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Published: November 12th 2007
Crowded House Concert
View of the crowd at the concert.Hi there
Firstly we must apologise for the colossal gap between blogs. August and September were pretty quiet months for us over here so there hasn’t been a lot to write about up until now.
After our trip to Victoria at the beginning of August life here became very routine and somewhat mundane with no real events to go to or no real exploring to speak of. However we picked up tickets for three big concerts in September and were getting more and more excited about those as the time drew closer.
The first of these concerts was from NZ’s very own Crowded House, which I hadn’t realised actually have a reasonably big following over in this part of the world. The concert was originally set down to play in the very Civic Theatre like Orpheum Theatre downtown, however with the ongoing civic strike (they were on strike for 3 months, no services, including rubbish pickup, the place was a mess) reducing city services including theatres the concert was moved to an amphitheatre in Stanley Park. Not to worry, it meant that it was now only a short walk away from the apartment and the setting helped make
Crowded House Concert
Nice traditional Canadian hot dog. it a very memorable concert. The venue was Malkin Bowl which, as the name suggests, is a small bowl surrounded by towering Fur trees. The crowd was made up of about 50% Canadians and about 50% Kiwis and Aussies sporting All Blacks and Wallabies jerseys, Aussie and NZ flags and NZ t-shirts etc. It was the first event overseas that we have been able to show our pride in NZ which was pretty cool. Unfortunately the weather didn’t come to the party but the gentle rainfall certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd or the boys on stage. As with all Kiwis, Emma and I have always enjoyed and respected Crowded House and the talents of Neil Finn but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the show as much as I did. Neil Finn is simply amazing. I think he would rate up there as one of the best guitarists I’ve seen live. He can certainly sing very well and we all know what an amazing songwriter he is. He is also very natural on stage and very witty. Its not hard to see why he is considered such a legend in NZ and is someone we can all be
Crowded House
Gaz and I having fun. pretty proud of. Of course we got all the Crowded House classics like ‘Don’t Dream Its Over’, ‘Weather With You’, ‘Something So Strong’, ‘Fall At Your Feet’, ‘Better Be Home Soon’, ‘Distant Sun’ and ‘Four Seasons In One Day’, but also heard some cool tunes off their latest album. The pick of the new songs, I think, is called ‘Silent House’. It was cowritten by Neil Finn and The Dixie Chicks but the Crowded House version is a million times better. My personal favourite song for the night though was the Split Enz classic ‘Message To My Girl’ as performed solo by Neil on the piano with the accompaniment of the crowd. Magic. A bunch of very wet but happy Kiwis and Aussies rocking out to some classic Kiwi/Aussie music in the middle of a pitch black Stanley Park on the otherside of the world. An experience we are not likely to forget for a while.
The next concert was just 4 days later. This gig was set to be a huge event amongst the rockers here in Van as it featured two massively popular rock bands. Opening the night was the recently reformed Alice in Chains. This is
Crowded House
You can kinda see Neil Finn the first tour for the band since recruiting a new singer after their last singer died of a drug overdose a few years back (very rock n roll). The new singer was a dead wringer for the original guy, vocally speaking. For those unfamiliar with the group, they were one of the four big Seattle bands responsible for founding the grunge genre back in the early 90s, along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. I imagine that not many of you will recognise much of their work but they had some pretty big hits like ‘Would’, ‘Rooster’, ‘Man in the box’ and ‘Get Born Again’. These guys are hands down the loudest band I’ve seen live and gave a very polished and enjoyable performance considering it was their first tour in years. I was a very happy boy to have had the privilege of seeing them live. Some said that their show completely blew the main act, Velvet Revolver, out of the stadium. Velvet Revolver are one of the biggest bands on the international rock scene at the moment and consists of former members of Guns N Roses and the former lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots, another two of
Hanging at the flat
Mum. dad and me hanging at the apartment my all time favourite bands. These guys put on a really good show. Scott Wieland (lead singer) is incredibly energetic on stage and struts around very Mick Jagger like. His voice was also surprisingly stronger than I had thought it would be. And then there was one of the most recognisable axmen in the business riffing effortlessly through solo after solo on lead guitar. I am of course talking about the one, the only, Slash. He was a joy to watch in action. The setlist comprised their 4 or 5 main hits of the first two Velvet Revolver albums like ‘Slither’ (encore), ‘Fall to Pieces’, ‘Last Fight’ and She Builds Quick Machines’, plus some other tracks I hadn’t heard. I personally really enjoyed hearing some old Gunners and STP tunes like ‘Mr Brownstone’, ‘Patience’ (performed acoustically - very cool), ‘Vasoline’, Interstate Love Song, Sex Type Thing and Crackerman. All in all it was a very good night.
