08-13-23 Teaze, Streetheart, Honeymoon Suite, April Wine
The morning brought Nana making pancakes for the boys as they cleaned the house and built a Lego vase for their Mom whose birthday is tomorrow. Once they were done with everything I gave them two hours of screen time while I got ready and brought my stuff home to ready for tonight and get changed into cooler clothes. It was a bonus that I tried a pair of shorts on that I haven’t fit for 3 summers and they are perfect. I brought cat toys to Williams new kitten, Leia. She is so adorable and has a pompon tail as it was stepped on and broken, healing in a curve before he got her.
I arrived at the site to stand in a long line to get in but it went quite quickly once the gates opened. I scoped out the area where I sat yesterday and saw a spot for one chair only one row behind where I was. I set up my chair and turned to see I was next to Shannon and Teri, the ladies I had bought the tickets for in the first place! Great kismet! And, we had all brought fans today, lol.
The first band up was Teaze who I couldn’t recall at all. They did do Sweet Misery though and that was familiar. They had good energy and were well received. It is extremely hot on the pavement today and I am staying well hydrated. Thankfully there are water stations.
I decided to get a Chicken Caesar wrap from the salad truck and it was delicious but I didn’t notice it was dripping all down the front of my MusicFest shirt I was wearing. I tried to clean it off but it was a mess so I went to the merch tent to see if I could buy one of the fest tanks. They only had small ones left and the only vee necked one left was a white Streetheart one. It was as a matter of fact, the last one, the sample on a hanger. It was a large so I took a chance and bought it. I went into the arena washroom to change and was glad to have it. While I was buying it I also met the lead singer of Teaze who was very sweet.
I settled in to watch Streetheart and they were great. I don’t think the lead singer has the chops but he was personable and I enjoyed them. I decided to get in line for autographs on my new shirt and although it was hot standing in the sun waiting for them, it turned out to be one of the fun highlights. They were all lined up behind tables and I had a chat with the first guy about him being class of 74 and moving to Vancouver when he was 20 and the music scene being great there. I got him to sign the back of my shirt. Next was Daryl Gutheil, the keyboardist, who is a founding member of the band. I got him to sign over the heart on the front of the shirt. After him were the drummer and bass player who also signed the back and then last was Paul McNair, the lead singer. When I stepped in front of him, he said: “well, this will be fun!” I promptly turned around and the drummer told him that the front was for founding members only… there was a huge laugh and I got a great picture. He was a very good sport and gave me a cheek to cheek moment as well.
Honeymoon Suite was next. They were very popular. I don’t know if I was overheated or just worn out on this kind of music but I wasn’t as into them as I thought I would be. I mean, they were fine, just not great. They drew a big standing crowd.
I blew a sandal, but they had a good long life and managed to get me home so I could throw them out.
I enjoyed chatting with people and finding out where they were from. The furthest I met today was from Saskatchewan.
Once April Wine began, I was glad as not only was a long and hot, over stimulated weekend coming to an end, but I had been looking forward to them. I did however get the unfortunate news that my Uncle Jim died at 8:47 our time this evening. I was unable to completely concentrate after that and found the seemingly never ending drum solo to be just too much. I finally decided to leave about ten after 10 and listened to two of their biggest hits while I was heading to my car.
I stopped to make sure the boys had done as they were supposed to and was pretty impressed. They even made a great sign to welcome their mom for her birthday tomorrow. Rae, Roger and Ash arrived home and we had a quick catchup. She was very impressed with the cleaning job, especially the kitchen.
I am very tired but finding it hard to wind down. That was a great deal of stimulation… and sun. I don’t know how more people weren’t wearing earplugs. maybe they have hearing aids from listening to this type and level of sound, and just turn them down. I could not have survived without my Loops. I did have a fun game in my head that I wish I had had a friend to engage with about. I found myself watching the crowd and wondering who were the hot ones in high school. I also felt great about my aging process as there were all kinds of people of all shapes and stages, just enjoying themselves. it will be interesting to see what the plan is for next year.
triumphgal 