LES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC (MONTREAL 2011)- PANZERA SAS's BEATLES TRIBUTE and JUPITER WINNERS!!, by TICKLEBEAR

well, 

the festival is now over, 

we know the winners 

and we had a last presentation by the people of 

PANZERA SAS, 

the BEATLES' TRIBUTE, 

which was a great way to close the festival.

:)~

as for this year's winners, 

let me remind you of my own results, 

and i'll then reveal the official winners:

ITALY, 

AUSTRALIA, 

FRANCE, 

CZECH REPUBLIC, 

ENGLAND, 

USA, 

CANADA, 

CHINA. 

for their part, 

the judges gave the gold jupiter to 

ITALY. 

the silver jupiter went to 

FRANCE. 

and the bronze jupiter went to 

AUSTRALIA. 

as you can see, 

i got the top three right, 

just not quite in the same order...

so, 

see you all next year 

for another great edition of 

L'INTERNATIONAL des FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

in 

MONTREAL, 

in 2012!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: FRANCE, by TICKLEBEAR

the last contestant in 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC, 

is the french team, 

LACROIX RUGGIERI, 

a frequent visitor in this competition; 

and this year, 

their theme is 

"MAUDITS FRANCAIS", 

(damn frenchy), 

a catchy title!! 

this said, 

they also included some narrative into their presentation 

and you know by now how i feel about those... 

hence the minus half-star.

this said, 

it was fun, 

even impressive at times. 

something over the lake, 

i don't know what you call those, 

(neither in french or english...). 

a static installation that shoots fireworks in various circular patterns 

really caught my attention 

and i found this most effective.

their musical selection  was delightful 

and there was something for everyone's tastes. 

their CanCan was certainly entertaining, 

and they struck a chord with their various moods. 

elegant and festive, 

they celebrated french savoir-faire. 

well-done guys!! 

but even without the narratives, 

my rating remains the same... 

still, 

a great performance 

which i'm glad i saw. 

see you all next saturday for the results!!

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: AUSTRALIA, by TICKLEBEAR

i knew i could count on those aussies to have a good time. 

the folks of 

HOWARD & SONS PYROTECHNICS 

simply dazzled us!!

their musical selection was refreshing 

as it was often punctuated by aboriginal music 

instead of relying on the usual standards we hear a tad too often. 

it lent to the whole experience a special flavor 

and i was riveted from beginning to the end!! 

their rendition of the music over the lake and up in the air was breathtaking, 

perfect synch and the overall impression was a thrilling one.

another serious contender!! 

the judges will be hard put to declare a winner here... 

i'm so glad i got to see it. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

PINKARNAVAL (MONTREAL 2011), by TICKLEBEAR

another parade in the city, 

PINKARNAVAL, 

this one was part of the 

JUST FOR LAUGH FESTIVAL, 

and inspired by the fashion designer 

JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER. 

it started late... 

which in my book costs them!! 

the rhythm was uneven, 

some things took forever to make an appearance, 

while others rushed by...

this said, 

the parade had its charms 

as it offered us a poetic portrait of the designer's contribution. 

i appreciated, 

given the fashion industry is aimed at near [artificial] perfection, 

seeing this was an all inclusive event 

because we could see people of all races, 

all ages and even some with [physical and mental] disabilities. 

nice because we all bring something to this world. 

some participants performed quite well, 

much to the crowd's delight. 

and Jean-Paul leading the parade was certainly a highlight!!

in conclusion, 

picking up the garbage minutes before the event was a nonsense... 

some security people were rude... 

a vehicule cut through the crowd to exit the site...

it could have been run tighter... 

but it remained a fun event to see nonetheless, 

leaving room for improvement for future events. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: ITALY, by TICKLEBEAR

well, 

if you've missed tonight's fireworks by the italian team, 

you've missed a serious contender here for 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

of MONTREAL. 

the italians clearly came here with gold on their mind 

and i'd be more than willing to give it to them. 

just like an italian wedding banquet, 

the table was full and everyone left satiated. 

:)~ 

the musical selection, 

the momentum they built with it, 

the way they used the whole space, 

it sure was a crowd pleaser!! 

i never once looked at the clock, 

fascinated that i was was by the show. 

:)~ 

can we extend an open invitation to them to come back anytime they want? 

this is the kind of fireworks i like to see. 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: ENGLAND, by TICKLEBEAR

the latest contestant in

L'INTERNATIONAL des FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

was 

ENGLAND, 

represented by 

PYRO 2000. 

they played a dangerous game 

as i found the musical choice, 

(while great music in itself), 

rather appropriate for a sunday morning breakfast... 

although it was beautifully interpreted, 

but too often, 

it felt sedated, 

with an occasional outburst... 

risky, 

if you ask me!! 

there's only one chance to make a first impression, 

but fortunately for them, 

they made a last[ing] impression. 

some of their more interesting work was done in low altitude, 

but given my position, 

i couldn't favorably photograph those... 

but overall, 

they did quite well. 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

THE CARIFIESTA PARADE 2011 in MONTREAL, by TICKLEBEAR

well, folks!! 

i've baked my butt for you 

as i sat on the marble platform of the Hydro-Quebec building this afternoon 

and it was so hot under the sun... 

but it was fun!! 

