October 17th, 2002 - Sneakers Sport Bar, Village Green, Vernon, BC:

We arrive in Vernon, a little later than usual for us, but not unexpectedly... I'm travelling with Jay and Doug for this trip and Jay and I were talking before we left;

Jay: "The van's are being picked up around 10am, so Doug said he'll pick me up at around 11am, then we'll swing out to get you."

Me: "Okay, so approximately noon then?"

Jay: "Hmmm... more like 2 or 2:30 Bennett time" Of course... what was I thinking?

They show up at my door precisely at the crack of 2:30, making Jay look like a prophet... and we roll into Vernon at 7:30pm... good thing it's a slightly later show tonight... we're on at 11pm...

Kenny Cheatwood is doing sound for us tonight and for the next two shows... and I haven't seen Kenny for over two years, when he and I were stranded together on Queens Street in Toronto, wondering, (okay, and swearing a lot), what happened to our ride to the airport... but that's another story... It's a treat to have a soundman out front that you can count on however; when you know it's going to sound as good as it can, depending on the system... thanks Kenny! Let's do it again soon...

It's kind of a weird set up in Sneakers... the stage is not against the wall, so there are people walking around and playing pool behind you all the time... the sound onstage is terrible and I can't hear a single note I play all night, because of the poor monitors, but who knows? Maybe that's a good thing. How would I know?

The Twist contest was interesting tonight... both of the contestants onstage are birthday girls and Doug announces that it's a tie, after which some guy from the audience comes up and puts in an extra $20. prize money for them to share... and the Walmart dancers are classic tonight as well... it's the most convincing 'pork sandwich' I've seen from any participants. (The pork sandwich is when Doug and the two Walmart guys all face the same direction, up close and personal... Doug is always the meat in the sandwich... I had nightmares for days)

Anyway, the show is a lot of fun, and we hang out later with the owners, Ian and Teresa, in the hospitality room, for a couple of hours winding down... um, okay, drinking our faces off... and we're off to 100 Mile House tomorrow...

CU there! Marc.