What Glasto FOMO?

Indeed, what Glasto FOMO, I hear you say. It cannot be possible, surely, that someone one month into a five month backpacking trip could possibly be feeling marginally sorry for themselves about their absence from a music festival. One that happens every year (unlike said backpacking trip), and that said someone has been to at least 5 times.

Belize it or not, it does exist. Ugh, what entitlement! In my defence I did have a ticket and the line up this year is ah.maze.ing. In March I dallied with the idea of waiting until after Glastonbury to begin my trip, and then quickly realised that it was a very bad idea, not least because I would have had to find some work for that extra month.

I arrived in Vancouver today, amid the Glastonbury social media blowout. Envy strikes! Well, I've been wanting to see some live music since I left. Sad that my timing for the Hall and Oates show in Toronto was about as good as my timing for Canada Day (i.e. very bad), Vancouver was my next chance to catch something. And luckily I've arrived right in time for the jazz festival, hurrah!

The Templeton. This afternoon's spot for a well-needed refuelling after the 6 hour bus ride from Kelowna.

After some rapid Googling it turned out that Seu Jorge would be playing at the Orpheum tonight. This is Seu Jorge, hugely famous singer in his homeland of Brazil and throughout Latin America. Billed as his performance of the music of David Bowie, à la his turn in Wes Anderson's Steve Zissou and The Life Aquatic. Half of me thought I should just go to bed, as I'm still full of a cold and my recent piercing has been throbbing away, making me worried about infection. But the other, more sensible half, told me that I must go and not miss this opportunity for some amazing live music, and who knows, maybe the sheer joy will put me on the road to recovery!

Tonight's venue, the famous Orpheum.

Luck strikes again - when I rocked up to the box office and asked the lady if they had any tickets left, she said "how do you feel about a front row seat?". Of course my reply was "I would LOVE that but how much is it?!" To which she replied that they were the cheapest tickets and had just been released as the organisers thought the front row view might be restricted. But it was not. Wahooooo!

It was incredible. Jorge played his versions of many of Bowie's hits, punctuating each pause with an anecdote about how he had come to be in the film, the experience of filming it, or what the next song meant to him. My hands are up, I haven't listened to much of his music before. But this whole evening was captivating, this one man on a stage with his guitar, belting out these songs in such smooth yet powerful tones, songs that are so familiar and that I love so much, but that were, at the same time so new to me when hearing him sing them. Hard to describe, really, but it was magic! A wonderful start to my stay in Vancouver. What Glasto FOMO? Indeed!