j. englishman at the Playdium was the third show in a series of shows at playdium which showcase young Canadian bands. So, doors were supposed to open at 6pm, but we (my friend Lauren and I) ended up getting there just before 5:30, so we decided that we were going to go to Second Cup to get something to drink, but just as we were heading in, Lauren looked across the street to the MuchMusic building, and she noticed that George Stroumboulopoulos was outside. So, naturally, we went across the street to go talk to him. So he's talking to some other girl, and then he notices me and waves. Then he comes over a little later, and he's like "hey katie g! what's new?" so then we were talking, and i told him that i got accepted to Ryerson, and he said congrats, and told me that one of the camera guys went to Ryerson for the same program as me, so then i was talking to him for a bit about Ryerson. Then Lauren goes to George, "Wow George, you're like, a big star now! you've got all these girls around you!" and he's like "nah, i'm just the same old motherfucker that i always was!" and we all just laughed. Then we talked some more, and took some pictures. So then he finished taping that weeks' edition of MuchNewsWeekly, and he was talking to some other people. Then Lauren and I noticed that it was almost 6:15, so we went over to George to say bye. I asked George if he was going to see any bands tonight, and he said he was going to Weezer, at which point Lauren and I became very jealous :) We asked him if he had extra tickets, and he said that he couldn't even find his own. So then he gave me a hug and kiss goodbye, and gave Lauren a hug, and we were on our way to the Playdium.
As we headed into Playdium, they gave us a play card with one free hour of play time on it. We checked out the first couple of bands, but we got bored really quickly ;) We decided to go up and play some games, but after we'd played 3 or 4, the card ran out. The rest of the time, we basically sat around on any chair, couch or game exit that we could find, trying to kill some time before j. went on. At one point, we were standing on the second level in a little niche watching the band that was on stage, and these people from Rogers' ID came over to us and asked if we wanted to play some "englishman trivia" for a chance to win some trivia, so i'm like "YEAH!" So they go, "okay, first question! What is j's middle name?" So then I yell out, without missing a heartbeat, "DANIYEL!" And they're like "uh-oh...she knows her shit!" Then they asked 2 more questions, like "what job did j. have before being a musician" (sold balet shoes...i didn't even let them finish asking the question before i answered that one!) and "what is the town that j. grew up in," (Kingston) which i answered correctly. Then on the second last question, they asked "When did j. get his first guitar?" and i was totally stumped! I couldn't remember for the life of me, so i was like "umm...16?" and the guy was like "NO!" and he goes to Lauren, "okay, if you can get this one, it'll be a tie game!" so Lauren guessed a few numbers and then said, "14!" and he's like "you're right! tie game!" Then he goes "okay, this ones for the t-shirt." Then he looked down at the question, then looked up at me, and hes like "Shit, you're going to get this one for sure!" And I laughed (I thought they were going to ask "who is j's sister") Instead, he said, "what is the name of j's cd?" and i yelled out "POOR LI'L ROCKSTAR!!" And he laughed and gave me the t-shirt.
Then we still had a lot of time to kill before j. went on, so we were sitting on these comfortable chairs on the second level. Finally, the announcer guy came on and said, "okay everyone! there's half an hour left until j. englishman!" and Lauren and i looked at each other and we were just like "FINALLY!!!" So we headed down the stairs to find ourselves a good spot up front. (Not that we had to worry, because there weren't many people there!) So this band called Tofu Kitchen went on, and the majority of the audience must've been their friends from high school, because they knew all the words, and they were going nuts moshing. (I never got bodychecked so many times at a high school bands' show.) Soon enough, they went off stage, and Lauren and I moved in to Front-Row, Centre. Then I looked behind me and noticed that the crowd had entirely dwindled, and there was like, no one left behind us. At that point, Dana from the j. englishman mailing list noticed me, so I called her over to come stand with us.
