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Royal tease

Even stars flock to Duchess Says for New Year’s

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

It’s already been three years since synthrock began emanating from the Church of the Budgerigars, since Duchess Says began broadcasting the message of their “spiritual budgie” with old keyboards and rowdy guitars. When they’re not in church, in rehearsal or feeding pellets to drunks in bars, you may find them playing shows at golf courses, in shop windows or on vacant building sites.

In this festive season, when A-Claude, Ismael, Phil and Simon Says regularly play a benefit show to fund upcoming birthdays and religious celebrations, they’ve been booked at the petrochemical show with fellow eccentrics les Georges Leningrad and les Abdigradationnistes. They say the key to a great New Year’s party is “good mood music, friends and benediction,” yet their greatest New Year’s adventure, at Mont-Tremblant in 2003, featured almost none of these. But there must have been magic in the air.

“The original plan was to start the night at Phil’s family’s house, then move to our friend’s party. Because of the bad weather, we were forced to cancel everything and celebrate in silence.

“At the moment when our disappointment was at its highest, the most unexpected event happened. At the moment when our disappointment was at its highest, the most unexpected event happened. Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta Jones surprisingly showed up, after crashing their car a few metres away—the surprise of the year! We couldn’t believe it!

“We called the guys at the garage, and invited Douglas and Zeta Jones to sit down while we waited for them to arrive. They got comfortable, then we asked them 157 questions. Sincerely, it was pure pleasure to ask Mike about The China Syndrome’s unusual sets, and astonishing to learn more about the scandal surrounding America’s ‘sweethearts.’ C’était magique. Ça l’a plus que fait notre soirée.”

With les Georges Leningrad and les Abdigradationnistes at Théâtre Plaza on Sunday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m., $20