October 18th, 2002 - Jake's Pub, The Lakewood Inn, 100 Mile House, BC:

It's been 20 years since I've played this place... talk about dating myself... it was called the Exeter Arms back then, and all I remember was that we had to actually build the stage we played on... now it's the Lakewood Inn, but they still don't have a stage! I guess the one we built back then didn't stand the test of time - hey, we're musicians not carpenters...anyway, this time we just set up right on the floor, up close and personal... Leila (hope the spelling is close at least), is the manager and she's a doll... I can't think of any time recently that we've been welcomed so warmly... Jay and I are in the lobby getting rooms, and she's behind the counter getting us our keys between introducing us to any staff walking by... so maybe it takes a little longer, but I'll take the hospitality any day...

During soundcheck we discover that no tickets have been pre-sold... they decided not to pre-sell; just relying on walk-ups instead... this kind of thing can make a band nervous... but it's packed when we walk onstage (I mean... on the floor)... as a result of us being right on the dance floor with that many people in the room, the monitors are in a precarious position... we point this out to the production guy, but he doesn't seem to mind the fact that his monitors may get tripped over... our concern is for the people who might trip over them and seriously hurt themselves, but we're not making our point with this guy I guess... Kenny tries his best to work with him, but ends up pretty much doing the whole thing himself... including re-wiring the entire system... ahh, sometimes it's like that...

In the first set we blew the power 3 times! This system might be great for a small rehearsal room or a studio, but it's severely under-powered for this gig... the second set is much better after Kenny finds a huge fan and aims it squarely into the power rack... AND! The show is a huge success... sometimes it's just the combination of a good night for the band and the enthusiasm of the crowd... whatever the reason, this is a great night...

Near the end of the 1st set, we can no longer ignore the woman on the dance floor who's air-drumming her rolled up Doug and the Slugs poster frantically while staring intently and watching every move Chris makes... Doug makes some sort of comment to which she replies that she wants to get up onstage with us and play drums... Doug says sure, no problem, maybe next set... this woman says, "No, now! It has to be now. We're leaving soon." Doug says, "Okay then, leave."... but somehow, she ends up on the drums anyway... we're about to go into 'Love Shines' and she says that's okay, she can play anything... so we're looking at her, half wondering if she can, in fact, play; and half waiting for her to count the song in... and she says, "Go ahead."... For any musicians out there, I don't have to tell you that it's a very bad sign when the drummer is waiting for someone else in the band to count the song in... so we play 'Louie Louie' instead... and it's... well, it's... have you ever thrown a pair of runners into the dryer by themselves? If not, you can probably imagine the sound... then imagine that you can't get the dryer to shut off... I think you probably get the picture... AND THEN!!!... the proverbial 'gates of hell' open up and another girl comes up and takes over before we even know what's going on... this one though, has some semblance of understanding about how drums work, or, I should say, how a drum solo should be played, because the entire song ends up sounding more like a drum solo...

It's been awhile since I've seen that many drunk people in as hot and smoky an environment... awesome! (I know, I'm weird... the hotter and smokier the better)... and just when you thought it was safe... in the 2nd set, drummer #2 comes back, only now she wants to sing 'Mustang Sally' as a duet with Doug... hey, whatever does it for you I guess... this girl is not the least bit shy obviously; screaming into the microphone (actually come to think of it, she sings a lot like she plays drums...)... but a really good time is had by all... the band had a blast and we're here to testify that the crowd did as well, though I'm sure none of them remember... Cya in Williams Lake!

Marc.