:)~ 

when people from the caribbean regions throw a party, 

it is a party!! 

even if not much was done in the matter of floats 

since it was simply a few 2 by 6 beams put together 

with some blue plastic tarp for shade... 

fortunately, 

many participants were in full regalia 

and dazzled the crowd with their glitters, their moves and their smiles. 

it was noisy 

due to the huge speakers they all had, 

which we could hear long before they showed up. 

and it was sheer chaos 

as most times, 

you couldn't tell the people watching from the participants, 

the bystanders hugging so closely  those parading. 

a security nightmare, 

possibly the most unruly event i've ever seen, 

but the chemistry was there!! 

:)~ 

so, 

to conclude, 

my butt still hurts, 

my ears are still ringing, 

and i still have a favorable impression of this event. 

this was good!! 

simply invest a bit more in those floats 

and you'll have a 5-stars next time!!

:)~ 

HUGZ 

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: CZECH REPUBLIC, by TICKLEBEAR

last night, 

we had the second contestant presenting its fireworks 

from the Czech Republic, 

FLASH BARRANDOV SFX.

i found this more delightful in all aspects, 

the composition and the kind of pieces they used, 

the music was perfect 

and their interpretation was inspiring, 

even though on a couple of occasions, 

i would have wished to see a bit more... 

i saw a few novelties and 

the overall impression was grand, 

while remaining subtle 

as opposed to what some other countries got us used to. 

if i felt the finale was a bit short, 

better that than looking at my watch 

wondering when it'll all be over... 

i've been there in the past.

THANX GUYS!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

DÉFILÉ de la St-JEAN BAPTISTE (MONTREAL, 2011), by TICKLEBEAR

i believe that today was my first time i went to watch 

the St-JEAN BAPTISTE parade. 

a reflection on our history, culture and diversity. 

i somewhat enjoyed this, 

despite the fact they started a whole half hour late... 

the weather was not the finest... 

the crowd wasn't as big as they would probably have liked, 

and much quieter... 

from giant puppets to people dressed in colonial gears, 

from traditional music to Hare Krishna to close the parade, 

it was an eclectic mix, 

just as we are!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ

BUTTERFLIES GO FREE 2011 (MONTREAL's BOTANICAL GARDEN), by TICKLEBEAR

so i went back to 

MONTREAL's BOTANICAL GARDEN

to enjoy the annual event, 

BUTTERFLIES GO FREE. 

i simply loved it!! 

go before it ends, 

on april 25th. 

i dare you not to enjoy this... 

:)~

of course, 

you shouldn't miss out on visiting the other greenhouses. 

the BOTANICAL GARDEN remains a sure value here in MONTREAL. 

make sure to put it on your calendar!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

MYLENE FARMER's "BLEU NOIR", by TICKLEBEAR

welcome to the narcissistic world of 

MYLENE FARMER,

where french pop reigns

and still manages to seduce you.

very moody,

the music is quite "chill" generally,

the words speak again of tortuous ways

to torture your soul

and yet,

you come out of it smiling...

pain has its own virtues

as it can be curative,

apparently!!

i grabbed this yesterday

and i must admit i remain fascinated with the woman and her work.

while not the greatest voice on the market,

she's always chose wisely the material she sang,

focusing on her strenght rather than her weakeness

and infusing everything with such a mood,

she just floats across your soul,

tainting it with her own.

this was nicely produced,

and she remains relevant

as she reflects our angst in this 21rst century.

i found out she was turning 50 this year,

just like me!!

admitedly,

i had never looked at her age,

perhaps in an attempt to keep up the mystery around her.

overall,

a most pleasant listening,
and my favorite would be:
"TOI, L'AMOUR".
no vid available yet...
(sigh...)

:)~

HUGZ

BEAST : METROPOLIS 16/12/10

Hier soir, au Metropolis, a eu lieu la dernière montréalaise de la tournée de BEAST! Ouais m'sieurs dames! Le Metropolis bourdonnait de fans. La salle était pleine, nous étions tous fébriles.

