My colleague Harvey Métal has recently posted some helpful words of advice for the FME revelers of Rouyn.
It’s worth at least a half-assed translation…

1. Procure a supply of a Gatorade-type drink. You will inevitably risk dehydration during this weekend’s festivities and having a bottle by the bedside will replenish those much needed electrolytes and the sugar will provide the initial jolt to pickup where you left off the last night.

2. Try performing some « Nadeau Technique » (please search for it on YouTube!) Harvey swears that it’s what your body has been missing. It’s great for limbering up (and for keeping youthful and supple in general) before the shows start. It may also serve to impress that special someone at the end of the night…

3. Procure some kind of easy to carry rain gear. Harvey swears by Canadian Tire/Canadien Pouf brand Emergency Ponchos. The weather up here is notoriously unpredictable. And we all know that God is well known to be quite egalitarian with his wrath. (Maybe a bit overly egalitarian in these parts since the Quiet Revolution)…

4. Make sure to buy your re-useable FME 2012 plastic mugs. Very convenient and safe (and ecologically responsible) for venue to venue drinking. 
FYI: You can tell the real FME veterans by the large carabiners they use to secure their mugs to their person.

5. Save a contingency fund of at least $4 cash for a poutine at Chez Morasse. Your belly with thank you at the end of the night.

6. If you’re technologically inclined and have a smartphone surgically implanted in you or otherwise permanently attached, download the FMEAT 2012 app. It’s got everything, info on the artists, venues and a schedule… and most importantly an interactive map to keep us foreigners from wandering into the mine or smelter or whatever it is while stumbling to the next gig.

And with that my friends, you should be ready for anything the festival has to throw at you.

My tentative plan for tonight is to take in Alex and Kem at the 5-7 show, Timbre Timbre (I’d be all about seeing Radio Radio if I hadn’t seen their incredible show at the Opera House in Toronto a couple of months ago), and Qualité Hotel to cap off the night. But we’ll see how it goes. 

Stay tuned, I’ll let you know how things play out.

Cheers,

Dave, aka Zeus