And the last concert we went to was a band that I know some of our readers idolise (well one reader in particular, eh Adam). While not the biggest fans of the Hardcore band Korn, we thought it would be rude if
Gaz
Gaz looking cool on the way to Victoria. we didn’t jump at the opportunity to see them in concert on their ‘B*tch, We Got A Problem’ tour. I’ve seen some pretty hardcore bands in my time but this gig was a true heavy metal concert if ever there was one. I’m not sure who the opening act was as I couldn’t make out a word they were saying for all the screaming they were doing. Next on the line up was a relatively new band called HellYeah. This is another ‘supergroup’ comprising members of Mudvayne, Damageplan and the very popular drummer from Pantera, Vinney Paul. These guys weren't as hardout as the first band but still rocked it pretty hard. I especially enjoyed the guitarist in the big black trench coat with cowboy hat, and the tribute to Dimebag Daryl Abbott, the lead guitarist from Pantera and brother of Vinney Paul who was murdered on stage in the middle of a show a couple of years ago. Then came the main act and they did not disappoint. They played a good range of tracks from their old stuff through to the newest stuff and everything in between. As expected, they finished the set with their first major hit
Thanksgiving
Centre piece for thanksgiving. 'Blind' and also treated us to 'Coming Undone', 'Twisted Transistor', 'Freak On A Leash' and 'Faget'. The only annoying thing was that the lights would go down and they would all leave the stage for a couple of minutes at the end of every song. Nevertheless it was a very good show and I’m pretty stoked I can now cross that one off my hit list.
After all the excitement of the concerts in September had passed it was time to start preparing ourselves for the arrival of Emma’s parents in early October. They were on a 2 month tour of UK & Europe including a visit to see number 1 daughter Amy in Edinburgh and decided they would make use of some pretty cheap airfares from Scotland to Van and come over to check up on us. Our preparations mainly consisted of purchasing a $9 jug to ensure they were all ways able to get their caffeine fix when needed (amazingly we haven’t had a jug all year and have mainly been living off Starbucks coffee) and an airbed that was to become the bed for Emma and I over the 12 or so days.
Emma and
Thanksgiving
A toast for thanksgiving dinner. Mmmmm roast. I finished up work early on the Friday they were to arrive and headed out to the airport to meet them off the plane. After waiting for over 45mins for them to walk through the doors in the arrivals hall we were getting a little worried that maybe they had missed there flight or been detained by customs. When they finally did turn up it was hugs and smiles all round as we all said gidday face to face for the first time in 8 months. The delay had been due to a missing suitcase that was either still in Edinburgh or had hoped off the plane at Calgary during their stop there. After a quick coffee and catch up at the airport we jumped on the bus and headed to our place. We didn’t do much on the first night other than catch up on a bit of goss, as you can probably appreciate the travelers were pretty buggered.
The next day was a bit of a downer. We woke up to a typical Vancouver day of low cloud and rain and then headed over to South Granville to watch the AB's in their Quarter final with France.
Whale watching
Orca, amazing views!! Unless you’ve been walking round NZ or Australia with your head lodged firmly up your posterior I’m sure you all know what happened there so I need not bring up all those dark, depressing memories again (read more about it further down). Needless to say it put an even bigger damper on an already gloomy Vancouver day. We tried to cheer ourselves up with a trip to Granville Island Public Market but eventually the depression and the weather and the tiredness and the stress of a missing suitcase caught up with us and we headed back to the apartment to dry out.
