Hoochee mama, what a wild weekend in Toronto! Lots of people have already commented on the actual See Vous Play event itself, and I'll get to my own thoughts in a bit but I also wanted to mention how much fun the CBC Radio 3 and Bandeapart gang had in the Big Smoke over the weekend.

Besides being in town for Sunday's International Music Day (the original impetus for See Vous Play), we arrived one day early on Saturday September 30 just in time for a massive city-wide public art event called Nuit Blanche, where, as the name implies, everything was free, all over town, all night long.

I inadvertently ended up down on Queen Street West where the sidewalks were jam-packed with people walking in and out of all the little galleries that now line that area of the city. Art had taken over unconventional spaces as well, including car washes, empty lots, sidewalks and even directly in the middle of the street. Of the many incredible displays I took in from 11:00PM to 4:00AM, some of the highlights included the girl with the curly hair sleeping in a plexiglass box, Three Stooges films being projected on the side of a building, slowed down and to a score of horrific noises attached to each slapstick blow, an instant and ultra violent pillow fight between girls in pajamas, refereed by a man in a black bow tie, a human torch, a massive ice sculpture melting inside a car wash, and many incredible paintings in a plethora of galleries large and small. Even bought one!!

My only regret is that I didn't take in the all night action at the Trinity Pool (though I did speak to one soaking wet guy on Queen who got kicked out by a lifeguard for "swimming wasted"). We also just missed the 3:00AM elevator to the top of the CN Tower by three minutes, but I was exhausted by that point anyway.

The other exciting aspect of visiting Toronto on any given weekend is the amount of famous faces around town... in just three days, CBC Radio 3 producer extraordinaire Chris Kelly and I crossed paths with Hayden (walking through Parkdale), Gentleman Reg (at Nuit Blanche), Aerosmith's Steven Tyler (having lunch at Cora's, pointed out to us by a homeless person), Sloan drummer Andrew Scott (at the airport), Hockey Night In Canada's Ron McLean (outside CBC), and the first lady of rockabilly herself, Wanda Jackson (at the Cadillac Lounge). Chris even scooped me an autographed photo of Wanda, which inexplicably says "John - Rock On! Wanda Jackson ‘ 06". Uh... thanks.

As for See Vous Play, all I can say is thank you to the incredible audience that the show attracted. It was a huge thrill for me to speak to so many great music fans, and hear so much encouraging feedback. Thanks to Alejandro from Ecuador, Misha from Poland, Terry from Detroit, Michael from Shelburne Ontario, and the many fine folks from all over Toronto who made us feel welcome- fans such as Peter, Anand, Billy, Shelby, and Shannon and Lauren (the knitters).

It was especially formidable to also meet and work with the beautiful and talented and pregnant Natalie Poirier from Bandeapart as well as the rest of the Montreal crew. My favourite moments of the show were like many of the other attendees: being totally blown away by the showman and womanship of Les Breastfeeders, and getting the rock n roll chills from Joel Plaskett and the Emergency when he played "Love This Town", and the song of the summer, "Million Dollars". Thanks again to all who took part in See Vous Play, with a special mention to our music producer Don Pennington for his incredible and tireless organization, and a shout out to Chris Kelly (the guy in the three piece velvet suit) who actually came up with that perfect title - See Vous Play- for the event.

And yes, I passed out face down later that night.

See you on the radio (or this weekend at Pop Montreal!)