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When Things Go Your Way

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There are days and then, there are DAYS! Now, I know what you are thinking…when one puts it that way, that means that things turned dark or bad.

Nope. Not this time. No way, no how! About six months ago, I bought a ticket to go see Francis Cabrel, a French singer I’ve loved for ages. Tonight was the night I was going to the concert! (Tuesday, the 11th of June).

I worked a short shift, from 10 am till 3:30 pm, setting up the golf club for the mega benefit evening that night for a hospital foundation. I can’t say I was sad to miss out serving 400 people all-you-can-eat lobster. I had surprisingly little traffic on my way home – it’s been awful lately – and had more than enough time to go home and get ready, catch up on emails, read a few posts, etc., before heading into Montreal. What a surprise to find one from “Billeterie” (Ticketmaster) – time stamp 4:19 pm. In French, it stated:

We are taking the time to write you to advise you that the ticket you have in the “Mezzanine Loge” is slightly behind the stage which will not offer you an optimal view of the show.

In accordance with the show’s production company, we exchange your ticket for a loge on the “Corbeil” level (a lower level) which offers a better view of the stage. Also we are reimbursing you the sum of $100 on the credit card used to pay for the ticket.

The new ticket is attached.

They included the following images:

Your original view
Your new view

Wha??? Come ON! Who does that happen to? I won’t lie. I half-imagined myself arriving at the Maison Symphonique and being greeted with: “You lucky winner! You get to come back stage and meet Francis Cabrel!”.

Dreamer.

I wondered what traffic into town would be like and decided to leave just before 6:00 pm, even though the show started at 8:00. I figured I’d park, walk around and find a place to grab a bite before.

Turns out, traffic was nil. Which was great. As I drove along de Maisonneuve Street, I noticed a nice mural/graffiti art. I had more than an hour to kill so, after I parked the car, I took a stroll, on the lookout for my mural. I love Montreal in the summer. Both the Gay Village and the Ville Marie burroughs block off Ste-Catherine Street so it becomes pedestrian only. Place des Arts (PdA) just so happens to be in the Ville Marie one. As I headed east, some colour grabbed my attention to the right. It was a long mural along Berger Street, which looks more like an alley than a street. This particular graffiti was colourful in more than one way! I channelled my inner Resa and clicked away! IT was so large, I could not capture the whole thing.

I have just realised as I was going through my pictures that they deserve their own post. So what I shall do for now, is show you the one that got me to take my walk in the first place and save the others for tomorrow! I just wish I could crop out that car but hey… c’est la vie. I felt it was worth the walk-back to capture anyway.

By the time I walked back to the PdA area, it was 7-ish and I figured I should grab a bite to eat and checked in at Sesame. I asked the waitress if she thought service would be quick and she assured me it would. Better than a burger or a hot dog so I chose to sit outside on the terrasse (terrace for the non-Quebecers) and watch the folks walking by. I ordered a chili-lime chicken poke bowl, deciding to forgo the wine (and have one at the Symphony House. By 7:20, I still had not received my meal. The waitress came out, all apologetic, saying there had been a problem in the orders and mine was coming right up. Not five minutes later, it arrived. I usually take my time and use the chopsticks. Not this time. Gobble and out of there by 7:35. I suppose I could have taken more my time as the show was at 8:00 but whatevs. It looks kinda drab but was very tasty.

Place des Arts has six halls and one amphitheatre: the ‘newest’ member of the family and second largest of the halls is the Maison Symphonique, home of the MSO (Montreal Symphony Orchestra); Salle Wilfred-Pelletier, the largest one, where I have seen more than one production; Théâtre Maisonneuve, a favourite venue for ballets and such, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe, where many plays are held, and two others that I have not had a chance to visit, thus far.

The Maison Symphonique is a place of beauty and was my second time attending. First time being with my friend Alison from Louisiana which she came to Montreal to visit.

Funky sculptures in the waiting area.

And a few views of the inside.

Back of the house
Corner
I was sitting directly across

I sat down in my comfy chair (not affixed to the floor) and chatted up my neighbours. It appears we all got the same email and found ourselves with these spectacular seats.

The stage was right there! They were real sticklers for non picture taking that I could only snap a few quick-quick-like…

Last tune
Francis Stands along in farewell

I leave you with one of my favourites of his, “Je l’aime à mourir” and have included a translation of the lyrics. They sound so much better in French! I chose a live version because he did get the audience to sing, though not quite like this 😉

73 thoughts on “When Things Go Your Way”

  1. I love your blow-by-blow accounts. You make me feel like I’m there with you. I found myself panicking on your behalf when the food took so long to arrive.
    And may I suggest a reason for your wondrous good fortune regards the seat. Either this block of seats had been reserved for a party booking, which, alas, had to cancel at the last moment … and being so visible could not be left empty. Artistes of such calibre do not like empty seats. Or, these had been retained for use by the theatre … press, people they want to suck up to, friends of the artistes etc … and had not been required. I say this from experience (as you know, I was theatre manager, though not of an establishment of this calibre)
    So glad you have a good night. After being all higgedly-piggedly with moving, it must have been bliss. Love the photos.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. What an amazing post – terrific writing, Dale. You have a gift for turning an account into a conversation – I was laughing and nodding along as I read. I am only dipping in and out of FF these days as my burgeoning novel is picking up speed at 130K words but I just love following you. I know that sounds weird but you know what I mean. Now I am off to download the song you posted. Kudos, girl, not only a great story of your outing but something of a love letter to Montreal too.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you so much, Jilly! I’ve missed you but now that I know why, you go girl!
      So glad you were laughing and nodding along the way!
      And no, it does not sound weird and is very flattering.

