More Guitar Trouble- and Get the Fuck Out

It was a good thing that Paul was at the show last night- he was able to jimmy Dave's National between sets! The cone dropped again part way through the set. Funky, with the 6th string sitting right down against the fretboard... For the second set it had held up nicely, but we were back to Underdog Music this morning for another round of repairs. A little Viagra under the biscuit this time, and now the strings are up and sounding good. Good and loud! I think the guitar is probably better now than it was when we started the tour. Or mine's getting quieter!!

While the Blues Society had put us up in a fairly nice hotel, we had the day off- so back to Bud's on Broadway where the owners extended another night's hospitality to us. We hung out in our rooms, slept, played some guitar. I thought I'd work on some new songs- and did- but was pretty much too tired to do much except noodle. Still, that was fun- I have not had much noodle time over the last two months of hard travel. It's Halloween Night and the band downstairs kicks off with "Spooky" (by the Classics IV?), closing their first set with "Monster Mash." I rolled out of bed and came downstairs to catch the last set, meeting Dave, Harmonica Donna and some others in the bar. There were a few folks out in costume, but generally it seemed to be a pretty quiet night.

After the show Donna took me down the street to visit a club called Lydia's. I was told that this was a pretty good local venue, so I thought I'd check it out with an eye to coming through solo in a few months time. When we entered Lydia's a big guy with a shaved head came running up and screamed in my face "who the fuck let you in here??? get the fuck out!!!" He meant it, too. So apparently customer relations are not necessary at Lydia's. They didn't know who the fuck I was, and it didn't fucking matter. When a club runs it's fucking business this way it probably won't be in fucking business long. Not with help like that, anyway. Lydia's, Saskatoon, Canada. Fuck 'em, too. The only unpleasant moment in 25 thousand km of touring this great land, so natch it made the blog.

Saskatoon- Another Sold out show!

Down to Underdog Music first thing this morning for urgent guitar repairs. We've called ahead, so Paul is waiting for us, and soon Dave's National is in pieces on the table. Something to do with the cone partially collapsing. This is interesting stuff, and we pow-wow over how to raise the action enough so that the guitar can be played in tonight's show. Eventually, Paul ignores all of our suggestions and figures something out.

I took a few minutes to catch up on email in the store office and found out that Big Dave has been nominated MBA (Maple Blues Award) for Acoustic Act of the Year! This was an entirely unexpected surprise, and I am thrilled that the Big Road Blues Tour featuring Big Dave McLean and Doc MacLean has apparently had a national impact. I'd certainly be more thrilled if we shared the honour, but Dave's nomination is a nice and well deserved nod to all the hard work. Congrats, Dave!! I went upstairs to tell him, but he thought I was joking- it wasn't until later in the day I finally convinced him.

Other "Acoustic Act" nominees include the duos:

Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
Harry Manx & Kevin Breit
Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers

Guitar fixed, Dave bought a Dan, and we both bought new tuners. Off to the new hotel to sleep before sound check. The gig tonight is sponsored by the Saskatoon Blues Society, and we are pleased to learn that it is sold out. The West has been good.

A quick sound check with a good sound man. Josh is on the case- everything sounds good on and off stage, and the place is packed. It's an upscale sort of supper club, and it looks like about two hundred people, maybe more. Show time, and Dave and I have a ball. This crowd is with us, and this duo can do no wrong. These last shows have really been fun- more and more fun. We're getting pretty comfortable working together and it's having a big impact on our delivery! We end up with a gospel encore which I take off-mic and through the house. A ton of CDs get sold, we raffle off one of the last tour jackets... A great night. Saskatoon Blues Society member Al Wood took a pile of pictures, here's a few samples:







Back to the hotel to drop our gear, and then down to Bud's on Broadway to hang out and sit in with the band. We'll go back to our hotel and sleep late. A rest day! Of course we need to get Dave's guitar fixed again, so we'll be back at Underdog in the morning for another swing at repairs.

