Montreal, Canada

We arrived in Montreal mid-afternoon. The day was warm, the sky bright blue, dotted with pillowy clouds, the air was sweet and my mission was to find a Harvey's. That will mean nothing to those who live outside Canada and everything to those within. Harvey's is a Canadian chain of burger restaurants; they're the best burgers going. They taste like you wish they did when you make them at home, thick, juicy, loads of fresh toppings. The french fries are perfection, seriously crisp on the outside, steamy and fluffy inside. I can't vouch for the health aspect of these things, but I don't think it's good. Still, one cannot come to the great white north and not eat at least once at Harvey's.

Tonight we played as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival, a 10 day event in the city embracing all kinds of music from rock, blues, world, Latin and of course jazz too. Shows are staged in various venues as well as outdoor stages and the area takes on a carnival atmosphere. We played in a theatre that held about 3,000 people and was very much a sit down gig complete with cushy upholstered chairs. The stage sounded good as did the theatre and the audience, while not as rambunctious as last night's, was with us all the way. One of many good things about playing a sit down theatre is we often do All That Matters as we did this evening. It's amazing the response that song gets when we do it, yet it wouldn't work in a less intimate setting.

After the show I met up with my friend Andrea DeMori, a guitar player with a fondness for many of the same kinds of music I like. We had a couple of healing G & T's and sung our praises to Gretsch guitars, instrumental records and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The streets of Montreal were a crush with young folks out for a summer Saturday night.

It was a day that makes you believe you're going to live for another 80 or 90 years.

So long,

Richard