Saltspring Island- more wow!

A sunny day again! Dave and I drove around Ucluelet and located the breakfast joint folks had told us about. As it turned out, the owner was a former Winnipeg chef who had been a Big Dave fan for many years. He cooked and cooked. Dave ate and ate. Life was good. These kind folks let me use their internet access during breakfast, and about a dozen coffees later I was somewhat caught up with the blog. Still cant get the pics up- and just discovered that todays keyboard wont do certain basic punctuation (guess which characters dont work). Ill fix this later from a smarter keyboard. (OK, I'm back to do that! And I've got some pics!)

One of Canada's great road trips is the stretch from Ucluelet to Port Alberni and beyond. We got some big coffees and enjoyed the ride out to the Big Road. We took the Crofton-Vesuvius Bay ferry over to Saltspring Island. The water was almost dead calm, so we stood in the front of the ferry and gawked at the sheer beauty of it all.


On Saltspring we were suckered for the first time by our Mapquest printouts. We've got a printout with maps and directions for each show. Mapquest told us to turn RIGHT, not left! It was OK, we got to tour some other parts of the Island, and we were not in a hurry. A quick call to our hosts got us back on track and soon we were pulling up to their drive.

This was to be our last house concert of the tour- and what a great time! The drive snaked up the side of a small mountain- the house was a beautiful, hand crafted work of art on the peak.

Vast windows and decks looked out over to the ocean, lush trees and flowers were all about. The front door featured a massive carving of a whale, and the fine woodwork detailing continued all through this massive, dream home. Hosts Ron and Oni made us feel completely at ease, and Dave and I spent a relaxed afternoon snoozing and catching up on our phone calls. Nice to sit out in the sun looking out over the bay below!












About sixty people arrived for a pot luck dinner prior to the show- another spread well suited for royalty! I sampled local sheep cheese and wines, ribs, pear pie... After a short break Dave and I got down to it and played a really fun show to this packed room. These folks bought a huge number of cds, and made us feel very, very welcome indeed. I hope I can come back to this island and visit again and again. After the show Dave jammed a bit with another Dave. Another magic day.

Ucluelet Hotel, Ucluelet, BC

Oh, man, what a ride, what a ride! We got the ferry this morning from Hornby Island- missed our boat by one minute, but spent a nice hour on the wharf, cloud watching. I can't leave this island slowly enough! Across to Denman Island- amazing little artist community- then to the mainland where we set out south to pick up hwy 4 to the west coast of the west coast!

In Port Alberni we did lunch in a real, drive in diner. And the food was great! The road into Port Alberni was a beautiful, dramatic ride, with huge, old growth trees along the road.


From Port Alberni, the ride improved even more. This is one of Canada's great rides. It's a twisty little road with more than it's share of bumps- but what a view- rapids, mountains, big trees, clouds. There's magic at work here, and I totally understand why people come here and stay.











































Rolling into Ucluelet we headed over to Radio 99.2 FM to do the afternoon show with the Duke of Uke. Had a great time doing station ID's and playing old Canned Heat records! To the Hotel where we were met by Jason and Jada, our hosts and the promoters of tonight's show. The old hotel looks pretty good- lots of wood, and the acoustics promise to be good. We are up and sound checked in no time, off to check in to our room where Jason and Jada arrived shortly after with a seafood meal. Jason had caught and cleaned all the fish himself- the ocean is his backyard. And he is a pretty special chef. I hope I can remember some of the cooking ideas he shared!

Back to the club for an early, 7:30 show. The place seems quiet. We got the merch booth set up, and settled into a corner to wait. Still quiet. A few people trickle in, a few more... Jason suggests we wait a few more minutes before starting. We do- and by that time the place is packed! Folks have come in from Tofino and Port Alberni for this show, and the radio appearance didn't hurt, either. A bunch of people "off the boats" came by and introduced themselves. They were going to have a 5:AM start the next day!

