Tour Journal: OAL Montreal take 2

Shawn here, with part 2 of the tour journal. Where'd I leave off? Oh right, crappy van, Olenka on a bus back to London to get her car. Right.

After signing in for POP Montreal, having dinner and discovering the wonderful system of Bixi Bikes, we made plans to see free shows! First stop, O Patro Ve for the brilliant folk stylings of Fred Squire and the Graham Parson-esque songwriting of Daniel Romano. Daniel especially stood out for me, perfectly crafted songs.

Next stop was Sala Rosa. There we saw the AMAZING Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. A really fantastic show to see for free! Blair in particular was taken up by the lord for this one.

Find tickets to concerts in montreal

The next day was showcase day. But, first thing first, how are we going to buy groceries to make dinner? Why, Busking, that's how! The remaining Autumn Lovers (or I guess the Autumn Lovers, minus the Olenka part), headed to a small parkette and went through a small collection of songs by Dylan, The Band, Beatles, Radiohead and various originals by Olenka (sans Olenka... very meta), Blair and myself. We made a cool $14! Enough to make a wonderful stir fry for 7!

Our showcase was at a place called Cabaret Playhouse. When mentioning this to local friends we were met with either blank stares, or knowing smirks. The Playhouse is more of a punk place, we were told, where a man dressed in leather runs the door. Although Olenka insists she was part of a burgeoning British Colombia punk scene during the 90's, we aren't anything you'd consider to be punk. You won't be seeing our string section with safety pins in their noses any time soon. But, it was a wavelength showcase, so we had a great time! Rattail in particular was exciting to watch, and Polydactic Heart was engaging. After wards we split up. Some went to the Deerhoof after party, but 2am seemed particularly late for me, so I went to bed.

That brings us to today. We've taken advantage of POP Montreal, hitting up a record show, and checking out the Patrick Watson curated show at the Ukrainian Center. Now we're about to partake in a wonderful Chili prepared by Simon and Blair. So, next stop is Edmundston NB, I'll try to get an update soon!

This post is supported by...