10.30.2008: Montreal

It’s getting colder. There’s snow on the ground, but Lily, Mark, C and I bundle up and ride down along the canal that borders the St. Lawrence until we get to the old part of town. We stumble upon a couple of amazing costume shops and, as Halloween is tomorrow, we stock up. The shop is crowded — today must be their big day — and the place is filled with folks who want something beyond the traditional mass produced costume. The transactions are all in a mixture of French and English. I purchase some items for everyone and everything I buy is white.

The show is in a massive club, almost like a theater, with the front area reserved for standees. So this particular audience is on their feet from the start. Friends from Arcade Fire drop by — they’re in the very early stages of beginning a new recording — as does Dan Levitin, the neuroscientist at McGill who writes about music.