Last Night's Gig: Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms at Rote Fabrik

The second great Canadian band to come through town in a little more than a week. I must say that although I know of them, I had not heard much of Patrick Watson (other than the fact the he and his band won the Polaris Prize in 2007) so I didn't really go in expecting anything, but was excited just to hear another Canadian act. Unfortunately as I got on the tram I realized that I had forgotten my Canadian flag so I didn't end up with it being signed, but to me, the music is the most important part and I was worried that the Swiss puncuality would make me late.

The opener (Anna Aaron) was pretty good (I do have a soft spot for piano-playing singer/song-writers, so this might not be a surprise) and she had a very solid voice.

Before Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms hit the stage, we were checking out the stage set-up and it was pretty complicated with lots of different instruments and a riser set-up with four chairs (which turned out to be correctly adjudicated for a string section) and a very nice percussion setup. There was also an olde movie projector pointed at the side wall and just running blank film. Along with the music playing between sets it gave me a very cinematic vibe and the set didn't discredit that assumption. The songs were sparse, yet intricate in all of their parts, and most had a nice full theatrical feel with strings, Patrick playing the piano and excellent guitar parts. Adding to that was the exceptional showmanship and amazing lights. It was like the U2 of indie-rock bands. At first it seemed a bit of a gimmick, but after 3 songs you realize that that is the style and you really get into it.

The clincher to a great concert was the amazing encore, where Patrick, his guitarist came out into the middle of the crowd to do an acoustic song while the crowd clapped along and the percussionist played a saw and stamped out the beat on the stage. Amazing. Then they closed out with a song that they wrote the day before! Very cool. A great show and I'll definitely see them again if I get a chance.

The cover of the new Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms album

Last Night's Gig: John K. Samson at Hafenkneipe

This almost didn't happen. I am so glad it did though, because it was easily one of the top 3 concerts I've ever attended. It was simply stupendous.

I had convinced a couple of co-workers to come and see the best Canadian lyricist in the business today with me and we decided that we would meet at the venue at 7:30 when the doors open to get tickets. The venue website said there were 50 left on Monday, but I guess they updated it prior to the show and when we arrived they told us that it was sold-out. Luckily I waited around out front and was able to buy a ticket from someone (awkwardly paying more than they wanted for it...whoops) and then Valerie managed to talk Guillermo and herself into the show as well. So it all worked out for the best.

Die Hafenkneipe was a very cool spot. Tiny, very initmate venue with a stage at the front and probably no more than 80 people that could fit inside. The decor was maritime themed including seasgulls hanging from the ceiling and portholes on the walls which added to the ambiance. The opening act was alright (although the kazoo playing left a little to be desired). John hit the stage at around 8:30, and it was just him and his guitar. I could tell it was going to be a sweet show as he opened with One Great City and then hit a bunch of amazing acoustic version of Weakerthans and I think, Propoghandi songs including A Plea from a Cat Named Virtute, Construction Site, Utilities (my personal favourite), Night Windows as well as playing his own solo stuff from his new record City Route 85. I love how his songs evoke such great Canadian imagery and feelings. I was just soaking it all up.

I also managed to start a new tradition of sorts for myself. As I am very supportive of the Canadian independent music scene, I definitely plan on attending as many shows as possible of those artists when they hit Switzerland. I also happen to have a Canadian flag on my wall and I took it to the concert and then chatted with John (who didn't mind the Movember moustache) and had him sign the flag after his set. So my scheme will be to have all of the Canadian bands that play Switzerland sign the flag after their shows. We'll see how many I can accumulate while I am here.

If you get the chance to see John play live (either with the Weakerthans or acoustically) jump at it. You'll have a great time.

