Solo festival

Rabbit rabbit ! I said to myself on the first day of August. I am so blessed.

Friday of the festival, I thought I could ride my bike, got really lost, and ending up taking the train in anyway. I did try and meet up with a friend of a friend, but it wasn’t that easy, so I committed to just going alone and being okay with it. But then I got there, and suddenly I felt silly doing this alone, surrounded by people in couples and groups. It was interesting being alone at such an event, and although I enjoyed the music, I couldn’t help thinking – do they know I’m alone? Do they think I’m weird? Is it weird? I had to sit and write a little bit. I said to myself, feel the music, feel inspired. I let myself feel that these musicians were singing to me, some of them are! And some are singing for themselves, and that’s inspiring too. Oh Wonder was a great band to see. They said; take risks, dream big, “all we do is hideaway…chase the day…play it safe… I don’t want to be the right way round.” Exactly what I needed to hear for what I was feeling. Going back to my host house that night, it was nice to be invited out and have a company to keep.

At the festival on Saturday, I was resting and eating and a bachelor party suddenly joined me. One of them asked if I was a squid looking for a squad and invited me along with them. I hung out with them for a bit and it was really cute watching them interact and take care of each other, offering each other beer and water and food and money. But then they sat in a really awkward spot to watch Bastille so I decided to wander on and get myself a good spot in the crowd to watch HAIM. It’s funny to be at a festival like that by yourself, but I go to concerts often and of course enjoy the music, but as a musician, also enjoy studying how they do what they do. The Haim sisters were so fun to watch. They all play their part so well and seem to really love working together and inviting the audience into their world – calling us family 🙂

After their exciting performance, I took myself out of the crowd to await Lana del Ray. I sat with my back to death cab for cutie and enjoyed listening to them but was tired and just found a good vacant spot. A guy was running past me but then stopped when he saw me and showed great concern as to whether I was okay! I told him oh yes, just waiting for Lana, and he inquired more about me and where I was from. He was from Chicago, too! I told him about myself and my couch surfing experience and he says he was thinking about doing that with his place. He gave me his card and we became friends on fb, and then I noticed he joined couch surfing the next day. He seems like a very nice guy and it was fun to make a small connection/have a little influence like that.

Lana was great but I left early to beat the crowd and get a good night sleep. The next day, I toured the city more. I climbed up Mount Royale and saw the view and then biked around some more before going back to the hostel I stayed initially to have a drink, say hi to the nice bartender, and check into wifi. I ended up joining a group of Canadiens pregaming and learned more about life in Canada and Quebec’s propensity to be different than the rest of the provinces. They were really nice and fun and it was cool to be so welcomed in. I went with them to the festival but they were young and when we got to the electronik music stage I decided to go off into the forest to pee and lost them. I was unexpectedly drunk and saw a few more bands before wanting to get back to my host’s house. They were having a potluck dinner with the other guests so I grabbed a bottle of wine and made it for some hanging out. It was so great to sit around and converse with other travelers. Some people are just as lost as I am :p