Sunday was another typical Vancouver day weather-wise. We jumped on the bus and headed back over to South Granville to show the parents Emma’s work. Then it was back into town and a look around Canada Place, Gastown and Coal Harbour. We also took the opportunity to visit a cheap department store called Army and Navy to get some replacements for things that were missing with the suitcase. This store is located in the dodgy Downtown Eastside and whilst walking there from Gastown we walked one block too far east. I think Emma’s parents got a bit
Whale Watching
Beautiful Orcas of a surprise at the state of the individuals that lurk around in this area, and this wasn’t even the worst of it. It really is horrible place to be, with all the junkies and crazies walking round all zombie like.
Monday was thanks giving day but unfortunately Emma had to work. The weather was cracker and Emma’s parents thought they’d make the most of it by checking out Stanley Park and the Aquarium while I just chilled out by myself at home. By all accounts it sounds like they had very pleasant day. That night we were treated to a full on roast by Emma’s mum. It was Thanks Giving Day after all so we thought we better join in the celebrations. It was our first roast meal since we left home and it was amazing. It was followed up with traditional thanks giving dessert of Pumpkin Pie which none of us took a liking to. And to top off what was a very enjoyable first (and probably only) Thanks Giving the missing suitcase turned up on our doorstep. I think the guy who delivered it was a little surprised at the bear hug he received from the
very happy suitcase owner.
For the rest of the week Emma and I returned to work while Emma’s parents explored other Vancouver attractions. They visited Grouse Mountain and saw the resident Grizzlies up there, and then checked out the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Treetop Adventure.
At the end of the week they took the Whistler Mountaineer (train) up to Whistler and as part of the train trip deal they stayed the night at the ritzy Fairmont Château Hotel. While in Whistler they took a walk through the golf course and had an encounter with one of the resident Black Bears. Apparently the bear reared up on it hind legs and had a sniff of them but they can’t have smelt very tasty as it soon returned to playing in the sand trap. The day after they returned from Whistler they were off again, with us in tow, to Victoria on Vancouver Island. The first thing to do on our arrival in Victoria was to book a trip on one of the Whale Watching. If you can remember back to our last blog we told you about our two unsuccessful whale watching expeditions on our last trip to Victoria.
Thankfully, the policy of the company we had booked with was to allow you to take as many trips as was needed until you saw Whales (our guide said the record is nine trips and the poor woman still hasn’t seen anything), so Emma and I didn’t have to pay. Well third time was certainly lucky in this case. The weather was beautifully clear and calm and the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca were absolutely flat and smooth as glass. Most importantly though they had already had sightings of the Orcas earlier in the day so could pretty much guarantee us that we were going to get some whale action, finally. It was definitely worth the wait. We were able to cruise straight out to where the pod was and our guide positioned the boat perfectly so that the pod of Orca swam past us within metres of the boat. The whales we were seeing were part of J Pod, one of the families that make up the ‘resident’ whales that live in and around southern Vancouver Island for a large part of the year (there is also a K Pod and L Pod). The pod consisted
of probably 20 or so Orca including a young calf, J 1 who is ‘the grandmother’ and the oldest known Orca and J 2 who is the big male of the group and the only male of the Pod to escape capture from the aquariums back in the 70s and so has had the chore of completely rebuilding the group. He is a big boy and swims a quite a distance from the rest of the group either because he is so big and needs to hunt separately from all the others in order to get himself enough food, or to try and herd all the fish toward the rest of the group. After watching these whales for a while our guide then took us to see a large group of very grumpy sea lions. These were pretty big boys and were lazing about in the sun on the rocks growling at each other. Pretty impressive creatures but when one dived into the water and made a b-line for our boat the guide thought we had out stayed our welcome and it was time to head off again. On our way back we tried unsuccessfully to find the Orca again
Whale Watching
Humpback Whale but still managed to see some Dulls Porpoise, Harbour Porpoise, and a couple of Minky Whales. Time was running out so we headed for home but as we were the last trip of the day and there was a member of the staff on board who had never seen a Humpback Whale, our guide decided to keep going for a bit longer and see if we could find a Humpback. He must have had a pretty good idea where it was going to be because we had no trouble finding it (he actually had a name for it but I can’t remember what it was). This guy was also pretty impressive and we saw him make a handful of dives, each time doing the tail fluking thing that you see in all the photos. He was a pretty curious creature compared to the other whales we had seen and at one point surfaced very close to our boat. The sun was now setting beautifully on the horizon and with the Olympic Mountains in the background and the water like glass with a huge Humpback Whale swimming just off our boat it was an incredibly serene moment, quite magical in fact
and will be remembered fondly for sometime. So after three whale watching trips we definitely feel like we’ve had our monies worth. We have had a pretty good education on the history and ecology of southern Vancouver Island and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and have seen tons of impressive wildlife including three different species of whale.
