The concerts of my life

Jen and I are off to see Paul McCartney on July 27th in Montreal. I've been a lifelong Beatles fan even though they were well disbanded before I had any idea what a rock band was. So the chance to see a Beatle in concert is not to be missed. And McCartney was always my favourite. I was a Wings fan first. Only later did I discover he was part of some other band years ago. I announced this to my parents like I'd discovered gravity.

This concert got me thinking about all the concerts I've seen in my life. Here's a rough list in no real order with any anecdotes that went along:

SIMON AND GARFUNKLE - A few years after their great Central Park reunion tour, they hit the road. I was a young teenager and arrived late to the concert very drunk. I remember running up with my girlfriend at the time hearing the beautiful harmonies of "America" echoing through the park.

DON MCLEAN - I loved his two big hits 'American Pie' and 'Starry Night'. But really after those two songs, there wasn't much to grab hold of. I think he did American Pie twice. I was grateful for that.

PAUL SIMON - His Graceland tour. This was a fantastic concert. He had many brilliant South African musicians touring with him. It was an eclectic introduction to the sounds of Africa all anchored by the brilliant Graceland album.

DONOVAN - What is it with me and 60s groups. Anyway for some other reason than nostalgia, these bands resonated with me in my late teens and early 20s. Donovan was great. He was very chill, sat on a stool the whole time with a bouquet of flowers at his feet. A nod to the fact he used to surround his stage in flowers.

THE TOKENS - Who? "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". They're not a band I know beyond this one hit, but they were performing on a cruise ship Jennifer and I took with her family. The concert was -- pleasant.

ELTON JOHN - Oh man, what a showman. This was mid-80s. The guy was simply wild on the piano. This is the one artist I am so glad I saw in his prime.

DAVID BOWIE - I was nuts for David Bowie so when Let's Dance came out, I knew I must see the tour. This was one of the first big stadium concerts I'd ever been to. He was playing two nights in Toronto and I bought tickets to both. I assumed each show would be something completely brand new so I was disappointed to realize he repeated the exact same set. Although we did end up with a bonus on the second night. His old guitarist Mick Ronson happened to be in town so he came on stage with Bowie to play his original solo on Jean Genie.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR -- Not exactly a concert per se, but I was a fan of the Norman Jewison film and this tour of the rock opera featured the film's original Jesus and Judas reprising their roles. And it was indeed a great show...not as powerful for me as the film, but the two guys still had great voices.

BRUCE COCKBURN - He was playing at a small outdoor amphitheatre. About 2000 people. We're all waiting for the concert to begin when two girls on the other side of the arena jump up and shout: "There ain't no flies on us, there ain't no flies on us! There may be flies on some of YOU guys but there ain't no flies on us!" And they sat back down. 10 seconds of quiet...then again "There ain't no flies on us!" They finish the rhyme and sit down. Now on our side, a small group of four stand up and shout back the same thing. And THEN almost half of the other side leap up and shout it out. So this time, our entire side of the stage jumps up and shouts: THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US, THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US! THERE MAY BE FLIES ON SOME OF YOU GUYS, BUT THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US! The stadium is in a giddy fever pitch and Bruce Cockburn, the smart performer he is, steps out onto the stage at that exact moment and the crowd goes ape shit. It was awesome.

k.d. lang - I caught her warm-up show in Vancouver ahead of a North American tour back in 1995 for her All You Can Eat album. Her voice is simply perfect. It's so powerful, it soars through the concert hall. At the end of the concert, I had a back stage pass and had a chance to meet her. The first and only time I've had a pass like that. I was pretty nervous, even moreso when I realized she was coming by to talk to me with no one else around. Just the two of us.

This caught me so off-guard, I couldn't fumble much to say except some pretty bland platitudes. She put the onus on me to keep this banter going, and why not? She just gave a brilliant performance. The least I could do is come with a little something to blab about. But no, I could only marvel at one thing: My god, she is absolutely gorgeous! I never really picked that up from her photos or when she was on stage, but inches from her, staring right into her eyes -- gorgeous. She autographed my CD and I mumbled a lame thank you and she was on her way. Someone told me Sarah McLachlan was backstage also (there were only about 100 of us), but I had no idea what she looked like at the time and couldn't pick her out.

