Sunday started off by being a day from hell. I first went to get a much needed haircut. I was told there was a 30 minute wait. 1h15 mins later I finally managed to sit down in the barber chair. Once that was said and done, I had to drive 10 minutes to get my car wash thanks to some birds who decided to use it as a toilet, only to find the car wash was closed. Off to the next closest gas station I went. I start to pump some gas only to be told the debit/credit system will be down for 5 minutes… so I wait and wait. Once my Jeep was happily fed, I get in line for the carwash, with 10 cars ahead of me. Did I mention I was in a rush?
3:00pm finally rolls around and I finally make it back home. We’re slightly behind schedule to leave for Montreal to catch the 2nd Spice Girl show. The drive down to Montreal was quick and uneventful. There was very little traffic on the highway and we didn’t get stuck behind slow drivers. We managed to get from Orleans to the Bell Centre in an hour and 45 minutes. We park the car inside the Bell Centre, I grab a quick smoke then we head in to St-Hubert for some dinner. Just like the last concert, the place was packed with Spice Girls fans that were also grabbing some grub before the show. Come 6:30 we’re done eating, the coffee cup is empty and the bill is paid. We almost fear going outside. See, on the January 31st show, we lined up outside in the freezing cold at 6:30. The doors didn’t open until 7:20, and once inside all seats were blocked off until 7:35. However, they had the doors open early yesterday so we walked right in (after my after dinner smoke of course) and went to our seats. We were in section 111, 2nd row dead centre to the raised platform. These were even better seats than last time! With some time to kill, we headed back out to the lobby, checked out the dealer tables, grabbed a drink and just walked around for a bit. The crowd generally appeared to be a bit younger than the last show. It looked like most concert goers weren’t even in school when the Spice Girls first became popular. Man did we feel old (and my fiancee is 10 years my junior!). We headed back to our seats when I look at my watch and its only 7:45. The Jan 31st show didn’t start until 9:15. We were both hoping the show would start earlier, as it was still early, and my fiancee started a new job on Monday morning. Imagine our surprise when the show started at 8:30!
As exciting as the first show was, this one was even better. The crowd was even more into it, the screams were even louder (not to mention the sound system) and there seemed to be more people dancing. The Spice Girls themselves seemed more energized and more playful, especially Geri. There was a lot more interactivity with the crowd too. Maybe its because the tour is coming to an end, the seemingly better crowd, or they were just having a really good day. In either case we fans benefited from it. Being so close to the stage was a blast. All 5 girls throughout the show headed our way, waved in our general direction and said hello. Emma, Mel C and Victoria even managed to make direct eye contact a couple of times… I know, I sound like a 15 year old girl there but who cares 😛
There was quite a bit of differences between last night’s concert and the last show. Here’s a quick rundown:
* Emma and Mel C cracked up bigtime at a sign being held by someone in front of me.
* Some guy was holding a “Will you marry me Geri” sign, to which the girls starting friendlily teasing Geri about. Just the other day I was telling my fiancee that I should wear a shirt that said that exact thing. She wasn’t really amused 😛
* A fan gave the girls 5 huge fake roses. The girls really appreciated it. Mel B and Geri started swordfighting with theirs. Victoria rushed to the 2nd stage and handed it to Cruz.
* During Wannabe, Mel B totally cracked up. Neither my fiancee nor I saw why.
* Emma sounded like a chipmunk at the start of Goodbye. She guzzled down half her water bottle to clear it up.
* Geri flipped herself upside down on the bar on the raised platform, mooning our side of the stage.
* 4 of the girls seemed to be impressed by this one guy’s dancing and urged him on with “go Joey, go Joey”
* Mel B brought Angel up on stage at the end of Mama.
* Pretty much all the girls spoke french at one point. Geri said pretty much the same thing as last time, and did her Headlines intro in french. Mel C said she spoke french “un petit peu” ( a little), Emma said Merci, and Mel B asked in her usual sexual-toned way “Quel age as-tu?” (How old are you?).
* Geri seemed genuinely sad when she talked about only 2 shows left for the tour.
* Mel B didn’t swear once during the concert.
I know I’m missing quite a bit. Lack of sleep is affecting my memory. My fiancee will help me fill the gaps later on tonight 😛 Oh, one thing I couldn’t believe. The 3-4 girls that sat beside me literally did just that. They sat through the entire concert. Even though everyone else in the section (and the arena) were up an their feet, waving, dancing, singing along, etc…, they just sat there. Oh well, to each their own I guess.
The show came to an end at 10:15, which made my fiancee happy since it meant she would have more than 5 hours of sleep before starting her new job. Come 10:25 we were already on the highway back. Whoever designed the parking at Bell Centre should talk to the folks over at Scotiabank Place, where it can take up to an hour just to leave the parking lot after a hockey game! The trip back was entertaining to say the least. There were a lot of fog patches where I could barely see 10 feet in front of me. Even though we stopped at Timmy’s and McD’s on the way home, we still managed to pull up to our driveway at 12:25.
All in all, this tour rates in probably the top 4 or 5 concerts of the 60-80 that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Its hard to imagine that this is probably it for the Spice Girls (so they keep on saying). They seem to genuinely be having so much fun on stage with each other and with the crowd. It would be a real shame for us, and for them, if this would truly be their farewell tour. Regardless of what may or may not happen after this tour ends, both my fiancee and I have to thank the Spice Girls for 2 very fun and memorable nights that will forever remain etched in our memories.
Videos I took:
[youtube nFYxdqf8r88 Say You’ll Be There]
[youtube J7Ts-treuYo Viva Forever Intro]
I only managed to get the intro as a guard came up to me to remind me that videotaping the concert wasn’t permitted, even with a digital camera 😛
I took a lot of pictures of the concert. They’ll be posted in my photogallery soon, but in the meantime, here are a few:
Luc "Sandman" G. 
Quite a bit of excitement in the last couple of days. Tuesday was trade deadline day in the NHL. Murray didn’t do much for the Senators, bringing in Martin Lapointe from Chicago for a sixth-round draft pick. Lapointe isn’t expected to make a big splash on the ice (where he will likely replace the injured Chris Neil), but more for his leadership in the locker room. The big shockers at the trade deadline was Pittsburgh winning out in the Hossa sweepstakes. No one saw that one coming. Everyone believed Hossa would end up in Ottawa or Montreal. The Penguins will definitely be a team to look out for in the playoffs. They certainly won’t be pushed over like they were last year by the Sens. The lack of trades by Ottawa at the 2008 deadline said 2 things to me. Murray was giving a wake up call to the team, telling them they are good enough as it is. Secondly, that Paddock’s time as a coach was running out unless things changed. The Sens showed their appreciation to Murray by losing 4-0 to Boston. This was their first back-to-back zero goal losses since 2000! I thought they hit the bottom of the barrel with the 5-0 loss to Toronto on Monday. I guess I was wrong.
Ahh Saturdays. I didn’t do much… Just the usual weekend housecleaning and a bit of shoveling. I’m giving away free snow for anyone who wants some. Local pickup only. 🙂