Oktoberfest

In hindsight this is a pretty big deal in Germany (although seemingly more for everyone except locals) although, it wasn't really on my radar as an event I had to do while I was over here. However, a group of former ultimate teammates from Ottawa had been planning a trip for over a year and I figured I was too close not to attend. I met the group at around 11 on a Friday morning on the grounds and the place was packed. Sometimes things aren't what you think they will be, but Oktoberfest was exactly what you think it will be. A packed beer hall (and I mean like sardines), beer wenches (although all of them were old), an oompapa band and loads of lederhosen. The only thing I didn't expect were raddishes being sold by the bushel. Seemed kind of out of place. The beer is obviously the big draw, but there is also a huge amusment park set up at one end of the grounds. This also seems like a terrible idea with all of the inebriated clientale (scenes from the Sandlot keep running through my head).

The atmosphere was interesting to experience, but not something I would seek out again. I think the city of Munich must also take in a lot of cash from these three weeks (I heard a cool billion), because there is a lot of drunk people everywhere. I would really like to go back to Munich though and take in the city not during Oktoberfest.

The top three tips for you if you are may want to attend in the future:

1. Get there early - the more popular tents are full at 9 AM on the weekends but you definitely need to arrive by 1 PM every day (yes, even Wednesday).

2. Pace yourself - a litre of 6% beer is not something to drink 3 of in 2.5 hours. Results = not pretty.

3. If you're with a group, stick together - at least I knew the name of the place I was staying (although I didn't really know how to find it).

Other than that, I don't really have much advice because I don't remember much (although I'm confident there were no random international beerfests that I stumbled across, speaking of which).

Swiss Coed Ultimate Champions

The ZUF team that brought home the gold.

I was just reviewing old blog posts and I realized I never made a post about the huge success that my new ultimate team (ZUF - Züri Ultimate Flyers) in Zürich had this season. I'll be the first to say that I was more than a bit disappointed that there was going to be no open team (men's team) in the city for this summer, but according to the old saying, if life gives you lemons, you make pie (or something). But whatever it was I made from those lemons, tasted like sweet victory, as we won the Swiss Coed National Championship, two weeks ago in Nyon.

The Swiss Coed Championship Trophy

I knew we had a great team and certainly we were the most experienced Swiss coed team, but when the champions from last year lost in the semis (most likely because players from their team weren't planning on coming until Sunday), I really knew we had it in the bag. We ended up playing Basel Freespeed Coed in the finals and we were in complete control the whole game. ZUF is a great team with lots of talent and it was amazing to be part of a natioanl championship (although I would prefer winning one in Canada).

And I can know confirm that alcohol does indeed taste so much better when consumed from a championship trophy!

Baschi enjoying the spolis of victory

Amusing Things About Switzerland: Part III

Part III in my recurring series has taken a while to accumulate. That might mean I'm becoming a bit more adjusted and not automatically reacting to things in a WTF manner. Probably a good thing. Still, some funny obervations:

1. Food is not orange

I'm not sure what the hell I have been comsuming for the last 25 years, but around these parts, there is no orange cheese, the French dressing is white and KD is unknown. I've adjusted nicely to the first two, I mean how does the cheese become orange anyway? But I do love KD and my parents and Emily have been kind enough to supply me with some boxes and I try and have a box monthly.

A nice piece of Gruyere (left) and Emmental (right). No orange dye in sight...

2. Paprika Chips

Salt and vinagar? Nope. Ketchup? Are you crazy. Dill Pickle? On a chip. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I might find a couple of these flavours that of course everyone in Canada think are ubiquitous. But here in Switzerland there seem to be two falvours. Nature and Paprika. Not quite the same as BBQ, but not too bad.

3. Birthday Tradition

I've been to a couple of birthday celebrations and I might hold my own in Canada because here, you have to buy the drinks. Or bake your own cake and then share it. It took me aback at first, but when I think about it, it actually makes some sense.

4. Money

50, 100 and 200 CHF bills that are used with regularity at any and all stores.

All over the place in Canada you can't do anything with $50 and $100 dollar bills. I guess there is way too much counterfitting that takes place. Good luck if you want to try and spend one of those in the grocery store. In Switzerland, they wouldn't even look twice (such as at the cafeteria at work, paying for a 9 CHF lunch with a 100 CHF bill). In fact I would say that the 100 CHF note is the most common one. Maybe it's the money culture (especially in Zürich), but it's very different and interesting.