Happy Hog Roadhouse, Tottenham, ON

They call it Blues North and, so far as southern Ontario is concerned, they are probably right. This is a cool little pub about an hour and a half out of Toronto. It is little, and we wondered at first glance what it was going to be- but we were quickly made welcome and began to set up. Around us were pictures of many great Canadian blues artists who have played here over the last couple of years- Morgan Davis, Michael Pickett, Fathead, Jack de Keyser, and many other pals smiled down at us. Yup, this one would be OK!
Owners Garr and his charming partner provided us with the best Ontario hospitality. Here's Garr with us outside the club. We were well fed, and did three shows to their friendly crowd. Mo' Kauffey drove in from Guelph to hang out- always a pleasure to see him. We should of made him play a few tunes! After some wings with Garr, we're on the road by about 2:AM. We're looking forward to going to London in the morning.

Hamilton, ON, Only the Lonely

I had mixed feelings about this gig all along. It was a one-off deal to fill a date, and I wondered how it was going to go. I wasn't sure if the venue would be any good, or whether they would do anything to help promote the show. We pulled up to the Casbah in good time and met Brodie, the manager. This was encouraging- he had an office and seemed quite professional. We didn't seem to have much in common with the other artists advertised in the window, but I remembered that my pal Tom Wilson had played here before, as had Michael Pickett, so what the heck. The venue looked pretty nice inside. Good room with good sight lines. The house PA gear looks modern. There is a nice solid stage with big ass monitors all over it. The club is actually clean and comfortable! Hey- nice place!

Pete, the sound man arrives and does a great job of getting us up and running. We are told that the mainstream newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator, has made us the "pick of the week" for entertainment. This is pretty encouraging, and we start to feel good about the whole gamble. We order dinner, are well fed, and sit down to wait for show time.

We start the show half an hour late, as we wanted to make sure our audience was completely and happily seated. This was easy to do as there were only 30 of them in this big room. Dave and I played well, packed out quickly, and were on the road just after midnight. It's raining hard, and traffic is backed up as a big rock act has just finished playing Copps Colleseum. It sure wasn't the big night we might of hoped for. Coffees to go. Bye, Hamilton. Dave says "hi."

NOW Lounge, Groovy Monday, Toronto, ON

Back at my place in Toronto, ON, Dave and I are officially on one of our rare "rest days." Of course, this means we'll be out on the town, and tonight this means we'll be at the NOW Lounge for the Groovy Monday songwriters stage anniversary party! I'd been invited earlier, but wasn't sure if we were going to be in shape to make it. But Dave and I are feeling pretty good- we can still sing, or croak, enough to do a few tunes. I emailed Liz back at the last minute, and she kindly got us into the line-up for that evening.

Over at the club we met Richard Flohil, Speak-music founder Jennifer Claveau, Brian Blain, Mr. Rick, Howard Gladstone, Johnny Devil, Scott B., Ian North, Heather Morgan, Jay Linden,... So many more! Can't list everybody, so don't feel slighted. It's all a blur! Dave and I left home in a hurry with only one case each, instead of our usual bunch of bags and boxes. I find I have no slides. Dave has no harps. Hmmm... We elect to play solo sets instead of the duo thing. Dave wants to play before I go on. OK. He's so damn good he pushes me every single night, and tonight is no exception. Dave tears the house down with a couple of tunes including "Atlanta Moan." It's my turn next, and I know I must of put it in the Zone. Took a minute to get back in my body and off the stage afterwards. Sometimes that happens. That's what this is all about. It's more than music or just playing a bunch of notes in the right places. Thanks, Groovy Monday. See you next time.

Carrigan Arms, Burlington, ON

Loading out at a reasonable hour, we drank hotel coffee, bought batteries and office supplies and cruised around town until we found a likely breakfast joint. An easy drive down the big highway to Burlington, ON, where we slept in the parking lot for a couple of hours. We woke to Halton Blues Society president James Anthony unloading gear next to us. Again, an easy load in- we've got it down now. The room seemed kind of quiet, a nice, big empty pub. But it was Sunday afternoon.

Start time rolled around, and it was still kind of quiet- maybe thirty or forty people in the room. James and the Halton executive had us wait another half hour, by which time the place was pretty packed with Halton Blues Society members and supporters. A couple of guys at the bar said they had seen us at the Harvest Blues and Jazz the week before, and they'd brought their friends along. Cool- still wishing more people had seen us in Fredericton- but we've got a good crowd here tonight.This is Stella. Seemed like a good idea at the time...

Our first show went really well, and we sold a large number of cd's between sets. The jacket raffle goes well, too. These are fun- we're enjoying this part of the Tour. Now we are autographing the jackets. They are going fast- I hope we have enough to last for the rest of the Tour.

Second show was great fun with James Anthony sitting in on mandolin and guitar. He nailed everything we tossed him- a top notch player and clearly a home town favourite. James has worked really hard to organize the Blues Society, and he's got a fine bunch to share the organizational load. We'll play some more in the future. Thanks for a great night, James. Anybody who lives in that part of the world might want to check out the weekly, Blues Society sponsored Jams at the Carrigan Arms. They get a big turnout most days, so turnout yourself and support the local scene!