SONNY RAWLINS - I didn't know a lot about jazz when I was invited to join a friend who's soon-to-be ex-girlfriend bailed on him. I was happy to join him. The seats were amazing. And the music opened my ears to jazz. Spectacular. I've not only been a fan of Rawlins since but many other of the jazz greats. A memorable concert.

TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS with headliner BURNING SPEAR - This was an intimate outdoor reggae festival in Vancouver's Stanley Park. I didn't really know either but Jennifer is a big reggae fan. She knew what we were getting into. Toots came on first and he was captivating. My favourite line of the day, said in a thick Jamaican accent: "I am the teacher and you are all my pupils" as his finger scanned across the crowd. Then he blew the lid off Stanley Park. Brilliant. Afterward, Burning Spear came on. Jennifer assured me he was a reggae legend. One of the greats. To me, he was sleepy-time reggae. We didn't last through his whole set. We left wishing Toots had closed out the event. He was the true headliner.

JOAN OSBORNE - I liked her big hit album at the time with that song, "One of Us". She was playing at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, a club with a great atmosphere. I had two tickets but the girl I'd asked bailed at the last minute so I went with another girl, a friend. So my date concert turned into a chummy concert. Osborne was good. I remember liking the show but it hasn't stuck with me.

SIA - I discovered Sia through a youtube link someone sent me. Fell in love with her voice that was a disconnect with her goofy attitude. She played at Club Soda, a great joint in downtown Montreal. Came out in a plastic dress that looked amazing but must have been a sauna...and sure enough, a quarter of the way through, she confessed this was the first night with the outfit and confirmed it would be the last...she was melting under the lights. The show was excellent.

PHILIP GLASS - This concert stuck with me for all the wrong reasons. Philip Glass was in Vancouver to perform his soundtrack live alongside the film, Koyaanisqatsi. This was something not to be missed! I'd seen that film in my 20s and it blew my mind. I was higher than the snows of Kilimanjaro and the film spoke to me. And Philip Glass' music was a powerful voice for the film. So this performance promised to be mind-blowing. I told Jennifer, 8 months pregnant with Jada, that this was a must-see.

So the film and performance started. Jen promptly fell asleep and I dreamed of big fat joints that could help me make it through the snoozer. It was brutal.

MACY GRAY - She was our second concert at Club Soda, a great intimate club in downtown Montreal. And Macy Gray has a gravely Dylan scratch to her voice that's like a siren. Lots of fun that night.

NEIL DIAMOND - We saw him when he was into his 60s, but seriously, that guy's voice is still kickin' some ass. He had so much energy, we loved the show.

MOBY - Saw him at a small outdoor concert in Vancouver. He was pleasant, music was good though it's not too memorable really. Apart from his rapid-fire "ThankyouThankyouThankyou" after every song.

NELLY FURTADO - I went to NYC in 2002 with my old friend Rick Colbourne. We met up with one of his old bandmates (Rick used to lead a band). He was now a concert promoter and had tickets to see Nelly Furtado at the Hammerstein. We watched from the balcony. It was amazing to watch the crowd of young teens respond to her every gesture. As she sang, she waved her arm side to side in the air...in a nanosecond, the entire audience responded in kind. She had an army of young girls waving back at her. She put on a great show.

Concerts I missed...but shouldn't have:

QUEEN - they came to Toronto. I had a chance at tickets, had planned to go..but at the last minute, I didn't feel like doing the hour-journey into downtown Toronto. They'd be back. They weren't and I never saw Queen.

THE POLICE - In their early days, they used to put on free outdoor concerts in Oakland, Ontario. Two years in a row. Cheap tickets and the Police headlined the event. Both times I skipped it. Regret that now.

