FMPM Day 2

Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montreal - Day 2
Centre Pierre-Peladeau
Salle Pierre-Mercure
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Level Balcon, Section Gauche, Row A, Seat 1

Sunday morning in Montreal was beautiful. The sky was clear, the temperature was cool. We went back to that little creperie from Friday and even had the same waitress. Afterwards we went for a long walk. Rue Saint Denis went on for miles, with shops in old houses stretching the whole way. We almost got to the park that is home to Mont-Royal before turning back. The road we took back, Rue St. Laurent, had more of a neighborhood shop feel, rather than the upscale destination shops of St. Denis. We also cut through some residential streets and got a good look at those homes. I wish we could have done this walk on Friday afternoon when more of the shops would have been open, but it was still nice to go window shopping on Sunday morning.

Montreal impressed me. Everything was laid out so well for pedestrians, the subways were easy to use, the old homes were being put to good use. I sound like an issue of Dwell magazine - so happy to see high density, mixed use buildings. Barely any of the shops were empty. Everywhere we walked was like this. What did Montreal do differently than so many other cities? What mistakes didn't they make? St Louis is having a mini-renaissance where people are moving back to the city into rehabbed warehouse lofts, but we saw in Montreal a city already full of people and no buildings still unused and available to renovate. It was so nice to see this.

Roy hadn't slept well. When we got back to the hotel, he planned to take a nap before the festival started for the day. I wasn't sure what I'd do, but we found Kevin in the hotel lobby. Well, the hotel main entrance wasn't really a lobby, but it had a couple chairs in it. Kevin couldn't get wifi in his room, so he was using his computer down there. I asked if he wanted some company, and we chatted for over an hour. I went to wake Roy up in time for the festival. To be honest, I was tired too. I think I over-extended myself. The festival part of the day is long and can be draining. Because of the timing, I was awake six hours before it started, and I tried to fit too much in.

Roy stopped at the coffee shop for some snacks since we didn't have time yet for lunch and we'd done at lot since breakfast. I wondered if Linda knew that Kevin was here. Roy told me that Linda hated surprises and being in suspense as much as I do. When I saw her outside the theater, I had to tease her:

"Linda, have you seen the surprise yet?" I didn't want to give away that Kevin was here, in case she didn't know. Coincidentally, we were all staying on the same floor of the same hotel.

"What surprise? What kind of surprise? Is it a band?"

"No, it's a personal surprise for our group."

"What group? What kind of surprise?" Wow, she is like me. I was having fun being on the other side of this.

"You'll know it when you see it."

This went on for a few more minutes. I don't think we narrowed it down that the surprise was a friend whom we haven't seen for awhile. She was still trying to figure it out when I saw Kevin walking up.

"Oh, there's the surprise right there."

She was surprised alright. I'm glad I saw the look on her face. She, Kevin, and Roy have known each other on-line and at festivals for far longer than I've been part of their group. I couldn't see much of their reunion, since I had to get in and pick up my wristband to enter the theater.

Some more people made their way up to the balcony. A friendly Canadian guy sat near us and asked about the Genesis concert. I said I hadn't seen them since high school and he asked if Gabriel was with the band then. Ouch, Gabriel left in what? 1975? the year after I was born. Oh well. Kevin sat in our row as well.

The first band Hamadryad did nothing for me. I think they were supposed to be a more traditional symphonic prog band, which I usually like, but I was zoning out. I bumped into Robert Dansereau, one of the fest organizers, in the lobby and we said hi. It was so nice outside, and still so hot and humid back home in St. Louis, so I went out for another walk. I got back by the time their set ended.

Roy and I went out for lunch at a chain specializing in frites - french fries with dipping sauces. Our sandwiches were both really dry and disappointing. The restaurant was interesting though. Most of the places along Saint Denis had outdoor seating in patios or in raised terraces or balconies. This place didn't have outdoor seating, but the wall was a large glass door that was raised like a garage door, so it was still open. We saw Linda walk by.

