It's that time again, to look back and reflect upon all the events of the past year.
According to Chinese astrology, the year of the Tiger is one of rapid and dramatic changes. Think fast! I would say that it's been a pretty accurate description of the past year for me and for quite a bunch of people I know as well. Lots of ups and downs, sometimes at the same time. For the Ox: " 2010's whirlwind moments and sudden challenges meant the Ox had to adjust his thinking and change direction on a dime!".
2008, was a time of recognition for hard work, 2009 was slow and patience testing in all areas and I would say 2010 was a time of accepting all these changes and just going with the flow. I suppose it's the only way to deal with fast change. So let's see what went down this year. I'll follow the same basic template as the last two years touching on the top activities/events, as well as music and general entertainment of 2010.
3 events
Leaving the continent for a month
I made an entire post on this earlier this year. Paw and I went on a month long trip to Spain, France and Italy. It was a much needed trip on my part where I learned a lot about other cultures, but also about myself.
Finishing my Masters degree
I am most proud of the fact that I wrote my thesis and defended it in French. It was a challenge that I had decided to undertake when I started in 2008, just to see if I could do it. Overall, doing my degree in French university was one of the best decisions I've made, ultimately making it possible for me to work in both languages in my field. :)
Performing throughout the year
So, the Brazilian drumming of last year continued for most of this year (up until the end of August). The difference is this year was filled with a lot more performances, the most eventful of which was the Jazz Festivals closing parade with over 100 000 spectators. It was also special because my dad's choir was performing as well. Other performances: yearly Carnival, Les Bobards, end of summer show w/ another drumming group, Just for Laughs, Nuits d'Afrique, Les Weekends du Monde, as well as some other parades. So, I'd definitely say I satisfied my performer urge, at least where drumming is concerned.
3 Food discoveries/chill places
Avesta
Turkish food on Ste Catherine in between Atwater and Guy metro. I've been there 4 times this year. What attracted me to the place was the lady making fresh flat bread in the window. The food is great, but the service is rather slow. I don't have a huge problem with it as I'm usually not in a hurry when I go. I really like their spicy potato gozleme.
Cafe Tinto
A friend of mine introduced me to this place on Amherst/Ste Catherine. It's a small cafe in the gay village that serves Colombian coffee as well as other delicacies like arepas and Pastel Gloria (a personal favorite). I really like their coffee and the place itself is quite cozy, with reddish walls and comfy seats. It's also rather quiet,tucked away in it's little corner.
Kazu
A small and authentic Japanese restaurant that opened not long ago on Ste Catherine, near Guy metro. When I say small, I mean tiny and always packed, especially during lunch time. I've been there once, but intend to go again to try their ramen. So far, I've had their onigiri and okonomiyaki, and sampled from other people's bowls :P
3 movies
Soul Kitchen
I saw this movie early this Spring after seeing it advertised at Cinema du Parc. It's a German movie about a guy who aspires to be a chef and tells about all his hardships along the way. The movie is really funny and I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well.
5 dias sin Nora
Part of the Latin American film festival at Cinema du Parc, this Mexican movies talks about a lady who has committed suicide and left instructions for her ex husband to execute for her funeral. It's quite funny, but one of those heart warming movies. Unfortunately, I haven't found it here yet on DVD :(
Besouro
This movie was part of the Brazilian Film Festival at Cinema du Parc. It makes my list just because it's a martial arts movie that is not Asian, haha. Finally, we get to see a martial movie with Capoeira. Based on a true story, it takes places I think in the 1920s where even though slavery had been abolished, the Portuguese were still treating the Blacks as slaves. Lots of action and the special effects weren't exaggerated. I also thought it was interesting that it integrated elements of Candomble, touching on the different Orixa's and the powers they are associated with. Exu is particularly fearsome in this movie :P It also had its comedic moments, particularly its transition from strange/experimental/mystical music to hard rock every time some one was about to kick some ass.
New general entertainment
Before, I mainly touched on TV/Comedians, but I actually watched no tv/new shows this year. So I will include books and activities.
