Hi everyone! Went to the Montreal Stars on Ice show last night! It was great! Okay going to give you all a play by play.

Just to begin, the full cast is: Kurt Browning, Kristi Yamaguchi, Alexei Yagudin, Brian Orser, Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler, Todd Eldredge, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, Lucinda Ruh.

7:25pm. Sit down. Realise that the ice had not been changed in the Molson Centre. Big huge Canadiens logo on center ice. Guess they didn't have time to change it last night after the Habs beat the Bruins (Go Habs Go!) But I digress... My friend (who was sitting next to me), mentioned that it was extremely distracting. [...] Right before the show started, there was this mini contest and two people in the 200-level were brought down into the Golden Circle. (And sadly, it wasn't me!!! )

7:40pm. Show begins. Lights begin to dim. Screaming and cheeering begin. Old lady in front of me turns around and gives me a bad look.

1) Lucinda Ruh: "Superstar" by Joi Cardwell. We can see Lucinda in the dark and the lights flash quickly 2 or 3 times, just so we get a glimpse of her in a beige/pink dress, reminiscent of Nicole Kidman's Satine in Moulin Rouge. Suddenly, a spot light lights up and focuses on centre ice, and from the darkness, Lucinda appears and does a spin at centre ice. The spin didn't travel at all from the marker that limits centre ice. Crowd goes wild... Spot light dims out. Lucinda skates away in the darkness...

2) CAST: "Black Betty" by Ram Jam. Each member of the cast skates in. An announcer introduces the skaters by first name. Crows cheers especially for "Shae", "Vic", "Isabelle", "Lloyd", "Brian", "Kristi"... Crowd goes BEZERK for "Alexei" and "Kurt"...

3) Kristi Yamaguchi, Isabelle Brasseur, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Jenni Meno: "Lady Marmalade" sung by Aguilera, L'il Kim, Mya and Pink. I can't really remember this number, I just know that the vanity tables were on the ice and that they all had huge boas and they were basically playing "dancers" at the Moulin Rouge and that the people in the golden circle were really lucky!!!

4) Kurt Browning, Alexei Yagudin, Brian Orser, ie. Skate Gods: "Tango (La Cumparsita)" by Rodriguez, Contusi and Maroni. The Skate Gods skate around the ice, performing footwork sequences, jumps and such.

5) Todd Eldredge: "Lord of the Rings" soundtrack. Skates to his long program this year. Did a beautiful triple axel. Great spins. He might have cut it. The program didn't really project well with the audience though, I think it was kind of an anti-climatic compared to the previous numbers up until then.

6) Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz: "Michael Jackson Medley". They skated to this year's free dance. They cut part of the music from "Smile" and took out the move where Shae-Lynn is leaning forward with her elbow on her knee and Victor is running after her. Crowd started cheering like wild, even before they started. Lady next to my sister turned around and told her: "We have to give them what the judges didn't give them." I wonder what she is talking about? Anyway, they had INCREDIBLE speed and flow and Victor was really into it! He was like posessed by the spirit of Michael Jackson during this number! And yes, Shae-Lynn wore that hair piece all night (more on it later!). The lifts were great, although the one at the very end (that they fell on at the Olympics), looked really unsteady (like they were going to fall), but they hung on. Crowd went crazy throughout the performance, clapping to the beat and all. Old lady sitting in front of me gave me a bad look again. At the end, the crowd stood up and gave them a long standing OVATION. The first of many to come that night.

7) Kurt Browning: "Guitar" by Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies). Great music lots of footwork. According to Paul Delean at the Montreal Gazette, this "acoustic-guitar piece [...] ranks with the finest work he's ever done". However, I tend to disgree, I've seen Kurt skate numerous times, and I'd say this was one of his weaker ones (speed and flow wise). However, he still is a Skating God. Had a fall at the end (I think on a 3toe). The crowd went "ahh...". Still jeered and cheered. Think he got a standing OVATION. However, I am not quite certain...

8:05pm. ("Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I am sitting in the same building as Alexei Yagudin! Oh my god oh my god oh my god...")

8) Kristi Yamaguchi: "Gold" by Linda Eder. Absolutely beautiful number, crowd clapped for her spiral and ina bauer. I was ready to get up for an ovation, but I think that because it was a slower number, people were less keen on an ovation...

9) Jenni Meno and Todd Sand: "It Takes a Chair to Tango" by Filiberto and Penaloza. Number begins with Jenni in a chair. she doesn't move from the chair during the whole number actually! Todd Sand at first pulls her by the arm and makes her glide across the ice. They did a death spiral with the chair very cool to watch!

10) Brasseur and Eisler: "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS. Honestly, do not have even a vague recollection of this number. All I know was that it was great and got a standing ovation.