U2 - A friend of mine lucked out and got to DJ a private party for U2 after one of their Vancouver concerts. As a thank you, he got a bunch of free tickets to the next night's show. He offered two to me since he couldn't go. I arrived to pick them up from his brother only to learn that the brother gave the tickets away to someone else. I was pretty bummed. I was dying to see them. This was their Zoo TV tour to promote Achtung Baby...damn, what a concert to miss.

I know I'm missing some big concert. I'll make an addendum if it comes to me...

My first photos

I'm still getting a feel for my new E-PL2 camera. The manual's like a college textbook but I'm getting through it. What makes me most happy is the quick response. Relative to my old digital camera, this one reacts fairly fast. That's important when you're trying to take pics of the kids who twitch around like puppies. One of my very first pics -- my daughter Jada Rose with a rose she found in the alley:

 The next day, we hit the park on Canada Day:

My 18-month old son, Graydon.

Jada in full swing.

And by the end of the day, I was trying out the more funky effects. I'm not a fan of too much extra clutter but the more subtle effects are kinda nice:

So the camera works very well with the little urban monsters. I wonder how it will do with the wild of the Serengeti.

My prize camera has arrived

A few posts back, I described my prize pack from Olympus. A brand new Olympus E-PL1. And today, I received this in the mail:

Isn't it beautiful? Like Christmas morning. Like that feeling you get when you find a $20 bill on the ground. Or like -- a prize you won because your daughter wanted to know how the touch-screen contest worked. I took a good long time opening the parcel. I set it in the kitchen, then wandered to look after the kids, make some calls, catch up on the day's events. All the while, I kept passing the parcel, my anticipation growing to an unbearable pique until I decided ENOUGH. I had to open it.

As I unpacked it, a thought flickered through my head. The E-PL1 was last years's model. It was indeed the prize I was granted. But I knew that the E-PL2 was Olympus' newest. Would they upgrade my prize? I didn't expect it...but who knows...

And as I was tugging the box out of the tightly-wrapped FedEx paper, it all came stuck half-way out. All I could read on the box was E-PL ... E-PL... Was it 1? Was it 2?

I yanked it free and stared down at an Olympus E-PL2. How awesome is that?

Now to find out what this thing can do...

Vaccinations

My deltoids are throbbing as I write this. Today I got 5 vaccination shots. 3 in my left arm, 2 in my right.

I met with a doctor who specialized in travel to exotic locations. In his mid-60s, he was a sloppy Einstein with a whiff of Elmer Fudd. His last name's a blur because I could only wonder at his first name -- Spiro. This was the first Spiro I'd ever met. Before that, I'd only ever heard of Spiro Agnew and I was never quite clear on why he was famous, but you can't deny the singular beauty of that name. Spiro Agnew. Whatever road that name travels, it's bound for greatness.

My Spiro was a master of his field. Every anxious question was answered with a calm that eased my worries. I would need five shots. Six if I'm smart. Hepatitus A and B, Tetanus, Typhoid, Polio, Yellow Fever. The sixth shot was for rabies, but it would be three shots at $200 a pop. So $600 x 2 since Jennifer will need the same as me. $1200 toward our free trip --

"Do I need that shot?"
"Well no, but if you get bitten by a rabid dog, you'll die in the wilderness." Said so casually, you might think he was discussing the merits of Sonoma reds over Napa Valley.
I fought my growing anxiety and passed on the rabies. Surely that was an exaggeration...right?

So I went for the five shots.

Having spoken with other African travellers, I sought advice on the shots. Of the three people I met, all of them warned me...I'd be flat out the next day. Yellow fever would do a number on me. It's painful, brutal. I'll never walk again, probably lose vision in my left eye. Expect hives, toes will drop off!

Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but they had me primed for a nervous visit to the nurse. She could sense my anxiety. I asked if five shots were a lot for one go. "Oh the most I've ever given was seven." It was small comfort realizing I was 2 shy of her record. But she was a pro. Five quick arm jabs and I was headed home.

The worst I can say is that I felt like I was drunk for the next 4 hours. The next day, my arms were like brick blocks hanging off my body. The day after that, I was back to 100%.  I guess everyone reacts differently. Maybe this means the malaria-laden mosquitoes will buzz away out of respect.

