The 2001 US Pure Tour in 16 Riveting Chapters:
One man's mission to see every Pure Tour show on the North American continent
Chapter 5
MONTREAL, QUE
I awoke from the northern Vermont slumber to the most bright, pleasant day. Finally I could see all the scenery I'd missed the night before, traversing quite dark twisty interstate but narrow roads. Something I couldn't see last night was how snowy the terrain was. I thought this was so cool given that it was already late April. Coming off the long drive from Boston in the pitch black of the earliest morning, I hadn't given thought to the elevations I'd climbed.
But now I was finally seeing the home state of Ben & Jerry. I had hoped to stop into a Wal-Mart for some cheap supplies before crossing into Canada, but it was not to be. I laughed at what the locals must call "The Burlington Crawl". There were speed traps everywhere, and everyone slowed to a snail's pace.
I had planned to drive to the sliver of upper New York State before entering Quebec, but I saw the sign for the car ferry across Lake Champlain so I went for it.
Back in New York State, it was only 15 miles to Canada. It would be the last time in my home state for over 3 weeks! Making sure to gas up before jumping the border, I pulled up to prostrate myself before the French-Canadian border guard.
I cross into Canada regularly but it was unusual to be given so many questions to answer. "They were always polite," to quote Gary during his bout with customs in India. You see, this was the week that protesters were wreaking havoc on Quebec City during the International Summit. The border guards were extra vigilant.
After convincing him that I was merely attending the tour and not taking jobs from Canadians by working with Gary's entourage, he waved me through.
My first order of business was to visit a small town on the way to Montreal called Napierville. I wanted to see what kind of town was using my namesake. The evening before, Numanboy explained that it was a small racing town, and that his father had raced there some time ago. Finally I saw the sign:
I thought it would be fun to strut around like royalty and flash the Visa card like my family owned the town. There were two problems with my diabolical plan. First, English was hard to come by. I couldn't explain how my great-great grandfather founded this town after jaunting down the mighty St. Lawrence River during the 17th century. Yeah, right, just as well I suppose. But secondly, it was the weekend, so most businesses were shuttered. Still, it was fun to see my name on all the storefronts: Napierville Auto, Napierville Florists.
As I was perusing the Napierville Drug Store, my cell phone began to ring. It was my former shotgun rider Mark Darmofal. He was eager to learn what he was missing. I told him about Napierville and about how good the sound was at the Numan show in Boston. Right then he promised himself as well as me that he would definitely be going to more shows the next time round. He gave me his best wishes and we signed off. It was time for Montreal.
The last time I was here, Jamie (as featured in the 1998 Charlotte Chapter 11) and I were in town for the Grand Prix in 1999. As I made my way downtown I found a reasonable place to exchange currency, and began to scour the streets for Cafe Campus where Gary would play his first Montreal date in over 20 years.
I found a great private lot close to the action where a friendly guy in a shack welcomed patrons with a smile and kind words, be you French or English. After trading money for a car ticket, I brought my camera, stuff to give away at the preshow, and walked towards the preshow party spot at Cafe Depot to see if anyone else was a couple hours early. Nope. Michel LaFontaine did help me pick out a great spot though, right next door to the venue, and with great seating and tasty coffee for the weary traveler.
I decided to kill some time by checking out the local businesses. I was looking for a place to eat, but an internet cafe caught my eye. Inside, all the TV sets inside were tuned to the rioting in Quebec City just north of me. Never having used one of these cafes, I asked the initial stupid questions after which he showed me to quite a nice large monitor to play with. He wiped the table and seat for me and went back to watching the live riots.
My inbox was full of Numanoids wishing well and suggesting last minute plans for preshow parties for cities that had none. One of these was from Tamatha a/k/a "Dominion Dame" who wrote:
hi hi hi!
I'm not even sure you are still nearby... but I wanted to say I'll be at the
Toronto show and look forward to meeting other "friends" of Numan. Would
love to try and arrange a preshow party... not sure how to get a hold of you
to let you know. I'm flying out of here (Calgary, AB) on Thursday and will
be in Toronto until Monday morning after the show. I'll be checking a
hotmail account while I'm away and hope that something comes up so we can
all party with the man himself after we've had our own pre party! If there
is a way to contact you in Toronto... please advise.
Cheers and happy voyages!
I gave Tamatha my car phone number so she could perhaps call on my way to Toronto. I would email everyone on the daily Numan digest to call me on the road if they wanted info about possible news on that evening's preshow party in Toronto. So I posted:
Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 12:53:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Polare Bear <polarebear@excite.com>
Subject: Road report from the NAGNFC
Hello Numanoids of the World! Jim `The Machman` Napier here sitting in
an internet cafe in sunny Montreal. This tour has been brilliant. It`s
been a kick to see you all at the shows and pre-show parties. I`m helping
to host the party here in about an hour.
