Alright, so we played in Oshawa - which is a colourful place - and in Ottawa - an incredible place - and we are now in Montreal at our friend Kate (and Luic!)'s place!
The bar that we played in Oshawa was called The Atria, and it seems to be primarily a punk/folk establishment. The owner of the joint also failed to tell the runners of the standard open mic that there were bands that night. This was initially pretty interesting, but everything was fine ultimately. We played little sets and then the open mic started (including a standout track by Doug Hell - "Oshawa Girl"). After the show the soundman (and performer for the evening) Mike took us back to his house and cooked us some lasagna and we watched Clerks. He also had an incredible Hammond Organ which we made space noises on for a while. In the morning we ate the biggest breakfast at a curry house. It was honestly ridiculous.
The following day we headed to our Nation's Capital. Upon arrival we went to the hill and looked the government establishments while trying to convince people to come out to the show that evening. There were a lot of people about, primarily highschoolers on tours and professionals who looked to be involved in some kind of politicking. The show was great - run by Heather at Indie Buzz Werks - and the opening band was called Auto Racing - a Primus like tappin/slappin bassist and a drummer. Very wicked. We partied on and everything was grand - ended up getting on the roof of the venue and making pals with the bartender, Cayle. He took us back to his apartment building and we squatted in an empty apartment (although we shared with some ants).
The next day we got up, got some foods at the local grocery store and then headed to Montreal. We searched hectically for a moose on the highway out, but no luck. Our first stop was for gasoline and we were greeted by two older ladies yelling at each other over who had arrived first. This yelling match lasted so long that it caused a traffic jam confined to the gas station which was extremely busy because of a 3 cent discount on gas. Cars seem to come with two horns here, ensuring that one is always available for use. We made it into downtown alive and parked near the Grande Bibliotheque. Scott had attempted to give us quick lessons in French on the road, but it didn't seem to move much past "Deeeees Noix" and "Je m'excuse". To ensure that we do not insult the radiance and beauty of the French Canadians (oh the beauties) Scott will remain the official translator for the remainder of our time in Quebec. After parking we headed to a local watering hole near the Centre Bell and watched the Montreal v. Philadelphia game amongst Montrealers. Montreal won. After we strolled through the madness streets and saw many cops decked out in full riot gear (the problems are apparently not when they lose, but when they win - a la I am so happy I will throw this brick through that window
It's a magical place.
Julian, Keira, Mike and Calum van yelling on the way to Wally World.
4 eggs, 8 pieces of toast, 3 sausages, sliced ham, so much salty peameal bacon = $5 (aka "The Jon")
Ottawa scenery
Keep off the lawns
I'd like to call this photo "scale"
Hey, I am pretty sure there are squatters rights in Canada
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