Mirabel loves Montreal. Along with Ribsy, she was constantly festooned with attention while hanging out in the hotel lobby and walking around the streets during their quick roadie this past weekend.
She simply couldn't get enough of the city. Here she is, soaking up the atmosphere. Or maybe she was just sniffing out the smell of smoked meat outside Reuben's.
She dug that there was an off-leash dog park a few blocks away. Ribsy delivers his most menacing look of intimidation to throw his pesky sister off her game.
The next day the pack strolled shivered around the quaint streets of Old Montreal, where much to Mirabel's delight, was littered with pigeons. Squirrels with wings!
Ribsy, meanwhile, found that the cobblestoned streets formed a nice backdrop to his stylish DogGoneChic mocknecked BodyShirt and his graceful whippet lines.
Mirabel would like to thank a certain ageless moneymaker-shakin' wonder and his band for providing Girl with a perfect excuse to take them to Montreal. Please come back soon.
Great show, great guys! Flight of the Conchords did not disappoint Wednesday night at Massey Hall.
In front of a tame but appreciative crowd, Bret and Jemaine teased them with witty comebacks ("It's hard to sustain your confidence for more than five seconds," Jemaine pointed out to a heckler whose voice trailed off mid-heckle), funny misinterpretations (In defence of Toronto, a fan yelled out "We're good and bad!" to which Jemaine erroneously repeated, "You're going to bed?"), Canadian love (Bret: "I took a bath in maple syrup, the traditional Canadian bath"), and spot-on audience observations (a lady in the front left her seat, only to fall very publicly in the aisle, to which Jemaine mocked: "Yeah, we'll just leave between songs and they won't notice").
They even stopped their show after Jemaine noticed, to his horror, an empty seat in the front row. Silence and banter and plots as what to do when the offender came back ensued.
They did play a lot of the songs I was hoping to catch, including If You're Into It, Beautiful Girl, Jenny, and Bus Driver's Song. They didn't play Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros, Robots, or Business Time, which disappointed me a tiny bit (since I've never seen them live before), and likely disappointed many others in attendance even more so.
My personal song highlight? I shouted for "Epileptic Dogs" and they played it, complete with the remix! What can I say - even though Ribsy and Mirabel are non-epileptic whippets, I'll swoon over any dog reference, shaky or not, that I can get.
And I loved their sexy moves (and the "talkin' sugalumps of Jemaine's) during their main set closer, Sugalumps. Bret also teased a lady to the stage, only to abandon and call Security on her. Witness it all here:
Jemaine really feels it during a lovely rendition of Freebird (a request):
And some serious Bret:
Despite the chilly temperatures and the massive crowd waiting for their arrival, Bret and Jemaine took the time and made the effort to interact with their fans. Now they are true rock stars.
With Bret at the meet and greet. He liked the penguin pajamas we wore in honor of him. Did I mention that we wore our penguin pajamas? Yes, the same penguin pajamas we wear to sleep (nearly) every night since we got them from Boy's sister as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago.
And here's "drunk" Jemaine. What a ham. I wish he was drunk. I probably would have taken full advantage of him. (Not to worry, my Boy is like Doug, he doesn't mind that I Mel Jemaine.)
A big reason why I admire them is that they're so down-to-earth and kind. Jemaine even asked if there was anybody else that needed anything - a photo, autograph, a hug - before he got onto the bus.
Can you believe there's another duo in Boy and Girl's world, besides Ribsy and Mirabel? They're off to see Flight of the Conchords at Massey Hall tonight - must brave traffic and chaos of Toronto in order to do so. Ribsy and Mirabel won't be joining them (they're not big city kind of dogs) and hope that Boy and Girl get their fill of Bret and Jemaine and New Zealand. (If you didn't know by know, they are thoroughly obsessed with all things New Zealand.)
Cold Guelph Lake waters and blustery conditions on Sunday don't stop Ribsy from enjoying a wet fetch. Mirabel completely wimps out but broncos like a heroine at the end. A little too late, my dear.
Sorry, I know we're supposed to go back to blogging about whippets, but I am just so excited to find video proof of my Morrissey stage rush on YouTube already!
Shameless. But so smitten. So I will embed it here for my playing pleasure, and for your own discovery, if you should be so inclined.
I'm the first girl who went up, not long after the song starts (I just couldn't wait any longer). The SecurityThug was totally prepared for me. Must have been my slow, lumbering climb up onto the stage that gave it away to him. At least there was contact with the Moz.
A lot has happened in the decade that has passed since I last saw you in concert - to you, to me, to the world - but two things remain constant: your passion, and my admiration for you, Morrissey.
Twice I held his hand. Three times if you count the stage rush. Yessssss! I have now fulfilled one of my life goals - to get on stage and touch Moz - and know that I will die happy. I managed to grab his arm, and he mine, before being hauled off by a beefy security guard, who to his credit, let me hop back right into my front row spot. Very nice.
The night even started off perfectly. As we pulled into the University of Buffalo campus and neared the Center for the Arts, we noticed a fancy tour bus making a turn towards the back. Boy immediately figured it was Morrissey, so we followed right behind the bus as it slowly cruised to the the shipping and receiving area. The bus stopped, and a few seconds later, Morrissey exited the bus, glanced back towards the small gathering of fans, and quickly headed inside.
The hour and a half long show passed in a blur, but my favorites tonight were One Day Goodbye Will be Farewell, The Loop, and the ethereal Seasick, Yet Still Docked, which seriously takes me back to my miserable high school years.
I think the setlist went along the lines of this:
1. This Charming Man
2. Billy Budd
3. Black Cloud
4. How Soon is Now
5. Let Me Kiss You
6. Irish Blood, English Heart
7. One Day Goodbye Will be Farewell
8. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
9. Ask
10. How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel
11. The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
12. The Loop
13. Death of a Disco Dancer
14. Seasick Yet Still Docked
15. Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself
16. Best Friend on the Payroll
17. Sorry Doesn't Help
18. I Keep Mine Hidden
19. Something is Squeezing My Skull
20. I'm OK by Myself
21. First Of The Gang To Die (Encore)
I heart you Morrissey! I will always, eternally, forever more have a schoolgirl crush on you.
Boy and Girl have been fans of Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand's fourth most popular digi-folk duo, for a little while, before they started getting all popular and stuff with their own big deal show on HBO and all. But that devotion doesn't compare to the owner of What the Folk! - the first and best fan website devoted to spreading the word about FOTC. If you want to know anything about Bret, Jemaine, Mel, Murray and the gang, go here first.
Anyhoo, there are two points to be made in this entry.
First, to brag. Boy and Girl are super excited to be watching FOTC live at Massey Hall in Toronto in April. Thankfully Girl's seasoned Ticketmastering - no doubt thanks to her Bon Jovi obsession of 2008 - resulted in prime centre orchestra seats. Both Toronto shows have been long sold out.
Second, to create an excuse to post more whippet photos. The creator of What the Folk! happens to be a Twitter pal of Ribsy's, and has a whippet herself.
Presenting Eric the Wonder Whippet!
And in true whippet fashion, Eric is also a master at chinning:
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