Balkan Beats
A new group formed this year called Balkan Beats Montreal East, and about every month they host a night at Divan Orange just to party it up Balkan style. I have gone twice - the second time in particular was a lot of fun. Divan is a rather small place, but in a way, that's what makes it even cooler. You're crammed with a bunch of people, jumping and dancing the night away to eastern European music. I will definitely go back, just not sure when :)
The Taqwacores
I'd seen the documentary "Taqwacores: the birth of punk Islam" last year and was curious about the fictional book written by the author, so I decided to buy it. Basically, it's about a bunch of Islamic students who go to university in Buffalo. The main characters live together in a house. It's a bit slow to get into because of the writing style and because the author makes references to things I am not familiar with because I have never practiced Islam or studied it. But once you do get into it, I'm telling ya - you feel totally grungy and punk rock after. I also enjoyed the spectrum of characters in the book, each having their own interpretation of Islam and each raising different issues surrounding it. Coincidentally, a movie based on the book is supposed to be released soon.
The 100 mile diet
As the title of the book suggests, the authors, who live in Vancouver, challenged themselves to eat locally (anything grown/produced within a 100 mile radius) for a year. I had heard of this book because the authors ran a reality show where 6 families did this for I think 4 months. It reminded me a bit of Sleeping Naked is Green, but the style of writing is different, where the authors alternate writing chapters. It also doesn't cover the day-to-day changes - it summarizes each month. The authors talk about their discoveries, their joys, adventures and difficulties with the challenge. I was tempted to live on a farm (for a short while) after this, haha. Or, at the very least, try to reduce the amount of food I eat that is not local. One other thing I enjoyed about the book was that they spoke about the history of their region (varieties of crops available prior to the arrival of settlers, agricultural techniques, fishing, etc).
Music
3 favorite albums
Beach house - Teen Dream
This album was officially released in Jan. 2010. A slight departure from their previous albums, I find the songs are more polished and slightly less spacey. I think it may be my favorite of the 3 albums, with Silver Soul, Used to be and Take Care being my favorite songs (even though I like all of the songs).
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
This album definitely is one of the best of this year, hands up and down. The variety of artists and beats/rhythms used is impressive and I can say without hesitation I like all of the songs. It is the perfect balance of electro, pop, hip hop and world music, making it so easy to dance to and incredibly catchy as well. Favorite songs are hard to pick, but I'd have to say White Flag, Empire Ants and Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (I cannot deny Snoop's awesome attitude).
Massive Attack - heligoland
At the end of last year, I was already hooked on Paradise Circus. Then the rest of the album got me. In this album, Massive Attack recaptures the darkness of Mezzanine (which is my favorite album thus far) with a little extra. These dudes know how to do trip hop :) My favorites of this album are Paradise Circus, Atlas Air and Splitting the Atom.
3 songs that stayed in my head (not included in previously mentioned albums or by same artists)
Broken Social Scene - Sweetest Kill
After seeing "This Movie is Broken" with Pamela, I had this song in my head for a good week or two. In general, BSS is an epic band, but the live rendition with all the artists of the supergroup was awesome.
Arcade Fire - Rococo
I was working on my thesis at school and listening to the Arcade Fire on grooveshark. I hadn't listened much to the new album "the suburbs", so actually didn't know any of the songs. But, once I heard this one, I couldn't stop listening to it. It's got the depressing/cheerful combo that the Arcade Fire masters so well.
Yeasayer - Tightrope
I think I was reading about this band on Pitchfork and just decided to check out their myspace. As soon as Tightrope came on, I was hooked. Even more so when I saw their performance of this song on Blogotheque. It's got bells, clapping and guitars and general yay. Extremely catchy.
3 concerts: all in the Fall
Gorillaz
October 3 at the Bell Centre - I was determined to see this band as it was their first time doing a world tour and they started in Montreal (yay!). I think I posted about it, but either way, it was a total blast. I think they played all the songs I wanted, had guest artists, giant screen with the animated cartoon members and music videos. I also became an even bigger Gorillaz fan after (I wasn't super into Demon Days before and now I really love that album as well).
Massive Attack
Trippy times at the Bell Centre. The opener was Thievery Corporation which was surprisingly good as well, but of course I was there for Massive Attack and they did not disappoint (well except for the fact that they did not play Paradise Circus). I imagine these guys would be even better in a club show, but I definitely had fun dancing to the large concentration of Mezzanine and heligoland tracks :)
Broken Social Scene
Second time seeing this band and as I said, it may have even beaten the first time. It was a giant party on stage with guest artists, 25 songs, brass section and a happy crowd. Broken Social Scene is just so epic, it's almost impossible to not be caught up in the excitement and enjoy yourself.
