This year has probably been one of the most eventful years of my life, whether in terms of achievements, activities or music. Rather than narrow my list to musical discoveries and just a few other categories I did last year, I’d like to expand it to include some other things.
Top Achievements/Life Changing events:
I really feel like this year has been the one where you say “My hard work has finally paid off”. And all the doubt and tiredness you felt before was suddenly worth it. I won't go into detail about it, but I'll just list what was important in chronological order: Finishing Capstone, Graduation, Moving (we had been at the old place for 13 years), being accepted at and attending Polytechnique, being on the Dean's List, getting a scholarship and being considered for another and doing well in my first semester especially considering everything is in french.
3 Top Activities:
Treetop Trekking – I had heard about Treetop Trekking in 2007, but never managed to organize the event until this year. We were 5 (including myself) and went to Arbraska in Rigaud which is about 50 mins from Montreal. I’m terrified of heights, so it was a really interesting experience. I managed to do all the courses (which the exception of Extreme, because we had no time). It was totally awesome, really fun and I’m glad that the people I went with liked it too (and that they came )
Kinnetik Festival - While this is technically a music event, I don’t exactly consider it a concert because it’s a kind of prolonged thing. Thanks to Ryan and Paw for letting me know about it – we went to one of the nights. It was from 5 pm- 3 am – practically non-stop industrial/hard core music and dancing. I saw some very interesting fashions – cyber goth and such with all the neon hair falls. There were also the usual black PVC clothed people. I also saw interesting dance moves, which inspired me to look up industrial dance on youtube and find this video
If possible, I’d like to go to Kinnetik again next year.
Divers Cite – This is probably one of the most fun festivals I’ve been to. Nobody cares what anyone is doing as long as they’re having fun. A group of us went on the Saturday to check out what was going on and danced in the rain and then later when it was not raining anymore danced again to DJ Ana Paula (who btw, is awesome).
3 Best Food Discoveries:
Le Coin Mexicain – Metro Iberville
We all know that 3 Amigos and Carlos and Pepes are “Mexican” food (just like the vast majority of places are “chinese” food). So I was on the hunt for real Mexican food. A friend of mine told me about Le Coin Mexicain and so I decided to mobilize some troupes to test this place out. Holy crap, this place is great. They have sopes, Horchata, salsa verde (I much prefer green salsa to red salsa. It’s made with tomatillos and has a kinda tangy flavour), tamales, arroz con leche, tortilla soup, queso fresco!!! and more that I was not able to taste (I didn’t order those all myself :P I sampled friends plates). I will have to go back for sure to try their guacamole among other things. Another Mexican thing I really like (which I’m not sure they have but I tried at the Mexican Independence Day celebration) was Elote. It’s corn on the cob, with mayonnaise, queso fresco or parmesan and cayenne pepper. It sounds kind of sinister, but it is so tasty, woosh.
Anyways, you all need to have Mexican food.
Sushi Moushi – Decarie in between Isabella and Queen Mary
In the world of all you can eat sushi, sushi moushi is pretty darn good. It is also kind of eccentric in that it serves flavours that you typically do not see in Sushi restaurants. My favourite was Yasai Tempura Maki, which is onion, cucumber, zucchini, sweet potato and all fried. Like dude man, this was amazing. They also have one flavour with lychee in it. Kanda is still good (I’m fond of their deep fried scallops with the sauce on the side), but sushi moushi is very original and they’re also close by. Hah!
Spirite Lounge - 1205 Ontario
You need to go to this place, even if it's just for the decor. It's the strange restaurant I've ever been in, which christmas lights, hindu pictures, pictures of Jesus and Buddha, playing cards on the ceiling, rugs everywhere. In addition, you pay 15$ for soup, main and dessert with tea and you must finish your food. Though shall not waste. I finished everything - which is vegan and amazingly tasty. I would love to go back.
Notable Mentions: Sala Rosa – especially for their curried pumpkin and coconut soup, 5000 years - different from all the other korean resto's I've been to, La Faim du Monde - best coleslaw I've ever had
3 Best Places to Chill:
L’Escalier – Ste Catherine near Berri metro
This place is located, surprise surprise, up the stairs. Imagine someone took a flat, removed all the doors, painted the rooms strange colors and generally everything is made for floor seating level. They frequently have musical performances and also serve food for rather inexpensive prices. They also have quite a selection of tea. It’s a great place to get lost in time, because the times I went, we often freaked out when we found out how much time had passed.
Casa del Popolo – St Laurent near St Joseph
Really inexpensive, frequent concerts, wide selection of food and beverages and overall super chill.
