Oh Messy Life #6: Very official business
Plus saying "I dupe," initial impressions of All Hell, Meaghan's MIDWESTERN ROAD TRIP, Jax in YEG, and a Proper Chune courtesy Charli XCX
Welcome to Oh Messy Life, the column that goes to Edmonton for 48 hours.
From the front seat of my parent’s SUV, I can see teenagers — dozens of them — strolling the downtown avenue.
New grads.
Their hair and makeup are TikTok-modern. Broccoli undercuts for the boys, e.l.f. dewey setting spray for the girls. From the neck down, however, they are timeless. A youthful rush of silk tuxedos, satin ballgowns, and shiny shoes. They sparkle like shattered glass as they cross the intersection and walk towards the Convention Centre, their black silhouettes made broader (more Albertan??) by the headlights of idle F150s.
Has it really been fifteen years since you crossed that stage? Since the limo and the dinner and the flask that made the room spin? Has it been so long since you were young?
I turn left off Jasper and pull up next to the curb. Down the street, Mom and Dad in suit and dress huddle by the parking meter, purchasing time.
Tonight Bealby Point is playing The Dive Bar (real name) across from the Convention Centre. I’m here to support and take some photos. It’s a classic rock-n-roll scenario. Eager shutterbug documents young upstarts. Captures the old magic. Saves music. Magazine covers ensue.
I grab my cameras and step onto the street.
It’s 7 p.m. and the late spring sun is slung low in the prairie sky. As a kid, I spent a lot of time wishing I was older. I was younger then, but less alive, less vibrant.
I open the front door and step into the dim light of The Dive Bar. The Bealby boys are on stage, sound-checking in shorts and t-shirts. Next to them, there’s a TV showing the NHL playoffs. Dallas is trailing Edmonton 2-0 at home.
The days are getting longer.
Oh Messy Life
“I dupe”: While in Wild Rose country I also picked up my new wedding band, which I had shipped to my parent’s house to save on taxes. Who knew Costco sold Tiffany dupes? I can’t share pics til after the wedding, but I highly recommend.
Following last week’s interview, I had the pleasure of streaming Los Campesinos! new record, All Hell. Without giving too much away, I think it might be the band’s most approachable record since Sticking Fingers into Sockets, which is really saying something. The album drops July 19. Early favs: “To Hell in a Handjob,” The Order of the Seasons,” “Feast of Tongues”
- ’s Bandsplain hit number 1 on Spotify’s music podcasts chart. Could it be related to a recent co-sign from Mizz Hayley Williams???
It’s only June and already
has won the summer with her new column, MIDWESTERN ROAD TRIP. Her interview with Titus Pullo, Chicago's road food king, also mentioned something I’ve been long fascinated by: the supper club. Read it here.Oh and my sister, Charlotte, met Jax Taylor (of Vanderpump Rules and The Valley fame) at a brunch he hosted last weekend in YEG. She writes:
“He touched every table. He drank like a fish. At one point someone asked him if he wanted a ZYN and he said ‘If it’s not cocaine I’m not interested.’ He also said that his co-star, Kristen Doute, (who he hooked up with ages ago) gave good head.”
💀💀💀
Proper Chune
If you aren’t listening to BRAT rn what are you even doing???