Adios 2010. You've been an eventful year to say the least. I look forward to the new adventures of 2011 and will carry the lessons of this one into the next. I wish you all the best of luck and generally an excellent year to come!
Last night Paw and I went to see Broken Social Scene for the 2nd time @ Metropolis (first time was halloween 2008).
The opening act was "here we go magic" - a band from NY who do kinda indie spacey rock. It was pretty enjoyable.
But, of course, Broken Social Scene was amazing. They played an epic set of 25 songs, over 2.5 hours, with guests like Amy Millan and Andy Kim :D Most of the band was suited up. I particularly liked Kevin Drew's jacket.
Setlist:
1) Pacific Theme
2) KC Accidental
3) Texico bitches
4) 7/4 Shoreline
5) Fire-eyed boy
6) Forced to love
7) All to all
8) Arthouse director (most awesome horns in this part, with a choreography by the brass section!)
9) Sweetest kill (SO happy they played this song)
10) Cause = time
11) hotel
12) Guilty cubicles
13) All the best wooden toys come
14) Superconnected (with some lyrics from Modest mouse's the world at large)
15) World sick
16) Ungrateful little father
17) Lover's spit (new interpretation w/ more instruments, but still quiet)
17) Anthem's for a 17 year old girl
18) Water in hell
19) Almost crimes
20) Meet me in the basement
21) Andy Kim comes on stage and plays how'd we ever get this way with BSS
22) Looks just like the sun
23) Ibi dreams of pavement (instead of the usual scream, it was "Fuck you! I won't do what you tell me to")
24) It's all gonna break
25) Major label debut
They basically played every song I wanted them to play (well except shampoo suicide, but that's fine).
Something about this band is just absolute magic. I guess it's because it's basically a bunch (like over 15) musicians just jamming out on stage and really enjoying making music and sharing it with everyone. I absolutely loved this concert and I think it was the best of the year for me. Even though I have seen them before, the performance was not at all the same. They rearranged songs and breathed new life into songs that were already amazing. It was a great way to end the concert season for 2010 and also to de-stress before my thesis defense! :) I would definitely see them again, without hesitation.
<3 BSS :D
The opening act was "here we go magic" - a band from NY who do kinda indie spacey rock. It was pretty enjoyable.
But, of course, Broken Social Scene was amazing. They played an epic set of 25 songs, over 2.5 hours, with guests like Amy Millan and Andy Kim :D Most of the band was suited up. I particularly liked Kevin Drew's jacket.
Setlist:
1) Pacific Theme
2) KC Accidental
3) Texico bitches
4) 7/4 Shoreline
5) Fire-eyed boy
6) Forced to love
7) All to all
8) Arthouse director (most awesome horns in this part, with a choreography by the brass section!)
9) Sweetest kill (SO happy they played this song)
10) Cause = time
11) hotel
12) Guilty cubicles
13) All the best wooden toys come
14) Superconnected (with some lyrics from Modest mouse's the world at large)
15) World sick
16) Ungrateful little father
17) Lover's spit (new interpretation w/ more instruments, but still quiet)
17) Anthem's for a 17 year old girl
18) Water in hell
19) Almost crimes
20) Meet me in the basement
21) Andy Kim comes on stage and plays how'd we ever get this way with BSS
22) Looks just like the sun
23) Ibi dreams of pavement (instead of the usual scream, it was "Fuck you! I won't do what you tell me to")
24) It's all gonna break
25) Major label debut
They basically played every song I wanted them to play (well except shampoo suicide, but that's fine).
Something about this band is just absolute magic. I guess it's because it's basically a bunch (like over 15) musicians just jamming out on stage and really enjoying making music and sharing it with everyone. I absolutely loved this concert and I think it was the best of the year for me. Even though I have seen them before, the performance was not at all the same. They rearranged songs and breathed new life into songs that were already amazing. It was a great way to end the concert season for 2010 and also to de-stress before my thesis defense! :) I would definitely see them again, without hesitation.
<3 BSS :D
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