June 22, 2004 - The Road to Alberta:

It’s a weird start to this trip… I have an appointment I have to keep and can’t be home until around 2pm… about 45 seconds after that, Mike pulls up in the van… it’s just weird to switch hats that fast I guess…

The van is a Dodge, which means it has that ‘cllimate control’ feature, where you can direct the heat or the a/c to either the driver or passenger. This is fun to play with. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Hours of fun passing the time by messing with the guy in the seat beside you. Use your imagination…

The highlight of the trip so far, is when Elio needs to um, stop… and we’re nowhere near a town… yeah, that’s right, there’s me, Elio and Mike in this van - that’s just asking for trouble… anyway, Mike stops for Elio, and while Mike is pulling over, Elio is telling him not to drive away this time, while he’s peeing at the side of the road… this is a big joke… we almost always drive away while Elio is peeing, leaving him standing in the open… funny huh? Anyway, Elio doesn’t usually think it’s as funny as we do, but you know - different strokes I guess… so Elio is very seriously telling Mike NOT to drive away this time… I’m thinking, ‘wow… he really means it…’… and then he gets out to pee… and then Mike drives away… again… not far, but far enough to leave one very conspicuous body all alone, at the side of the road, wearing a scowl on his face, feeling, (and looking) quite exposed… I’m laughing my ass off because I can’t believe Mike did that after Elio was so serious about it… see what fun it is on the road?

It’s midnight when we get to Golden, and we figure that’s as good as any place to get some rest for the night, before heading to Medicine Hat and our first gig…

June 23, 2004 – Redcliff Hylton, Redcliff, Alberta:

Redcliff is a suburb of Medicine Hat. We arrive at around 4pm and the opening act, Legacy, is waiting for us at the club when we get there… we’re using their PA for the gig, so that’s a good thing… great bunch of guys and a real nice way to start off the swing…
We start our part of the show at 10:30 and the place is packed before we hit the stage… and from the very beginning, it’s obvious there’s some big time fans out in the Redcliff/Medicine Hat area… we open with Same Old Story and I’ve never seen anyone mouthing the lyrics to that tune – until now – a very enthusiastic bunch, they don’t leave a space open on the dance floor all night… we play two sets and two encores, and could easily have played more as far as the crowd is concerned… many autographs and pictures later, we’re back at the hotel for a little R&R (the other kind), before heading out to Cochrane tomorrow… talk to you then! Ciao! Marc.

June 24, 2004 – The Stageline Saloon, Cochrane, Alberta:

It’s about a 3 and a half hour drive to Cochrane from Redcliff, and we pull in at around 4pm… my first impression of the city is that someone with an eye for detail, someone with a little flair is in on the city planning here… one of the bartenders tells us it’s the fastest growing city in Canada and I can see why… Cochrane has a funkiness to it – in the good sense of the word… there are all sorts of squares set up with benches all over the place – I can see two of these from my hotel window… statues scattered around… just a cool little place…
The setup and soundcheck isn’t as cool however, and the other meaning of the word ‘funky’ comes to mind… one of the smallest systems we’ve used in awhile, which is okay, except when it’s all held together with tape, glue and string… okay, it wasn’t that bad, but Mike (soundman) spent a lot longer and a few more hairs pulled out than usual… the gig was set to start at 9:30pm, and at 8:15 we’re still soundchecking… with the bar already filling up with customers… this is something no band likes to do, incase you haven’t thought of that… very unprofessional looking, and of course the customers don’t know why we’re up there doing that at that time…. Think of that next time you’re waiting for the show to start and the band is late… maybe it’s not their fault… maybe they had a rough setup too… maybe the gear they’ve been given is inadequate… or maybe they’re just a bunch of rockstars making you wait… you never know I guess…
So we go on a little late… around 9:45 I think… pretty damn close for what Mike has to put up with… and it sounds good! Somehow the production crew and Mike get it working and it really does sound good… unless you’re on Jay’s side of the stage where it really does sound awful, but at least the crowd didn’t have to hear that… Jay is caught in a bass-trap on stage and is continually shuffling over to the middle when he can… the bar is full, the sound good, and the band is hot! Really hot! No, I mean like, we’re hot damn it! Get those lights off my back! Wow. It’s one of the hottest gigs I’ve played… I go through two changes of clothes – both soaking wet by the time they come off… that’s okay though – I’d much rather be hot than cold when playing… I guess it was bothering Jay too, because in the middle of the show, he does one of his flying drop kicks with a twist (you know the ones), and kicks his monitor right off the stage… it lands with a very audible thump on the dance floor, and when I look around to see what the noise was, all I see is a sheepish look on Jays’ already red face… oops… oh well, it still works… and the show goes on… a very enthusiastic encore tonight AFTER they’ve already started playing the music from the DJ booth… well, no one ever accused these people of being on their toes maybe, but they make up for it with exuberance… all in all, a great night in Cochrane! CU again I hope… next stop, Airdrie, which is only about 50 k away… take care. Marc.

June 25, 2004 – Twister’s Lounger, Airdrie, Alberta:

Wow. We get all the gear into the vans, hop in, find the highway… and… we’re there. Faster then you can say, “Elio! We’re stopping!” Twister’s is a relatively new idea… it’s downstairs from a restaurant called DT’s, and it’s real small… apparently, the military use this room as an auditioning room for bands who want to play overseas – Bosnia is the one destination I heard – the bands set up and play there, and the military send out a few good men to watch, then, if the band’s what they want, they fly the whole works out to Bosnia for a few gigs… but that’s not why we’re here… we’re here because it’s a new room for us… we’re here because the routing this time is so good (sometimes, I swear, the agents and powers that be just sit around throwing darts at a map and that’s where they send us, in the order the darts hit)… AND we’re here because quite a few people paid the $26.50 in advance or the even more cost prohibitive $35.00 at the door. The place is small, but full at least. And this is the first standing ovation I can remember in quite awhile… I guess these people put a higher premium on entertainment… well, we’ve got another long drive tomorrow – about 50 kms – so we better get some sleep… next stop, Calgary… see you there. Marc.

June 26th, 2004 – Ceili’s Bar and Grill, Calgary, Alberta:

Some gigs just stand out from the rest. The Commodore in Vancouver, Red’s in Edmonton, The Tourtech Stage gig in the Maritimes, and there are a handful of others not coming readily to mind… this is one of those. Ceili’s, (pronounced Kaylee’s), is a multilevel restaurant and bar in Calgary… first, walk up two flights of stairs to get to Ceili’s… then up another very long, very steep set of stairs to the patio… then up another short set to the patio we’re playing on… that’s right, we’re on the roof, outside, and suddenly I feel like I’m in a U2 video… wow! This is very very cool… rough hewn wood everywhere, including the floor which bounces up and down so much when there are people dancing (so, all the time tonight), that you could almost feel seasick… Doug voices his concerns between sets with the promoter, concerning a certain band falling through the floor to the second level… and is promptly assured that the floor is a lot stronger than it looks… that’s a good thing, cause wow, is it bouncing a lot! This is the most fun I’ve had playing for quite awhile… and I usually have fun… I have to say hi to Bryan and Tracey here and thanks for coming out to the show – good to see you two… anyway, everyone had a great time… what more can I say? Just a great gig, and I hope I get a chance to play it again someday… so that’s it for this southern Alberta swing… we’re back out this way in a few weeks to hit a few spots in the north… until then, then… Marc.