Binge watching #oag #ottawa
Had the pleasure of hearing two of my human rights heroes speak today, marking the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis. "Shake Hands with the Devil" inspired me as a high schooler to look beyond our privileged surroundings and work for a better world. Found myself frozen when I got to meet General Dallaire. Irwin Cotler was my MP for 16 years, was one of Nelson Mandela's lawyers, and remains one of the most vocal proponents of human rights in Canada. 🇷🇼🇨🇦 #rwanda #romeodallaire #irwincotler #humanrights
25 years ago today #ripkurt #nirvana
Train views #farinefiveroses #montreal
Apparently there was a time when it didn't hurt to go outside
#tbt: Broken Social Scene - Osheaga 2011 💫 ⠀⠀When I was 19 I emailed my favourite website and asked if I could cover Osheaga for them. The festival had just expanded to a three-day format, and with that the tickets became considerably more expensive. Broken Social Scene was the only band I wanted to see, and I couldn't afford to pay the newly inflated prices to see them play a mid-day set. Surprisingly, with only a brief writing sample, I was accepted to cover the festival with zero journalism experience. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Not having any idea what I was doing or where I was allowed to go, I ended up backstage after the BSS set. I only wanted the festival pass to see them play, and there I was about to meet my favourite band. I saw Kevin Drew walk off the stage and asked if I could get a picture with him. "I just got off the stage and I'm all sweaty, can't you hold on?". I cowered away and tried to blend in by talking to other bandmates. A little while later, Kevin Drew circled back toward me. "Shit. He knows I'm not supposed to be here." I thought my brief half-day as a "journalist" was about to come crashing down. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Brendan Canning and said, "We're ready for our photo now." I took the photo above, and have made it through another 8 years of pretending to know what I'm doing. Broken Social Scene went on hiatus after this tour, but thankfully they're back together and recently announced that they'll be returning to Montreal for two shows in May 2019. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📸: Nikon D70s ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #brokensocialscene #kevindrew #brendancanning #osheaga #montreal #photography #musicphotography #musicphoto #concertphotography
#tbt: Patti Smith - Bell Centre, Montreal. November 23, 2012 💫 This is @thisispattismith, opening up for Neil Young & Crazy Horse in Montreal. I had heard “Because the Night” and some of her Neil Young covers, but to be honest I wasn’t very familiar with her work at the time. She took to the stage armed with a powerful band featuring long-time guitarist Lenny Kaye as well as her son and daughter, and for 45 minutes held the arena under her trance. Mid-set we locked eyes and our little staring contest felt endless. Only when I looked away did I notice that the rest of the crowd was just as spellbound. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The combination of poetry with a punk-rock aura (her spit-on-stage/minute ratio must have been record breaking) had never felt so seamless. Seven years later, Patti Smith remains a constant source of inspiration. There is no limit to the number of times that you can listen to “Horses”, or re-read “M. Train” and “Just Kids”. Neil Young went on to play a mostly disappointing set of half-hour versions of songs from "Psychedelic Pill", but the crowd left feeling they got their money's worth from Smith's performance. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📸: Nikon D70s ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #pattismith #neilyoung #montreal #musicphotography #concertphotography
New restaurant review and photos up on @apt613 🍸 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "New resto-bar Rabbit Hole brings good news for those of us who believe a city’s downtown is meant for living and not just for working. With its blend of cocktails, stellar interior, and a food item for every palate, Rabbit Hole succeeds in providing Ottawans with a new reason to be out late on Sparks Street" ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Read the full review here: https://apt613.ca/foodie-friday-rabbit-hole/ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #ottawa #foodie #rabbithole #apt613
💫Starting a #tbt thing with some of my favourite music photographs I've taken over the years with anecdotes💫 City and Colour - Osheaga, 2011. "Look there's a gopher!" he yelled, pointing a finger in my direction. Looking up, I saw a heavily tattooed man running straight for me. Unmistakably, it was Dallas Green. While scribbling away at my Osheaga review I had become oblivious to the chubby woodland creature standing right beside me. Having volunteered at a local wildlife recovery centre, I felt the need to inform Dallas that he was staring at an ordinary groundhog (there are no gophers in Montreal, let alone on the man-made Île Notre-Dame). "Oh, you like animals?" he said, "come let's follow it." I grabbed my camera and on we went, following the clearly terrified rodent through its home. I didn't want to come across as an obnoxious fan and thought the cool thing would be to list off whatever groundhog facts I knew (not many). Thrilled to be around an animal "expert", Dallas unloaded question upon question about local birds and the ecosystem of an artificial island. I had already exhausted my animal knowledge, so I suggested we take some photos instead. Dallas Green posed for a few pictures, and the groundhog successfully scurried away from us. City and Colour went on to play a shortened set due to water on the stage, but returned the next year for Osheaga 2012. A stranger commented on my Flickr months later asking if they could get a tattoo of this photo. I've never seen it, but hoping to come across it one day. 📸: Nikon D70s
Through some kind of deep "Finding Your Roots" level historical digging, my brother recently uncovered photos of four of my great great great grandparents. These photos were taken at some point between 1865-1885 in a tiny Ukrainian village called Stara Ushytsia. Headscarves and giant kippas were definitely in fashion at the time. #ukraine #family
And if the snow buries my, my neighborhood #arcadefire #montreal #winter
Patrick Watson surprise show at Theatre Plaza #patrickwatson #montreal
Saguenay, Quebec

Saguenay, Quebec