August 20th and 21st, 2004 - The Schooner Room, Casino Nova Scotia Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia:

It's been about a year and a half since we've been this far across Canada, and it's always a high point for us… this is our first time playing in the casino… I mentioned at the end of the last road diary, that most of us got little or no sleep at all last night, thinking that we could probably grab a couple of hours on the flight… well, probably not… there are 34 kids on the plane with us, all ranging from 8 to 13 years old… Doug is the only one able to sleep through this; the sound of kids' voices being one of his favourite sounds in the world - it actually lulls him to sleep… the rest of us aren't so lucky… I have the entire last two seasons of The Simpsons and South Park replayed for me verbally from directly behind my seat… apparently they're on a camping trip… yeah… on a plane… apparently camping has changed a lot too, since I used to go… also, I feel the need to rant about the Toronto airport here, which is where we flew out of… all airports tell you to be there an hour and a half to two hours before your flight time, but we've never needed that much time… until now… checking in takes forever… the 'lady' at the ticket counter is the most condescending I've run into, (imagine the way you were talked to in grade school by the teacher you hated most, and you'd be close)… they weighed everything, measured everything… we had allowed plenty of time, but needed almost all of it… I think people who hate their jobs that much owe it to the rest of us to find a new one…

We're picked up in a limo supplied by the hotel and the drivers are polar opposites to the flight personnel… the driver with the keyboards in the trunk even drives them over to the casino door for us, which is great because this hotel is huge! From the lobby to the Schooner room inside the casino is about a five minute walk… inside the hotel! You could easily get lost in here… our soundcheck is scheduled for 3pm, so there's no time yet for sleep as we arrive after 1pm… Doug is also engaged in an interview at this gig, and our soundcheck is recorded (Making It Work), as part of the process… then it's down to the buffet for dinner… and then! a few hours of sleep before an early showtime of 8pm… I have my sleep interrupted partway by a phone call, but a welcome one, from Steve Bosley, the original bass player of the Slugs… he phones me from the lobby of the hotel… he's been visiting friends out here for the past week, and wants me to put him on the guestlist… of course I said no… It's a little like a theater in the Schooner room, with no dance floor and all the chairs set up in rows - no tables… I'm sure there won't be any dancing tonight… but every chair is filled! And I'm thankfully wrong about the dancing too… Doug has very little problem in that regard… in the middle of the show, Doug calls Steve up to the stage and Steve picks up Jay's bass to help us through Too Bad and Making It Work… thanks Steve! Always a pleasure…

After the show, the green room is filled with friends and family, and we hang out for awhile, but most of us are in need of some serious sleeping, so it's not too late a night…

I'm up at 8:30, after periodically waking up from 6:30 on… jetlag works in mysterious ways I guess… the good thing is I should be able to catch a few hours later tonight before leaving early again… lobby call is set for 5:00 am… all of us kind of do our own things today - Chris heads off to Peggy's Cove, which is definitely worth a trip, but I've done that one before; all of us have except Chris… Elio didn't make it to bed early last night, so he spends most of the day sleeping - a funny side note here: he goes to a pub after last's night's gig; he's hungry and ends up having a few beers there and watching some of the local entertainment… as he's standing there watching the band, there is a couple in front of him watching also… apparently they're all standing fairly close together as it's pretty packed in there… well, the couple evidently decides to leave and the girl grabs her boyfriend's hand and turns to go… well, she THOUGHT she grabbed her boyfriend's hand… I guess she'd either had a few drinks already, or maybe they hadn't been going out for long and couldn't tell the difference… whatever the reason, she grabs Elio's hand by mistake and turns to go… Elio just kind of goes along with it… what the hell, right?... they get a few steps away, before she turns toward who she thinks is her man, and lets out quite a shriek of surprise when she discovers her mistake… I can only imagine what's going through her boyfriend's mind… Jay and I both end up doing much the same thing but at different times… there's an amazing seawalk along the Atlantic, starting pretty much right at our hotel… goes on for quite a distance, and there are all kinds of shops, kiosks, vendors, jugglers, musicians and other street performers… a must see if you're in the area… both Jay and I walk the length of it and come back via the streets nearby, captured by the heritage buildings everywhere…

The second night's gig is even better than the first, with Doug being particularly "on" this evening… the Slugs have always been quite popular in Halifax, so he says it's easy to have a good show here, but regardless, it's nice when it all just seems to click… again, after the show, there are a few people in the green room, but all of us opt for an early night… 5:00 am will come early enough… thanks to both of the Amys for being such great hosts, and everyone in the crew for making the shows such a success… Halifax, we can't wait to see you again… thanks for a great time… Ciao… Marc.