2001-04-23 - 14:54

Would you rather this in a different font?

Back with a rare daylight entry, since I wanted to fill in the details that I didn't cover in my last entry. Flying out on Friday night went smoothly. After coming to consider seven hours of flying and a trip through customs as the norm, a two hour hop to Halifax is a piece o' cake.

The Chooch and Adine (and Jasper) were at the airport to pick me up; and it was cool to see them again. He took me out to our parents' place and I got in around 11:00. Not too much was on the go that night. I took care of four tacos while getting in a lot of laughs.

Saturday, I got up fairly early (by my standards) and got together with my friend Stefan for lunch. I was still trying to finalize my plans for the evening, so I didn't have lots of time to kill. We hit the Thirsty Duck, a pub very close to where I went to school, and I had the best steak sandwich in town. After that, we went to his place for a little PSX hockey.

I'd like to get back to Halifax sometime when I have more free time to just walk around. Maybe I'll go back in the summer and get around Spring Garden Road and the waterfront and take some pictures of the Public Gardens. Maybe Jian'll take me up on my offer to take her out for lobster dinner.

I spent the afternoon back at home, where the folks were taking advantage of the sunny weather. Considering that the last time that I was home was Christmas and the time before that was the previous Christmas, it wasn't bad to relax in the yard on a sunny day.

At night, I got back into the city, where I met the guys that my brother is staying with now. Then he and I made our way to The Marquee for the concert. We got there fairly early, so we talked for a while, although he obviously had some things on his mind. The first couple of bands, Destroyer and Neuseiland, didn't do a lot for me.

Finally, a little after 1:00, The Dears took the stage. Since it was The Marquee on a Saturday night, very few people were there to see the band. I, of course, got right up to the front; but I was disappointed that more people didn't fill the floor and that few of those who did were very mobile. Only a few people were doing anything besides standing still, although there were a couple of cute girls dancing around me over the course of the show.

In any event, the mediocre crowd could take little away from The Dears' performance. I had read some rave reviews and I was expecting a killer set; but I was still surprised by how different they are live versus how they sound on album. Simply put, they are fierce: a sweaty, manic, full-on musical attack. I was very impressed and I'd see them again in a hearbeat. The Dears were the main reason for my trip home; and they delivered fully on my hopes.

That night, I crashed on the couch at my brother's place and we went back home Sunday. I mainly lazed around all Sunday and had an early supper before heading to the airport.

So, it was definitely a brief trip home; but it was well worth it. It's always cool to see home and the concert kicked ass. (I'll probably get a couple of pictures and a concert review up on my home page later today, if anybody is interested.)

J.