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Listening to: Your Wish is My Wish by Sarah Slean

Alright, it's about time I wrote about the fantabulous weekend that was my birthday in Toronto. Let me first make a confession. I have never been to Toronto. I've been to Wonderland once, which is close. I think I was in Missisauga or something once to pick up car parts... Other than Wonderland, the farthest I'd been down the 401 to "visit" was Trenton.

Friday night Theo had his last regular season game (which they won! Go gargs!) so after the game we went out with the team to the bar for a bit and celebrated. We had a cool Rockstar discussion, Mat and I had poutine, and we headed home a little early to pack for our trip.

Up early (6:30am) on Saturday to make it to Toronto before our jam-packed weekend begins. The trip there was surprisingly fast. Mostly because Theo tried to follow the 8 or 10 T-rex's we saw going down the highway. (Kidding! There were only 7.)

We got into downtown Toronto around noon and seeing as our hotel check it was 3pm, but we were going to see Monty Python's Spamalot at 2pm, we parked near the theatre and went to the Eaton's Centre a couple of blocks away to have some lunch.

The Canon Theatre is beautiful and the seats we had were great! The show was hilarious too. If you've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, then you'll love this show. It's much the same story line, but updated for both Broadway and for current times. (They slid in a joke on gay rights and the now infamous Zidane head butt.)

Everyone was laughing so much throughout the entire show. It was really well done, the set and costumes were great (they even managed to do that scene with the Black Knight who won't give up expertly! It's only a flesh wound!) It had Monty Python written all over it -- even the intermission was MP style. Of course -- the killer bunny was priceless.

After the show we headed to our hotel in Markham, which was surprisingly close (take the Don Valley Parkway just past the 401) and it wouldn't have taken us long -- except that the DVP is insane with traffic no matter what time of day (oh, just wait, I've got a story about that later.) We checked in, rested a bit, had showers, changed , ate dinner at the restaurant, and then headed back downtown to the Kool Haus for ... wait for it... yes... 311!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Trust me -- it deserves that many exclamation marks!)

For those of you who have somehow managed to know me and NOT know that 311 is a band, my favorite band, whom I've loved since I was 13 years old. For those of you taking notes, that would mean that yes, it's been 10 years, 11 CDs, 2 DVDs, 1 VHS and NO CONCERTS!!! I found it fitting that I finally get to see them the night before my 23rd birthday.

So, my first note is that the Kool Haus sucks as a venue. Well, unless you like mosh pits and general admission only seating. I don't know if I am too old for it, or too spoiled by seeing so many shows at great venues (though I've never been a fan of mosh pits) but I was kind of disappointed in the venue. It had too much of a festival feeling -- being all squished in like sardines and not a great view. At first we had this stellar spot that I thought was far enough back to be out of moshing zone but close enough I could see them well. I was wrong. After about 4 songs Theo gently got me to move back farther before I strangled this guy who was bouncing so much in front of me and not taking the I'm-standing-with-my-elbows-out-as-a-hint-jackass move I was trying to pull.

Panic & the Rebel Emergency opened, they have a similar island jam style as 311 and were pretty good. But the Rolling Stones could have opened and I wouldn't have cared at this point. I was growing impatient. The problem with the audience was that 311's following is mostly male, late teens/early 20s and mostly pot-heads (yes, 311 are marijuana advocates in a way....) So the atmosphere was not as conducive to the type of concert I like best.

However, it should be known that 311 KICKED ASS! They were so good, so smooth, so perfect, and they played a really good mix of old and new songs (Which is awesome, I love their old stuff best ... they have songs from 1988 on... there was a lot to pick from.) As usual, it was too short. But they played nearly two hours so I really can't complain. Bonus of moving a bit farther back was that it wasn't as hot or crowded, which also meant I could get my groove on! I'm a big fan of rock music you can dance to. 311 is 2 guitars, a bass, drums, and a DJ -- but like I mentioned earlier, they are reggae/dancehall influenced so it's got a mellow groove throughout most songs that just makes it perfect to dance around to. I'm sure I looked like an idiot, but Theo stayed within view of me to watch out for me, but not look like he was with me. (Kidding!)

311 have their happy slam dance song, a wickedly creative drum solo where the whole band gets in on it in Applied Science, and some others that are more rock than dancehall... but the whole thing was so surreal and awesome. I still can't believe I finally saw 311!!

Veronica gave me $$$ to buy a shirt at the show but they only had one kind and it was a men's shirt in green, so I opted to wait and buy one online. They are making a new online store, so as soon as it's up I'll order mine!! (Thanks VER!!)

We were both exhausted after the show, it was hot, I danced like a madman, the long drive/day etc... so we really wanted to get back to the hotel and just crash. Oh, this is when I missed Ottawa. It was midnight and there was a traffic jam on the DVP!?!?! WTF? How do people live in Toronto and commute? I don't get it! MIDNIGHT PEOPLE!! GO to bed!

Sunday morning we slept in a bit and had showers and breakfast before packing up to leave. We headed back downtown to the CN Tower (man that's high!) We wanted to go for a tour of the Steam Whistle Brewery, but it only opened at noon, and we were going to see LOTR at 1pm.

Theo got a new bobble head from the Blue Jays stadium, and we walked around downtown a bit before the show. The AIDS conference was starting that day so it was packed. The old harbour front is beautiful, but I find the street car wires are ugly --especially at intersections... my 2 cents. I loved this fountain next to the stadium... It's so cute with all the fishes. Theo is conveniently standing blocking the area of the fountain that had a massive pile of garbage floating in it...

Ah, and now for the much talked about LOTR. The set was incredible. It extended into the audience, had a multiple rotating stage, which raised and lowered in sections (which made for a very good show when they are fighting and chasing hobbits...) The costumes were good. Gollum was INCREDIBLE. His physical performance was stellar, and his voice was sooooo good. He would alter it depending on if he was "Gollum" or "Smeagol" and it just intensified the duality of the character so well. Theo and I both thought it would have been better as a play, not a musical. The songs seem out of place and long too often. Only when the hobbits sing in Bree at the Dancing Pony did the song and dance seem to fit. Had they cut out the songs they could have told more of the story -- or not made it 3 and a half hours long. The neat part about the musical was that the hobbits returned to the shire at the end (I had never read the books, so I didn't know what was missing in the movie version.) I would give the LOTR a C. Whereas Spamalot, like Rent, was so good I'd go back and see it again and again.

The drive home was uneventful, but I was glad to be back in my own bed. It was such a good weekend, and so cool that it was my birthday for it all too!

Ok...enough typing. Until next time!