Mario's, Windsor, ON

It took us a few minutes to pack our gear from Place Concorde, but soon enough we were tearing across town to our next gig. Ted Boomer was leading us through town at a pretty good clip, but we made it- and the club had reserved a parking spot for us right out front. The staff at Mario's were waiting to help us load in and set up, so by about 11:30 we were ready to dig in.

It was a noisy, but appreciative crowd out to support the Blues and the Downtown Mission and we had a good time playing for them. During the second set a couple of hot young women entertained us with THEIR moves on the little dance floor in front of the stage! This portion of the evening played out much too quickly for me, but dinner was waiting, sans desert. After a couple of encore numbers we were escorted to a semi-private room in the back where we were treated to a truly wonderful Italian meal. Mario's is classic Italian, right down to the checkered table cloth decor and the impecable manners and service.
It's not good, but this is the only pic we've got. Maybe somebody can send us some good ones? Dave and Patti and I had a great time hanging out with Ted, Bernie, Little John and a whole bunch of other folks associated with the Canada South Blues Society. Such a good time was had that we almost forgot to get paid. But we were kind of tired, having done three gigs plus all the media today! A great day for Dave. Back to the hotel for a well deserved rest. Dave and Patti will be up early to get her off to the airport and home. I'm gonna sleep and sleep.

Oasis, Windsor, ON, Blues Museum & Hall of Fame

A quick trip to Windsor after leaving Grape Jam. We all had a good time at the festival and so arrived at Oasis, Place Concorde, Windsor, ON, in high spirits. Dave was to be inducted into the Canadian Blues Hall of Fame later this evening, so there were a couple of television and radio crews preping to do interviews. Dave ducked into the Brown Room to suit up for his first television interview, while I roughed out our gear on stage and met the tech guys.

Dave's interviews went off beautifully- he had the place laughing from the start. I hustled around, trying to get some stills of the whole thing, but my camera began giving the "low battery" sign. Jeez, we put new batteries in at breakfast! Cheapo crap, I guess.

We each did interviews with the local cable company. They have a show that covers musicians and their gear! I got to talk to a young interviewer about glass vrs. deep socket slides, Marine Band vrs Special 20 harmonicas- stuff like that. Heck, I didn't think anybody cared! Anyway, induction time rolled around quickly enough.

Ted Boomer and South Canada Blues Society president Bernie had given us the grand tour of the Museum. It's a huge, cool undertaking with seed money from Martin Scorsese. On the walls of the Blues Museum are signed photos from many blues greats, both Canadian and American, along with big blue stars documenting their induction and histories. The Museum also collects books, photos, recordings, and aims to create an archive that can be used by future researchers, fans, and players. Dave was thrilled and honoured to be inducted, and it was an honour to be there with him for this event.

The ceremony itself was fairly short. After a little intro Dave's star was unveiled, his bio read out. Dave then made an acceptance speech. Patti and Ted and I all wondered what he was going to say!! Great speech, Dave! You got away with it!

Most people reading this blog probably know quite a bit about Dave already. His friends up and down the line will know he's a pretty modest guy. It's good then, that we can all brag about him and celebrate his life and career. Dave has had an enormous influence on the music scene in western Canada. He's certainly known and loved all the way across this country. I'm honoured to sit and play beside him every night. Congrats Dave!!

After the induction we performed a one hour set for cable television and for members and friends of the South Canada Blues Society. Here's the stage, ready to go.

Merch was selling as quick as we could stock it.

Then it was off to our next gig of the night- a fundraiser for the Downtown Mission. A quick break down of gear, load out, we're off!!

Grape Jam

Up early and on the highway for an afternoon show at a the Grape Jam Acoustic Blues Festival, where we are headlining. It turns out to be a beautiful spot near Lake Erie- the grounds of the Smith and Wilson winery. It's about an hour and fifteen minutes out of Windsor. We roll in early and are treated to plenty of south western Ontario hospitality! Wine was flowing, if not freely, certainly in quantity. Anybody interested in quality, limited edition wines should visit this Estate near Blenheim, ON.

As we unloaded backstage I heard a big voice and was pleased to see that Paul Langille was up front. I've heard this guy on and off for many years- big tubes, and can sing anything. We chatted for a few minutes after his show. He's based in London, ON and is, no doubt, well known in that area.

Caught up with festival director John Gardiner annd his wife Carole. Always a pleasure to hang out with these folks, and they've done a great job yet again mounting this festival!

The show on before us was not an acoustic act, but John liked them and made an exception. Daddy Long Legs is a quartet of younger guys out of Kitchener, ON. Dave and I were pretty impressed by their mostly original tunes and by the delivery and musicianship. Also, they are all nice guys and serious about what they do. I don't know what their plans are, but I'd sure hope that they get some opportunities to play over broader territories. I told them I'd tell people about them. So, yeah, you promoters- hire these guys.

Our set was fun. The wine was probably having an effect on the crowd by the time we came out- they were pretty enthusiastic! After the show we sold a couple of tour jackets- one to a guy named Dave McLean, who was going to wear it to work next day! Actually there were at least THREE guys on site named "Dave MacLean." Never rains, it pours, eh?!!
The Green Room had a nice deck we relaxed on. That's the life, boys.

Then, on to what we do best! Showtime under the big tent for the Big Road Blues Tour!






Back on the road to make a 6:PM sound check at the Blues Museum. It's been fun. I wish I could hang out and sample more of the wines- but we've got a big night ahead of us yet.