Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Piknic Electronik










There are just some afternoons that seem to come together almost effortlessly. You exit a metro onto a beautiful park and you follow the pretty people that are heading towards the sounds of techno beats amongst the rustling trees and giggling kids playing in manmade waterfalls. You buy yourself a vodka tonic and wait for your friend Kendra to show up on her bike. And when she does you get more drinks and lay out by the water's edge and flip through the new issue of Nylon Guys and pick out which overpriced polo tee you like the most (um Marc Jacobs: $1, 430 for a fucking pink polo?!) You dance. You laugh. You marvel at all the pretty boys and girls and families and kids and crack-heads and hippy ravers there are. You watch a looming grey cloud overhead and think it might rain but it doesn't. You imagine the cloud as a disguise for a giant UFO trying to hover across the party people below, undetected. It's a thought that makes you laugh a little. The people around you are drinking, eating crackers, dancing, rolling joints. You watch the sunset. You're picking the right moment to leave and almost instantly the DJ plays the most amzing, warped version of Madonna's "Express Yourself". You dance like a madman and mouth all the words. And then you leave, feeling ten years younger. And you wonder why everyday can't be this breezy...

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tam-Tam

Parc Mont Royal

How do I explain this. Tam Tam happens every Sunday in the summer at Parc Mont Royal. It's basically a drumming circle that takes place underneath this giant monument at the edge of the Parc. It's one of those classic ways to spend your Sundays if you're a Montrealer. It's a great way to see the cross section of people in Montreal and see what a pot pourri exists here. The sense of Style here is so distinct because it's just a mix of everything. It's not always a polished look or the most put together but it's self expressed and creative. A guy in a cowboy hat might have his shirt off but wearing army boots, tribal tats and a belt made of hemp holding up his Energie jeans. A girl will wear a tie-dye baboushka but with a metal studded collar around her neck. It's all very haphazard, bohemian and playful.



And rockers and hippies a like will all bring their drums and drum the afternoon away. And this has been going on every Sunday for as long as I can remember. People bring blankets, smoke up, drink beer, cook barbecues, bring their kids, their dogs, their cats. It's just a wonderful sight to see people spending their Sunday afternoon in the park. I know there are many parks in New York City as well. But there's something special about Montreal that I still can't quite put my finger on. It's like there's just no ulterior motive about the social community here. In New York there is almost a sense that you have to be at this or that event. You need to be scene here or watch this show or connect with these people. In Montreal it just feels like a city hanging out for the sake of hanging out. It's the good life.



But this has got to take the cake. This past Sunday I went to meet up with some friends and when I got there I gave them a call. "Yeah, we're by the sand-pit where all the medieval sword fighting is. Do you know where that is?" Um...the WHA?!

Tam Tam happens in Parc Mont Royal. And just within the trees happens the craziest shit. People are juggling, or have tied tight rope between huge trunks to practice low level tight rope walking (I'm not kidding.) But the best is the LARPS. They are Live Action Role Players who dress up and sword fight each other. There are eight year old kids with their crew fighting and there are forty-five year old men in full chain-male and pointy beards ready to do battle in Middle Earth. No doubt the LARPS take this game/sport very seriously and adhere to rules and specific combat moves. Just when you think Montreal can't get any weirder and beautiful it does. I cannot wait until the Summer official begins. Montreal is full of suprises.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Montreal...

...this is the life.

I got cut from work ealyl the other day. It was slow and to be honest I didn't mind. I took the opportunity to hang out on my sister's roof, roll out my yoga mat and do some sun salutations. Afterwards I lit some incense and worked on my tan. Not bad for Thursday. This is the view from her roof.