| Sleep was hard to find in homes around the world the night after the first concert. Diane received e-mails from both sides of the Atlantic from envious fans who had read our posts on the guestbook and wished they too were there. A BRUNO MOMENT - Day Two Diane and I stopped at a bank to get some cash - the kind with a bank of ATM's inside the lobby. We crossed the threshold to take our places in line and were greeted with Se Rever oozing from the ceiling speakers. Really. It was a BRUNO slam dunk, we were on our way to another gold medal! Then we were off to Laval to collect Jocelyne, Denise and Sandy for an excursion into the Laurentians. Leaves have begun to turn, we anticipated a great day to see Fall Colours. And it was. The sun shone, the hills were turning. The views were spectacular. When at last we arrived in St. Saveur, the streets were full of retirees enjoying the crisp autumn air. We dined at a lovely little French restaurant, stopped to shop then tried to find the Lac St-Agathe. Somebody must have tidied up and put it away in a safe place, because the never found the lake. Luckily orienteering is not a skill required during a Brunothon. But the look for it was lovely. As the sun began to lower in the western sky, anticipation began to rise. Concert Two was approaching. NEW CAST OF CHARACTERS Diane's sister-in-law, Millay, from Venezuela, but residing in Montreal was attending her first Bruno concert. She speaks fluent Spanish, excellent English but only a smattering of French. But she knew about pantalons a cuir. Who needs more French than leather pants et ooh-la-la? Once again we dropped the car at Madame Chaput's. We met Lisa, Cynthia, Denise and Sandy in the Lobby. Johanne and her two friends, one all the way from Alaska, had not yet arrived. They were coming from across the city and the Laval bound traffic was bad, we didn't expect to see them until the last moment. Every good Brunothoner knows that you only lose points if you aren't in your seat when he steps on stage. While we waited for the others we were pleased to see Thierry sitting behind the souvenir booth. He kissed his auntie on the cheek when he arrived and stole the hearts of all the grandma's waiting to see his dad. Cute kid...he's going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up. Cynthia had brought flowers and things for him to sign and Autograph Session Two. Denise and Diane and Jocelyne and Lisa all had new objets d'Bruno for presentation. We are saving the frankincense and myrrh for the December show. The common theme was, "How could this concert be better than last night's? He could wear his leather pants! It appears he has forsaken the leather trousers, although Kim and the band did both nights. He could wear a T-shirt that shows some skin when he moves? Better yet, Friday night he wore his mesh shirt, semi-transparent, moves like silk and rides high when he dances, yet teases when he is standing still. Yummy! Denise calls it the "N" shirt...you'll have to ask her why! THE SHOW, DAY TWO We don't know why, but Bruno decided to crank it up a notch, moving from the perfection of Thursday night to a state that left us speechless. There is no superlative on the planet in any language that can capture his Friday night show. He knew it was good too! The B man just danced off the stage after his final encore, whooping and hollering. He needs a lot of love that boy. He isn't happy till his audience gets loud and proud! THE STORY OF MATHIEU No show that I have attended where Bruno was the solo artist has ever been the same. Part of his magic that he is capable of ad-libbing and not afraid to improvise. He is fearless on stage. HE SINGS TALL FOLKS and HE PERFORMS BIG! He had begun to intro a song when a small boy in the second row, to Bruno's right caught his attention. While the band repeated the opening riff, he sauntered over and asked the lad why he was displeased? The little fella was only about 5! His mother said that Mathieu had come that night to hear Cathedrales. Bruno explained that it was coming, but something about the way the lad reacted made B turn to the band and ask them to stop playing. One the band played just a wee intro to Cathedrales. Bruno passed the mic to the closest body on stage. He hunkered down. The follow spot tightened and the audience held its breath. He sang a chorus and a half of Cathedrals unmic'd and a capella to the boy. Sigh! When he finished he asked the boy if that would do? The ungracious but honest 5 year old said no. Bruno laughed turned to the rest of us and said, "He must be the critic for Le Devoir!" THE AISLE SEAT Eagerly you have been awaiting the tale of the second aisle seat, I know. Please take out your hankies, for it is sad but true that Denise did not get her Bruno moment. Friday night he did not run up the aisles! THE LADY FROM ALASKA We left the theatre together to queue for the autograph session. The lady from Alaska, who speaks no French, was grinning from Lachine to Terrebonne. I recognized the symptoms immediately! The aftershock of seeing Bruno for the very first time. And what a time! He had conquered again! THE AUTOGRAPH SESSION - 2 We had just seen the show of a lifetime how could our Brunothon get any better? But it did. B recognized Denise and took time to ask her questions. He had practiced saying Nebraska - I think he even went home and looked it up in the atlas - and made her feel ten feet tall (since she's only 5 '2 - you get the picture). While he was conversing with her, he began to say something and stopped. He had remembered that she wasn't the one who had given him the translation. He looked up and past her to see a beaming Lisa across the hall. He shouted out for all to hear...this boy knows how to inspire undying devotion. He shouted, I read your translation last night. It was very good. Maybe I will be able to use it sometime! Lisa is was 20 feet tall. (since she's 5 11, you get the picture.) Cynthia presented her official Bruno cap which he signed on the brim with kisses! X X ....Cynthia was over the moon! (she somewhere in between Denise and Lisa in height...you get the picture) BACKGROUND Our Brunette, Diane, has a not-for-profit business going supplying Bruno addicts around the world with videotapes and cassettes, press clippings and all sorts of Brunobilia. She does it from the heart and tirelessly. Her home has been turned into a dubbing studio. Her shelves are filled with tapes labelled with the intended owner's name. All the Bridge is indebted to her. She earned her gold medal months ago! BACK TO THE AUTOGRAPH SESSION Tonight Diane brought with her a photo of Bruno taken at the stage door in London. It was taken by one of the European members of the Bridge who had travelled to England carrying a present for Daniel Lavoie. The photo has Bruno smiling holding Daniel's gift. It is a great picture! That is the picture Diane presented on night two to be signed. He stopped looked up - puzzled again. She said, no I'm not the one who took it. He smiled and continued. Yes dear reader, Autograph Session Two was even more exciting than 1. THE AFTERMATH We agreed to regroup at the nearest St-Hubert. St-Hubert is the official deposit point for the ADISQ ballots. Bruno is nominated. We were going to submit 10 ballots all marked for _____________. You're disqualified if you can't answer this one. Unfortunately it was closed, so CHENOY’S had the pleasure of our company. We were giddy, rowdy and hungry with shock! We had a gold medal laugh, then left for our respective beds. Day Three had already started! |
