Everyone was talking about this guy, and when I say everyone it was really tout le monde. Undecided between staying home or going out, and if going out if it should be on a Friday night or Saturday night, I felt for the peer pressure and decided for the famous god Danny Howells.
No way I was staying in line for a long time, and this is why I wanted to arrived at Stereo right at the beginning, my body decided otherwise and by the time I woke up and got ready, it was already 4:00am when I walked by the coat check. Surprisingly the place was not as packed as I expected and the music was kind of mellow. Being an all night long with the same DJ, it is understandable the music would start slowly in the first 3 hours and peaking after that to unknown territories, at least for myself because this was the first time under the disco ball listening to the tunes of Howells.
First thing I noticed looking toward the decks was the advertisement for “La Vie en Rose” - Stereo I think that banner has to come down now, then looked at this guy, and I have to say he is very charismatic with nice energy. The crowd was kind of different, but again remember, I usually go to Stereo on a Saturday night. There were lots of Danny’s followers, and they didn’t stop screaming because he was there - sometimes I didn’t think a scream was necessary and sometimes it felt maybe forced? but hey, who am I to decide when the crowd can scream or not eh?
As usual the crowd got “Stereolized” with time, and while the music was mellow I took advantage to socialize with some friends and ask about what they thought of the DJ. Some told me the DJ was incredible and I should get ready for the ride of my life, others told me they were there because they heard so much about this guy - like me - and others were too spaced out to give me any opinion.
The reality is that during the whole night, I felt as if there were 3 different DJs and that impressed me. The first DJ was mellow with some funky music that felt as if he was playing in a lounge bar with no Martinis - kind of housy mellow music, by the way this DJ played until 5:00am.
The second DJ was a much more into a Progressive House style, and I went nuts with the strong techy influences of his music during the second part of his set. Unfortunately, I had this feeling that Danny was only peaking at the top of each hour. Music would go strong and then go down again - I was actually feeling frustrated with so much ups and downs, it is okay to tease me but please make me fly once the count down has finished.
The third DJ started his set at around 8:00am, and what a change - that was a treat to my ears and to my legs. Finally music that made me drop some liquid out of my body. Then he moved on to some oldies and classics and loved the fact the felt comfortable enough to drop the Turtles song “So Happy Together”, or maybe he does this all the time. I have to say I was happy to be together with all my friends jumping up and down while this song was playing, and it does sound fantastic in the monster Stereo system.
I was impressed by the fact this guy played an amazing range of house music in one night, I was not impressed by the fact everyone talked so much about this DJ, and I left the building feeling as if he hadn’t delivered what I was promised.
Music wise the night was okay, fun wise the night was just off the hook. I had so much fun all night long. Left the building at around 10:00am and the place was still full of people. There was enough space to dance all night long, and there were tons of gorgeous guys and gals, only if those straight boys were to take their t-shirts off. Never mind, would I see Danny Howells again? Not sure, but if I was in the right mood I guess the answer would be yes, now if I want to go out in order to feel the music and let me body follow, then the answer would be no - unless it was his set I heard after 8:00am.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
"D'arbre en arbre" (TreeGo) @ Mirabel - September 8, 2007
“I hope you can come with us” - this was what my friend told me at the beginning of the week. We were scheduled to go up to Mirabel on Saturday, for a friend’s birthday surprise celebration in the middle of the bushes.
I saw the website of the place and it looked interesting. Child play for adults I told myself, at least this is what I thought.
To give you a summary of what the TreeGo is (“d’arbre en arbre” in French), it is a scaled down and fun version of a military assault course in the forest, adapted to us mortals and civilians,
I‘m sure it is far easier than the training received by Rambo in France. France? Yes, it was a retired French general that developed the concept in the old continent. In 2002 the concept is brought up to Quebec, where 8 parks are presently open. British Columbia followed, and finally New York State and New Brunswick got their first park in 2007.
This aerial adventure is divided in four levels of difficulty:
Discovery - Green
Sensation - Blue
Emotion - Red
No limit - Black
Basically you run from tree to tree using whatever means are available between them, which could be monkey bridges, wooden footbridges, nets, cables, zip lines, beams, and other which I don’t remember. They say it takes between 2 and 3 hours to finish the entire course, but this will depend in the physical and mental ability of your group.
