Well I hope my late entry into recap-land really is ‘better than nothing’ :} I had a wonderful 10 day trip that included a wonderful visit with my daughter, a meet-up and ‘Rage’ with my favorite Raging Grannies and which culminated in the best concert EVAH!!. Adam and Queen in its current iteration is absolutely spectacular. I have to say it is not easy packing for such a multi faceted trip though…the only good thing is that we are clearly ensconced in one season….If I were also dealing with seasonal variations it could have been a wardrobe nightmare. But I was lucky…..not the least because Ottawa [DD] and Montreal [raging grannies] held off getting really hot and humid until I left! Whew…..the goddesses were on my side that time!
I truncated my raging in Montreal to catch a 7:30 PM flight Friday the 27th from Montreal to Vancouver. I arrived about 15 minutes late but my poor friend had ended up on a much earlier ferry than planned so had to wait quite a while for me. Ferries are usually really busy on the weekends and this one was a long-weekend for many Canadians who managed to get the Monday off between the weekend and Canada Day, July 1/Tuesday. Instead, she got straight on to a ferry…!!!...hence the early arrival.
We went straight to our hotel but of course, had to sit and mutually sit with our iPads catching up on concert buzz. LOL How can you pick out the glamberts….that is when two women o a certain age are sitting side by side, into the wee hours, talking, laughing and moaning in unison while seemingly ignoring each other!! Haha. But it is such a treat to be able to do that comfortably with another person, free from the worry of being hauled off to Bedlam
I had to hit the sack pretty quickly though as my internal clock had finally acclimatized to EST and was not being forced back into PST….sigh….this old blonde mare she ain’t what she used to be…and therein lies a good portion of my excuse for the tardiness of this recap as well.
We had to rise fairly early the next am as a long time friend of mine from Calgary was coming to the concert with us before visiting another friend on Vancouver Island. She knows and likes Queen but less aware of Adam….she was disposed to having good thoughts of him but certainly was not a fan. She had taken my original ticket when Atop compadre, Fiercelier, had found us a pair together, just a tiny bit better….My friend arrived at the hotel around 9:30 am and we promptly headed for breakfast. Now any women’s pulp fiction writer will tell you that you have to include at least one recipe in your narratives so this is mine. We went to a White Spot restaurant and they made these amazing “Smashed fried potatoes”….they were sooooo good I had to ask how they made them. The take small potatoes and coat in salt and pepper and bake till half done. Then they half or quarter and literally SMASH them with a pounder [heavy skins left on] then the smashed potatoes are deep fried and finally, sprinkled with salt and pepper again and served. Trust me, they are not healthy and they are really really good. NUM NUM.
The three of us headed out to the local Aquarium….it is very popular and quite well known. It was a nice change….not a choice I would have normally made but I am glad we went. We had hopes of running into a few Glamberts from Atop where were going to self identify with Green ribbons ala the breast cancer design. We did run into someone we knew…Happy [Atop] but nobody else….and she had shunned the ribbon ☹ … Saturday rained intermittingly so I got the opportunity to wear the clear plastic rain cover the Montreal Raging Grannies had provided us all with…..Thanks RG’s….didn’t need it in Montreal but it saved my hair in Vancouver.
Not finding peeps with the green ribbons was the only downside to the event actually.
After we finished up at the aquarium we went back to our room, changed into concert garb…after full discussion and feedback on our wardrobe choices…and headed for the pre-determined restaurant meet-up place…an Italian restaurant called Franki’s. We got there at around 5 pm and looked for the famous ribbons but could not see a one. There was however a big round table in the middle of the room with what was clearly a bunch of very excited Glamberts. I took a deep breath and marched up to them to introduce myself….turned out they were not Atoppers but were Glamberts, joined mostly by Twitter. They invited us to join them and we had a great visit and meal and cocktails/wine.
About 6:45 we excitedly headed for the arena…a6 or 7 minute walk.
As several have commented…there were people outside begging for tickets!! Lol. We were so pumped…They were pretty organized and it took no time at all before we were at our seats. One great thing about the Vancouver venue is that the sorting of entering is pretty much done outside…that is…your tickets are scanned and you enter and exit at the opening closest to where you are seated so you don’t have any ridiculous bottlenecks hampering your movement. We headed straight for the merch counter which were the only crowding constraint of the place. We knew what we wanted, and as designated ‘barger’ I barged in with my credit card waving high and purched 2 carryall bags and 2 key chanes….I confess to sliding in from the side but I was not having a runner showing me t-shirt after t-shirt…I was an easy and quick sale….goodbye $90!! You are welcome, Adam….my pleasure hehe.
They pump just enough smoke into the room that you feel you are in an opium den with Oscar Wilde, and your eyes start to water with the exertion of staring at the curtain, willing it to vacuum into the great wild rafters of the Roger’s Arena….the buzz of anticipation and excitement is palpable. We arrive at our seat to find another Glambert friend with her DH [also a Glambert]…Maria22pf…that we had not seen for at least a couple of years….big hugs and laughs…that was such a great added bonus! I won’t even go into much of the concert…you have all seen the vids and heard of its greatness already. I did use those special earplugs and I agree they are a good idea. The take the edge off the really loud numbers….I preferred the sound of the ‘rock’ier numbers with them in but preferred the big ballads au natural.
Adam was simply stellar and amazing.
It is hard to even choose favorite moments. My fav’s are mostly congruent with the majority of reviewers and Glamberts. I LOVE Love Kills; WWTLF; TSMGO; STL…..but the best on stage moment has to be Killer Queen!! THAT is worth the price of admission alone.
I also had not anticipated the charisma of Brian on stage. It is less in your face than Adam’s….but make no mistake, it is there. He is every bit as commanding a guitarist as Adam is singer. Roger is also amazing but it is hard to get the attention when you are hidden in a jungle of percussive instruments….he does a good job though and UP is another show highlight. Neil knows how to grab your attention periodically….he is a very attractive man in his own way….the whole band seems to have a level of caring and camaraderie that makes you feel good…just plain old GOOD. I don’t think the smile leaves my face from entrance to exit!
Except for when I am singing along, of course. … for those haters of sing-along’ers….sorry but there is so much band-volume and general racket about that you can sing your face off and never hear your own voice…so I truly fail to see why or even how it can be that disturbing to other audience members….perhaps I suppose if you are filming…but it seems a little sad that an attendee should have to stifle so another can concentrate on their camera or phone. YYMV…sorry. But I have no problem with hearing peeps singing along in a vid…it just reminds me that the audience was really into the whole thing…and if their vocals are really off, it tells me the noise was sooooo loud they could not even hear their own voices…signifying even more joy and less likelihood that they were disturbing their neighbors!!
We left the show, went for a drink to decompress….again, at Franki’s where we expected to meet up with others but again, no such luck. Vancouver would not be the place to go to the show on your own assuming you would find others of your kind….not sure why….but that is a first… My friend was very impressed with Adam and loved the whole concert. Not sure she is a Glambert but I have no doubt she would go to a show of his next time it hits the area….fingers and toes crossed for around this time next year for A3. We all dispersed for our respective homes the next day and life is now getting back to normal. Yeah for all of you yet to go to your show. You will have such a marvelous time.