Bud's on Broadway, Saskatoon

What I didn't say yesterday is that the cone on Dave's National pretty much collapsed last night, and he ended up breaking a pile of strings on his big new Gibson, Northern Jumbo. Monday being our first rest day since the 9th of the month, we took it to drive into Saskatoon to look for a guitar tech. Dave called ahead, as he owns this town, and the management at Bud's gave us 2 suites of rooms to use while in town. Dave sat in and played a couple of songs with the band. I hung out and wrote songs, and was early into the wrapper. In the morning we'll meet the guitar guys and see what can be done for Dave's guitars!

The Slice- Lethbridge is Good!

Another big, glorious day, with the sun shining down on us. We got to sleep in as the travel time for today would be short. I took advantage of the business centre in our hotel and worked my way through a few hundred emails. After fueling up the truck we headed south on Hwy 2. Some fans who we had met in High River had invited us to brunch in Vulcan, AB, as it would be on route to our gig in Lethbridge. Larry and his wife did not let us down- we had a great visit and left quite stuffed with local sasuage and eggs.

Wild, rolling hills and gullies in this part of the country. The mountains are behind us now- quite distant- and we know the flatlands will be ahead of us. Meanwhile, the colours are great, prairie colours- these are the golds and browns and yellows you just don't see anywhere else. Big sky all around. Nice. The RCMP are out today picking off anything that's running over limit. We've got the cruise set to legal and the Staple Singers cranked up on the stereo. This little collection has 20 some odd tunes, and has become a real tour favourite. It wraps up with a Dylan tune that is sung in waltz time, with blues phrasing (OK, gospel phrasing, but you get the point) that I'm trying to figure out- counting bars on my fingers as we're rolling along. Quite cool.

The Bridge, on the way into town. We roll into Lethbridge, AB, on the early side and visit the club to see what's what. I've played Lethbridge once before- at the old Tongue and Groove- but tonight's venue is new to me, and we're not sure what to expect in Lethbridge on a Sunday night. Some rough looking folks are on the sidewalk outside, and as we enter the room loud heavy metal blasts out. Some folks are shooting pool. The place looks kind of dark. OK, we'll manage, this reminds me of the Railroad Club in Vancouver.

Spent the afternoon snoozing at our hotel, using the small business centre next door, fixing some guitar problems. When we headed back to the Slice for dinner we were pleasantly surprised. The room seemed brighter, great music was playing on the excellent sound system, everybody was friendly, and we had a great dinner. These guys really, really know pizza. Best on the Prairie, I'd guess!

Jeff got us set up with top notch gear- great monitor set up, great mains, etc. This room has great sight lines and a lot of wood. It sounded wonderful, and Jeff gave us one of the best mixes we've had on this tour. All we needed were customers- and they came. Thanks to CKCU we had fans coming in from as far away as Medicine Hat and Calgary for the show! Now, with a great crowd and great stage sound we gave one of the best performances of the Big Road Blues Tour. What a great surprise to find this great room in Lethbridge, AB.

Red Onion, Calgary, AB, Sell Out Show with the CBC Recording!

In short- a sell out show in this massive club. Recorded by the CBC for two different radio shows. Merch sales over the top. Great hotel. Great food. Friendly folks. Life is very, very good tonight out here on the Big Road. I came back to flesh this day's story out a little- so it's a long blog, but I think it tells a little more about our day...

It was one of our longer road days today. We were up and on the road by 6:AM, fueled by several of Tim's biggest coffees. There is a great little diner on the main drag in Penticton, but it was not open (nor was anything except Tim's) when we had to roll. The Dream had invited us to breakfast, too, oh well- next time! Good thing we were out early. The roads up the valley can be very slow during the day, but here, in the pre-dawn hours we made good time to the Big Road.

The road east, over the pass, past Banff, and into Calgary was a pretty one to drive. With the time change we spent about 9 or 10 hours in the truck. This is what it looked like out the window.


I had been telling people that the Red Onion was the big, downtown blues club in Calgary. My heart sunk when I discovered that it was, in fact, in the south suburbs of the city- in what appeared to be a modern strip mall near the highway. I had no cause for worry! From the moment I walked into the club I noticed it's cool vibe, great set-up, friendly staff and decor. The stage is huge, well set up, curtained, banks of lights, tons of monitors, stands, a very modern sound booth with top notch gear... pictures and posters on the walls of all kinds of great blues shows that have played here. This place has all the feel of a great downtown club- without the layers of decay and grime. This is a class blues room with great sightlines. I was later to discover it also has great food- much better than pub fare- and a very efficient, friendly staff. After checking in with the day manager, Dave and I made the short drive to our hotel for a brief rest.

