saturday. This time, we chose to stay at the same venue all night: The Cadillac Lounge.  I love that place and its leopard decor because it is pretty much as close as you get to a rockabilly venue in Toronto.

The lineup for the night was promising.  Here is what I thought of the shows.

Familiar Looking Strangers at 10 pm. Acclaimed rock ‘n roll band from Liverpool, UK, I had seen the video for one of their songs before the show and was looking forward to hearing them play. They delivered a good performance although much more folk-ey that I had expected. Still a band to check out! They are good lads.

George Westerholm and the Rowdymen at 11 pm. George Westerholm started this project and recruited his musicians along the way. The melodies are great; a rockabilly sound that reminds me of Nashville. George even has the oufit going for him. The lyrics are another story. As much as I wanted to groove to the tunes, the bad song-writing just kept me on my seat. Better luck next time maybe.

Hey Negrita at midnight. Another band from the UK.  And you can tell by the way they dress too. A bit funky, a bit traditional, this band knows how to entertain. I even forgot I wasn’t actually in a pub in London for a moment. I was sold the moment I saw the accordion and banjo. Those instruments don’t lie! It was great to see them live; I truly enjoyed myself and would certainly recommend them, even if just to watch Captain Bliss  -the harmonica player-  deliver with so much passion…and barefoot no less!  As they said themselves: “Hey Negrita, it goes with beer!”.

The Von Drats at 1 am. This band looks like they were just pulled from an old black and white movie. All dressed in matching striped shirts they played a mix of mostly instrumental surf and garage rock that had the whole dance floor packed with people. Dano and Dave were my favourites as there was something almost macabre about them, their demeanor. And what can I say about the beautiful ‘pinup’ dancing on the stage in a white flapper-style dress (probably one of the guys’ girlfriend, well worth showing off). She made it all that much more entertaining visually, if that was even possible. Not necessarily the best in their genre but definitely a great Toronto band.

Needless to say, I had a wonderful time that night.  That is what CMW is all about after all. Enjoying yourself.

Now time to recover.

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sunny spells and scattered showers.

 

Ok. I lied. Montreal is still fabulous. Usually, by day two of visiting I can’t wait to get back home; this time I could have stayed much longer.  I didn’t do anything extravagant, spent some much overdue quality time with my sister and other family members I hadn’t seen in about 3 years and enjoyed the nice weather. It was great to be back in an environment that I know and is very meaningful to me and to do it now as a married woman with my husband by my side.

I love Toronto, but no matter how hard I try to convince myself that it is a fun city it will never be like Montreal. There is nothing wrong with Toronto per se, but it lacks the energy that Montreal has. It is focused on business whereas Montreal prioritizes ‘good living’.  It is beautiful and laid-back and I think as I am getting older that is what I look for more and more. I know I can’t move back there just yet, since my career does not permit it, but some day je reviendrai.

On another note, this week is the Canadian Musicfest (formerly known as CMW). I am excited to see a few bands this year. I haven’t completely made up my mind yet on where I will be each night as the price of the wristbands has gone up considerably and I am not certain that my budget can handle it right now…I know for sure that I will be at The Cadillac Lounge on Saturday for a rockabilly-alt-country-surf-americana filled night. That should be grounds for a great time. As for the rest of my week, I will have to see if any specific venue has more than 2 bands worth seeing so that I can only buy tickets and save a little bit of money.

All in all, I doubt there will be much sleep.

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