La première partie:

Mais (oui il y a un "mais", rien n'est parfait hélas...), nous avons dû nous taper une première partie. Bon... je suis toujours ouverte à la découverte, à l'affût du prochain son qui me fera triper, mais là, ayoye, ça a fait mal à mon tympan d'animal! Qui était ce groupe? J'sais pas trop, je n'ai vu leur nom nulle part. Sur le site du Centre Bell où on annonçait le show de BEAST  d'hier soir au Metropolis, il y a la mention "Avec : Freedom or Death". Après une brève recherche sur internet pour trouver de l'info sur eux, je n'ai rien trouvé. Toujours est-il que leur musique était correcte, voire même assez bien par bout, et je mentionne ici le beau travail du batteur qui a vraiment attiré notre attention, mais bonyenne que les voix m'ont irritée! En fait, l'absence de voix! Une lamentation insupportable, que l'on aurait toujours dit entre deux notes, et qui parfois atteignait des sommets incroyables lorsque appuyée par la voix du guitariste. Et que dire quand le claviériste venait s'en mêler aussi... alors là, comment trois personnes peuvent-elles chanter tant de phrases en même temps, avec les mêmes mots, mais sur des demi notes aussi différentes, c'était presque un exploit dans les prouesses du "chanter faux"! Tiens, ça m'a rappelé mon dernier séjour à l'hôpital lorsque que j'y ai passé quelques jours à la salle d'observation de l'Urgence. Pareil. La batterie en moins.


Sorry guys... mais il y a de l'espoir, la musique était bien, les introductions de tounes auguraient très très bien, ne reste qu'à vous trouver un chanteur, quoi!


Je sais que je suis dure envers eux, mais laissez-moi vous dire que nous n'avons pas été épargnés non plus!

Enfin, le show de BEAST:

Puis, BEAST est enfin arrivé! Oh là là là là!! Mes tympans embrassaient les speakers! Aïe! Ça, c'est de la voix! Et quel son! Quels musiciens! S'tie que la vie peut être belle par boutte! J'étais-tu contente d'être là? Mmmh? Ou ben si j'étais contente d'être là? Je vous laisse deviner... faut ben garder une part au suspense, après tout!


J'ai l'album de BEAST depuis sa sortie en 2008. Je l'ai écouté très souvent, mais j'avoue que ce n'est pas la musique de fond idéale lors de mes activités de tous les jours. Mais de les voir exécuter cette musique, est vraiment super! BEAST est réellement un groupe à entendre de visu! L'énergie dégagée par Bonifassi est incroyable. Les musiciens sont exceptionnels. Jean-Phi Goncalvès est un batteur éblouissant. Que du bonheur en décibels! Toutes la salle sautillait au rythme de leur musique. J'étais assise, mais il n'y avait que mon cul d'immobile! Bras, jambes et tête allaient dans tous les sens. Dans ma tête, je sautillais de joie sur les parois de mon crâne!


Bon... je me calme, je me calme, je me caaaalmeeee! Respiration...

Photo de Alain Carrière piquée sur le site de 7jours

Les oreilles étaient choyées, et pour les yeux, on nous a servi un beau jeu d'éclairage dynamique. La projection lumineuse sur le manteau blanc de Beatrice était vraiment chouette. J'ai trouvé un lien vers de superbes photos du spectacle d'hier sur Flickr. Ça vaut le détour.


Il y avait beaucoup d'émotion, aussi. Ce spectacle marquait la fin de la tournée de BEAST. Beatrice en a profité entre deux pièces pour remercier les fans, et aussi les conjointes des boys du groupe pour les avoir laissé partir si souvent, ces deux dernières années, loin d'elles et de leurs bébés. Pour lire sur le sujet je vous réfère encore à l'article de Raphaël Gendron-Martin du 7jours.


Au rappel, ils sont revenus habillés en "groupe jazzy" ; robe longue, chemises et cravates, petit chapeau de ginguois, assis au centre de la scène dans un set-up restreint, ils ont refait des extraits de la plupart de leurs pièces avec des arrangements totalement différents. À la Suzy Arioli, si je puis me permettre cette comparaison, mais avec la monumentale voix de Bonifassi! Jean-Phi Goncalvès flattant ses tambours avec des balais, et c'était super aussi! 
BEAST unplogged, s'est écrié Beatrice! 
Vraiment sympathique. Ils ont entamé Satan "unplogged", puis les musiciens se sont dirigés vers leurs places initiales, ont repris leurs instruments, et la toune s'est poursuivie de façon endiablée, c'est le cas de le dire, et nous étions tous transportés par l'énergie de cette pièce. Quel beau cadeau! Parle-moi de rappels comme celui-là!


Alors qu'ils étaient à faire leur salut final, des gens de leur boîte de production sont arrivés sur scène avec des disques d'or à leur remettre. Ça, ça veut dire plus de 40 000 mille copies vendues! Béatrice, la voix serrée par l'émotion (et oui, qui eût cru que cette voix puisse être serrée, hein?) n'en finissait plus de remercier les fans.