We got back to Victoria just as it was getting dark and we were all pretty pooped. After a quite meal at our Hotel Emma’s parents retired to bed while we went into town to meet our friends Jesse and Julie for a drink, but soon also headed for bed as we could barely keep our eyes open. The next day Emma’s father went to visit the Titanic exhibit which he found really interesting. Emma and I went and did our own thing in downtown Victoria while her mother also set off on her own. We all met up for a traditional curb side Canadian Hot Dog for lunch before making our way back to Vancouver, finally arriving at our apartment at around 9pm, very tired from a busy weekend.
Emma and I headed back to work on the Monday
and Tuesday and left her parent’s to explore the Salmon Hatchery on the Capilano River and the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge. Emma and I took the Wednesday and Thursday off to spend with them before they flew out on Thursday evening. On the Wednesday we took the ferry over to Nanaimo, the second biggest city on Vancouver Island. The ferry took an hour and half and then there was a 40 minute walk in to downtown. I personally didn’t think much of Nanaimo and don’t think I’ll be in too much of a hurry to get back there, although to be fair we were only there for around and hour so didn’t really have an opportunity to see what is was really all about. I liken it to Timaru. Rather than spending another 3 hours to get back Van on the ferry and buses we decided to take the more expensive but far more convenient option of flying from downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver in 15mins on one of the many floatplanes We took a DeHavilland Twin Otter that seated about 14 people and was piloted by a NZer. The person actually flying the plane was a chick who was
being trained up. It was a little unnerving when on the final approach into Vancouver the kiwi guy started making hand signals to the other chick showing her how to land the plane. All up it was a pretty good flight though considering the shitty weather, and the lights of the city and Lions Gate Bridge were looking pretty awesome as was Stanley Park.
Thursday was the sad day when Emma’s parents left us to head back to Europe. After running a few errands in the morning we made our way out to the airport and had some lunch before saying goodbye and returning to a wet and gloomy downtown Vancouver. While it was sad to say goodbye again, it was a really awesome couple of weeks. It was so good to see some familiar faces and we really had a fantastic time and I think Emma’s parents enjoyed themselves as well.
At the end of September we also received the sad news that Emma’s Grandmother had passed away. She had been in and out of hospital a few times over the last few months with a few health issues but it was still a big shock to
lose her. As you can imagine, it was a hard time for Emma being so far away from her family during such a tough time. It must have also been a very hard time for Emma’s parents who were in the middle of their European holiday at the time. They decided to stay on in Europe to support Emma’s sister in Scotland and then carry on to come and see us. I’m sure it must have been a hard decision not to return home but I know that Emma was very grateful they were still able to come and support her. I never actually met Emma’s Grandmother but had come to know her a bit through the regular emails she used to send us. She used to enjoy reading our blogs and we could always expect an email soon after with lots of interesting little stories and news updates from back home. Even though we’d never met she always signed off her emails by telling me to make sure I took care of her granddaughter. She had also recently taken up the task of compiling a regular newsletter style email, connecting all the grandchildren around the world so everyone would
Whale Watching
Prince of Whales boat know who was where and what they were doing. She will be greatly missed by all.
As we all know October 31st is Halloween and here in Canada it is a pretty big deal. As soon as Thanks Giving was over with everybody over here turned their attention to Halloween. Just like happens with Christmas, Halloween decorations began to spring up everywhere. Pumpkins began to appear in shop windows and on peoples doorsteps and backyards were decorated with makeshift cemeteries and all sorts of other creepy and ghoulish things. Emma and I got in on the act by purchasing a large pumpkin with the intention of carving it into a Jack-O-lantern, though we still haven’t got around to it and it now two weeks after Halloween. The entrance to our apartment building was also all done up with fake cobwebs, monsters, witches etc, even creepy music playing all day. The apartment manager’s have to young sons so we think it was all done to keep them entertained as it was for the pleasure of the residents.
