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No Fans In The Stands?
Montreal summers are well-known for the legendary nightlife, lounging on the finest terraces in the city, and attending the world-reknown festivals that take up most of the three months of the year that aren't spent shoveling snow off of our front steps.
It also presents Montrealers a chance to take a break from stressing about the Canadiens (although that never happens), meaning its time to break out the old Calvillo jersey and spend a night drunkenly cheering on the Alouettes (and their cheerleaders) or heading down to Saputo Stadium to catch a Montreal Impact game while pretending to be a European for 90 minutes, chanting and waving scarves apparently tailor-made for 35 degree weather.
This summer was supposed to be the summer to trump all summers: the Alouettes are always a force to be reckoned with in the Canadian Football League, but with the Impact slated to kickoff its inaugural Major League Soccer season, combined with the start of Euro 2012, never before has the city's soccer interest been so high. For whatever reason, though, hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of empty seats can be seen at both the Alouettes or Impact home games, which raises two very important questions:
1) Where is everyone?
2) Has this city not learned its lesson by now?
We all know what happened to the Montreal Expos, so we won't get into that; and while their relocation wasn't all the fault of Montreal fans, we certainly played a role in it. There's definitely a dose of hypocrisy to this whole story, as we notice the decline in interest (or attendance, to be specific) at the games of these two teams: fans have been clamoring for the return of Major League Baseball to this city. They say that a new era, a breath of fresh air, a rejuvenation of sorts, will create enough excitement to fill whatever ballpark the Expos would ultimately play in.
To this I say: there's a "rejuvination" happening at Saputo Stadium before our very eyes-but where is everyone? Does David Beckham have to be at every Impact game to attract large enough crowds to NOT have to be having this discussion? People complain about the location, citing the same mistake that past Expos' "ownership" made by building a stadium far from the downtown core.
To this, fans reply "if their was a winning team, I'd be more intrigued". To this I shake my head is disgust. The Alouettes won the Grey Cup in 2009 and 2010, have been to the Grey Cup Game more times than any other team in the past decade, and consistently put up winning seasons while also boasting three of the best players in the league at their respective positions: Anthony Calvillo, the Hall of Fame Quarterbac; Brandon Whitaker, the shifty, versatile running back; and Jamel Richardson, the dominant and seemingly unstoppable wide receiver.
So again I ask, where is everyone?
I know this is a hockey town. I know that its easier to have friends and family over, put out some wings, chips, and beer, and watch the game on 90-inch screens. But for the sake of this city's history, it's people, and it's athletes, who have to deal with more pressure than athletes in any other province in this country: go to the games.
Its fun, its worth it, and if you know what your doing, it cost you your entire week's paycheck, nor will you have to leave the house 5 hours in advance to beat traffic.
I hope this is simply an anomaly-despite the Expos debacle, its widely known that Montrealers are passionate about their teams (look no further than the Montreal Canadiens for proof of that). But in times like these, when doubts surface, we must all step up and prove that this is in fact one of the premier sports cities not only in North America, but in the world.
Melvins Lite + Retox @ Corona Theatre
I had the privilege of seeing the Melvins, currently known as Melvins Lite, perform on July 3rd at the Corona Theatre for their recent album and tour. I've seen the Melvins twice before, and each time was memorable for wildly different reasons. Would the third time be as memorable?
Not so great first impressions...
The first time I saw the Melvins was October 26th, 1993 at Metropolis when they opened for Primus (touring for Pork Soda). At the time, I didn't know the band well, but I was a massive Primus fan, and I was stoked to see them for the first time. I guess most of the crowd was there to see Primus too, because they started heckling the Melvins and chanting "Primus!" The band proceeded to play an entire set of feedback and droning noise to drown out the audience. I remember it being pretty terrible; but then again, their antagonistic response made it one of the most memorable shows I've seen. The Melvins must have thought it was memorable too, as they included part of the set on their next album Prick in a song called "Montreal."
