Life

Céleste 5.0, Charles and Rock n’Roll

Rédigé par Sabine Démosthènes

MONTRÉAL – En un beau vendredi en fin d’après-midi, j’ai rencontré un homme intriguant. Et oui, vous avez bien lu. Ce fut le meilleur 5 à 7 que j’ai eu de ma vie. Il dégageait une authenticité quand il s’exprimait autour d’une très bonne bouteille de rouge.

Sa voix m’était pas inconnue car, il a la même voix que son papa qui fut un mentor pour mon homme. J’ai dû me ressaisir un peu car, cette voix et cette ressemblance m’a troublé pendant quelques minutes mais je ne voulais rien laisser paraître.

Ce que j’ai adoré avec ma rencontre avec Charles, et vous commencez à reconnaître mon style d’entrevue, c’est qu’elle a été conduite dans une simplicité et que ça ressemblait beaucoup plus à une conversation entre amis qu’une entrevue.

J’espère que vous allez vous laisser emporter dans l’univers assez rock n’roll (dans le bon sens du mot) de Charles Goyer.

Ensemble, nous allons découvrir son univers à sa façon.

Un grand merci à Charles Goyer et nous devrons refaire une autre entrevue en parlant que de George Harrison!

http://www.lacelestelevure.ca/fr

The best band in the world! Why?

Written by Sabine Demosthenes

MONTREAL – It took me a few days to write about the best damn show of the year, which I saw at the Bell Centre last Thursday, September 20th, 2018.

You may have heard of a certain Paul McCartney, Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray, Abe Laboriel Jr and Paul ‘Wiz’ Wickens. If not (and that would be a major surprise!), I strongly recommend going on YouTube to watch some videos, see one of their concerts live (or on iTunes) or buy their latest album: Egyptian Station. It is actually the number one album in Canada.

It was my second time seeing them live and you know what, it felt like it was my first time.

Why?

Simply because they have the ability to give the best concert you will ever saw and make you feel part of it. Even if it’s been more than 15 years of being together as a band and they have played in the biggest arena in the world, you feel this special feeling watching a fun band in a small club.

Where do I begin my review?

First of all, the sound quality was perfect. The sound crew are probably the best there is. You could hear each instrument and each lyric with such clarity. I’m sending my shoutout to Paul McCartney’s sound crew!

Second, I was happily surprised to see some new members such as….. (I am waiting on Macca’s team to give me the names of the horn players)

The best part was seeing a band having fun and being happy doing what they love. I still get chills with just the thought of it.

I won’t write all the songs they played, but I will be all nostalgic and say it was a beautiful marriage between nostalgia and the future.

How?

They played the Fab Four classics. They jammed with the sound of Wings, but they played some of the new stuff on their brand new album. They played with such ease considering it was 3 hours non-stop. Paul spoke in French on top of it all! He was very good.

Ok, I’m must admit, I cried like a baby during the rendition of Something. Like big time! But I am not ashamed.

Rusty and Brian were giving us some serious guitar riffs and the band did a little shoutout to Jimy Hendrix.

Wix was, as always, the ethereal keyboardist. I was pretty close to the stage and could see Abe and Wix exchanging some funny faces between them, having the biggest smiles on their faces.

Oh oh! Speaking of Abe. One sentence: The best drummer of the 21st century. I rest my case.

For me, there are probably two bands in the world that seem to be so alive and so happy on stage. Bruce Springsteen and The East Side Band and Paul McCartney and his boys. I saw some Bruce Springsteen shows on DVD, but I haven’t gotten the chance to see him and his band live. So for me, if I have to choose between the two of them, I’m team Macca.

For 3 hours, I didn’t think of what a certain person by the number 45 is tweeting or the current state of our beautiful planet and mankind. I was in a beautiful bubble with thousands of fans and my valentine being happy.

Being the music lover that I am, I imagined that I was jamming with them (It’s on my bucket list – jamming with Rusty, with Godin’s electric guitar).

As we left after the concert to go back to our little world, I was wondering if we would ever feel this beautiful, happy feeling of love again as that was what the concert was all about.

I guess we still can as Paul and his boys showed us.

