What started as a rather mundane day turned into a most excellent one. I made my weekly trek from the cottage to the city to do some cleaning, mowing and fix a bathroom fan in a rental unit. You know, run-of-the-mill stuff. Throughout the day I kept thinking I should run down to the Jazz Festival when I'm done, but the heat was crazy. I think it was something like one bazillion degrees. 

After sitting in the air conditioned house for about a half hour I couldn't take it and had to go. I grabbed an old camera and headed to the bus stop. As I sat there in heat that matched the surface of the sun, I kept thinking this is a bad idea. It's too hot and those three "In transit" busses that just drove by are a sign I should go back home and enjoy the cool air. Some clarification, "In Transit" is code for driver doesn't want to stop because it's too damn hot and if the bus stops there is no air flow. Or something like that. Anyway. 

I stuck it out and a bus finally arrived extremely late. I climbed in and was off to the festival. In a bus, with no air, and a bunch of other sweaty people. It was magic. Not really, but everybody's skin did glisten nicely and the trip did become a little more pleasant once I hit the subway. 

I got off the subway a few stops before the festival site. I wanted to walk a bit to see if anything else was happening. There wasn't, so I headed to the festival. Once in the festival site, I wondered from stage to stage parking myself every once in awhile on my way to the next stage to people watch and check out one of the many performance acts. Montreal has the best street performers. Being the home to the National Circus School and the headquarters for Cirque du Soleil Montreal has a tendency to attract unique acts that can be seen performing all over the city. 

Don't let the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal name foul you. If Blues or World Music are more your taste, chances are there will be a band performing that will please your taste buds. Although all the bands I had the privilege of watching were spectacular, two really stuck with me, Altın Gün and Jupiter & Okwess. 

Altın Gün bills themselves as a band offering an exciting mix of Turkish folk, psychedelia, funk and rock. These guys did not disappoint. This was my favorite band of the day. Their unique sound and funk beats made it impossible to stand still. Judging by the audience reaction I'm sure I'm not alone when I say this performance was fantastic. I'd recommend you check out their KEXP performance. 

Jupiter & Okwess melted my face off. Described on the festival site as modernity and tradition colliding in one explosive musical cocktail!. I couldn't agree more. Their style of Afro Jazz will suck you in and not let go. There was so much energy coming from the stage it felt like the whole audience had become one entity. I'd recommend you wonder over to their site.

The world can seem like it's blowing up all around you, but when you add in some music we become one and everything is alright. The one thing that stuck out for me during this outing was the since of togetherness. We listened. We participated. We laughed. We were one. We were happy.

Links to the bands I saw this night:

Altın Gün
https://www.facebook.com/altingunband
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J5-57lRxAM (KEXP Perfromance)

Jupiter & Okwess
http://jupiterandokwess.com

Annie G. Roy
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVqnhQ2OgFV8OSponK_XYnw

Dwane Dixon
http://dwanedixon.com

Steve Hill
http://www.stevehillmusic.com

Hannah Williams & The Affirmations
https://hannahsoulwilliams.bandcamp.com

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There is never a shortage of festivals in Montreal. This weekend is the start an eleven day event celebrating the international urban art movement known as of Mural Festival. And yes, I did pull part of that last sentence from their website. The festival takes place on and around Saint-Laurent Boulevard, one of Montreal's main arteries which you could say is the dividing line between the east and west parts of the city.

Walking around the festival you definitely feel the vibe as the smell of spray paint fills the air. As you weave your way though the mass of people you can explore what the local shops and restaurants have to offer by visiting their stations assembled on the street. 

The sound of music is everywhere as vendors, street musicians and local bands performing on stage compete for your attention.  

It's fantastic. 

Disclaimer: Most of the mural images shown above are from past festivals. Murals being created this year are not complete. 

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I checked out Tam Tam Montreal. People were drumming, people were dancing, then a greek acrobat team jumped on each others shoulders. It started raining so I went for coffee then headed home. 

All in all it was a pretty great day. 

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The other day I jumped on a bus with no destination in mind. The plan was to get to the metro and blindly pick a station to jump off at to explore the surrounding area. I picked Atwater. Being hangry likely had something to do with this choice since the Atwater Market would be a few minute walk from the station and I could grab a bite to eat there. 

After filling the void in my gut I started floating around the market looking for photo opportunities. Just so you know. If a sandwich looks huge in a menu photo, it will most likely be a quarter that size in real life. Not many photo ops where yelling at me so I headed to... you guessed it, Saint Catherine Street. 

I hit the Quartier des spectacles, had a seat and watched dancer Caroline Laurin-Beaucage dance for an hour. It was intense. Here is the audio track that plays as she dances. 

After watching a fierce game of chess I was exhausted from all the watching of the people doing the stuff. I headed home.

The end. 

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