"Linda," I called, trying to get her attention. She heard me and looked around, but didn't see us. "Linda," I tried again. This time, she looked like she decided it must be some other Linda and not for her. I called out her last name and "up here". She found us. She and her friends were planning dinner at the next break, which wouldn't work for us. I didn't know how we'd fit time for dinner in - the breaks were only an hour and fifteen minutes again. I suggested we skip the next band, but this was Linda's only day of the festival and she didn't want to miss anything.

The restaurant redeemed itself by playing Epitaph from King Crimson. Only in Quebec!

I just had a feeling about the next band. They were called Ville Emard Blues Band and were supposed to be jazz-rock. I wasn't sure if I'd like them and I kept thinking that the time between the first band and the third band would be four hours - more time to have a relaxed meal or do something more touristy - but this band's set was in the way of that. Kevin skipped them entirely. I stayed for a couple songs, and they reminded me of a large wedding band. The thing is, I might have enjoyed them outside at ProgDay, but I was getting tired and wanted to take a break. I went back to the hotel and read.

The third band was Nathan Mahl. They were the surprise hit of the first Nearfest. I haven't seen them or heard any of their albums since then. Their bandleader Guy LeBlanc has attended some prog festivals in the years since and said he recognized Roy and me. I know Roy saw him playing with Camel some years ago. Roy met me at the hotel and I was exhausted. I could stay up for Nathan Mahl, but then I'd definitely be too tired for IQ and I really wanted to see them. We decided I should nap now, and Roy would see Mahl. He left their set early so we'd have enough time for dinner.

I was looking forward to IQ. They're another band I saw at the first Nearfest and haven't listened to since, but I remember their show fondly. I've seen keyboardist Martin Orford do a show with John Wetton that was just wonderful and Linda and I got to spend some time with bass player John Jowitt when he almost did a show with Peter Banks. The IQ guys were hanging around for the whole festival and looked like they were enjoying themselves. They started from the neo-progressive scene in England in the 80s, and are a band that does proggy songs.

This was a special show, because Orford had announced he was leaving the band and this was his final show. They did a nice tribute to him and the audience gave him some big applause. Lots of love there. IQ has a lot of theatrics and some humor in their set, which kept me rapt even though I didn't know any of their music. As a big surprise, the singer from the Musical Box Genesis tribute band did a song with them. It was a good performance. More of the bands at these fests could take notes on IQ's stage presence and presentation. Their arrangements too, good development of melodies without being noodly or too overblown.

We hung out for a little while afterwards. Kevin left early and was leaving early the next day, so we didn't get to say goodbye to him. (ETA: Kevin told me he didn't leave early, he just went downstairs to the main floor to check out the sound.) I was hoping to see Linda, so we could figure out when to meet the next morning for breakfast. Roy and I talked to Sean McFee for a bit. I joked that they should get Yes as a pre-show band next year. While the Genesis show is really what brought us here, there was almost too much prog going on for the locals. Genesis played on Friday night and Rush was there on Saturday. Too many options could hurt attendence. While I had fun and really enjoyed being right in the city, it would be hard for me to attend in the future. Airfare is just too much and this took a whopping three vacation days.

The next morning, we did hook up with Linda and her friends. We went back to the little creperie, but the service wasn't as good this time. We were ending our vacation just as they were starting theirs, so we had lots of info to pass on. After breakfast, we all walked over to the old section of the city and walked along the piers over the St. Lawrence River. Linda and her friends wanted to take a boat tour, and it started sooner than they thought. We said a quick goodbye and they headed off. We went back to the hotel and got a cab to the airport.

The flight home was a little uncomfortable. I figured I'd buy lunch at the airport, but by the time we got through customs and security, there wasn't much time. (Why did we go through US Customs in Canada anyway? We did it at the Montreal airport both coming and going.) We had a two hour layover in Chicago, so then we figured we'd eat at a sit-down place there. But our flight arrived early and we were able to fly standby on a flight back home that was leaving immediately. It was nice to get home earlier, but a bit too long without food. I enjoyed that dinner at Outback once we finally arrived.