Café Sarajevo – St Laurent near Beaubien
Though we didn’t get to stay here very long (we had to catch the metro), this place is really cool. They have Bosnian coffee, which is served in these really tiny cups. Every night they are open, jazz or gypsy bands play. Frequent performers are Soleil Tzigane and Les Gitans de Sarajevo. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back again and fully enjoy without racing for the metro. Also, hopefully more people will be dancing around to such wonderful music :)
I'd also like to mention Parc Rene Levesque. I biked there once and I love it. I spent a few hours there just hanging about on the rocks staring at the water. So definitely a great place to chill, though outdoors and so it depends on the weather.
3 Best Teas
Garden of Eden
I had this tea when I went to visit a friend in Toronto. As she knows I'm a huge tea freak, she took me to the tea emporium. It smells like you crushed a bunch of berries and made some kinda perfume out of it. Incredibly fruity, more than any other tea I've had. It's based on green tea and flavored with all the berries. It's absolutely wonderful. I bought some and brought it back. Too bad there's not much left :P
White Peony Mint Tea
I got this at a tea store on St Denis. I'm a big fan of Moroccan Mint Tea (that you have at...well Moroccan Restos :)). This tea was a pleasant surprise though. Its mintyness is less pronounced than in Moroccan mint, but still there. It feels very cleansingv(like after you've eaten). One of my favorite in terms of minty teas.
Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose Festival Tea
Got it at the same tea store as Mr. Mint. I had tried this tea at L'Escalier and at Cafein a while back. I liked it quite a bit because again, based on green tea with a hint of fruit (I typically despise pure fruit herbal teas). What's great is that when I bought a package of it, the cherry was even more present than I remember. Hoorah for fresh tea!
3 Best Movie Discoveries
Let the Right One In
I saw this movie just recently. I heard about it after reading a message board connected with a music blog I frequent from time to time. I never actively sought out vampire movies, but after seeing the trailer, I was intruiged. The movie takes place in Sweden and generally deals with a 12 year old girl named Eli who's a vampire and she befriends a 12 year old boy who is being bullied. The atmosphere is very somber and doom, but the movie is also very sweet. I cannot recommened it enough. I've seen it 3 times already. I absolutely love it.
Wristcutters: A Love Story
The spirit of this movie reminds me a bit of Everything is Illuminated for two reasons : the music and the mass amounts of driving. The movie is about the afterlife of suiciders. However, it's not depressing, it's really wacky and has a great soundtrack. Tom Waits also make an appearance.
Time of the Gypsiess
Three of us decided to go to Cinema du parc to check out some gypsy movies. Now, the description they had on the site made it seem like it was a comedy. That was the most misleading description ever. Initially it was kind of funny. But dude man, this is one of the most depressing movies I've seen - we all agreed. We left completely blahed out. This is not to say however that it's a bad movie. It's very good and very well acted, just not happy. Essentially dealing with a boy who leaves his home with good intentions, but gets corrupted by crime.
New General Entertainment:
Gad ElMaleh
I found out about this comedian while trying to show a friend from Houston an example of the difference between a quebecois and french accent. It was entirely random, but then I started watching his sketches and found out he was really funny. Now he is one of my favorite comedians :)
How I met your mother
I heard about this show from 2 friends and while not studying for finals, I decided to check it out on surfthechannel. Not a good idea because it's really funny and incredibly addictive. Barney has more catch phrases than I've ever heard, but it's ok, because he's awesome. :P
Queer as Folk
Another show I heard about in passing and decided to look up. Showcase started streaming episodes off of their site (once a week) and then I discovered that it was all on surf the channel (except episode 410, which paw passed to me). The show was really witty, it had its funny moments, sad moments...typically drama I guess, but also had great music (the babylon club mix is great - thanks to paw again for passing that to me).
3 Best Musical Discoveries of the Year (with suggested songs):
Beach House – Heart and Lungs and You Came to me
This band is extremely spaced out. The lady’s voice is rather soft and deep. To me at least, it feels like you’re floating. It’s great music to just sit there and space out to, which I’ve done a number of times.
MGMT – Electric Feel and Time to Pretend
It’s hard to exactly describe what genre this band belongs to. I’ll play it safe and say some kind of alternative psychedelic rock. Electric Feel was the first song I really liked and they sound like the beegees. It’s extremely funky and dancy. Time to Pretend is a little bit more standard rock, but still has that 70s feel to it. Either way, love em.
Vampire Weekend – One (Blake’s Got a new face)/ A-Punk
I discovered this band randomly on Nodata I think. They’re like dancy punkish rock in a way, but the guy has a softer voice than most punk bands as far as I know. Very enjoyable.
3 songs that happened to stay in my head
The Killers – This is your life
When I say that this song stayed in my head, I’m not kidding. I heard it while Christmas shopping at HMV two days before a final. I don’t listen to the Killers really, so I had no idea who it was, just that it was damn catchy. I asked one of the store clerks and she told me the track. I went home and downloaded it. I kinda lost track of how often it played on loop (I was too lazy to switch it while studying for said final). Play count till now 127 (on itunes). 105/127 of those plays were done in one day. Since then it has played on winamp too. So total is probably close to 160 times since December 10. It really is a great song though. I love the beat so much :) And I’m somehow still not tired by it.
