Montreal

Last night ended up being a lot of fun, in retrospect. It was a really late show, unfortunately, seeing as we had four bands on the bill on a Monday night, the third band also having technical difficulties that took a while to figure out before they could continue their set. Everyone was really nice, though, and I think a good time was had by all, except that a lot of people left before we could even get on. Oh well, sometimes you play a show for one person (not literally, but you know, that one person makes it worthwhile), and this show was like that. There was the girl from France that we met ahead of time, and apparently she'd heard about us in France through Myspace and was really excited to see us live, because she's visiting in Montreal for four months. There was definitely a difficulty in communicating, though, as she was just learning English and I know next to no French, but I think we made due. At any rate, she came up after we were done and was really happy and kept telling me how glad she was to have gotten to see us, and how we should be more famous and she tour Europe, etc etc, so that was good. I'm glad she was able to make it. It fun to try exercising my grade 9 French a little bit.

There's another girl that came out to the show that apparently saw us a year ago or something in Vancouver, so she offered to let us stay at her place now that we're in her neck of the woods. Sounds like we're going to stick around here all day and drive out for Halifax tomorrow, which is somewhat of a relief, cos I was feeling like I needed a day off. Her apartment is really nice and I had an amazing sleep last night (just woke up at 2:30), and we get to sleep here again tonight, so I think I'll be well rested for the drive, which is fabulous. We're also going to get to tour around Montreal a bit tonight, so that should be good too.

Anywho, I think that's about it for Montreal. If I have time I'll post my impressions of the city after doing the touring around. Oh yeah, and as a disclaimer, I'm writing these posts pretty fast, hence bad grammar/punctuation, etc. My Internet time is a bit frantic these days.

Oh yeah, and if Jesse's reading this, I dreamt last night that you moved to Boston. Weird.

Toronto/Montreal

I'm sitting at the venue in Montreal currently, drinking the massive beer that we get for our one drink ticket. That's ok, though, because this is probably equivalent to 2 and a half beers, by my estimation. I think maybe I'll drink half of it now and half later, though, because it's definitely big enough to get me juiced before the show, and I don't think I want that to happen (already did that in Waterloo, anyway).

Last night we played Toronto, which was a bit of a bummer. I was feeling really tired before the show (didn't get much sleep the night before), and it translated to the show itself. I think we were all a bit out of it, including the crowd, because between each song there was more or less dead silence. Our big mistake was acknowledging the awkwardness, which only made things more awkward. By the end of the show I just wanted to get off that stage. Apparently there were a bunch of girls that drove four hours to see us play, so I felt even worse after hearing that. Oh well, the people we talked to said it was good, but I don't know that I necessarily believe them... whatever, lackluster shows are bound to happen when you're playing this many, especially when you're playing this many in a row. I'm really looking forward to the drive out east the next two days because it will give us a bit of a reprieve from performing. Plus I really just want to get out east.

So I don't have much of an impression of Montreal so far, other than that it's kind of funny how everything's in French. It's more French than I expected, because I'd heard that everything out here was French first and then English, like on signs and stuff, but apparently not. So far the girls are as cute as I've been told, too, and the accents totally, umm, accentuate that, if you will. Other than that, Char and I had some not-so-genuine genuine poutine (served by a cute French girl with a hot accent), and now we're waiting to play at the club.

I See London, I See France

So we just played our show in London, and it was wicked! It was in this little pub called "The Alexander P. Keaton" (I guess whoever founded the pub was a big fan of Family Ties). There was no stage whatsoever, so the bands played in the corner, in direct proximity to the audience. It was definitely cramped, but really "intimate", for lack of a better word. It also made it a lot of fun, though, because I was able to get out into the audience and dance while I was playing the songs I don't sing in. This was especially good for our song "We Said Goodbye", where I play bass and which can tend to deflate any momentum we've gotten going with the previous five songs or so. We played with the band "The Love Machine", who we played with in Ottawa. Those guys are great. One of the best parts is that they'll come up and dance their hearts out when we're playing, which really helps get the rest of the crowd going. Char seemed to think that a lot of people came to see us specifically tonight, though, so that was good too.

Anyway, it was a total blast and we had pretty much everyone dancing by the end. We even played an encore (having cut out Camelot from the regular set so that we'd have something to play in case they wanted another one). I even got to have the crowd sing along in Give It a Night on the "aah aah aah"'s. That was a lot of fun. I keep waiting for the day when the crowd knows all the words so I can stick the mic out like a true rockstar and they'll keep the song going, if you know what I mean.

