Wednesday 17th November - Blues at l'Astral

The meeting with Johanne on Monday had gone well, and because I knew she was a fan of the blues, I invited her to come with me to l'Astral on Wednesday evening, to see a Canadian blues band, rejoicing in the name of Monkey Junk, or Monkeyjunk, or MonkeyJunk, depending upon which website you look at. I was pleased when she accepted. I have almost become used to doing this sort of thing on my own, but it does make a difference when you can turn to someone to exchange a word or two.

The view from my hotel room, looking north east.

The weather had changed – there was an icy wind blowing, with squally rain showers bringing an end to what had seemed like another Indian Summer. Leaves and litter swirled on the pavements of rue Sainte-Famille, whilst grey squirrels went about their business busily tracking down possible food sources. It wasn't unusual to see half a dozen of the little creatures in the space of a 50 m walk down the street, taking any evasive action at the last moment and with the least effort.

The day wasn't conducive to exploration, so it was another 'chilling' day, time to relax, read, email etc. I had arranged to meet Johanne on the corner of St.Urbain and Sherbrooke, just around the corner from my hotel, and near a possible parking spot, shortly after 19.00, so I left the hotel and walked around. It was cold, cold and wet, cold, wet and windy. I took refuge in a bus shelter and waited. I saw the 'red peanut' (Johanne's description of her car) flash past and across Sherbrooke, heading further down St Urbain. It wasn't until almost 19.30 that she managed to find a parking space and that we managed to find each other. It isn't far to l'Astral, so we soon took our places at a table in the 'salle de spectacles'.

The band was excellent, a three piece, with drums, lead guitar and the third guy trebling on guitar, harmonica and keyboards (but not all at the same time). Come to think of it, he did managed to play the guitar and mouth organ at the same time. There was a healthy combination of self-penned songs and standards, and a guest guitarist who joined the band for a few numbers. This, Johanne informed me, was Philippe Deslauriers, well known in Quebec. 

Monkey Junk have collected several awards over the last couple of years,and it wasn't hard to see why. If you like the Blues, and you're in Quebec/Canada/US, go and see them. If like me,you live on the other side of the Atlantic, check out their website and videos on Youtube.

After the show ended I escorted Joanne back to the car park, and then walked back to my hotel, via Benelux. There had been an amazing transformation – from a busy bistro/brasserie it had turned into a venue for the younger set, and was absolutely packed out. The volume level was similarly increased, and the combination of loud dance music and hundreds of young people trying to converse above the loud dance music proved a but too much. I had one glass of Flimzie, a Belgian style abbaye beer, but it was a too fizzy for my liking, and I left quite quickly.

[I bet you drank it all, though!]

True.