Fresh Winter Air

Hello loyal readers.  No, I haven't forgotten that you are out there, but rather I ended up getting hit with a flu bug unlike any that have ever hit me before.  Recovery is proving to be rather long and much more slowly that I had hoped, but I think it is safe to say at this point that the worst is behind me.  While I was knocked out of commission, we got hit with a couple of big snow storms.  This shot isn't from that storm as I was in no condition to go out during or afterwards.  It was a nice little snow shot from the archives and I thought it would be an easy update to get up and let any of you out there who may be wondering, that no, I haven't forgotten about The Old Blog.  There is an even bigger backlog to work through, but we'll try and get things up to date before the snow melts for good.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 24mm.  Thanks to My Lovely Assistant and Little Brother for helping keep me off of the floor over the last little while, it is very much appreciated.

Voivod At Place Des Arts

“Je capote!”  Roughly translated, it means I’m really excited.  Excitement was the feeling shared by a room full of metal-heads as they gracefully made their way in to the legendary Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier for an evening the like of which they had never before experienced.  I heard those words a few times from more than a few fans, and I probably even said them myself.  We were all there to take in a show unlike any most of us had ever seen live.  Due to take the stage with the MontrealSymphony Orchestra was Québec’s greatest export to the world of Metal, and currently not subject to any tariffs, Voivod.  Heavy Metal and Classical music are familiar bedfellows.  The two genres share many characteristics, themes and melodies, though not necessarily wardrobe.  I chuckled a little bit watching the dressed to the nines ushers leading the t-shirt, denim and leather clad fans to their seats.  As the lights began to dim, the first violin waved the famous devil-horns to the fans, who were more than happy to return the gesture.  Chief Conductor Dina Gilbert soon followed before Voivod made their way to the stage themselves.  Opening with the song 'Experiement' off of their 1988 album Dimension Hatröss was an inspired choice, as this musical experiment began with the chants of ‘Risk It, Try It, Find It!’  The rest of the set was culled from several of their albums, all augmented by the masterful playing of the orchestra.   As if the music wasn’t enough, a large video wall behind the stage aired personalized illustrations for each song.  All were creations of drummer Michel ‘Away’ Langevin, who also handles all of the artwork for their albums.  He also laid down a thunderous beat, along with bassist Dominic ‘Rocky’ Laroche.  Singer Denis ‘Snake’ Belanger’s voice was in its finest rasp and guitarist Daniel ‘Chewy’ Mongrain looked to be having the most fun of anyone in the building.  It was his idea to see Voivoid play with the OSM and was also a key member of putting the whole evening together.  There isn’t much smiling in Metal, but his smile on this night was as loud as the music that was being played.  This was more than just a concert, it was a historic cultural event.  Okay, that might be a bit of an overstatement, but as the date got closer, there was a sense of anticipation and buzz throughout the city that doesn’t happen very often.   All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using various different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths.  Here are the rest, and there are a lot as I got a little carried away at such an awesome event, of the photographs that I took of Voivod  and The Montreal Symphony Orchestra from the stage at Place des Arts.

If you would like to find out more about Voivod or the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and their music, you can do so by following the respective links.  Much thanks goes out to James MacLean of Talk's Cheap Management and Christopher Gonda of V13 Media for getting me a pass to photograph the show.  As always, it is very much appreciated.  Musical worlds collided and the explosive results will live on forever in my memory, as well as those of everyone who was fortunate enough to experience it firsthand.  It’s been a few days since the show, et je capote encore.  Voivod will be repeating the symphonic experience in Québec City later this year, so if you're in the area, be sure not miss the show.