Emma is really a big kid so was terribly excited by all this so we decided to get in on the act
a bit more. We didn’t get into dress up or anything silly like that but we did do a couple of fun Halloween activities that run at this time every year.
Firstly we went on a tour of Haunted Vancouver on one of the old buses. This was kind of interesting but could have been a lot better. Basically they drove us around various parts of Vancouver telling us stories about various murders and ghost sitings as we went along. Our tour guide was dressed up as a Chinese house boy and was playing the part of one of people involved in a grizzly murder that was included in the tour. She was very annoying. I would have much rather just had a normal tour guide. Highlight of the tour was a visit to the old City Morgue in the Downtown Eastside where they showed us how an autopsy is done and we got to see various specimens that had been collected from the thousands of autopsies that had been done there over the years, including that of the famous actor Errol Flynn. We also enjoyed the stop at one of the old cemeteries. After walking through the cemetery
Halloween
Jesse & Julie and hearing about at a couple of the more interesting residents we headed back to the bus, only to see a dark shape moving off in the distance. Most people got back on the bus but Emma and I and a few other girls decided to go for a closer look and discovered a girl dressed up as one of the people we had just been told about. I went in even closer to get a picture and the girl didn’t move, just steered at me very creepily and I must admit it was pretty eerie. The other chicks were absolutely shitting themselves and I don’t think they actually realised it was a put on by the tour people. The tour could have been a lot more interesting with more of this sort of thing.
The next night we headed meet up with our friends Julie and Jesse (J & J) and after a pleasant home cooked feed, and a few beers to get us in the mood, at their place we headed to the local fun park for what they call ‘Fright Nights’. Around this time ever year they reopen Playland for a few weeks and turn all
Halloween
Nah, this is what Jesse really looks like. the rides into Halloween themed rides and ad a few other creepy exhibits and haunted houses etc. It was all pretty tame but the haunted houses continually freaked out Emma and even got Julie so bad that she wouldn’t do the last two. I think I heard Jesse scream once or twice too. There was a sweet little girl (played by and adult actor of course) in one of the house that very gently asked me if I wanted to play with her as I walked by. When I didn’t respond she turned all nasty and started scream psychotically “Nobody ever wants to play with me”, at which I replied “Gee, I wonder why?” She didn’t take to kindly to this and threw open the cage door she was behind and begun storming after me. Very well done I thought. While we were waiting in line for another of the rides they had a guy dressed up as the Grim Reaper walking up and down scaring people. He had a black mask on so his face could not be seen at all and looked pretty scary alright. He would walk up to people and get right close to their heads
Halloween
Nah, seriously, this is what Jesse looks like (the photo is a reflection of how we felt at this point of the evening). so they would feel him there then turn around and scream. He must have got Emma good on at least 4 or 5 occasions. The scariest part of the night was when we were lost in the maze and walked around a corner that had been fogged up with a smoke machine. We figured there would be something lurking but still got a huge fright when some scary dude came lunging out of the smoke at us with a chain that he whacked against the wall very loudly. We hastily retreated to find an alternative route only to have the same thing happen. He was following us around the maze and not letting us past and it did get kind of intense as we all just wanted to get away from this guy. We also did a couple of the less scary rides like the rollercoaster and the Ferris wheel, and it ended up having a very good night.
On Halloween itself, Emma and I went out into the ‘burbs with a bag full of candy and walked around watching all the little ones trick or treating. It was pretty cool to see, very much like all the TV
Halloween
Emma on the Haunted Trolley Tour programs and movies. And there were some very impressive pumpkin carvings. We both really enjoyed our first real Halloween. Plenty of frights and plenty of candy.
A few other things we’ve been up to over the last couple of months include another visit to Grouse Mountain to see the Grizzlies and a visit to the Salmon Hatchery to watch the Salmon running. The day we went to Grouse was the last really nice, warm day of the year and we had a wicked day up the mountain. We managed to watch the Lumber Jack Show and also saw Bird Encounter show which was pretty interesting. Then we went over and saw the two Grizzlies, Coola and Grinder. As the weather was warm both bears were in the water playing around with logs and cooling off. Very cute.