Sex, Drugs, Rock n’ Roll and Food with Anthony and Eric

Written by Sabine Démosthènes

Montreal – In the twentieth and twentieth-first centuries, we have witnessed some of the most beautiful and powerful friendships. There were Ben and Jerry, Sinatra-Martin-Lawford-Davis Jr, Thelma and Louise, Affleck and Damon, Kidman and Watts, Brodeur-Obama-Winfrey, Obama and Biden and this list can go on and on.

One of my favorite duos includes two of the most well-loved and well-known chefs in the world. Their chemistry is palpable.

I’m still laughing about that Parts Unknown episode in Chile when they were hiking toward their cacao field in Peru. Tony was so, hmm… let’s say he wasn’t used to hiking like Éric was, but he kept walking (with a few F words here and there), enjoying time with his friend.

I will be honest with you guys, as a teenager in the 90s (1996-2000), the only time I saw the name Éric Ripert was when I went to my local library and saw Anthony’s book, Kitchen Confidential, on the stand as a new book. I found the man on the cover super sexy (I was a young, hormonal late teenager). I started reading the book. Anthony wrote about his first family trip to France with his parents and his younger brother and his shitty, bratty attitude. I was hooked. I was hooked to his ways with words. This trip was raw, funny and enlightening.

Years later, with Tony’s shows: No Reservations, Layovers, and Parts Unknown, I felt like I, and probably you too were part of their friendship or, should I say brotherhood. They spoke the same language of humility with a sense of gratitude for their chosen art. Their personalities just clicked, like soulmates.

What I really enjoyed with them was that I felt I could hang out with them, no reservations. You will see it in this next video I will share with you. I could clearly be in the corner cutting some hmm, let say the octopus and drinking my glass of wine, listening to their stories with my innocent mind … Not so innocent actually, but still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRJTKcNYMRs

Sex, Drugs, Rock n’ Roll and Food with the boys.

I will end this post with a nice quote from our dear friend, Jim Morrison.

”A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself”

https://www.le-bernardin.com

Vivre Le Grand Classique KR

Rédigé par Sabine Démosthènes

Il y a des moments où le temps semble s’arrêter pour un instant quand tu assistes à un moment magique. Et tu veux t’accrocher à ce sentiment si joyeux pour le plus longtemps que tu peux.

Le Classique KR 2018 fut définitivement un de ces moments magiques pour moi.

Le fameux Commentateur Haïtien et son armée de joueurs et joueuses professionnels et de hockey, d’humoristes et de personnalités publiques étaient prêts à donner tout un spectacle au Complexe Sportif Guimond.

Mais la star de ce tournoi fut la belle Laurence qui est la “bestie” à Kevin. Laurence était si rayonnante (j’étais à côté d’elle et de sa maman pendant que j’essayais de prendre des photos). Je peux confirmer qu’elle avait hâte d’aller sur la glace pour lancer le coup d’envoi. Ce qui était beau fut de voir une si belle amitié et complicité entre Laurence et Kevin. Kevin adore sa ”Laulau” tellement que le trophée du tournoi porte son nom. Voici une note à mes besties. Je veux un trophée qui porte mon nom. La barre est haute là. Je rigole évidemment.

Pour revenir à Laurence, elle est en rémission d’un cancer et elle a eu des soins à l’hôpital Sainte-Justine. Si vous avez la chance de lire le billet que Kevin a écrit sur sa meilleure amie que vous pouvez lire sur son site web, c’est vraiment touchant.

La Fondation Sainte-Justine est une fondation qui me tient à cœur. Sans les soins, le grand travail des chercheurs, des médecins, des infirmières et des bénévoles que j’ai eus il y a 35 ans, je ne sais pas si je serais en train de vous écrire sur le Grand Classique KR. Et je suis persuadée que ça serait la même chose pour la belle Laurence et des milliers d’autres enfants.

Je tiens à dire un mot personnellement à Kevin.

Merci à ton équipe et à toi d’avoir organisé cet événement si magique. D’un enfant qui s’est battue avec toute l’équipe de l’hôpital Sainte-Justine il y a 35 ans jusqu’au petits guerriers comme Laurence, merci du plus profond du coeur.

Je suis prête pour le Grand Classique KR 2019! Une commentatrice haïtienne, ça serait cool ça.

Site Web Officiel de Kevin Raphaël

https://www.fondationstejustine.org/fr/

So hard to say goodbye to Anthony Bourdain

Written by Sabine Demosthenes

I’m in total shock.

