Janet met me at the building that serves as Pembroke�s bus terminal. After a short drive, I discovered that all my studying of photographs and mum�s hastily drawn family tree hadn�t set me up for the brain nurgling task of putting names and faces together.
May 11th to 14th
Amnesia strikes at will. (And at Ed)
May 14th
This morning, Janet packed up the kids and went to pick up David and drive to Pembroke. This gave me a few hours of peace and quiet to cancel my AOL account (thanks for the 50 free hours, but no thanks), then I embarked on the (not very) perilous journey into Toronto, to see Matchbox20 play at the Massey Hall (thanks Jim, you top geezer).
I arrived far too early for the gig, and thanks to a combination of my youthful looks and lack of photographic identification, I was unable to procure anything in the form of alcoholic libation.
I settled for a coke and waited.
Massey Hall, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook (which I've found a lot more useful than the Rough Guide to Canada), is "The city's oldest concert hall... and is a wonderfully intimate and warm place to see a show." From the outside, pretty, it ain't. On the inside, aside from my worries about it being an all seated venue (Matchbox20 have a tendency to produce bouncy dancy music), it's well worth a look with it's huge semi-circular galleries and rather natty (if suffering a bit from age) friezes and reliefs.
Cool for August erupted on the stage with great aplomb, but due to the lack of good sound management, sounded abysmal - only the bass and drums were coming through the speakers, except for those occasions when both were quiet, and the song with the godawful electric violin thing in it.
In the interval, I was mildly upset by the fact that I was sat in amongst a large collection of Warner employees. That and not getting into the bar. Who am I going to impress by name dropping with this audience ?
Matchbox20 rocked like a cow in the wind. My initial concerns about the seating arrangements were unfounded as by the end of the first song almost everyone was standing bouncing and dancing. Thanks Matchbox20, Adrienne, Jim and the Warner machine.
May 16th to 19th
Thanks to the previous evening's gig and the special showing of six episodes South Park on cable, an early start was difficult, but necessary in order to catch the Greyhound bus to Pembroke. For those with little geographic knowledge or no maps of Canada handy, Pembroke is situated within Ontario, on the border with Quebec, slightly southwest of the Algonquin National Park. Unfortunately I didn't get to go to the National Park, but then again I did come here to visit relatives; not to see things of outstanding natural beauty (is everyone insulted yet ?).
The journey took seven hours, taking me along a roundabout route through beautiful countryside, small towns and hick infested areas. Thanks to the Greyhound�s air conditioning, I was spared the midday scorching heat.
Not all the family was in attendance, which was a shame, but made my meager brain run a little easier. Introductions were along the lines of the classic party scenario where after failing to remember everyone's names you realise you should've stuck with trying to memorise just a few.
For dinner I discovered my cousins affection for barbecued meals, the full ramifications of which I would not discover until later. Later on, when things looked safe, Linda, David, Paul and I ran off to a local bar and sampled the joys of Pembroke's night life. It was here that I was introduced to Linda's amazing powers of mis-phrasing (a story that I'll save rather than put here).
Some photos:
- Linda gleefully destroys caterpillars under Alysse's watchful gaze
- From left to right, Linda, Janet, Paul, Dodie, David and George.
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