Hive inducing?
The second time I saw the Melvins was the last time they were in Montreal at Club Soda September 3rd, 2010. They were touring for The Bride Who Screamed Murder, and had their regular recording/touring dual-drummer lineup. It was a great show, except that I inexplicably broke out in hives about halfway through their set. That can get a little distracting when trying to enjoy a concert. To this day, I still don't know what caused the outbreak.
What would make this third time memorable? Perhaps a plague of locusts?
Retox
There was no plague, but opening act RETOX did feature Locust members Justin Pearson on vocals, and Gave Serbian on drums. Their songs are a mix of punk, hardcore, and metal, and almost all of them are around a minute long. I thought that they were much more interesting live than on record, but after four or five songs, it was getting hard to distinguish one song from the next. Their set ended awkwardly when the lead singer jumped in the crowd, lost sound, got back on stage, gave up, threw his microphone on the ground, and left the stage while the rest of the band finished the song.
Melvins Lite
Melvins Lite is a new configuration of the band featuring Roger "Buzz/King Buzzo" Osborne on guitar/lead vocals, Dale Crover on drums, and Trevor Dunn on double bass (hence the "lite" version of the Melvins). For those who don't know, Trevor Dunn is an incredibly prolific bassist, best known as being a frequent collaborator with Mike Patton as part Mr. Bungle, Fantômas (also featuring Osborne), and most recently as a new member of Tomahawk.
The show started with Dunn alone on stage playing the bass intro to "Eye Flys" (the first song from the Melvins first album Gluey Porch Treatments) using a bow. Audience applause greeted Buzz and Dale as they joined on the particularly slow and sludgy opening number. They extended the introduction to around 10 minutes, which tried the patience of one particular concert-goer who started whooping and yelling "enweye!" (let's go, hurry up, come on!). It was at this moment where I had visions of that first show at the Metropolis: this was going to turn into an hour-long free-form feedback show. Just in time, thankfully, the main part of the song started, and my fears were allayed.
Just like their new album Freak Puke, the show started slow, had small interludes of weirdness, but otherwise, it rocked. As expected, they concentrated heavily on the new album, but also included interesting renditions of tracks from their increasingly large back catalog of albums. New songs "Mr. Rip Off" and "Baby, Won't You Weird Me Out" were particular highlights, as was the surprisingly good cover of the Paul McCartney and Wings song "Let Me Roll It."
My favourite part of the show was their rendition of the "A History of Drunks" from A Senile Animal. The double bass added an interesting touch to song, which didn't hamper the driving catchiness of it. The music then deviated near the end to a slow jam before picking up where it left off and when it ended, I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear.
Buzz Osborne, wearing what can be best described as his space muumuu (as my friend Michelle succinctly put it), was his usual surly self. He had little interaction with the crowd, but he made up for it with his guitar playing and distinctive singing. Also, hands-down, the best hair in rock ‘n roll.
Dale Crover, wearing what looked like a sleeveless Danish soldier jacket, is in my opinion one of the most underrated drummers in rock. Amazing chops.
Trevor, dressed like geekier version of Angus Young (shorts, short-sleeve dress shirt, tie, taped-up horn-rim glasses and a ball cap) was impressive on double bass; his reputation as a talented bassist is well-deserved. Switching between using a bow and using his fingers, he added a unique twist to the usual Melvins sound. He may be the best bassist the band has ever had, and I hope that this album and tour is not the last we hear of him.
The show ended with "Shevil" from Stoner Witch, and there was no encore, nor did I feel there needed to be one. I walked away quite happy.
I saw the Melvins and it was memorable for the music and the performance, and not for some other event that overshadowed it. And at least I now know it wasn't the Melvins that caused me to break out in hives.