Et bien nous, on dit merci à BEAST!! Si cette musique n'avait pas été bonne, on ne les aurait pas acheté, ces 40 000 copies!


Ils se dirigent maintenant vers de nouveaux projets chacun de leur côté, mais ils nous ont aussi dit que BEAST reviendrait. Et quand c'est dit, c'est dit!! Alors on attend!  ;¬)


En ce qui concerne les nouveaux projets, vous pouvez en lire plus dans cet article de Rue Frontenac par Philippe Renault. Et il me tarde de découvrir ce nouveau projet de Beatrice Bonifassi. C'est sûr que je vais aller voir ça!

Est-ce que je l'ai dit, que j'ai aimé ça?

LEUR SITE OFFICIEL

LEUR PAGE MYSPACE

AVALANCHE PRODUCTIONS

Beast - Satan (2010) from DBM. | Jean-Philippe Bernier on Vimeo.

En passant, je recommande toutes les vidéos de DBM. Beau travail.

CHEZ MA GROSSE TRUIE CHERIE (RESTAURANT, MONTREAL, CANADA), by TICKLEBEAR

in my many wanderings around the city,

i had noticed this new place last summer,

and after looking at THEIR WEBSITE,

i did promise myself

my friends and i would soon visit this restaurant.

HOW COULD YOU NOT?!?

:D~

"CHEZ MA GROSSE TRUIE CHERIE"

is pretty hard to miss,

sitting at the corner of PAPINEAU and ONTARIO streets.

:)~

PIERRE was our waiter for the night,

as we celebrated LINOUE's birthday.

i'll say that the service is attentive.

VERY ATTENTIVE!!

to the point where i was a bit annoyed

as it often interrupted our conversation,

and commanded everyone's attention.

our fault perhaps

as we did mentioned it was our first time at the restaurant.

nonetheless,

his interventions were most informative,

about the restaurant and the food itself.

the chef prides himself

in promoting local products and fine cuisine,

and for good reasons,

as i believe we perhaps have the best table in the whole world,

and the chef makes proof of that,

testing our palates with some fine culinary experiences.

in the foreground,

a cod dish that left my buddy most impressed with...

the centerpiece...

underneath a floating candle.

:)~

between the terrine of piglet and nuts,

and the duck with fig chutney,

which was beyond delicious,

i could have done with a bit more bread here.

i guess i didn't lay it thick enough on each piece...

but it was well worth it though!!

you'll notice that the table top underneath

is a recycled bowling alley.

part of the charm of the place

as the overall effect is unique.

:)~

while the girls feasted on a piece of piglet from the rump,

which i tasted and found most tender...

... the ribs in my plate,

maple smoked flavored and cooked to perfection,

fell off the bones just from looking at them,

and filled my mouth with a most delicate and dreamy flavor,

while filling up my belly to my hearth's content.

too much perhaps!!

i must say the portions are a bit hefty from what we usually see

in fine cuisine restaurants.

but you won't hear me complaining!!

:)~

the parmesan fries were equally delicious

and a nice complement to the ribs.

the salad though wasn't too impressive,

but i was never a big fan of coleslaw and such...

too vinegary to my taste

and a stark contrast with the rest of the plate...

the dessert though was a welcomed relief for its lightness:

a mousse brule over a pear tatin

was most delectable!!

the crust offering a slight crispness over an orgy of cream,

and those delicious pears at the bottom brought a smile to my face.

:)~

my friends opted to share dessert.

i didn't inquire if these were sherbets or ice creams,

but judging from their reactions,

i expect everything was delicious

as they discovered many flavors.

looking at this,

who wouldn't be tempted?!?

:D~

i would say

this is a most satisfied customer here...

SAVOR THE MOMENT!!

:)~

over all,

the ambiance is intriguing and convivial,

if a bit noisy...

the service is ever present...

but who could fault them for that?

and the food is a revelation,

as quebecois cuisine remains one of the best you can ever have,

and the chef makes quite an homage to such fine cuisine.

i would highly recommend this restaurant.

the mark-up on the wine list is a bit steep in my opinion,

there is too much grenache on their wine list...

i LOATHE  grenache,

but that is MY problem,

isn't it?!?

:D~

but when i saw the bill,

all things considered,

i figure this was still most affordable

for such a degree of fine cuisine,

meaning,

less than $100 per person,

including wine, taxes and service.

me and my friends were most delighted 

with our first experience at

CHEZ MA GROSSE TRUIE CHERIE.

come on,

R.S.V.P. 

to a great experience.

you won't regret it!!

YOUR MOTHER NEVER COOKED SOMETHING SO GREAT!!

:)~

HUGZ