Whatever the case, tonight was rad. What's not so rad is that we have to be out of the hotel by 11:00 tomorrow morning, which means not a lot of sleeping in for me (maybe for some, but if you consider that I've been sleeping until 1:30 typically, 11:00 isn't much). We're heading out to Waterloo tomorrow, and apparently it's going to be a Halloween party, so maybe we'll dress up. Hope it's a good show, but London has set the bar rather high. Good times.

Knock-down, drag-out

I'm sitting in MY OWN BED in a Super 8 motel somewhere in London, ON. Yeah, that's right folks, our room has three beds, so I get my own tonight and tomorrow. Yay! Last night was a lot of fun, though, cos Char and I had a total sleep-over. We usually end up sleeping together anyway, but last night totally reminded me of sleep-overs like when I was a kid and we'd stay up all night telling stories and laughing into our pillows so as not to wake the parents. Thankfully it sounds like we were successful in being discreet, b/c our host Evan's girlfriend had commented to him about how quiet we were.

Today was a day off, the majority of it being spent in Guelph. Char and I went to this huge Catholic church that was built sometime in the 1800's, and it was amazing. Apparently it was modeled after a cathedral in Europe somewhere. If you're ever in Guelph I highly recommend that you check it out. You can't miss it, anyway, cos it's on a hill overlooking downtown.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of the three of us having a shouting match in the van whilst parked in 2 hour free parking (which I think we sat in for a total of five hours or so). After I'd yelled my piece I took off and the girls had it out for at least another two hours or so. Thankfully I think it helped some, because things seem a lot better now, although I'm not naive enough to believe we've reached any sort of resolution. Oh well, I'll take what I can get at this point. My sanity may be preserved for yet another day.

The evening was spent driving almost entirely, the part on the highway being great, the part driving around London for about an hour and a half looking for a hotel, not so great. Oh well, we managed to stumble upon the venue for tomorrow night's show, not to mention what seemed like the rest of the freaking city, so at least I'll know where to go to get there.

I've just been sitting in bed watching music videos on Youtube and listening to iTunes and I've concluded that I really enjoy playing shows. Last night was a lot of fun, and I'm actually craving playing some more. I mean really, this is what I've wanted to do since I was 16 and had just gotten into the Blue album (I'm listening to Weezer currently, which is why I bring that up). Yeah, it can be a total bitch sometimes, but all in all I'm very lucky (should say blessed) and having a great time. Much more than were I back on Grouse slaving my life into oblivion, I must say.

And I think that's about all I have to say about that. There's still a lot of tour ahead, but right now I get to sleep in a bed by myself two nights in a row, and that's good enough for now.

Guelph

Ok, so we just played a show at a club called the E Bar in Guleph, Ontario. Definitely didn't know what to expect going to Guelph, but the venue was really nice and the promoter was great. She bought us all dinner (well, I didn't have any because I had just eaten at Taco Bell, but you know...), and even took us out for drinks afterwards. It was really funny, though, because she knew pretty much everyone at the bar we went to for drinks afterwards. As a matter of fact, the reason we went to this particular bar was because the guy we're staying with tonight (I'm in his house right now) was hosting some "music trivia night" there, and she asked us who it was and we were like, "Umm, Evan?", and she was like, "Oh yeah, Evan.", and totally knew who he was. Small town.

Anyways, the point of my post is that I think I like Guelph. The bar reminded me of Drumheller, but we dropped our gear off at Evan's studio, which was really cool, and now we're staying at his house (which he owns - he can't be any older than me), with hardwood floors and creaky stairs and the whole works. I can totally imagine myself living here. Kind of a little fantasy scenario, but if you've ever heard my song with "I lived in a house with hardwood floors", this is pretty much what I was talking about (I guess I should really give that song a title). Anyhow, I'm getting this Steve Reed-esque vibe out of the place and this guy Evan, in a way I can't adequately describe. I guess you'd have to be in my head to understand, but I know what I'm talking about.

Yeah, so that's that. We played Toronto last night, which was OK, but the best part was seeing Matt and getting to hang out with some peeps. We have the day off tomorrow, and then play London on Friday and Waterloo on Saturday. Should be interesting. After that it's Toronto again and then eastward ho. So far I've really been enjoying this touring business, for the most part, anyway, personnel difficulties notwithstanding.

Oh yeah, one more thing. I was out having a smoke with Evan on his porch and asked him how long he'd been here, etc etc. Apparently he's lived here all his life and has no aspiration to leave, despite that most of his friends have moved to Toronto (it's only about an hour away), and I respect that. Maybe someday I'll set down in a place like this. Besides, there was this really cute girl at the show tonight. You never know...