Or maybe not.

The Prize

Okay so the prize was mine. I still had a nagging doubt that I could be the victim of some elaborate scam, but I'll talk about that later. For the moment, let's look at the prize itself:

You are the grand prize winner of an Olympus Prize pack consisting of an African Photo Safari adventure for two and your very own Olympus PEN EPL1

So the very first thing I did? Check into this PEN EPL1.

And THIS was exactly the sort of camera I wanted. Not a full DSLR but portable enough to be a pocket camera with the horsepower of the SLR. And removable lenses. Sweet. 

Of course, the idea of this grand prize is that I will take advantage of this wonderful camera and snap beauty shots while I'm in Africa. Sounds like a brilliant plan.

I talked with the prize people who laid out the situation. The prize has a set budget but where we go in Africa is rather wide open. Where would WE like to go? This was unexpected and very exciting. I haven't been to much of Africa before. Libya, Morocco. I spent 2 years in Abu Dhabi which is sort of near Africa. But I have never been to what we all consider AFRICA. Lions, cheetahs, zebras and the vast Serengeti. 

We briefly toyed with the idea of hiking to the snows of Kilimanjaro. Who knows how long the snows will be there? But we also realized it was impossible to guess when we might be back to Africa again. And taking a classic safari seemed very much a once in a lifetime sort of deal.

After some minor research and debate, we settled on Kenya or Tanzania for our safari. First we wanted to go in February, then May. But then we decided March would be best. Then it was settled. June would be the date of our trip!

We finally contacted our prize rep and proposed a September trip to Africa. He promised to contact us once he got news back from the travel agent. 

And so we waited while reading up more on the EP-1 camera and Tanzania.

"Congrats from Olympus Canada"

It was probably the casualness -- 'congrats'. Not "congratulations!" or "You won't believe this!" or "This news is about to blow your mind!!!"

Just 'congrats from Olympus Canada' in an unexpected email. Congrats. Like 'sup. Or howzit. Or duuude. It was so simple and common that I didn't take it seriously at all. Why would I? I didn't own an Olympus camera. I'd never had any dealings with Olympus. So I only gave a lazy glance to the contents of the email.

Congratulations!
You are the grand prize winner of an Olympus Prize pack consisting of an African Photo Safari adventure for two and your very own ---

DELETE.

I read as far as "grand prize" and "Africa". That's all I needed to know that someone was trying to set me up for a scam. I deleted the email and never thought about it again.

I consider myself pretty Net-savvy. I have a small Twitter following. I have a Facebook page. I dove into the whole Internet thang back in the mid-90s when we had to write the code to create our webpages. So I sure as hell wasn't going to be taken in by some Nigerian/African scam out for my money.

TWO WEEKS LATER --
Another email arrives.

Re: Congrats from Olympus Canada

Hi Kevin,
We are eager to award you your grand prize from Olympus.

This scammer was persistent. Okay so this time I actually read the entire email. It mentioned an in-store touch screen contest I'd entered. That triggered a Lost-style flashback. WHOOOOOSH.

Some time in August, my 4 year old daughter and I were shopping for a pocket camera to supplement my DSLR. We picked something simple (not an Olympus) and went to pay for it. While we waited to pay, my daughter spotted a touch-screen display and wanted to check it out. I showed her how it worked, typed in my details and officially entered. I noticed two things while entering: a nicer camera than what I was buying, and pictures of lions.

Two months later -- I was sitting at my computer realizing that I maybe, just might have, possibly, hard to know for sure, could have won the grand prize. And the final words of this new email were staring me down:

...We will reach out one final time... after which we will redraw for another winner.

Holy crap. I fired off a reply with my phone number and waited anxiously for a reply. 15 minutes later, I was on the phone with the contest reps and it was all confirmed. The prize was mine.

I went home and gave my little daughter a big kiss. Then my wife and I started fantasizing the possibilities for Africa. And that's what this blog is for. Follow along to get the inside scoop on winning a grand prize trip. I'm going to post our updates as we prepare for our September adventure into Africa.