Last night`s show in Boston was incredible. The sound mix was tweaked
to perfection, and the crowd screamed for Gary for long after the house
lights came up. I was surrounded by the quintessential Numanboy, Hopey,
Gemma, and the usual ` 20ish girl who has been a fan but is her first
show`that I have encountered at every show.
In attendance tonight will be a who`s who of Numanoids as well. I get
to meet Julia Bentley, NAGNFC Numanoid Of The Year 2000 as well as Michel
LaFontaine who is co-hosting tonight`s pre-show shindig.
Props to all who have said hello to me with your kind words for the
NAGNFC website as well as to Mark Darmofal, who was a most excellent
travelling companion for the first three shows. I have no one to dig maps
out of the backseat for me now!
4 shows down, 12 to go! Look for 150+ pics on the website upon my
return.
Signing off from the Great White North!
Across the street and upstairs, I found one of those great vinyl record stores, an increasing rarity in the 21st century. I found a couple old Canadian pressings of Atco Numan releases as well as a vinyl record from Jane Siberry I'd only had on CD. It was very small but somehow they managed to fit a small band to play whilst us patrons browsed. I asked the counter folks if they were going to see Numan's big return tonight. They genuinely wanted to, but had to stay and work the store's late hours. Still, I handed out NAGNFC business cards and I was on my way. As I made my way down the stairs to the street, one of them physically ran down after me. I had mistakenly skipped him as I passed out cards. It seems a friend of his was a big Numan fan and would love to get one.
Still, no one at the Cafe Depot, so I purchased some of its homemade pastries, my yearly quota of strong coffee, and hunkered down with a local newspaper. No sooner had I done this as Michel walked in with a couple of friends. I thanked Michel for being a huge help with this gathering. I couldn't have done it without him. After some more Numanoids showed, I held the now customary free raffle and handed out prizes. Everyone in attendance won something in fact. No one walked away empty-handed. Before long, I suggested we get a good place in line. It was already 7:00 with an hour to go before the show.
I was stunned, the line was enormous, and the doors wouldn't even open for an hour. It was great to see the turnout. My new friends and fellow preshow attendees chatted about Numan. As I was speaking, Gemma sneaked past and pinched my cheek and said hello. It was then I learned Gwenmars had not made it across the border and Gary was none too pleased about it. It was almost a comedy of errors. The border guards were being stringent anyway due to the current events, but it didn't help matters that the Gwenmars roadies had records. I had originally thought the band had never got the papers to work in Canada. It was said they wouldn't be seen again until the Cleveland show. Gary was to be the only act this evening. I never saw Julie Bentley, but after running upstairs for a good spot front and center, I saw Jim and Anabel Collins on the side of the stage. I waved them over to Michel and myself.
I explained to Jim about the Gwenmars fiasco, but at home isn't Gary used to flying solo? Jim and I were giddy as the lights went down. It was as if it was our first time. We high-fived each other and screamed in joy as Gary himself crooned and swayed before us, and the 498 other people.
The Quebecois are known to party, and they didn't hold back when Numan came to town. The crowd cheered enthusiastically after every song. They made a lot of noise for 500 people.
On the way out the door, I said hi to Beryl after which I saw a PulseTV camera interviewing the crowd as they left the room. They motioned for me to come over in French. Instinctively I waved but kept walking as my French is near non-existent, but they could and probably would have dubbed my comments afterwards. Darn, I should have told them about my exploits and about the NAGNFC, but as it was I flowed back into the crowd and outside.
Jim Collins and I met folks who had attended Gary's last foray into Montreal in 1980, with incredible pictures to prove it. Soon after, Gary came out to speak with us as well as the band. David Brooks and Tony Webb were victims of a minor flu bug and turned in early, but Richard, Gemma, Steve and Gary remained to hang with us.
"Surfin" Steve Harris took the above picture, and then accidentally dropped my camera. He was quite apologetic, but I tried to assure him it wasn't expensive. Steve didn't hide his playfulness with Jim's wife Anabel, never stopping to compliment her in some way. Steve and Richard hung with us for some time, even though it began to rain. Is that dedication or what? They've traveled the world, they didn't need to speak with us, but there they were.
I said hello to Gary again and welcomed him to Canada.
Soon, the bus and crowd began to filter into the nightcity's heartbeat. The party revelers were already beginning to clog the streets for their myriad adventures. Jim, Anabel and I walked a block where they saw me off. "Now you drive carefully young man," Jim said to me. I wouldn't see them again until Cleveland. They would remain in town for the jazz festival. After some hugs among the three of us, I meandered back to my car and found the way toward Ontario.
I hadn't yet left Quebec and began to feel quite tired. Motel Quebec seemed as good a place as any and I fell asleep to the Purified CD and the riots on the TV.