Squamish felt like a night where the categories people carry around quietly give up and go home early. James has a heavy metal band, though he talks about it with a Jack Black enthusiasm. It sound less like a genre and more a joyful conspiracy. James, who booked the show, was in attendance along with the bartender from Windsor. I think they are a couple. There was a moment where they stood close in that unmistakable way, holding each other like people do when the room fades a bit and the evening narrows to something private. It added a quiet layer to the night. No announcements. Just reality revealing itself gradually. Matt, the opening act, reminded me of Elton John. Not musically in a direct way, but in presence. Also, as far as I could tell, the only gay guy in his immediate circle, which consisted mostly of straight men. What struck me wasn\u2019t that fact on its own, but how completely unremarkable it seemed to everyone there. No tension. No signalling. No tribal choreography. Just people getting along, making music, sharing space. Felt oddly rare. The kind of social arrangement people talk about as a goal but don\u2019t necessarily achieve in practice. At some point I was approached by a woman who looked exactly like Catherine O\u2019Hara. Not a little. But exactamungo. Distracting in the best way. I thought of taking her picture for the O’Hara siblings, but next moment thought it pointless, they are mourning, the world is mourning the great star, gone. Later, she told me I could play her grand piano in a church if I return, she could arrange the show. Sounded like an invitation you hope the universe takes seriously. Hard to take seriously someone bearing such a strong resemblance to someone so funny. Please, universe, I do want to come back to Squamish. I loved the enormous wall surrounding this place they call the Chief. I gave a piano lesson sort of earlier at the library. It didn’t go well by the end. I offended the student with my views of the world. I stayed at the CRASH Hotel. Not the most reassuring name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"