Urban Cowgirl Does the Junos

As you may or may not know possums, I am a smidge obsessed with celebs and have been known to migrate towards events that anticipate a star-studded attendance. So when I heard the Junos were coming to town, I knew I had to get involved. For my fabulous foreign readership, the Junos are Canada’s answer to the Brit Awards in the UK, the AMA’s in the States or the ARIA’s in Australia; an annual event showcasing and honoring Canadian music.

Following the announcement that Vancouver would indeed host the event – a mere 3 blocks from my pad – I quickly signed up to volunteer. Ofcourse, with volunteering there is never a guarantee that you’ll be involved in anything glamorous. There’s always a chance you’ll end up selling t-shirts or directing traffic. Luckily I made the cut to be an official ‘seat filler’, meaning when stars and their people go to the loo or hit the bar, you are to scooch yourself into their seat until they return so the seats seem full during the live broadcast. For example, “Oh hello Feist, I’d be happy to keep your seat warm whilst you powder your nose”, and such. This seemed to be my best shot at getting some face time with the glitterati, so I decided to get glam and hope for the best.

Allow me to set the scene: I am seated with Maestro Fresh Wes and his manager who offer me the ticket to my seat, in other words, I’m set for the entire show. Excellent. Not only do I have the best seats in the house, I am surrounded by Canada’s music elite. K.D. Lang and her partner in front of me, Loverboy in front of them. To my immediate right we have Bryan Adams, Michael Buble, Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, Dallas Green, etc. Buble’s Mumsy and Dad were right behind me. Celebrity vantage point – check. I quickly realized, however, that my new BFF Maestro was getting a little fresh with me (pun intended) as he creepishly caressed my hand when I introduced myself and invited me to hit the after parties with him. Sorry Maestro, this cowgirl is spoken for…however I’m happy to play the part of ‘giddy groupie’ to get my ass into an after party.

The Highlights

Nickelback rocked the house, kicking off the show with stripper anthem Something In Your Mouth amidst impressive pyrotechnics.

Russell Peters owned the show as second time emcee, opening with a Bollywood-inspired dance number backed by the Punjabawakis. Loved it. Some of his most notable jabs throughout the night were his references to Anne Murray’s ‘snowbird’, incessant comments about BC weed (which seemingly inspired the set) and a stab at Steven Page’s coke habit.

Sarah McLachlan performed an elegant and moving rendition of her latest single You Want Me 2, undoubtedly inspired by her estranged husband and former drummer Ashwin Sood. Sorrow inspires some of the best songs sadly.

Divine Brown was simply divine. This woman is sex on a stick with a voice to match! Sam Roberts, The Stills, and Simple Plan pulled off a few toe-tappers, despite performing three of the most over-played songs of the past year.

City & Color (insert school girl sigh here) didn’t disappoint and was joined by surprise guest Gord Downie to perform their hit collab Sleeping Sickness. Given I have a mild crush on Dallas Green, I did feel an inkling to trip his pretty VJ wifey as she scooted by me, but luckily I refrained.

Bryan Adams performed his new single (didn’t he retire to become a photographer?) Walk on By with singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards. Her endearing stage antics and sparkly personality made Mr. Adams himself blush several times throughout their performance.

Hawksley Workman – who has a serious set of pipes - closed the show accompanied by Great Big Sea and Eccodek.

Although Nickelback scored the most statues, Best New Artist and indie darling Lights delivered one hell of an acceptance speech for her big win, making this one of my favorite moments of the night.

The After Party

Thanks to my new BFF Maestro, I managed to secure my spot on the guest list and note which names to drop at the Junos After Party, hosted by do-gooder David Suzuki and the one and only George Strombopolous, ahem, my idol.

I arrived to a discouraging line-up but was delighted when I was easily whisked into the party as I explained I was ‘with Wes’. Ha. Apparently the theme of the event was weirdoes, wannabes and waifs as BC Fashion Week was also hosting a wrap-up event. I was surrounded by hungry glamazons people.

I meandered about the party for a few hours sipping on vodka and spotting celebs and the groupies that hovered around them. Ed Robertson from the Bare Naked Ladies was working the room while Sam Roberts and his band b-lined for the bar. K-OS, true to form, was present but shy and hid under a hoodie most of the night. The foxy brunette from Corner Gas was there (what’s her name again?). Then finally I set my sights on George. Strombo himself, looking rather rock-esque dressed in black adorned with his usual chains and black leather accessories. I love this man. We had a brief chat and snapped a few pics. By this time I was well on my way to crashing.

I never did run into Maestro again, but was satisfied with my ample celebrity consumption. Following one final lap of the buzzing room, I jumped in a cab and made my way home. Mission accomplished.

*After party photo credits - Urban Cowgirl