Marco Volcy’s album launch

update [8/02/2010]: S.O.S. can be downloaded as a free single from iTunes

Tonight Marco Volcy’s family, friends, and fans celebrated the release of his highly-anticipated album C’est moi at Metropolis.  Marco performed for roughly an hour for a room packed with a very enthusiastic crowd.

C’est moi is Marco’s second album, arriving ten years after Âme/soul.  I only heard Âme/soul for the first time recently, but from tonight’s reactions I’d say Marco’s fans think C’est moi was worth the wait.

Choose any song, watch Marco perform live, or listen to him speak about the album – it’s instantly clear that he’s poured all of himself into his music.  And the results are wonderful.

Marco said that, after the January 12th disaster in Haiti, he originally planned to delay the launch party out of respect.  Instead, he decided to donate $1 from every album sold at the launch to both the Red Cross and Clowns Without Borders.

C’est moi was released on iTunes and in stores yesterday.  Of course, I waited until the launch party to buy my copy, so I could have it autographed… and to support a good cause.

My favourite songs so far? C’est moi and S.O.S.

[this post can also be found at Foot in Each World]

More News on Former Players

Former Montreal Sasquat’ch players Jamaal Wise and John Ruffus have appeared on the Quebec City Kebs roster this past weekend. (It seems they were signed January 15th)

Meanwhile, the PBL player transaction page notes that the Kebs released Cordell Jeanty on January 21st. No reason was given, and Jeanty could not be contacted for comment.

Interestingly, the Kebs roster remains unchanged on their website (as of this posting), and Wise and Ruffus are mentioned only briefly in a game recap (French only).

L’Union Fait la Force: Dynamo vs Team Haiti

Hundreds of people turned out yesterday afternoon for the Dynamo vs Team Haiti benefit match, and they weren’t disappointed.

The game started off well in favour of Team Haiti, who led by as many as 29 before Dynamo caught up (just a little) to finish the half down 32-55.

I was actually starting to wonder whether perhaps this game was fixed.  But then Dynamo returned from halftime in full competitive form, closing the gap to a nail-biting tie 76-all with 7.1 seconds left, and then again at 78-all with 2.7 seconds left, where the score remained at the end of regulation.

The Dynamo could not keep up the pace in overtime, and finally fell to Team Hait 97-85.

The game drew the participation of numerous former Montreal Matrix/Royal players on both sides: Marco Volcy, Bobby Miller, Pascal Fleury, Manix Auriantal, Dominic Cambron, Claude Delmas, Patrick Perrotte, David Brownrigg

An article on the Dynamo site confirms that 350 people were in attendance, with over $7500 raised to benefit the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

It saddens me that this well-organized and clearly very successful event flew under the radar of the Anglo media, but I did see some press passes and someone in an RDI jacket, so hopefully they fared better in the French media.

Congrats!

(check out the photos on Facebook – or in the album below)

McGill Redmen beat UQAM

I’ve been a McGill student for 7yrs now (but why is a whole other story, and not a topic for this blog)… and I’m at least a little bit ashamed to say that this was my  first Redmen basketball game. (Ok, 2 seasons ago I saw them take on the Illini in an exhibition game… but I don’t really count that, since in reality I was there to see the Illini)

It was a close, exciting – and at times baffling – game…. in fact it reminded us a lot of watching the Matrix/Royal/Sasquat’ch take the court: strong start before the team started to waver, noticeable lack of team communication on the court, amazing incapability to sink any shots for awhile, refs missing a few calls which seemed obvious to us in the stands, and of course the shockingly similar number of fans in the stands.

Happily, McGill rallied at the end for a one-point win on their final possession… a feat the Matrix/Royal/Sasquat’ch so often failed to accomplish.  The win ends a productive weekend, since they topped 1st-place Laval on Friday (UQAM was #2 before tonight’s matchup)

Interesting to note was that former Royal coach Nevio Marzinotto and former Royal player Kevin Levy are both with the UQAM team now (or was it Matrix? even I can’t keep track of the seasons anymore…. peu importe).  I also noticed a few former players in the stands, including Kevin Dulude and Michael Moody.

I should mention that I only attended tonight’s game because I promised associate coach Denburk Reid (formerly of the Matrix and Royal) that I would attend at least one game this season… and I figured the start of the semester might be the most convenient time to go.  And, I had a new camera to test out.  Now, I think I could likely be enticed to attend another few, schedule permitting.

Community News

“Which do you want first: the good news, or the bad news?”

Everyone has a different strategy on that one… mine is always, bad news first.  Then, the good news cheers you up afterwards.

By now, everyone who isn’t living under a rock has heard about the recent tragedy in Haiti.  Tens of thousands – maybe even hundreds of thousands – of lives were lost, and uncountably many others were irrevocably changed.  It will undoubtedly take a long time for those who survived to heal.

That’s the bad news.

The first bit of good news is that once again, tragedy has brought out compassion and comparing in our community.  Among the myriad of fundraising and relief efforts in the works, I’d like to highlight three upcoming events.  (Please note that I’m highlighting them because I know at least one person involved… this is not at all a commentary on the value of these events over any others out there, nor on the agencies they benefit)

Thursday January 21st, at 18h, there will be a benefit concert at the Theatre Telus (1280 St-Denis, corner Ste-Catherine), in association with the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and Clowns Without Borders.  Former Montreal Matrix/Royal star Marco Volcy will be one of the artists performing.  Tickets are $20.  Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

Sunday January 24th, at 14h, there will be a benefit basketball game at CEGEP Montmorency (475 boul. de l’Avenir, Laval).  The Dynamo basketball team (featuring, among others, former Montreal stars Bobby Miller, Patrick Perrotte and Philippe Langlois) will face off against Team Haiti (featuring,, among others former Montreal stars Manix Auriantal and Marco Volcy).  Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 at the door, $5 for students.  Proceeds will benefit the Red Cross.  Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

Saturday January 30th, at 14h, there will be a benefit concert at Club SODA (1225 St-Laurent, corner Ste-Catherine), in association with Héma-Québec and the Red Cross. Former Montreal Matrix/Royal star Marco Volcy will be one of the artists performing.
Entrance is by donation.  Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

And for our second bit of good news, Marco Volcy’s long-awaited album C’est Moi will be released in stores and on iTunes, January 26th.  The album launch party is being held at Metropolis, January 27th at 17h.  Marco, formerly of the Montreal Matrix and Montreal Royal, is a very talented artist, and this is a not-to-be-missed event.  Visit the Facebook event page for more details.