11) ALEXEI YAGUDIN aka SKATING GOD aka SEX GOD: "Overcome" by Enigma. Need I say more? Oh yesss triple axels!!! Standing ovation.

12) Kurt, Brian Orser, Todd Sand: "El Tango de Roxane" from Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Personally, I thought this song was wasted in a "prop" number. The song is so much more 'powerful' than that, but maybe it is just because I have seen "Moulin Rouge" too many times and am generally obsessed with it! Anyway, they were using the vanity tables to glide across the ice. It's still a cool number though.

13) Female cast: "Can Can" by Offenbach. Just remember that there were funny jokes...

14) Cast: "Because We Can" from Moulin Rouge. Hmmm I can't remember this one too much either!

INTERMISSION. (Sat in my seat waiting impatiently for the show to start again.

1) Lucinda Ruh: "Hurting Each Other" by The Carpenters. At first, I was skeptical that they put Lucinda Ruh with Stars on Ice. What I remembered from her was that she didn't do well at the international amateur competitions and that she couldn't jump, only spin. WELL!!! OH MY GOD THIS GIRL CAN SPIN! I now dumb thee SPINNING GODDESS... No, I take that back, instead I would say she is an ICE ANGEL. She was like floating on the ice...Anyway, this is a beautiful program choreographed by Bezic. Lucinda performs it marvelously and she has incredible flexibility and presentation skills. Her grace, flow, speed, elegance and body lines project so nicely on the ice. I'm sure that if she had had the jumps when she was an amateur, she would have won medals, because her artistry deserved 6.0... Oh and she does an absolutely beautiful Ina Bauer at one point. She got a standing ovation. And let me say, I hope to see more of her in the future!!!

2) Meno and Sand: "First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack. I must admit, that I usually find Meno and Sand boring, but seeing them in person really changes this. They have great speed, extensions and they project better in person than on TV... Oh and Jenni Meno is wearing an absolutely beautiful dress. My friend, who was sitting next to me, and who is studying in fashion design, kept commenting during the whole program about how Jenni's dress was beautiful, classical, artistic yet modern, and that the color of the dress fit her red hair to perfection. Anyway!

3) Browning, Yamaguchi, Orser and Ruh: "Oh Yeah" by Yello. Haha this song just made me think of Duff Man from the Simpsons. But this is a cool number, I will not give it away, but at the end the crowd was going wild--all due to Lucinda Ruh. I don't know who came up with the idea, but it was smart!

4) Brasseur and Eisler: "She Ain't Pretty" by Northern Pikes. This is very entertaining show number. Lots of laughs and clapping. As Paul Delean from the Montreal Gazette writes: "Nice to see Lloyd back in drag again." Hheiheihrhuehiha. Standing ovation followed...

5) Eldredge: "Your Song". Yes! My favourite song from Moulin Rouge. And yes! Her performed to perfection! I am so happy and so was the crowd. Not only did he give us a great show and great spins, he included triple axels! WOW oh WOW. Guess what? He got a standing ovation!

6) Bourne and Kraatz: "Sadness". Great hydro-blading focused number. Lots of really cool tricks. Third standing OVATION in a row, ladies and gentlemen!

7) Brian Orser: "Somewhere in Time". Alright. Can SOMEONE EXPLAIN to me WHY oh WHY the ORIGINAL SKATING GOD only has ONE (UNO, 1, UN) number??? Okay, I didn't really appreciate his skating before 1998. But in 1998, I got to see him skate in person. And then I fell in love. This man is AMAZING. This is what skating should be. He just floats across the ice and his speed is incredible and this number is just so sad (its about 1988 Olympics). And I really feel for Brian. Well, here's to you, Brian. In my heart (and head) you are an honorary Olympic champion. *snif* Anyway, I am not alone, the crowd gave him a standing ovation (that lasted quite a long time actually!) (Fourth one in a row, too!!!)

8) Yamaguchi: "Trust". There was something in this number that was lacking. Maybe it was because there was too much dancing, not enough skating. Unfortunately, it did not project very well with the crowd and there appeared to be something wrong with it, because I really like Kristi, but I actually thought this program was--dare I say it?--bor...no I won't say it... Let the guy from the Gazette tell you: "The only performer not particularly well served by her musical selections was former US champion Kristi Yamaguchi." (Although, I disagree, "Gold" was really great!) (No standing ovation)

9) Alexei Yagudin: "Winter". WOW. I won't even bother saying anything. If you want to know what amazing is, buy a ticket to this show, NOW!

10) Kurt: "Elevation". Wow, great number, crowd was going crazy. This man jumps outta nowhere!!! He may be 35 and balding, but this man is the best of them and his athletisism and showmanship is uncontestable.

11) Cast: "Superstar". Don't really remember this number, apart from it seeming kinda like a mess for the eyes.