I’m in this weird, very bad dream where Anthony Bourdain committed suicide.

Can I wake up out of this terrible dream and this horrendous week?

Wake up!

It’s not a nightmare. This is real.

I’m on my train ride into city and I’m just crying. The young lady next to me probably thinks I got dumped by a boyfriend, but it way worse than that.

Anthony was one of the people I looked to in order to set an example as a good communicator, a good citizen of the world and to be the “enfant terrible” of my generation.

He made me feel like it was okay to be an outsider, to be different and to be real without being obnoxious.

His TV show, “Parts Unknown”, is a ritual of mine and my hubby. Anthony was such a good guy. Not the most perfect one, but you could see that he had this gentle soul, even when he was looking like a real rock star with all his tattoos and his attitude.

I am speechless.

My thoughts are going to his family, to his love, to Éric Ripert and to all of his friends, including the fans.

I wish I could write his biography, but you know what, if you want to know who Tony was, please watch all of “Parts Unknown” and read his masterpiece book, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This”.

I will write it until I’m dying, but for anyone that is struggling, please, reach out.

One of my favorite quotes from Anthony is:

“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal with him”

Thank you Chef!

Kate Spade is still shining like a bright star

Written by Sabine Demosthenes

Learning the news of Kate Spade’s death was unexpected and so sad.

Her name has been part of my repertoire since my “not so glamorous” teenage years in the nineties and into my early twenties.

I was always curious about the next handbag she would create, even as the minimalist kind of girl that I am.

But yesterday, when I learned the sad news of her death, I was reminded of when one of my high school classmates decided to end her life her first year in college. This classmate had everything going for her: beauty, perfect body, great hair, a sweet boyfriend and the status of one of the popular girls in school. At the same time, she was sometimes moody and seemed so sad.

Everyday, I would walk to school and our paths would cross. We walked the last 2 min to school together. She could sense that I was shy to talk to her. I would always give her my biggest smile, but then look down and walk faster. She would acknowledge my smile and my shyness.

There is not a day I don’t think of why I didn’t made the first step to being her friend.

She was my aunt’s neighbour. I still remember that dreadful February night when she called my home to talk to my mom who later told me that a young girl had died. She didn’t know I went to school with her.

By the time my mom was about to tell me the news, my best friend from high school had sent me an MSN message (yes, it was before Facebook messenger and texting).

I went to my room and picked up my high school yearbook, turning straight to the page her picture was on. I was numb. I cried.

I couldn’t go to the funeral because I felt so guilty about not reaching out to her. And I managed, with time, to face it but let me tell you, I struggled a lot afterwards.

Yesterday was a sad day.

But suicide is happening everyday. When someone is famous, we tend to be more aware because it is broadcasted across every form of media. But I would like to say, out loud, my thoughts about a specific thing I saw that made me so mad.

Why are outlets like TMZ, etc. are taking pictures of the body on a stretcher leaving the apartment building?!

I really get super mad about seeing a picture like this (by accident) because it is on the front page. Like when my classmate died, the local newspaper didn’t send a photographer to take a picture and put it on our Wednesday issue.

You get my point.

It’s a painful moment for the family and friends and everywhere you will go, this picture will be on every news outlet, tabloid and so on. It’s so awful and such a lack of respect.

For the young girl that lost her dear mom, for the husband that lost his wife and the mother of his child, to her family and to her friends, my thoughts are with you.

And to the tabloids, get the hell out and show some respect. Damn it!

In a way, she is still bringing lights into our life and she is forcing us having this really difficult conversations about depression and anxiety. Maybe this tragedy will save more lives.

For anyone that is struggling, please, please, please, we are here for you and there are some incredible organizations that are here for you. You are not alone.

We are not alone.

http://www.depressionarmy.com

https://www.nami.org

https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/

Humbolt is on our mind

During the whole weekend, every hour, every minute and every second, I was thinking about the pain of the family members and friends must be living at this exact moment wondering if their son, their brother, their friend, their father are among the victims of the horrific accident that happened Friday late in the afternoon in Saskatchewan.

My heart is broken but when I saw this picture, my spirit regain some faith.

The strong power of brotherhood.

They were all brothers. And that bond will never be broken.

https://www.gofundme.com/darcy-haugan-humboldt-broncos

https://ca.gofundme.com/funds-for-humboldt-broncos

The Chronicle