Montreal Jazz Festival - Day 3! Slept until 0630 this morning and then spent some time reading and relaxing before going down to breakfast in the hotel lobby. The venue was very crowded so I got in and got out quickly. Back in my room, I did some blogging and more reading. At about 0930, I departed Hotel Le Roberval and walked west. This led to another great experience in Montreal! For the next two hours, I walked almost the full length (down and back) of vibrant Rue Ste-Catherine (north to Av Papineau, south to Rue St-Marc). The weather was wonderful and it wasn't too busy when I started. Along the way, I tried to locate restaurant (Le Chambre Brasserie Sportive) I'd previously visited but figured out that it had gone out of business. I did find the building where it used to be located, first with deja vue and then with some Google history. At 1130, I walked back to my hotel because it started getting hotter. In my room, I rested and read some more until it was time to meet up with one of my Hanover, NH neighbors. Monte, who used to live in Montreal, arrived at my hotel by 1215 and took me to eat lunch at "the best Smoked Meat place in the city". At first, I thought we were going somewhere farther away but it eventually became clear that we were headed for a place just off Rue Ste-Catherine that was only 1.2km from my hotel. Monte's map app took us all over the place, though, and then directed us to a building under renovation. Next, we had to park in a garage with no clear exit. When we finally located the restaurant he had in mind, we were in a major construction zone. Sitting down at the tables inside of Dunn's, though, we enjoyed a delicious Smoked Meat meal (with rye bread, cold slaw, a pickle & fries) and I had a local beer. We were done eating at 1340 and, after navigating through a big mall to Monte's car, headed back towards my hotel. On the way, we ended up on the campus of McGill University. Due to construction and confusing signs, Monte couldn't find a way to reach my hotel again - to help out, I offered to walk from our location (at that point, I was about three blocks from Le Roberval). During the lunch hour, it had gotten hot so I spent the next few hours resting and reading my room. Towards the end of this window, Eileen called (during her drive home) and I spoke with her for a while. At 1815, I headed towards the Jazz Festival venue (1815). With much nicer weather and a “famous artist” scheduled for the main stage at 2130, my experience tonight was much different from the previous two. For one thing, there were a LOT of people! Even at 1830, when I arrived, I had trouble getting around to the different stages (actually felt claustrophobic at times). Still, I managed to catch sets by Audrey Ochoa Quartet, Uplift514, Cedric Burnside, Butcher Brown, John Roseboro and Melissa Aldana. At one point, I also managed to get some dessert and another good local beer at Lola Rosa’s (the vegan place where I ate dinner last night). While I was sitting at the bar, one of the other patrons struck up a conversation about the music - we both agreed that Butcher Brown (still playing on the main stage) was excellent. It soon became clear that I had a lot in common (age, kids, work, hobbies) with my new friend, Patric (from a town close to Quebec City). Talking with him reminded me of all the great interpersonal experiences I’ve had when I travel - the world really is a friendly place when you venture away from the American tour group… After finishing my dinner (2010), I experienced a bit of a letdown, though. Not only did the concert venue get even more crowded, but the “talent” that appeared on stage for the main event turned out to be someone called Freddie Gibbs, a foul mouthed rapper whose first song included a long chant of “F* the Police”. Needless to say, I retreated from the presence of the angry mob he was inciting and spent the rest of the night on the complete opposite side of the event area. The musicians there played tunes that were much more my speed. Like last night, the Rogers Stage featured a blues performer and the music was nice and smooth. There was a lot of good sax playing at the Molson Bar and Rio Tinto stages. Something else, different from the other evenings, improved the ambiance: street musicians set up on the fringes of the Festival Zone. Very nice! The weather was breezy and pleasant and I might have stayed longer if I wasn’t such an old man who was past his bed time. Departing to return to my hotel (2230), I headed east toward Rene Levesque, where I found an inside food court I hadn't noticed before. I also came to one of the entrances of Chinatown - that brought back some more good memories from our 2006 visit. Back in my hotel room before 2300, I spent the rest of the night reading and social media posting. Finally went to bed at 2355. As I dozed off to sleep, I felt great about this three night experience. I’d definitely do it all again - hopefully, it won’t take another 18 years to return!
