Going to the devil, but in a nice way!

It was humid, hot and humid. The city was like a sauna, the people were melting. I was sitting on the steps outside 3643 Rue Sainte Famille, watching the world go by. The world moved slowly....

What? This is supposed to be a travel blog not some lurid policier/detective story!

Sorry. I just got carried away with the moment, but it was hot and very humid as I sat outside Trylon Appartment Hotel, waiting for Sylvain to collect me on his way from work. Lots of cars pulled up outside the hotel, as is to be expected, and it's impossible to see who's inside because of the tinted windows and reflections, but after a few minutes I saw a familiar vehicle approaching, pull in and flash its headlights.

Sylvain welcomed me aboard, and we soon were on our way through the increasingly heavy traffic towards Repentigny. We passed several familiar landmarks, including the Olympic Stadium on our way out of the city, and it was possible to recognise some features on the ground that I had noticed as we came in to land at Pierre Trudeau airport. Finally we pulled up outside Sylvain and Louise's house, and I was greeted not only by Louise, but also by Kenzi, the family's canine member.

We intended to head off quite quickly to L'Assomption, but before doing so there was an opportunity to view the evidence of Sylvain's amazing DIY skills. The last time I visited I saw the summer house which he had built in the garden, and this time there was a new extension which is still in the process of completion. Amazing!

There was also time for some running repairs. Those who know me well will be aware of my reliance upon medical adhesive and the consequences of its failure! I shall say no more, apart from the fact that it seemed that the gods were conspiring against me.

Then it was time to drive the few miles to L'Assomption, and to the Bar/Restaurant L'Ange Cornu.

L'Ange Cornu

 For those readers who may be wondering, the direct translation of l'ange cornu, is the angels with horns, and we all know who that is!

No. Who is it?

You know, ... the evil one.

Ah, David Cameron. ( Here readers could insert the name of their most unpopular politician, depending upon where you are in the world.)

No! You know - Lucifer, Satan, The Devil. Oh no I've just mentioned his name three times - he might suddenly appear. No, seems to be OK.
Anyway, that's where we were, at L'Ange Cornu.

 The plan was to have 'souper' and then go into the salle de spectacles which was at the back of the restaurant, in a converted garage. This music venue was partially open to the elements, so we were hoping that it wouldn't rain, as we had noticed the wind increasing a little, and a few clouds rolling in.

We found a table on the terrace at the front of the restaurant, and ordered our food, some water and a beer. Guess who the beer was for!

I suppose that's a rhetorical question?

I suppose that's a rhetorical question?

I ordered a Salade Thon Nicoise, and a St Ambroise Noir beer to accompany it. Now in England, and in fact in France, every Tuna Salad Nicoise I have ever had has been tuna from a tin. 

I obviously don't eat in the right places. 
When my meal arrived it looked like this:

Oh boy, this was a first. It was delicious! The few seconds contact with a grill of some sort had simply seared the outside of the tuna steak, the rest remaining raw. A squeeze of lemon juice. Excellent - I might try this at home!


What about the beer?


That was excellent too. Not real ale in the strictest terms, but very pleasant.


After a little while Louise went to see if she could find our tickets for the show. Luce, or as I always call her when corresponding with Iraida and Daria, notre chère Luce, had very generously provided us with tickets for the show as her guests. Louise returned with the tickets and a young lady who proceeded to stamp a little red devil on the back of our hands. To prove that we had eaten at the bistro, which gave us priority over those who arried for the show only.


So, having waited until the appointed hour, we found our way through the restaurant into the salle de spectacles, and found seats not too far from the stage, about twelve feet away in fact. All the time I was clutching a package wrapped in a tasteful green floral tissue paper. This was a small present for Luce, from her Trois Lucequetaires de Loin. Iraida, my young friend who lives and works in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, had designed an image which was to be printed on to a T-shirt for Luce, as a delayed birthday present from herself, Daria and me. The postal system between Siberia and Quebec is not very swift, and so it was much easier for Iraida to send the image to me so that I could have it printed on a T-shirt, and actually hand it directly to Luce.


As I sat down, a lady sitting beside me asked if it was a present for Luce, and I tried to explain to her in French what I have just written in the previous paragraph. "Ah, c'est formidable, si gentil. Bravo monsieur."