We were to be back at the club to load in and set up in about an hour's time, so we hauled our personal gear up to our rooms and had a few moments to ourselves before jumping into the frey. Nice rooms- mine was a suite which included a separate television and office room. I put this to work and got the merch sheets together for tonight's show. A quick shave, a quick change into my suit and I'm off to meet Dave. He's looking good, too, so off we go to load in and set up.

Red Onion manager Rick met us at the door and helped us in with our gear. He's an old pal of Dave's, so I'm pleased to meet him, and not surprised that he's very much on the ball with this show. Apparently the phone has been ringing off the hook, every table is reserved, this will definitely be a sell out show. Rick and his staff have a pep talk and a planning session as Dave and I arrange our gear on stage. The CBC sound truck has arrived, and I need to move our van in order that their rig can squeeze close to the side door. Dave and I get a bite to eat while the CBC technician starts to run cables. By the time we've finished our meals the house sound man has arrived and has us roughed in and ready for sound check. It's still early, but there is a line-up outside the club, and Dave and I are pumped to blow these folks away tonight.

Stage sound is pretty good, although I wonder if we are going to be loud enough for this room. Apparently it all sounds good in the truck, too- so we're done, and the doors are opened. Our merch booth is set up, and switched on. We'll now go back to the hotel for another hour or so to relax as much as we can before showtime.

That our return to the Red Onion was delayed by a lack of parking was a good sign indeed. The place was now very crowded. I had a brief meeting with CBC producer Catherine McClelland, who introduced me to Katherine Duncan- one of CBCs unique radio voices. She's younger than I thought she would be. It's always a surprise, meeting a radio voice. We're recording tonight for 2 CBC shows- Canada Live and Saturday Night Blues. Showtime! We mixed up our set a bit, but here's what I think we played-

Set One:
Feel Like Goin' Home (M. Morganfield) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr., w. Doc MacLean, gtr.
Charlie James' Blues (J. MacLean, SOCAN) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Mama 'Taint Long Fo' Day (Blind Willie McTell) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr.
Jinx Blues (Son House) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Atlanta Moan (Barbecue Bob) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr.
Dead Men Walking (J. MacLean, SOCAN) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr, w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Fixin' to Die (Bukka White) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr, w. Doc MacLean gtr./percussion
I Lacks a Nickel, Spadina Blues (J. MacLean, SOCAN), - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr, w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Standing At The Crossroads (Robert Johnson)- Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr.
Jimmie Lee Jackson's Blues (J. MacLean, SOCAN), - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., Big Dave McLean, harmonica, voc.

Set Two:
Don't Go No Further (W. Dixon) - Big Dave McLean, voc, gtr., w. Doc MacLean, voc.
Roll and Tumble (trad. arr. MacLean) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Sweet Home Chicago, (Robert Johnson) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr., w. Doc MacLean, harmonica
Bone Train (J. MacLean, SOCAN) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Rainin' In my Heart, (Slim Harpo) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr.
Johnson Terraplane (J. MacLean, SOCAN) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Kind Hearted Woman, (Robert Johnson) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr., w. Doc MacLean, harmonica
Angola Prison Rodeo Blues (J. MacLean, SOCAN) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
You Got to Move, (trad. arrange McLean) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr., w. Doc MacLean, voc
Three Cards on a Coffin (J. MacLean, SOCAN) - Doc MacLean, voc. gtr., w. Big Dave McLean, harmonica
Walking Blues (Son House) - Big Dave McLean, voc. gtr., w. Doc MacLean, harmonica

