Halifax/Sackville

Ok, so we just finished our show in Sackville, but I didn't have a chance to write about Halifax last night so I'll do that first.

Halifax ended up being great for a few reasons, one of which being that I've wanted to go there for a long time. It was actually a lot bigger than I expected, and seemed like a nice city. The view from out Motel this morning when we were leaving was probably the best as it was a little bit out of the city and it looked out onto a bay. Very nice.

The show itself ended up being a lot of fun, if not particularly well attended. Just like in Montreal, the show started late and the other bands took a long time, so we didn't even get on until 12:30-1:00ish, so most of the people that had come had already left by the time we got on. Thankfully the crowd that did stay was very energetic and seemed to have a really good time. We got to talk to a bunch of them and they all told us how much fun they had and how they were impressed by us, so that was good. I actually had one kid telling me how he thought I was such a good guitar player, etc etc, and how he was impressed that I didn't use a capo (on my electric - I mentioned you when that came up, Matt). That was really nice to hear, seeing as I don't consider myself to be a particularly skilled guitar player, and I don't often get that comment.

The best part about Halifax came as a surprise during soundcheck (we actually had to do our own sound, so I was mixing from stage and then jumping off while we were playing to preview the room mix). I was just about to check the bass and had adjusted the level on the board, so I had my back to the room, and when I turned around my Dad was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the stage. I almost couldn't believe my eyes, and it took me a while to actually register that he was really there. Apparently he and Carol were out here for a court hearing regarding one of Carol's nieces (long story), and they stayed a couple extra days so they could see us play. Man, what an awesome surprise. I was so glad to see him. So that pretty much made my night, although he couldn't stick around because he had to catch his flight at 5 am.

So that was Halifax. We rolled into Sackville around 3ish this afternoon, and I could tell almost immediately that I liked it. The bar we played at was kind of off by itself, across from the train station (which is still in service), and it really reminded me of Dalmeny. We ended up having about five or six hours or so before we had to load in, so we went and walked around this boardwalk that spans a wildlife preserve/pond thing, which was just great. I ended up sitting up in this little lookout tower thing for probably a half hour just chilling out and enjoying myself. The sun was shining, which took away some of the bite from the chill, and the scenery was great. There was a healthy dose of flat (apparently there's a big marsh around the town), combined with a lot of trees and some rolling hills, so it was very picturesque. We kind of just hung out and walked around town the rest of the time, and of all the places I've been so far, I could definitely see myself living here (I don't know if I've mentioned it in previous posts, but I've kind of been on the lookout for somewhere to move during this tour). It's funny that it'd be this nowhere kind of town, having seen all these different cities and stuff, but Sackville has definitely been the one place that's spoken to me the most. Of course, this isn't to say that I'll be moving out here any time soon, if ever, but you know, at least I have an idea of what I like. I was getting a little restless with all the cities, and it's nice to be able to realize what really appeals to me, especially when separated from the concept of "home" when I'm in Dalmeny. The small town thing isn't just about family, friends and where I grew up, it's actually the environment that I prefer.

Anyways, that's Sackville the town, and the show was a lot of fun too. There weren't as many people at the show as I had anticipated (especially after hitting #1 on the college radio here with our first record : ), but just like in Halifax, the ones that did come made it a lot of fun. I played probably the sloppiest set of the tour, at least in part to the beer and wine I had consumed before hand, but they seemed to love it anyway, and I still had fun playing. We got to sell and sign a lot of CDs, which is always fun, and meet a lot of people also. We even went out for a drink with one of the guys (who apparently bumped into Char earlier in the afternoon, whilst listening to the album) and I wrote him out this big list of good "Christian" bands because he does a Christian radio hour on the campus station.

Yeah, so that's pretty much that, and now I think I'll get into bed and maybe read a story in my new "Tales of Mystery and The Macabre" book that I bought in one of the bookstores here and then go to sleep. All this rock'n'roll has been taking it out of me.

Oh yeah, apparently there's supposed to be a hurricane tomorrow at 1pm. That should be interesting.