After a few minutes longer the house lights went down, and a disembodied voice announced the arrival on stage of Luce and her musicians, Jean Garneau et T-basse. The audience greeted her with applause, hoots and whoops. Iraida and Daria have given Luce the name 'notre magicienne', and as Luce came on stage her magic was clear. The audience love her. Her rapport with those watching is wonderful as is her talent for responding to comments from members of the audience. She has one of the most infectious smiles and laughs you can imagine, and if you tear your eyes away from the stage, and look at the faces of those around you in the audience, you can see that she is working her magic. Smiling faces, smiling eyes, rapt attention - what a gift to be able to share like this!


And the the music began, with songs from her latest album "Du temps pour moi", and between each a little story to share. I had my camera, of course, but I wanted to enjoy the show without peering too much at an LCD screen. At the same time I knew that there were at least two people who would be expecting me to take as many photos as possible, so that they could share in the occasion. So here is one:

And here is one more:

 

As you can see from the second photo, there was a lady in the front row who's head tended to obstruct my view, or at least obstruct my camera's view. Never mind I could still see very well, and hear even better. As I mentioned earlier, Luce is a very good raconteur, and she told us about her early career singing in blues bars and restaurants, about her collaboration with the many writers and composers who have provided her with the wonderful songs which have filled her albums. One name figured large, that of Richard Séguin, a great artist in his own right, who has written songs and collaborated with Luce on many occasions. On the latest album Richard sang with Luce in one such song "Quand nos rêves" . On this occasion T-basse proved to be an able substitute. Richard Séguin also composed the beautiful song Belle-ancolie, one of my absolute favourites, and which tends to bring the occasional petites larmes au coins de mes yeux .

Go on, you can say it in English, I think they will understand.

...brings small tears to the corners of my eyes. I find it a very emotional song. It's just that I so wish it was possible for other people to be there sharing the experience with me, those who for different reasons can't be there. God, those tears are there again... oops.

Ok, I've had a drink (just water), let's continue.

Its a good job you decided to write this post in your hotel room, and not in Benelux, isnt it?

True.

Back to L'Ange Cornu:  during one of her inter-song dialogues, Luce began to talk about her lack of ability with computers, and then about My Space and Facebook, and about friendships made through that media, and about my travels to Québec, my love for quebecoix music, and her friends in Russia. Then having asked me to identify myself in the audience, she dedicated her next song to me, and through me to Daria and Iraida. "You've got a friend."

Oops there he goes again.

I was in a good position to watch Jean "Johnny" Garneau on guitar, and paid special attention when he played on lap-steel guitar. Some of you know of my efforts to learn to play a musical instrument, the instrument having been chosen to suffer  torture at my hands being the lap-steel guitar. I watched especially closely when Johnny played the amazing accompaniment to "Des Milliards des Choses", the first song I ever heard Luce sing, on internet radio, quite a number of years ago. This arrangement is totally different to the original, and is so atmospheric and powerful. I surreptitiously filmed it in 2010, at a concert in St.André-Avelin. If you're interested you can find it here: 

http://youtu.be/6tc4R4xefQc

The show went by so quickly, with standing ovations after almost every song - greeting her greatest hits and others not som familiar, such as a song from her recent tribute to Edith Piaf, in which Luce performed with a choir of, I think, 500 voices. She finished with a stunning performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Absolutely stunning, "stupéfiante", comme tu as écrit Iraida! I surreptitiously videoed this too, but can't as yet transfer it to my computer in the quality it requires.

And that was it. The show was finished and the room quickly emptied, and we all went home.

No we we didn't.

No we didn't. We waited for a few moments and then Ti-Basse appeared and guided through to the loges, the dressing room, where Luce was waiting to greet us. Big hugs all round!! Then I delivered the present, and Luce asked if he could open it straightaway.

 Of course!

Iraida and Daria - she loved it!

Sorry about the quality of the photo. There's a much better one at the end of this post, but I wanted to include this anyway.

And then was time for a few more photos:

And I forgot these from ealier in the evening:

And then we all went home.

Well almost. I had a little chat with Jean and Ti-Basse about guitars, had another big hug (from Luce), and then with the words "See you next week!" ringing in my ears,  we left, and Sylvain drove me back to the city, dropping me off at the hotel before dreiving back with Louise to Repentigny. What good and kind friends I have met here in Québec!