Landing among the All-Stars

Ottawa. It often gets a bad rap, doesn’t it? “It’s boring.” “It’s a government town.” “There’s no nightlife.” “There’s nothing to do.”

Well, while I do not hold any of those beliefs, I can also sometimes see where the critics are coming from. But, this weekend Ottawa is anything but boring. You can feel the city virtually pulsing beneath your feet. And perhaps, because we do often get overlooked when it comes to glitz and glam – No Toronto International Film Festival, no Vancouver Olympics, hardly any celeb spottings – this weekend, it seems all the more special.

The 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend has landed itself in the Nation’s Capital, bringing a game we love, and those that play it expertly, to home ice.

Banners line our downtown bouelvards, any young guy dressed in a smart suit seems to turn heads a little faster and places where the players are rumoured to be are just a little bit busier.

The draft, a playground-style selection of who plays for who’s team, was held last night in front of a rowdy hometown crowd. Loyal Sens fans booed any Maple Leaf that crossed the stage (brraap!) and even ex-Sens like Zdeno Chara and Marian Hossa had trouble pleasing their old groupies.

But Alfie, as one of the team captains got lots of love, and all four Sens All-Stars landed on the same team which promises to make the ambiance in the ScotiaBank Place Sunday afternoon, absolutely electric.

Go Sens Go!

However, it’s not called All-Star “weekend” for nothing. A whole host of events are planned from now until then.  The dismal weather making many of the outdoor events re-routed from the Rideau Canal to the City Of Ottawa’s new “Rink of Dreams” (thank GOD they built that $250,000 thing, eh!?!?), and a full day of skills competitions tomorrow.

But for any young hockey fan, the real question is where will the All-Star studs flock to after hours. Chances to mingle with hockey idols in the flesh seems like a tangible possibility and with every bar claiming they’ve got the “OFFICIAL” after party … it seems impossible to know where the boys will be headed.

As in a nutshell’s chief nightclub correspondent, what have I been told? Well I can tell you there is a GOOD chance that the NHL’s leading men will be sipping on bottles in my bar. But, this is not about self promotion.

What I’m really here to say, is if your weekend plans do not include hitting the market, you need to make some adjustments.

While it’s certain that some players will have obligations to some bars, I think it’s foolish to think that all 40 will land in the same spot for the entireity of an evening. I predict some club hopping and while every bar (because contrary to popular belief, Ottawa has A LOT) will get a sprinkle of the hair flowing, toe-dragging, teeth missing magic, more than one definitely will. So your best bet is to pick your favourite spot, don your best outfit, keep your cool and prepare for the chance to share a drink with a (multi-millionaire) celeb.

Even if  you’re not a huge hockey fan, bar lover or celeb chaser, this weekend is something out of the ordinary. And the excitement of it? Contagious.

And if you’re still not convinced? Well then I never want to hear the words “Ottawa” and “boring” come out of your mouth again. Kapeesh? If that’s your choice, well then you, my friend, are a little boring. Not my city … in a nutshell.

Where the party at?

We party rocked… and we know it

Last night, Kate & I attended the LMFAO concert, at the Scotiabank Place, in Ottawa.

What I have to say today is, my body actually hurts from how hard we rocked. Party Rocked, that is.

I would not exactly call the electro-pop group music guru’s, but they do have one thing down pat: making tunes that are instant hits.

As a bartender in a club that plays Top 40 music, I can tell you ever since I’m In Miami B*tch hit the airwaves, a Party Rock nation was born. It’s their songs that get night crawlers jumping up and down, ordering shots and thrusting on the dfloor.  Last night, thousands of attendees at the concert, were doing the same.

As Kate noted, there were more people in attendance for LMFAO, than there was for rock icons Kings of Leon.

If you are headed to an LMFAO concert in the near future keep one thing in mind: dress up. Kate and I toyed with the idea all day before throwing caution to the wind and decking ourselves out with fluorescent tops, zebra and metallic tights, lenseless glasses, and even custom-made “Party Rock” shoes. Believing we’d be the only ones in ridiculous attire, we were ready to catch some stares. However, it happened to be, if you WEREN’T dressed up at the concert, then you were being eyed down. Almost everyone in the crowd had some sort of iconic piece of the LMFAO couture adorned.

As an inflatable Zebra got passed through the hands of those with floor seats (like us), Redfoo and SkyBlu played hit after hit off of their most recent album Sorry For Party Rocking, as well as classics like “Yes” and “Shots” off of their first album Party Rock EP, before spraying everyone in the crowd with bubbly for “Champagne Showers”.

The champagne was not the only thing that left me drenched. The show was more like an hour-long work out, leaving me happily sweating only a couple songs in. It would have been an impossible feat not to wildly throw my arms, shuffle and jump in the air.

After exiting the stage without playing their most recent hit “I’m Sexy and I know It”, the crowd roared until the pair came back on, only to strip off their pants, into Speedos, which naturally, sent everyone into a frenzy.

Shocking? No. What was shocking was the number of youngsters that were in attendance. Our crew of about 15 people were aged 22 – 28 but teenagers were everywhere. The average age seemed to get younger and younger the closer you got to the front of the stage. I would not exactly consider the content of LMFAO’s music, which centers largely around, drinking, partying, having sex and being obnoxious, as teenage appropriate material. But, then I have to remember I grew up rapping along with Eminem.

If there’s one thing the Party Rockers accomplished it was bringing us all to the same level; hands in the air, beer in hand, glasses on face, friends by side.

Maybe music genius was not witnessed last night, but great times were surely had… in a nutshell.

Some Things Just Get Better With Age…

Last night, I had the pleasure of reliving one of the best moments of my childhood – a flashback to my first live music experience. When I was 8, my mom did the BEST thing in the world: she took me to see the Backstreet Boys. Laugh if you will, but no one can deny the overwhelming success that this boy-band has achieved. At this point, the Backstreet Boys were in the height of their success. (Case in point: they were SO big that Northern Getaway made ‘Catstreet Boys’ t-shirts that paid homage to them in animal cartoon form…I obviously owned this.) They sang their catchy up-tempo pop hits, and made the crowd swoon with their many love ballads. The singing, the dancing, the laser lights…I was hooked.

The Backstreet Boys performing a love ballad, in crisp white suits on an elevated platform. Amazing!

From that day, every tour that they have brought to Ottawa, I have seen with my mom. Imagine my surprise when New Kids On The Block and the Backstreet Boys announced a mash-up tour. Tradition is tradition, and mock me all you want, but my Mom and I knew we had a duty to attend. I was definitely not disappointed. As much fun as I had as a tot, bopping to the B-S-Beat, I have to say that experiencing the show as an adult (after two bottles of wine) was so much better. I could really appreciate the gyrating and thrusting, and it was so much less creepy because now I’m of age. On a more serious note, their voices were amazing, their songs are classic and they put on an amazing show.

Nick Carter thrusting as fireworks explode (in real life and in my head)...Yep, this is def. better as an adult.

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Posted in Music | Tagged Avril Lavigne, Backstreet Boys, boy band, Christina Aguilera, concert, , , New Kids on the Block, Nick Carter, NKOTBSB, Posh Spice, Sara McLachlan, , Spice Girls | Leave a reply