It has been one of the most interesting outdoors activity I’ve done this Summer, and I highly recommend everyone to try it out. It is not just a fun way to spend your time with friends, but also it pushes your body and mind in a different way.
For those with fear of heights, I would say this is the perfect place to deal with your phobia. Even if you are not scare I say there are time you think “what am I doing up here man?” and the only choice is to continue until the end of the course you are on, because that is the only place where you can climb down to the ground if you chose to do so.
Is it safe? Very much and after digging out information, I found out the TreeGo has up to now been 100% free of incidents. Although you know you are always attached to the safe line, I kept thinking what would happen if I were to lose my equilibrium? I know I wouldn’t fall to the ground, but what would I do with my pride man?
Nevertheless this never happened to anybody in our group. For a moment I thought about not doing the last level (No limit), but how was I going to explain this to the cutie that was right behind me?
[Quote] Safety during the course is provided by means of a harness, a double lanyard and two carabineers worn by the participant which is attached to a life-line (red-coated steel cable). Instructions on the whole procedure given prior to departure.[/Quote]
Took several pictures in the first two levels, but right at the beginning of the third course, where I found myself wondering how I was going to jump from one beam to another without “falling”, I started to spend more time concentrating in my steps than in my camera - I should had given it to one of my friends.
The zip lines are the easiest and relaxing part of the whole adventure, can’t say the same for those freaking moving logs in the air, or those rings that made me feel as if I was doing Yoga in the air.
Perfect group activity, where your body will sometimes be physically pushed, and in others your mind is the one you will have to push. Finally, talk about trusting those little metal clips to hold your entire weight in the air eh?
Visit their site for more information about the D'arbre en arbre network.
I saw the website of the place and it looked interesting. Child play for adults I told myself, at least this is what I thought.
To give you a summary of what the TreeGo is (“d’arbre en arbre” in French), it is a scaled down and fun version of a military assault course in the forest, adapted to us mortals and civilians,
I‘m sure it is far easier than the training received by Rambo in France. France? Yes, it was a retired French general that developed the concept in the old continent. In 2002 the concept is brought up to Quebec, where 8 parks are presently open. British Columbia followed, and finally New York State and New Brunswick got their first park in 2007.
This aerial adventure is divided in four levels of difficulty:
Discovery - Green
Sensation - Blue
Emotion - Red
No limit - Black
Basically you run from tree to tree using whatever means are available between them, which could be monkey bridges, wooden footbridges, nets, cables, zip lines, beams, and other which I don’t remember. They say it takes between 2 and 3 hours to finish the entire course, but this will depend in the physical and mental ability of your group.
It has been one of the most interesting outdoors activity I’ve done this Summer, and I highly recommend everyone to try it out. It is not just a fun way to spend your time with friends, but also it pushes your body and mind in a different way.
For those with fear of heights, I would say this is the perfect place to deal with your phobia. Even if you are not scare I say there are time you think “what am I doing up here man?” and the only choice is to continue until the end of the course you are on, because that is the only place where you can climb down to the ground if you chose to do so.
Is it safe? Very much and after digging out information, I found out the TreeGo has up to now been 100% free of incidents. Although you know you are always attached to the safe line, I kept thinking what would happen if I were to lose my equilibrium? I know I wouldn’t fall to the ground, but what would I do with my pride man?
Nevertheless this never happened to anybody in our group. For a moment I thought about not doing the last level (No limit), but how was I going to explain this to the cutie that was right behind me?
[Quote] Safety during the course is provided by means of a harness, a double lanyard and two carabineers worn by the participant which is attached to a life-line (red-coated steel cable). Instructions on the whole procedure given prior to departure.[/Quote]
Took several pictures in the first two levels, but right at the beginning of the third course, where I found myself wondering how I was going to jump from one beam to another without “falling”, I started to spend more time concentrating in my steps than in my camera - I should had given it to one of my friends.
The zip lines are the easiest and relaxing part of the whole adventure, can’t say the same for those freaking moving logs in the air, or those rings that made me feel as if I was doing Yoga in the air.
Perfect group activity, where your body will sometimes be physically pushed, and in others your mind is the one you will have to push. Finally, talk about trusting those little metal clips to hold your entire weight in the air eh?
Visit their site for more information about the D'arbre en arbre network.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