So Much For Good Intentions...

Yeah, so it didn't happen. I had the time, and I suppose I even had the will to do some writing in here this afternoon, but alas I watched a bunch of videos of Noel Gallagher online. I think it was worth it, though, because he's hilarious. He's probably one of my favourite guys to watch an interview of. Look him up on Youtube and you'll see what I mean.

Well, I suppose there's no time like the present to get things started, though, so I may as well type until I get sick of it. I can't go for too long, though, cos I'm pretty tired and have to get up relatively early to catch our flight to Ottawa tomorrow.

Anywho, today was pretty uneventful. Got to sleep in (thank goodness), so hung around the hotel until about 2 or so and then went out with Tiff to grab some lunch at a diner down the street that had been recommended to me during the last trip. If you're ever in New York you should definitely check out Katz's Delicatessen on Houston in the Lower East Side. This place was the genuine article, and apparently a very popular joint, as it was extremely busy. I even got a taste of the New York experience I've been looking for the whole time when some dude and some black lady started screaming at each other while they were waiting in line to order. Apparently the lady thought the guy was threatening her, and the guy seemed to think she was a bitch (I kind of got that impression too)and they screamed at each other until security arrived and broke it up. The rest of the visit was fairly uneventful, save for the fact that a Pastrami sandwich (which Katz's is apparently famous for) was worth $15. I guess I was paying for the experience, too.


After that we headed back to the hotel after doing a bit of shopping and I sat in the lobby and watched Noel Gallagher videos, as I mentioned before. Char showed up shortly thereafter with beer, so we headed upstairs to the room and drank said beer and took funny pictures on my Macbook. We were hoping to see Spoon play tonight, seeing as we missed them on Thursday night, so we took off for the show around 10 after buying more beer and drinking it too. Turns out we must have just missed the show, but it was over by Times Square so we took the opportunity to walk around and see the sites. What an experience! That place is so crazy it made my head swim (the swimming may have been aided by the beer we had been drinking, but it was still a spectacle). Then we headed over to some restaurant in Chelsea that Tiff's mom had recommended. Good food, but not necessarily worth the walk or the money we paid. Whatever, it was cool.

And now here I am, rethinking my "journalling my experiences" strategy as it sounds pretty dry when I actually write it down. Oh well, I'm sure it's stuff I'd like to remember someday, so I guess I may as well, if only for my own benefit.

Yeah, and now I think I really will go to sleep. It's only 1:20 am Vancouver time, but that translates to 4:20 in New York.

At any rate, perhaps my Coles Notes versions of the preceding days in New York will be more interesting when I actually have time to put them on here.

Until then, onward and upward!

Good Intentions

So I've been meaning to start journaling my tour experiences, especially now that I have my shiny new Macbook (that's right folks, I finally got it!), but thus far haven't had either time or compulsion enough to do so. Tonight is no different in the sense that I'm still not going to write anything significant, other than that I've decided to at least state my intentions of eventually putting something down about what I'm doing with myself these days, if only for my own reference in less inspiring times.

Yeah, so there you go. And might I add, whilst I have the fortitude to do so, that I'm really, really enjoying being on the road and playing music and experiencing new things and meeting new people. I really wasn't sure how much I'd like touring, but it turns out I love it. It also proved to me just how much the whole 9-5 day job thing was killing me, creatively. I can think of nothing more stifling to my creativity than having a 40 hour a week job that I'm a slave to. But, of course, this is just me, and should not serve as a reflection on anyone else, nor is it a general statement I'm trying to make about the working world in general. It just isn't my thing, when what I want my thing to be is music, and the aforementioned creativity that seems to have been so hard to come by for me for the last four years or so.

Hmm, not sure if any of that makes sense, but I think that I'll understand what I was trying to say when I read this in times to come. And I think that's about all I have left in me right now. I seriously need some sleep (not to mention a shower), so I think I'll retire and finish listening to my Noel Gallagher podcast, which is quite good, I must say.

Ok, well hopefully I have some time to just sit around and write about my experiences tomorrow. I feel like if I don't get on it soon, I probably never will, so there you go. I may not have a digital camera with which to chronicle my adventures, so the written word will have to suffice. Let's hope it actually happens.

Until then.

The Great Procrastinator

Yeah, so I'm just wasting time waiting for the hockey game to begin, heartily avoiding the fact that I really need to pack for the next leg of the tour, which starts tomorrow. Not sure why packing seems like such an insurmountable task, but alas, it does. But the game just started, so I'm good to go. Whoa team!