Stevie Wonder at the Montreal Jazz Festival

Stevie Wonder at the Montreal Jazz Festival

I could not pass up the chance to see Stevie Wonder at the opening concert of the Montreal Jazz Festival. This freebie (yes, it's free) will be taking place at a brand new outdoor venue, which I have yet to see. I hope my friends will know exactly where it is because I certainly don't.

It's 4:00 pm on a hot humid Montreal day. That means that tonight along with the other 100,000 concert goers, it will be a steam bath. I can already see myself in the middle of the crowd unable to move and being seized by a wave of panic. But I'm going anyway...

I gave up on concerts years ago. I got tired of the drunks and being stepped on. Nevertheless, I'm going tonight, and I even have some...ah, expectations. For one, I hope that Stevie sings Superstition and not some silly jazzy version of it either. Yes, I realize that this is called the Jazz fest for a reason, but If I'm going to brave the crowds, only the funk version will suffice damn it!

I also want to hear Isn't she lovely because that was the song that was constantly on my mind when I was pregnant with my daughter. Okay, promise not to cry....There.

I've also heard that Stevie will be paying a tribute to Michael Jackson, so I'm crossing my fingers that he'll do ABC, Ben or some early Jackson 5 stuff.

My friends also have expectations. One of them thinks that if we get there at 5:00 pm, we can get a spot right in front of the stage. I hope someone told her that people have been arriving from Boston and New York for two days. The other friend doesn't like crowds and hopes that we get a spot on a patio, where we can hopefully have a few beers and watch Stevie on one of the big screens. I'm not sure either of these expectations is realistic, but I'm going with them for the ride.

I promise to take a picture wherever we might end up. I can already feel those pre-concert excitement jitters. A demain!