Soon enough, j. took the stage. He opened with Breaking Down, and provided thrilling renditions of every song on his cd, minus My Song. He had an all new band with him this time, but the only names I caught were Mike, the guitarist, and Colin, the drummer. A few times during the set, j. came to the speaker directly in front of me, and sang from there. He talked less in between songs during this show than he has in previous shows that i've seen him at, but I would attribute that to the fact that there weren't very many people in the crowd. Right after Don't Mean A Thing, they left the stage, and the announcer-guy came on, and said "hey guys! there's still more j. englishman to come!" Then he left the stage, and the band came back on (i really didn't see the purpose of that...but anyway...) So j. goes "hmm..what song haven't i played yet?" and, as the rest of the audience is yelling out "More!" i yell out (very loudly) "MY SONG!!" (Dana started laughing at me!) But, needless to say, j. played More. He did it without the "audience sing-a-long" section that he usually does in live shows, once again, probably because there weren't many people in the audience. Then, he went offstage. (for real this time)
So then we had to call Lauren's mom to come pick us up, but i was determined to talk to j. (Lauren only met him once before, in passing, at the Edwin concert, so she really wanted to talk to him) So then, after we were done at the phones, we went back to the stage area, and I called the announcer-guy to come down. He did, and i asked him to ask j. to come down and talk to us. He said, "I don't think i can do that!" and Lauren's like "Tell j. that it's his best friend, Katie!" (Then i started laughing) So he went up to check if j. would come down, but he said that j. was in his "private room" and he wasn't allowed to go in there. So i asked him if i could at least have a set list, and he said okay, and went to get me one. (The set was: Breaking Down, The Hero, Abused, Pure, Staring at the Sun, Fade, Flowers for Ophelia, The One Thing, Tripwires, Don't Mean A Thing, encore: More) Then, we decided to go outside, because we were meeting Lauren's mom at the corner of John and Richmond.
So we saw Dana outside, and started talking to her for a bit. Then Lauren noticed that Colin (the drummer) was standing around, talking to some other girls, so i decided to go over to him and introduce myself. So, after the girls left, he turned to me and smiled and i said, "Hi Colin-the-Drummer!" and he kinda shook his head and he's like "hey! how'd you know my name?!" and i said "j. just announced it on stage" and i smiled. He's like "wow, i didn't think anyone could hear, cause it was so loud in there." And i said "well, i own a fansite with all the band members on it, so i try to pay attention." Then he asked my name, and we were talking about the site for a bit. Then i was mentioning how "j stood me up - he didn't come out to talk to me!" and both at the same time, Colin and i said, "ugh! that bastard!" (jokingly, of course!) Then i was showing him the article that i wrote about j. in my school newspaper, and he said wow, that's really cool! and i was talking to him about drumming for a bit, and mentioned that i'm a drummer too, and he's like cool! Then i asked him for a picture, so we took one together. Then Lauren was kinda giving me pointed looks, cause she didn't want to miss her mom, in case she drove by (even though i knew that there was no way that she could get down there that quickly!) so i said, "okay Colin, well, it was nice meeting you, but we have to go meet someone on the corner now!" and he laughed and he's like "the corner, eh?" with raised eyebrows, and i said to him, "yeah, we need our sex tonight!" He laughed again, and he said "well, everyone needs their sex, which ever way you want to get it is up to you!" So then we parted ways, and Lauren and i headed to the corner.
There were tonnes of people around, because of NXNE, and this one guy, who was in all likelyhood drunk, came by, and he kinda freaked Lauren out, so she's like "katie, i'm scared!" so i'm like "well, do you want to go back to playdium, cause there's lights and security guards out there?" and she said yes, so we headed down the street once more. As we were going, Lauren mentioned that she wished j. was there, and i looked up and i'm like "He is!!" cause he was standing in front of Playdium with a couple of autograph-seekers. So then I just kinda slipped into the crowd, and j. looked up, and he's like "Uh-oh! Here's Miss Trouble! Hey Katia!" (he always has new nicknames for me!) So i smiled and i'm like "hey j!" And he's like "Hey Caterina, what's up?" Then I pulled out the newspaper article that I wrote about him, and he started to read it, and when he got to last paragraph, where i wrote that his live show is even better than the cd, he got this big smile on his face, and he kinda looked up at me and he's like "awww! thanks!" and then he's like "Do I get to keep this?" And i'm thinking *shit!* because the copy that i brought down with me was my advanced copy, because i'm the editor of the paper, and the actual paper hadn't gotten printed yet, so i'm like "Umm...no! I just wanted you to sign that one, but I'll get you a copy next time" and i smiled, and he just gave me this look, and i started to laugh. Then Lauren talked to him for a bit, while i talked to this guy, Jake, who i met at the Horseshoe show in October. Then, I could tell that j. wanted to get going, but i had one last request for a picture, so i said, "hey j...one last thing..." and he's like "what?" and i grinned, and pulled out my camera. So he laughed and he's like "okay, get Jake to take it" So i gave the camera to Jake, and j. put his arm around me, but then he started pulling me backwards, and we were like, stepping on each other's feet, and i'm like "AHH! j!! where are you taking me!" And he kinda half-laughed, and we stopped when we got to right underneath the lights (so that the picture would actually turn out!) so then j. goes to me "okay, lets make this a good one - Katie and j. giving the devil sign outside playdium!" So we had our arms around each other, and with the other arm, j. and i both gave the devil sign. Then Lauren got her picture taken with j. After that, we really had to go meet Lauren's mom, so he hugged me and Lauren and that was it. :)