Friday, 10/7/05
6:00 pm ­ I finally arrive in Montréal's to attend the 2005 Black & Blue Festival (B&B). I am more than ready to have a kick-ass time.

Saturday, 10/8/05
4:00 am ­ DJ David Knapp has a nice diversified groove going for the Leather Ball and the first song I hear is phenomenal: "Spanish Hustler" by Tom De Neef. The crowd has a great energy about it and this fine Parisian is flirting with me in French. I smile and blush.

8:00 am ­ I'm in my natural element ­ an after-hours party at Club Stereo ­.enjoying Harry "Choo Choo" Romero. He's banging out hard house tracks with a bit of an edge: a nice contrast to what you hear at a typical circuit party. And he has pleased me to no end with a terrific re-edit of "Reach" by Lil Mo' Yin Yang and "FlyLife" by Basement Jaxx. Kudos to BBCM (organizers of B&B) for adding Romero to the DJ line-up.

11:30 am ­ I meet friends for brunch at Saloon. It's so nice to talk to them at normal volume vs. shouting over music on the dance floor. It's also nice to watch the talent walking along St. Catherine's Street. Wow!

7:00 pm ­ I'm staying at the La Conciegerie Guesthouse. It's a great place and the hot tub in the basement provides a perfect ending to a night of dancing. I've got three friends as roommates for the weekend and we're taking naps before the Military Ball.

Sunday, 10/9/05
2:00 am ­ The Military Ball just isn't clicking. DJ Manny Lehman is in standard good form, but other aspects of the party seem lacking. By normal circuit standards the Military Ball is far from a disaster; but by the higher B&B standards it's falling well short of the mark.

11:00 am ­ Now, this is more like it! The Military Ball After-hours party is at Stereo and Stephan Grondin is proving why he is one of Montréal's leading DJs. His progressive style has a sexy quality to it: a nice compliment to the frisky crowd. So frisky in fact that one of my partymates is kindly escorted from the premises after getting caught with his mouth full in a bathroom stall.

10:30 pm ­ Is there anything more fun and filled with anticipation than the subway ride to the Main Event at Olympic Stadium. It really is a cool venue for an event of this type and magnitude.

Monday, 10/10/05
8:00 am ­I have been at the Stadium having a blast for the past nine hours, hanging out with 15,000 of my closest friends. The opening DJ, Eloi Brunelle, did a fantastic job with a groovy and energetic set. He was followed by Chus & Ceballos, who set the place on fire with their underground tribal sound. Then a true house music legend, Danny Tenaglia, took the Main Event to a level not normally experienced by us American circuiteers. It was a set filled with the familiar (i.e. "Music Is`The Answer" and "Safe From Harm") and often presented in long form (15 minute odysseys bringing the acapella, dub, and vocal versions together seamlessly). While DT's set confounded some, there were many who appreciated this master at work.

10:30 am ­ My roommates and I left the Stadium about 30 minutes ago and are licking our lips while standing in line at McDonald's. There's nothing tastier than a McMuffin sandwich and hash browns after 11 hours of dancing.

10:00 pm ­ Despite a logistics snafu, I was able to get some much needed sleep. I came here to the Main Event after-party at Club Parking to hear DJ Paulo. Unfortunately his set ended at 8 pm and we didn't get here until 9 pm. That's ok because this decidedly local crowd is quite friendly and the current DJ is very good.

Tuesday, 10/11/05
2:00 am ­ I arrive at Stereo for the Recovery Party and the place is packed. The energy level is off the charts and this music is completely on point as opening DJ Max Hébert is whipsawing the crowd like there's no tomorrow. When he plays "Most Precious Love" by Blaze with the dance floor singing the chorus while throwing their hands in the air, it becomes clear that this party is about to be very special.

6:30 am ­ When DJ Victor Calderone took over from Hébert a few hours ago he took the Recovery Party up several notches with his reinvented style that he describes as more progressive and edgy. He was feeding off the energy from the sweat-drenched crowd and the dance floor was enthusiastically responding to whatever he threw its way. That jolt of energy felt throughout the galaxy at about 5:00 am Eastern was the dance floor's explosive response to Razor 'N Guido remix of "You Used To Hold Me." This party - my seventh of the weekend - has been an amazing end to a great weekend.