TV on the Radio – Halfway Home
Another HMV gem – I was perusing the store to kill time sometime in September when I was in the area. Thought it sounded good, so asked a clerk. I had heard TV on the Radio in 2004 as openers for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and wasn’t crazy about them. This song pleasantly surprised me though.
Architecture in Helsinki – Heart it Races
This song was probably the song of the year that I decided I had to spread around in some way (much like Gogol last year). These dudes are from Australia and the band is generally wacky (just my style). The song is very festive. It has steel pans in it and chirpy voices. One particular friend of mine is a fan of this song and so we often break into song and dance around. The video is also pretty cool, oh neon awesomeness!
3 Best Concerts:
This is an extremely hard category because; I can say without hesitation that every concert I saw this year was amazing. I have seen bands this year that I have been waiting years to see and others that though I haven’t, were just as great for different reasons. To make my decision easier, I’ll pick one for spring, summer and fall.
Spring: The Cure – Bell Centre – May 14, 2008
The Cure is pretty legendary as far as I can tell. I was with Ryan and Paw and we were sitting in the 200 section. This was Paw’s first Bell Centre show and so we were uncertain as to whether it would still be good considering our seating position. Luckily, the band had lots of visuals and on top of that they played for about 3 hours. It was probably the longest show I’ve been to and I don’t feel that his voice suffered while singing. It was really top notch. They also played all the songs I wanted them to play – most importantly Disintegration.
Summer: Radiohead – Parc Jean Drapeau – August 6, 2008
I have been waiting since 2003 to see them. I tried to get tickets in 2006 (I left my final early to go to Place des Arts to try and get tickets, but they sold out). In addition, none of my friends wanted to go see them for various reasons. Still, on April 9, I bought 2 presale tickets, because I did not want to miss them again. Luckily, my PT friend was awesome and came to see them with me even though she really didn’t know them. I arrived at PJD at 3 pm, gates scheduled to open at 5, but opened at 5:30. There was a forecast for rain, so I bought 2 ponchos at the dollar store. When the gates opened, I saw people running, so I started running too and half way through thought to myself “dude man, I’m out of shape, I’m a terrible sprinter, but I have to keep going”. I got a spot on the leftish center side of the gate right up front. This is amazing considering over 35000 people attended the concert. My friend arrived around 6 and found me. Then it started raining for about 30 minutes. Eventually it stopped and the opening band, Grizzly Bear came on and there was a rainbow (ironic considering Radiohead’s latest album is called in Rainbows). Radiohead came on around 8 or so. Once it was dark basically because their stage setup was magnificent. LED light columns changing colors in unison with the songs they were playing and screens visible to crowds far back. In addition, unbeknownst to Radiohead themselves, it was the last day of the International Fireworks Festival and so, there were Fireworks during the show. All this combined, and them playing most of the songs I wanted, made this show nothing short of epic and made all the rain and waiting and running entirely worth it. If they came again, I would so go.
PS, though I cannot put two for summer – I must mention that I saw Sigur Ros on September 20. I have also been waiting for them for a long time and they are one of my favourite bands. Their show was also amazing. Confetti wins!
Fall: Broken Social Scene – Metropolis – October 31, 2008
I’ve known about BSS for quite some time, but was never a huge fan. After watching QAF this year, I grew very fond of the song “Lover’s Spit”. When I heard they were coming, I thought why not see them, could be fun and also bought Paw the ticket for her birthday. I went in with no expectations and left entirely blown away. First of all, it being Halloween, the band wore costumes and as with previous experiences seeing bands comprised of more than 6 people, stage energy is way up there. My favourite part of the show, was hands down, during “Ibi Dreams of Pavement”. During the part of the song where there is no singing and just instruments playing, Kevin Drew told everyone to scream, basically for everything that you want and everything that’s going wrong. So, a type of group therapy
The room filled with everyone screaming (luckily had my earplugs :)). But it was such a great experience, everyone in unison. I also really enjoyed the song “It’s all gonna break” which has become of my favourite songs by them for these lyrics in particular “you all want the lovely music to save your lives” and “you want what you can't and you can't cause of fear we've got to get out of here”
Suffice to say, after this concert, I became a bigger BSSer than before.
I can generally say I have very few complaints about this year. Naturally all years have their ups and downs and this one did require much work. But like I said, I feel like it's actually paid off.
I do wonder what 2009 will bring. Cuz hey, next year is my year, the year of the Ox :P Let's hope it's full of pure elemental awesomeness :)! (even if you're not an Ox).
Cheers to you all and I wish you a Happy New Year with lots of luck, happiness and all that stuff that people wish each other :)
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