The first set was tougher to play than we would of hoped. The great sound we'd had for sound check seemed to have vanished, and we struggled to hear ourselves at all. I'm told it sounded great in the mains, and in the truck, but I know I was having to sing and play too hard, and missed some bits simply because I couldn't hear to play my guitar and was a bit distracted. This was kind of disappointing, as we really wanted to give our best show for the CBC recording. Our sound guy got right on the case- I think the giant crowd had really changed the sound-shape of the room. For our second set it sounded great on stage, so we settled in to knock 'em dead. A great job with the sound- thanks! Did I mention that the cone had partially collapsed on Dave's National during the first set? Trying to work gracefully around this he ended up breaking yet another string on his Gibson Northern Jumbo... and I found myself playing on not one, but two blown harps! That's all the stuff you probably don't (and hopefully don't!) notice behind and inside the show. What really counts is that we played really well, dug way into a bunch of heavy blues, had a ball, and got a standing ovation at the end! We sold a pile of cds and tour merch as well. Another great night for the Big Road Blues Tour!

A long closure as we sign cds, say our good-byes and thank yous, and pack up our gear. Dave strolled back to the hotel while I waited on the club to wrap it's books for the night and take care of business. Rick and I end up sitting in the office for an hour or so, talking branding, marketing, gossip, blues. I get back to the hotel sometime around 3:AM, and make a quick stop at their small business centre to check on email. I've got to do this pretty much every day to advance the Tour, set up phoners and stay in touch with the upcoming venues and promoters. By 4:AM I'm in the wrapper. We'll sleep in a little bit as our next drive will only be a couple of hours.

Dream Cafe, Penticton, BC, One of the Great Rooms- Sold Out

This is one of the great acoustic music rooms in Canada. A sell out night for us. A real Dream. Go there! It was a short, but pretty drive down the valley to get here today. Our quarters are a wonderful apartment just doors away from the venue. As we arrived in good time, we retired to our rooms for a snooze, and then went out on the town to do odds and ends. Dave to do banking, and me to find an internet connection. The banking worked out, but I couldn't get connected- only one terminal on the main street, and some kids had it locked up. Oh, well! I dropped into the local record store and bought Steve Earle's "Definitive Collection" as a gift for my son, Alasdair. We had picked up another copy for the tour van earlier. Nice collection.



Back to the club for soundcheck and dinner. The food is way over the top! Pierre knows food and is a master of it! We had a great meal and then went back to our apartment to chill for a while before the show. We are apparently sold out for this evening! It's a great, warm room, with really good sight lines and lovely sound- so we are very much looking forward to performing here.

The show turns out to be a dream as well. A really nice, listening crowd, a pleasure to be with and play for! We do "Schoolgirl" for an encore, and everybody goes home happy. The kitchen gives us desert treats to take back to our apartment, and after a quick snack we are in the wrapper. Early start in the morning!

The Minstrel Cafe, Kelowna, BC

Well, the truck is pointed East now and Dave and I are amazed that the end of this Big Road Blues Tour will be coming up in just a few thousand more kms, just another couple of weeks of shows. Its been absolutely great. Kind of sad to be headed east after the glory of the coast, but as we have said to each other many times- its ALL beautiful! We are looking forward to the mountains again, and then the great prairie beyond. We are so blessed to own this Big Road, to be able to grasp it and make it our own.




An easy five hours of driving today taking in another breath taking road- the Coquihalla Hwy through the mountains toward the Okanogan Valley. Today we are in early enough to check into our hotel and snooze before the show. We have got pretty nice digs- right on the Lake.


It sure ain't Niagara Falls. The Valley is a popular retirement destination due to its mild, almost desert like climate. We had Fred McDowell cranked up in the truck today. We are groovin' heavily on this ride!

Another sell out show tonight. The room is attentive. We have a ball playing for these folks, and Clare feeds us like kings. The encores are good, and we are done early. This is a nicely detailed room with great food, a nice stage and excellent sound. It's the place to hear acoustic music in Kelowna. Between sets we entertain a variety of guests in our green room- actually Dave's guests- a gentleman from the Winnipeg Jets, musicians from up and down the Valley, and the former owner of the Times Changed Blues Club- a Winnipeg institution for many years. Everybody loves these mountains and this great valley. I'm to bed early, while Dave takes in the jam at the Blue Gator across town.