      There will be more! 😁

      Like

  5. Wow–what a great day, and that’s amazing that you got those great seats (though Crimsonprose’s explanation certainly makes sense).
    I always have a hard time taking photos of murals and not getting cars in them–some in Philadelphia are on walls of parking lots.
    As someone who gets annoyed when people in theaters are on phones and taking photos, I’m glad you weren’t able to take photos. 🙂
    The song was beautiful, and even though I can’t understand the French, it does seem more beautiful than the English translation.

    Liked by 1 person

    • It was a great day. And yeah, Crispina’s explanation makes sense. In my mind, they set up the stage a tad further ahead than planned, so these tickets would not even have been offered in he first place. Or, the Cabrel production team said, no way, even if the person chose a seat slightly behind the stage (I did) we will not accept that.)
      It is hard to get good pictures of murals. I hope in the next post you get a chance to see some far out ones.
      I only want to get a small memento of the show and hide the light to not disturb the others but oy!
      I didn’t take the time to make it more poetic but just to give an idea what he was singing about.
      Glad you enjoyed!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Dear Dale,

    You have unique way of making the reader feel she went with you. I’m so pleased you were able to go to the concert. And what an amazing turn of events. 😀 You deserve to have some, as we Jews say, nachas, in your life. Delicious post, my friend.

    Shalom and lotsa hugs,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Rochelle,

      I love that you think so! And yes, if was fantabulous. I dunno about deserving but I sure am appreciative.
      How do I not know the term “nachas”! Dad, you have some ‘splaining to do! Thank you, Amiga.

      Shalom and Lotsa love,

      Dale

      Like

  8. Wow, Dale, what a day!!
    The concert venue just got a few hundred more points for how they handled their mishap with your ticket–THAT is the way to do it!
    So glad all things rolled and positioned themselves as they should have (well, the food was slightly tardy, but perfection is impossible…)- and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the song you added. I’ve never heard it before and now I am delighted that I had. I’ve been listening to Lara Fabian lately, and I adore her French songs, especially.
    Yay to a good day!
    Float on your clouds of loveliness for a while! You earned it!
    Na’ama

    Liked by 1 person

    • Wow indeed!
      And I shall treat you to some fabulous street art shortly.
      I love when things go as smoothly as they do. You know it’s good when you can feel the smile on your face as you walk down the street. There was such a lightness to my feet, I think I could have walked for miles…
      But then I would have missed Francis. Don’t be shy to YouTube him… He has such a warm voice. There is a song I had forgotten (that he did not sing, as it requires children) but I listened to it last night before bed. Oh hey, here you go…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgkWgsog6Y4 And I love the Robert Doisneau images in the video (I had the one of the couple kissing… lost that one in a separation 😉 )
      I floated for a while. Now, I am back to getting just a smidge more order in this house!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. I loved your account of this day. It was very visual and I could see what you saw. You deserved this wonderful day. I kept thinking it was going to end with a show cancellation or something negative but thankfully, it didn’t. I’m not familiar with this artist or song but he is great. I have to agree it sounded great in French as compared to my trying to follow in English. Great job.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you, Jan.
      I’ve been listening to him for years and was thrilled to see him live. He truly is a story teller and yes, it flows much better in French but I just wanted to give ya’ll an idea of what he was singing about.
      Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. So happy for you, Dale. What a great view you had and money back is always a winner. I enjoyed your detailed narrative of your evening’s ramblings. Sounds like a night to remember and much much better than serving s you can eat lobster to people you don’t know. 😅

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Q,

    Now THOSE are seats. To paraphrase an old quote from a fictional soldier of some televised esteem, isn’t it great when a plan comes together in a way that totally blows the original plan out of the water? I mean . . upgraded tickets are God’s way of saying to us “Hey, I gotchou!”.

    Brilliant summer walk, replete with professional captures and good eats . . and then the concert bringing it all together. Beauty squared.

    B

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I love live performances of pretty much any music at all, but being able to see a favorite performer? Priceless! What an exciting surprise about getting the better tickets, too — WHEE! It looks like such a beautiful venue, too. Thanks for taking us along on your exciting adventure!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. What could possibly go wrong with 400 people, all you can eat lobster, and I’m guessing copious amounts of alcohol? I mean, seriously, what could possibly happen there?

    Glad you had a day for the ages. We all need those every now and then.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ugh. Lemme tell you… having done it two years in a row, plus two lobster nights for the members between 200 and 175 people, I can tell you it is nasty business. I am not sad that I missed all three lobster nights (tonight is the last one) at the golf club this year. Schlepping lobster carcasses is not for the faint of heart.

      It was fabulous. And we definitely do.

      Liked by 1 person

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  17. Yay!!! So happy “there are days and then there are days” that turn out in different ways. Thrilled you had a good one! As, I mentioned in the previous post, I will be back, from my other blog, probably in a day or 2, and I will reblog the previous post!
    Thank you for thinking of me, dear Thunder!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Your writing makes me feel like I’ve gone along with you (and had to rush through my meal… lol!). A big wow! on the upgrade in tickets. That is such a rare thing. Believe it or not, we had something similar happen once. Way back in the year 2000, while living in London for the summer, we bought tickets for the Royal Military Tattoo. When we arrived, we were told the seats no longer existed (they rearranged seating or something) and we ended up seated just a few rows down from Prince Charles and his group. Definitely an upgrade in terms of viewing from where we would have been seated if they hadn’t eliminated our seats.

    Liked by 1 person

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