August 26th, 2004 - The Rock'N Firkin Pub, Kamloops, BC:

If we have a home away from home in BC, then it's likely Kamloops… we play here at least three times a year, but this is the first time in the Rock'N Firkin Pub since I've been in the band… so for more than six years… and it's a Firkin good time! (sorry, couldn't resist at least one of those)… a firkin is actually an attachment that was once used in Britain for beer kegs, so it has nothing to do with the commonly used expletive, though it obviously sounds quite like that, and there are many signs and sayings around this pub using that word in a way that just as obviously has nothing to do with beer keg attachments…

We roll into town at around 4:00 pm and Mike phones the club… there's a bit of a mix up in the PA department; it seems the production guy thought we'd be travelling with a full rig (all the sound gear), which we never do, and I don't know any band who does that anymore… anyway, that's fixed up soon enough, and we head down to the pub for dinner and soundcheck… the Firkin (I'm assuming most of the regulars call it that, and I'm too lazy to keep writing the full name down), is a beautiful, but small pub - about 200 seats - with a very high stage at one end, and a great restaurant at the other, which apparently changes its menu every six months… if our dinners are any indication of the usual fare, it's well worth planning for dinner there…

Showtime: Holly is the local DJ here and she introduces us onstage… (look for Holly in Vancouver soon, as her gig in the very near future will be at Rock 101, 6:00 - midnight, the last three nights of the week)… as we start into Same Old Story (first song of the night), it's a little unsettling, as Mike - not familiar with the soundboard at this gig - has mistakenly run "some" of the delay (full blast), through my monitor onstage… this has the effect of me being in one place while Doug is in another spot entirely in the song - he's about two beats behind me… like I said, a little unsettling… it's fairly hard to play that way… but I call Mike to the stage, he listens to my monitor, runs back to the soundboard and the problem is fixed quickly… the audience is intent right from the start, and by the time we launch into Day by Day there's not an inch of space on the dance floor… this is one of the best audiences I can remember playing for in a very long time… and that can really help a show along… all in all it's a great gig, lots of fun… thanks to Al, Holly and everyone at the Firkin for making this a memorable night… we're off to Lake Country tomorrow… until then, take care Slugfans… CU soon. Marc.