I mentioned in my last post that my darling wife, Isabelle, had surprised me with an early birthday present in the form of passes to the Quebec City Summer Festival (Festival d’été du Québec). She booked a hotel room for us for the nights of July 9 & 10, as the Foo Fighters were headlining the festival on the 10th. Another check off of my list… see the Foo Fighters in concert.
We headed out bright and early on Sunday morning for our 7.5 hour drive to Quebec City. A brief pit stop at Starbucks, and we were on the road. We arrived in Quebec around 2:30PM and checked into our hotel. We had stayed here earlier this year, so we knew the location and comfort level of the hotel. After freshening up a bit, we headed out on the 15-minute walk to Old Québec and spent the next few hours wandering around sightseeing. Supper at Le Chic Shack for some burgers, and then off to Chocolats Favoris for dessert. Mmmm….
We had a nice quiet night at the hotel after that, taking a swim in the pool (which we had to ourselves) and then crashing with some Netflix. A quiet night to rest up and relax for the big day ahead.
The next morning, we headed out for another couple of hours of strolling around Old Port City Quebec, and then back up into Old Quebec itself. As we were wandering, we happened to come across the boutique hotel where the Foo Fighters were staying. There were a few folks hanging around outside, hoping to get a chance for a photo and/or autograph, but we carried on walking.
We had a solid lunch at the 3 Brasseurs, knowing that we would not be eating an actual supper what with being in line for the concert. To whit, we went up to the concert site around 2PM to scope out the line. There were already a good number of people waiting for the gates to open at 6PM, but where it wasn’t too busy, we opted to sit in the shade for another couple of hours. We moved into the actual line around 4PM and waited patiently for the gates to be opened. By the time we got through security and filled up our water bottles at the free fountains, there were thousands of people crowding the stage. We moved into the fray and staked out a spot a good distance away, but not far enough that we’d need binoculars to see. It did not take long for the crowd to swell around us and we were lost in the sea of 80,000+ people.
The opening act was a group called Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls. Isabelle and I both loved this group. We stopped by a record store the following morning before heading back home and picked up a couple of their albums. For any fans of Folk/Punk Rock… check them out…
Up next – Greta Van Fleet. They were an entertaining group as well, but our spirits (and bodies) were dampened by the rain that moved in early into their set. Rain that soon became a torrential downpour lasting the better part of an hour.
As fate would have it, the rain stopped just minutes before the Foo Fighters were to take the stage.
I cannot fully express how much fun the concert was. From top to bottom, Dave Grohl and company brought their A-game. They ended up playing a 2.5 hour set spanning nearly their entire catalogue. (The one notable exception being the album Sonic Highways…sadly)
After two and a half hours of heart pounding rock and roll, the show came to an end and we ambled back to our hotel room some 20 or so minutes away. It was an evening that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I can only hope to get to see them again soon enough.
Musings of A Boxhead 
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