Between balancing working hard and playing hard, I do manage to squeeze in some time for leisure, mostly related to the arts.
During the last few weeks, I spent one of the days with my music friends living the Plateau life and attending a 3 hour concert: H-mollmässan by J. S. Bach. Actually appreciating classical music, we were mesmerized by its timeless beauty. However, the last hour, all of us really became distracted just like kids. Understandable though.
Drawing mostly remains within class hours simply because it keeps me awake and helps me concentrate.
But what I wanted to share the most is the concert I attended with
Dahye. It's almost been a week and I'm still internally freaking out.
What happened is that she invited me to go to a hip/low key/indie concert with
Hippo Campus and
Night Riots opening for
The Mowgli's. The main reason we went is that she actually knew the band members of Hippo Campus, having gone to high school with them in Minnesota. I had also heard some catchy tunes from The Mowgli's so hey, why not? When we entered the concert hall, right away I felt its warm and welcoming ambiance. Christmas lights hung on the ceiling and the crowd was ever so cheerful and responsive,
especially the front row. Hippo Campus was amazing - they gave it all by playing until they literally were drenched in sweat and blood. Good job guys, you're gonna go real far.
Then came Night Riots. Okay. I had no clue who they were before, and man was that about to change. Just while they were setting up, Dahye and I were already like something along the lines of: "Who. are. those. hunks.", and "Right? And don't even get me started on their hot attitude and jawlines." Still, I had no idea what to expect from their actual music. When they finally started playing, I was so overwhelmed by their stage presence that I had to stop dancing to the beat and stare at them (ahaha). It hit me, the first impression. All of the members were truly into their music and managed to deliver a heartwarming experience despite the attractively sinister image they projected. At one point, Travis, the lead singer, reached out to the second row and took my hand from the crowd and as he was singing, looked with his piercing green eyes into mine and smiled, as if he was serenading just for me, just for a second that lasted forever. Honestly I melted. And the guitar solos, and the electro, and the beat, and the vibes, and the passion, and the cheers, and the, and the...
Their show ended, but I was thirsty for so much more. Luckily The Mowgli's delivered a spectacular performance full of vibrant energy. Not only was their music catchy, but we got a little taste of their upcoming album that was just released! Dahye and I went to the washrooms, and after some weird selfies and dropping her phone into the sink (and laughing about it for five minutes straight), we came back out to the side of the stage, which came out even closer. We conveniently decided to stay there, and who knew that I was going to be able to give a props to the bassist while he was on stage and a big thumbs up to the drummer, as he responded with a huge enthusiastic smile and beat.
Here's the thing: I got to meet everyone.
Not even by chance. Most of them were at the bar, and all you needed was the audacity to approach them.
It was so great to watch Dahye finally reunite with her childhood friends and catch up. He was really jovial, and apparently I have the same name as his girlfriend back in Minnesota. Wow, one must be patient with long distance relationships on tour.
I also happened to see the lead singer of The Mowgli's sitting right across from me after the entire show had ended, just catching up on social media. Him. Right next to me. Yeah, I just had the guts to go up to him and to congratulate him. We took each other's hands and he gave me a sincere appreciative look. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures not to ruin the moment.
Now with Night Riots, we actually first got to meet them right before The Mowgli's' show in the back of the concert hall. Right away I introduced myself the French-Canadian way - with
la bise (kisses on the cheek). I didn't want to show how nervous I was, but it ended up dissipating much easier than I expected. Conversation flowed like a river, mostly about poutine, and within minutes we had already exchanged so much. The next time I got to see them was towards the end of the show. I was going to back to grab my coat and noticed that they were there, as well as one of the members of Hippo Campus, and heck, we just ended up dancing to the beat and hugging at the end! I felt so lucky, we talked and talked - because they're actual people too off the stage - until it was time to leave. I'm now hooked to them because they're ~
contagious~.
It's weird, but I've never fangirled this much. Rationally, I think that this show especially stayed with me due to two key facts:
- That the performance was delivered with sincere and visible passion;
- That every single band member was not only approachable and down-to-earth, but actually chill human beings.
Please don't lose that.
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| Hippo Campus |
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| Night Riots |
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| The Mowgli's |
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| Travis Hawley |
Enjoy!
Katia
