Swing in the Street: Betty's Jazz Fest Lowdown
Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra/Dino Martinis
Thursday I took the afternoon off work (thank God -- all these shows and partying was making Joya a tired girl) and met Morty for coffee on the Jazz Fest site where we met up with l'homme du jour, Johnny Favourite, in town to play that night. Morty and Johnny had never met, and they hit it off great ("Morty, you gotta believe me," said Johnny, "I'm *famous* in this country! 1 out of 4 households know who I am!"). NMS had sound check over at Studio Musimax (where they were recording a show for TV) so Morty, Johnny, Trevor (the new JFSO bassist) and friend Steph headed over there for a listen.
By the time most of the band arrived Johnny was dying to go for smoked meat at Schwartz's (a Montreal tourist tradition), and had promised to meet the rest of the band there), so we had to say our goodbyes to Morty, Vise and the gang, hoping to catch their show later that night. By the time Johnny, Trevor and I got to Schwartz's it was pouring rain (although a sunshower). We scarfed down a smoked meat, fries and a Cherry Coke each and I let Johnny finish mine cause frankly, there was just too much fat on mine. The rain stopped as we left the restaurant and then we headed back to the hotel for some last-minute chill time before the show. Johnny was paranoid that the rain, which had started quite heavily again, would ruin the outdoor show. "Are you sure lots of people will come?" "Don't worry," I replied, "lots of people will come. We've been getting 6,000 people almost every night."
At about 9:30 we headed down to the Blue Dry stage (which, incidentally, was sopping wet) and met up with the rest of the band. Unfortunately I realized at this point I'd have to miss the NMS studio show, but they had promised to come to see Johnny after. My dance partner Sean arrived, and I gave him his birthday present, a shiny pair of red and white Stacy Adams to match his cherry zoot suit. We wished everyone good luck and took our places at the side of the stage.
The most special moment of the evening came, when in front of the entire crowd (and yes, about 6,000 did show up that night once the skies cleared), Johnny mentioned Sean, Steph and I by name, and said, quote, "they rule". That was really sweet of him, and it meant a lot to us. JFSO brought down the house as usual, in front of a partisan crowd, especially when, onstage, he called his mother in Newfoundland with a borrowed cellphone.
Unfortunately for us, over at Studio Musimax, they threw a huge party for NMS, so they were unable to join us for the JFSO concert and post-party. And having to catch a 6 AM flight to Des Moines, Iowa the next day for a gig at a PGA Tournament, we weren't able to see them again before they left :-(...(as an aside, Morty left a nice message on my machine when I returned home that night to say goodbye).
After the show all of our friends plus Johnny and some of the band congregated at our hotel for a grand old party which spilled out into the hallway. The beer flowed freely courtesy of Labatt (gotta love those official sponsors). We took a bunch of crazy pictures and were way too loud, and the hotel security ended up breaking up the party. Most people chose to head home, but Johnny, his friend from Halifax (forget his name), Sean, local crooner David Saks and I decided to go out for souvlaki. David's convertible was too small for the 5 of us so I ended doubled over on top of Sean in backseat trying not to get noticed by any passing cops. When we drove off the main streets, however, it was a real Thelma and Louise moment as I stood up in the open-topped car and threatened to flash passersby ;-).
We narrowly missed getting pulled over by the cops as we pulled into a parking space near the restaurant. By this time it was around 2:30 AM. We ordered our food and wine and proceeded to act silly and watch Johnny do his talented Christopher Walken impression. It was pretty darn funny. After eating the guys dropped me off, rearranged themselves somewhat comfortably in the car, and we said our goodbyes.
Friday was another jam-packed night. It was raining most of the evening, and thankfully I didn't have to dance for the band that night. It was the Dino Martinis turn that evening, and I wore some comfortable clothing and was ready to just relax and enjoy. I was really looking forwarding to this band, seeing how they're from Calgary and all (and I'm a prairie girl remember - us Western Canadians always stick together). The rain wouldn't let up, so the dancers weren't allowed onstage, but everyone in front of the stage danced in the sand and mud anyway. The band was cool and lounge-y one moment, hot and swingin' the next, and added punch to what would have been an otherwise dreary evening. Their cover of Alanis Morissette's "One Hand in My Pocket" was the big hit of the night and bits o' mud were flying everywhere as the dancers went wild, oblivious to the hordes in front of them using umbrellas to shield them from the occasional Charleston kick.
After the show ended we met up with the band at the Spectrum for Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88's. A great show! You gotta be impressed when a man can play his keyboard while standing on it. He even did a number just for the swing dancers in the crowd (who were few and far between at this concert) which was fun. Any fan of jump-blues would love this stuff. We met some of the Rocket 88's after the show, and then once again there were cries of "Schwartz's! We want to go to Schwartz's!". Unfortunately for the trio of Dino Martinis, Schwartz's closes at 2 AM on Fridays, so we settled for the Main Deli across the street. Steph and I enticed the gang to try a poutine, a Quebec concoction of fries, gravy and melted cheese curds. Gross to the eye but delicious to the palate. They loved it. The guys couldn't believe I was out with them at 3 AM when I had to leave the next morning for NYC. "Hey? When am I going to see you again? Who knows? Gotta enjoy it while you can." Before the evening was through I had a marriage proposal and a standing invitation to their New Year's Eve party :-).
And then, I was off to bed (a nap is more like it, I was up 3 hours later to catch a flight to NYC). I found out upon returning on Monday that the boys dedicated their song "The Language of Love" to me during their second show on Saturday. Awwwww....what a bunch of sweeties :-)