July 9th, 2012
Read by: Aisha Samu
Stories by: Aisha Samu, Carlo Spiridigliozzi, Niki Mohrdar and Gregory Wilson
Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi
2-year-old drowns in Laval backyard pool
A 2-year-old girl drowned in a backyard pool in Laval on Sunday, reports CBC news.
Paramedics on the scene tried to resucitate the child before rushing her to the Cite de la Sante Hospital.
It is not known what led to the drowning.
This is the 41st drowning in Quebec this year; 12 more than at the same time last year.
Experts blame the increase in warm weather.
The last accident occured last Wednesday when a 16-month-old girl died in Kirkland.
Following the accident, Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc encouraged people to take precautions when going in water.
Security questions at hospitals after man commits suicide
Security in Montreal hospitals is once again in the spotlight after a man commited suicide on Sunday morning.
According to the Montreal Gazette, a 50 year old patient jumped to his death from the 9th floor at Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital.
Police have ruled the death as a suicide and the hospital has opened its own inquiry.
This is the 3rd major incident in Montreal hospitals over the last 3 weeks resulting in the deaths of 3 patients.
Nurses unions are blaming all these incidents on under-staffed departments and over-worked nurses.
Student groups critical of McGill & Concordia
Student groups are criticizing Montreal's two anglophone universities because of over spending on security.
In a report by the Montreal Gazette, the universities spent $500,000 extra on security during the student walkout last spring.
The FECQ and FEUQ called the extra spending wasteful and a poor management of public funds since both universities weren't as affected as francophone ones.
The universities meanwhile deemed it necessary to protect against vandals.
Flickr Photo by: Viola Ng
A return of parliament for Egypt
According to Egypt’s official news agency, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s decision to dissolve the Islamist-dominated parliament is being recalled. An emergency meeting was held on Sunday by the country’s top generals to review and discuss the consequences of Morsi’s ruling.
Egypt’s highest court discovered that after parliament was dissolved last month, a third of parliament’s members were illegally elected.
Hosni Mubarak stepped down roughly 17 months ago after an uprising, which allowed the generals to gain power. On June 30th, Morsi was formally handed power.
Morsi’s surprising move led to dispute with powerful generals. His decision also called for parliamentary elections, which were held within 60 days after the new constitution was put into place in Egypt. Both of Morsi’s decisions were unexpected.
Based on a ruling by the Supreme constitutional court, the country’s highest hearing, ruling military generals had decided to dissolve legislation last month.
On June 16th, a constitutional declaration was announced by the military, which gave legislative powers even though parliament was dissolved. This took away much of Morsi’s power and gave generals more control over the creation of a new constitution and civilian oversight.
Flickr photo by: Johnathan Rashad
News July 6th 2012
Read by Franco Proietti
Produced by Erica Bridgeman
Stories written by Carlo Spiridigliozzi, Daniel J. Rowe and Danny Aubry
Many still without power in U.S. heat wave
While the number has dropped, there are still thousands in the U.S. northeast still without power during an historic heat wave.
According to CNN, households in eleven states are still without power since last week’s powerful storms ripped through the area. The storms killed at least twenty-five people, thirteen in Virginia alone.
In the meantime, the heat wave responsible for those storms continues. Record temperatures with an extreme humidex were recorded from St. Louis to Washington D.C.
The heat is expected to break by Monday when seasonal temperatures are expected. In some places it could mean a twenty degree drop in a matter of hours.
Flickr Photo by: Mr. T in DC
Remains identified
The remains found in a Montreal park on Canada Day have been identified.
The human head found near a small lake at Angrignon Park were identified to belong to Jun Lin the SPVM told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon. The discovery was made by passers-by.
The severed head of the slain Concordia University engineering student remained the only missing part of Lin’s body. His hands and feet were mailed to political party headquarters in Ottawa and two schools in Vancouver over the last month but recovered.
The suspect in the case Luka Rocca Magnotta, pleaded not-guilty on all charges in June. His ten-day preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 2013 with a pre-hearing in January 2013.
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