The Salmon Hatchery is located at the base of the Cleveland Dam on the Capilano River. The Dam was built to create a reservoir for Vancouver’s drinking water supply, but in the process cut off the migration route of the salmon which head back up the river every Fall. Because of this Salmon populations began to decline and in an effort
Halloween
Emma approaching the 'ghost' in the cemetery the Hatchery was built to collect all the Salmon and facilitate spawning. The Hatchery is open to the public and every Fall you can go and watch the Salmon as they jump up the steps into the Hatchery. It’s a pretty cool to see and there are thousands of Salmon struggling there way up the river.
Now, how ‘bout those All Blacks eh? What a bloody debacle. Emma and I had been supporting the men in black all through the Pool matches, heading to either Doolin’s downtown or the Frog In Firkin (just like in Invers) over in South Granville to join all the other kiwis over here in cheering on the boys over a few beers. Then when Emma’s folks turned up we figured we’d all better go and watch the AB’s pummel the Frogs in the quarter finals. We went to The Frog where it was standing room only. The crowd was mainly Kiwi or Pommy with a few Aussies and French as well. Unfortunately they were too full to let everyone in and so there was a crowd of Kiwis waiting in a line outside during the game (lucky them). After watching a replay of England
Halloween
Freaky thing in the cemetery (notice the 'orb' to the right of the chick) shatter the Wallabies World Cup dreams, we were nervous about or chances but never really thought that the ABs would choke at the hands of the French again. The game started pretty well and we were all pretty happy with how things were going and the French supporters were pretty quiet. As the second half wore on the French supporters began to get a bit more rowdy while all those dressed in black held their breaths as they began to see the William Webb Ellis trophy slip from their grasp. And with the final blow of the whistle it was confirmed, the All Blacks are officially World Cup chokers. Understandably, the Frenchies were overjoyed and didn’t hold back in showing everybody just how happy they were. The rest of the crowd sat in stunned silence with their heads lowered between their hands in disbelief. Apparently there were even a few tears shed. I wasn’t quite brought to tears but it was definitely not a good feeling. We left the scene of the disaster pretty promptly and tried to enjoy the rest of the day with Emma’s parents but its fair to say everyone was feeling a little flat. I don’t
Halloween
Emma and the Trolley think I’ve ever felt so shit after a sporting fixture. I now know how all those crazed football fanatics feel when their team loses. I think maybe it was because we were in a foreign country and feeling very patriotic. It took a few hard days to get over it but I am at least glad we weren’t in NZ to hear all the fallout. I can only imagine the headlines and the talkback radio. I’m also glad that the South African friends we had made while here had all left Vancouver and weren’t around to rub it in. Maybe in four years time it’ll be the other way round.
As for work, Emma now has her old boss back which she really enjoys. After leaving the business to go back to school she was asked to return when the manager who replaced her suddenly quit. Other than the continued staff turnover its business is usual at L’Occitane and they are no doubt about to get very busy with the lead up to Christmas just around the corner. Emma has also just found out that she’ll be heading up to Whistler for a few days shortly to help cover
Halloween
Fright Night the store up there.
With the coming of Fall comes the shitty weather. Its all of a sudden got very cold and wet and we’ve even had a little wind as well. One Friday in September I was working in shorts and t-shirt and still sweating like a hard working lawn mowerman should do. The following Monday I had to kit up in thermals and beanie and take a flask full of hot soup to work, and I was still pretty cold. The change in seasons literally seemed to happen over one weekend and has been getting cooler ever since. All this means that the mowing season is drawing to a close. Grass growth has now slowed right down but as we are very understaffed there is plenty of work still to be done. The huge maple trees that line the streets continue to drop their thousands of leaves and I spend about 1/3 of my day cleaning them up. If I work past 4:30 these days I’m mowing under street lights and can hardly see what I’m doing. It gets dark here pretty early. Leave for work in the dark and get home in the dark.
Sorry
Halloween
Fright Night about the huge blog, I hope it hasn’t been too boring for you all but we have had a lot to catch up on. I promise the next one will be a lot more concise. It shouldn’t be too far away as we have just got back from a trip to The Rockies and want to tell you all about it while its still fresh in our minds. Unitl then, stay cool everybody.
Bye for now.
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