Hey Slugfans! We're back…. We had a lot of fun this trip, but it's good to be back to a cool 30 degrees. (I don't envy the Torontonians their heatwave.) August 7, 2001: We fly out at noon from Vancouver, well, okay, we're supposed to fly out at noon. The plane actually takes off after one o'clock, depositing us in Toronto after nine. At quarter after nine it's still 32 degrees here, and humid. You can see this weather on your skin. Well above forty degrees in some areas and with the humidity - they've declared a heat emergency. We stay the first night at the Celebrity Budget Hotel, which becomes kind of a band joke because that's what we consider ourselves… 'budget celebrities'.

After a slight personal scare at the music store in Toronto… I was assured over the phone that they had the keyboard I needed in-store, but when we show up they say they don't have one and (surprise) the guy who told me they do on the phone has the day off. As I'm frantically trying out others and weighing the consequences it miraculously appears… we drive to Pickering.

A weird thing at the hotel after we check in: I'm in a non-smoking room. But it has an ashtray. Upside down. On the bottom of the ashtray is a no-smoking sign. ? Figure that one out. Why have it at all?

It's a special night at Mudhen's - they're celebrating their eighth anniversary. The management arranges for us to be shuttled around in a long, stretch white limousine… so we can feel like the rockstars we envisioned when we were kids (don't you know who I think I am?!) Seriously, it's great of him to do that for us. But picture this: Five guys dressed in shorts and t-shirts pop out of a limo in front of a Motel 6. Classy. We've played this gig before (about four years ago) and the management is always great to us. It's a good crowd (for a Wednesday night). There's an Elvis impersonater between our sets, and uh… well, yeah.

Here we are; the home of The Tragically Hip. No monuments or tributes anywhere. No mention at all. This is a great Canadian band! I guess it's not too surprising when you consider that Brantford, ON (Gretzky's hometown), has only a small display for the great one. What's the matter with us Canadians anyway? We should be proud of our own, damn it! (Okay… ranting is over now).

The Ironhorse Saloon is huge. I'm quite sure the band has never played here - at least not in my time. Must seat well over a thousand people. We're maybe two-thirds full, which is great (still a lot of people), considering that Kingston is pretty much a college/university town and it's summertime. What a great crowd though! Real enthusiasm. The local rock radio station does an interview with Doug pre-show and then they show up to intro the band onstage. There's a spot right after Too Bad where Doug runs a Twist contest sometimes. Tonight's runner-up is a girl on crutches. She's amazing and her nickname (for the contest… everyone has to have one) is 'gimp'. We are very well taken care of here; maybe too well. After Doug convinces the bouncers to let people dance right in front of the stage, (the actual dance floor is off to the side), the whole dynamic of the show loosens up.

This is the third time in this club in just over three years, and is always one of our favourites to play. If you're ever in the area, stop in, say hi to Larry (the owner) and have a drink for me. It's also the longest drive of this swing and our soundman is not feeling very good, so off to the hospital with him. (He's okay, by the way). So this is the band's introduction to setting up ALL the gear by ourselves. That, coupled with the fact that Danny drives himself to the hospital in the van that has Doug Grant's and my suitcases in it, makes for quite a long day.

We have some favourite fans from Buffalo, NY who always show up for this gig, and they don't disappoint us this time either… Heather, you're so subdued this time… that video scare you? At the end of the night Doug gets Larry (owner) up to play guitar (he really can play) in Louie Louie. Doug puts him through his paces though, getting him to play in the style of Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and others. Larry is very shy about doing this, but I'm pretty sure he knows (by now) that he won't get away without being on stage when we're playing there.

Staying right downtown Toronto, which is great because we have some time to kill before we can even set up for the show, so Doug Grant, Elio and I wander around the big city for awhile. It's a fair bit cooler today - only about 3o degrees. Ontario Place is this big area that reminds me a lot of the Expo site in Vancouver. The West Island Club is an outdoor ampitheater, fronted by a moat - yes, I said moat - it's not a typo, (complete with a walkway over it leading into the crowd). Great stage. A little farther away from the audience than we like, but… We drive in on the other side of Ontario Place and the band and all the equipment (luckily we don't travel with much) are driven to the west side in golf carts. Another slight scare for me: the keyboard I brought with me - not the one that the music store didn't have/did have - doesn't want to work. The heat? The humidity? Got banged around during transit? On the flight? (surely that would never happen). Maybe it's just tired. Anyway, Danny (soundman) has to take the whole thing apart and… well, he saves the show for me. Thanks again Danny!

It's a little harder here to break down the proverbial fourth wall between the band and the audience because of the distance between, but Doug, as only he can, manages it, and again, it's during the Twist contest. There are a lot of kids at this show and he gets the willing ones (and some unwilling) to show off a little. We've got breakdancing, cartwheels, flips, you name it. Then he picks the best four and puts them on stage for the rest of the song.

Another amusing thing here: they take us to a restaurant after the show, called the Marina. Of course it's right on the water. And there's absolutely no seafood on the menu… good food though. After that, a couple of us go to the Horseshoe Club on Queens and watch a band called 'Lindy'… kind of a British pop sound - very good.

So we're home for a few days now, then it's off to Victoria, BC for one day. Saskatchewan next week. Talk to you then! Cya!