Canada Day 2009

I wasn’t quite sure how Canada Day would work out in London but it ended up being quite a beautiful day. It was quite a lovely morning, nice and warm, and you just knew it was going to be a scorcher. And I was a touch late this morning, so had to catch a later train where lo and behold, I ran into some friends on the way to work. Of course, I got mocked for Canada Day (with much love) and Aleksandra decided that she will learn the Canadian national anthem in an hour and then sing it for me. And she did. She’s a keeper that Aleksandra.


We decided that there is a branch of religion in Canada called Celinionism…where instead of doing the sign of the cross, we should punch our chests and instead of the ‘our father’ we should recite ‘my heart will go on’. How lovely.

Later that day (and in no relation to July 1) a group of us went for a picnic at lunch. Seriously…such a beauty of a day.


I ducked out of work a bit early to meet up with my Canadian Girl-frens…Larissa and Erin (and Kim came by for a wee bit as well). We went to Trafalgar Square to celebrate all things Canadian. What we saw, however, wasn’t as bit as the previous year and that probably had something to do with the dreaded CC – credit crunch! However, what was there was enjoyable.

There was ‘Canadian Food’ like bison burgers, curly fries and those little donuts, but better than that, there was Canadian beer like Sleemans and coffee like Tim Hortons. Since it was 33+ degrees, I opted for a cream ale instead of a double-double.

So this is what I saw….

The Stereos – a band from Edmonton who were actually decent to listen too regardless of the fact that they could only play 2 songs as the drummer had just broken a finger. Sadness. Very synthesized with the vocals (think Cher and Do You Believe in Love) which is why I say they were decent…not much more though. But check them out on their my space page for your own verdict.

Matt Grist – It was just him and his guitar so I’m not sure if that is a normal thing or not, but he was quite decent. Talked about Calgary a lot which was cool, aside from the fact that he’s played Cowboys, of which you could instantly tell what guys were from Calgary as they whooped in appreciation. And no, I don’t bother linking to that trashy establishment. They have enough business without the free advertising. His unplugged stuff was good though and he did one Tragically Hip cover and ended with Man in the Mirror. Very decent set.


Loaded Dice – This cover band (suspiciously British- sounding) played obscure Hip tunes, some Neil Young and Bryan Adams. They were a bit too old to play anything current which is a shame…and by current, I mean end of the 90s and perhaps the 2000s but I digress. I mean, if your going to cover, then cover the biggies…Why sing 15 Mission Cap and not New Orleans is Sinking or Courage? The Only Thing that Looks Good on Me is You when they should have sang Summer of ’69. Sigh. The only one they got right was Rockin’ in the Free World. Yet the crowd loved them for some reason. I wouldn’t recommend.

Amy Nelson – I think she was from Calgary, which would make sense because she’s a country bumpkin. I guess she just released her first album but wasted time singing Dixie Chicks. I’d of rather heard her own songs which I suspect would have been much more interesting. I’m afraid she lost everyone’s interest post cover band.

So there you have the music I heard….so Larissa, Erin and I decided the consulate needs us to hire us next year to get better bands. I understand that a lot of bands were probably booked for gigs IN Canada, but for God’s sake….where was Sam Roberts, Matthew Good, Metric, or even Our Lady Peace. Dig up the Watchmen…get them out of retirement! You know who should come here is Jann Arden. Both singer and comedian. I love Jann.

Then we got some comics…I love comics.

Wade McElwain was our host and he was a lot of fun. This clip has some of the stuff that he did at our show, but he kept it pretty PG. Good guy though.

I also enjoyed a Calgarian named Joanne Lau. She had some good laughs…

But again, if I were in charge, I’d be getting my girl Cory Mack up here.

So today, as I’m in the mood for laughter, I thought I’d listen to a bit of Russell Peters which is a mistake in an open office environment...but seriously, how can you not howl at this man? He grew up knowing my distant cousin so when he talks bout growing up with the Italians....I can picture it clearly. If you want to watch a 45 minute clip, click here.

I also saw some associations I think I’ll join – one is networking Canada where you can find out about things to do with other Canadians, like attend the thanksgiving banquet in October. And there was also a women’s network so that should be cool.

We did a completely un-Canadian thing at the end though. We head to wagamama for some amai udon. Mmmmmmm, so yummy.

So, it was a fun Canada Day… we’ll see what next year brings. Hopefully a bigger band to attract some crowds and rock it right…

Xoxo

Gio