A great crowd- one of the youngest we've played for on this tour, and they paid close attention all night. After a couple of encores we packed out. We could of stayed and partied all night with any of this crowd! It was so nice to be so warmly received, and the hospitality was overwhelming! Looking forward to touring a bit here in the morning before heading south to Saltspring Island. Wish we could go oystering, surfing, etc. with all our new friends! We'll be back- hopefully for a longer visit! Thanks Jason and Jada! Have a great wedding and a great birthing!

Hornby Island, BC, New Horizons

We were guests of the Hornby Island Blues Society for a concert on the Island. I'm short of internet access at the moment, but I'll fill in some details in a few days time. This was amazing, amazing, amazing! From the packed house concert in the deep woods to our oceanside digs... Wow!!



After checking in with our hosts at the Hall and loading our gear into the performance area, we were escorted to our accomodations for the evening. We were also provided with a big pot of seafood chowder, french bread, beer, bagels, creamcheese... a big basket of food to enjoy for our dinner and breakfast. This is an amazing house. Dave and I had the place to ourselves. We were quite taken by it's oceanside bedrooms, skylights, glass, wood and earthtoned designs.



The view from this house was a real thrill for us. The roar of the tide coming in and out was a wonderful, relaxing sound, as was the wind in the trees all around us.


We were only sorry there was not more time to enjoy this. But night was falling and it was time for us to try to find our way back to the Hall. This proved to be a little tricky on the dark little island roads- but there are only so many of them, so eventually we got to the Hall. Still in plenty of time. Heck, it's dark on this Island at night! Our night vision is not what it used to be, either!

Soon the hall was filled up, and we were delighted to meet many members of the Hornby Island Blues Society. This is a very active group that, despite their remote location, have a big influence on the western Canadian blues scene. They are big promoters of acoustic blues, and for several years have hosted a summer "blues school" featuring master classes with well established Canadian blues performers. They are also involved in promoting concerts such as the one we are playing, and are involved as a sponsor and participant in the Maple Blues Awards. Great, sincere people, a real pleasure to meet and an honour to perform for.

The New Horizons Hall was as quiet a place as Dave and I have played on this tour. It's not hard to deliver a great show when a room is so primed for listening, and the environment so free of noise and bustle. We enjoyed our first set. During the intermission Dave discovered one of his childhood heros in the audience- Judith Lawrence- the voice of Casey and Finigan on the television show "Mr. Dressup."



To great excitement we raffled off another tour jacket at the start of the second show. Here's the lucky winner!













We finished the night with a couple of encores to this delightful, capacity crowd. After the show we enjoyed more local hospitality and some of the cash crop that this Island is famous for. A magic night for these two city blues guys, in a magic place. Thank you so much for sharing this special world with us. We were so pleased to be able to visit and play.

Duncan Garage Showroom, Duncan, BC - Sold Out Show!

After a well deserved sleep, Dave and I were up and off to Duncan, BC. This town is only a couple of hours from Port Alberni, so it was almost like a rest day, and we took our time driving south- taking in the magnificent views along the way. More rain and clouds, but also a little bit of sun.



At Duncan, we arrived early and checked into our hotel rooms for another rest. We're feeling pretty good, but I notice that we are spending more of our free time sleeping than we were earlier in the tour! Here's two of our tourist shots-




Sound check at 6:45. John tells us that 50 advance tickets have been sold, and that he expects the night to sell out. It does!! I'm not used to doing shows where people need to be turned away! What a great venue, too.

The Duncan Garage Showroom is in an old garage building- very old, so it's all wood and brick. The concert room has perfect sight lines- theatre seating- a wonderful stage, PA, lights, etc. John did a great job getting us set up with our choice of mics, monitor mixes.. Made us feel very spoiled. He's done this 800 times before- so he's got it right down. I knew from the start that this was going to be a great show!

A great listening audience! Dave and I sold quite a few CDs between shows and raffled off another tour jacket. There are not many left, now. After an ovation and an encore we hung out with John and the staff for a while to unwind. Great job everybody!! Thanks so much. No pics of the venue, sorry. It was simply so busy and crazy that we completely forgot about the camera. Off to Hornby in the morning!

Port Alberni, BC

Here's what it looked like camped in line for the ferry to Vancouver Island. I had called ahead and made reservations just in case- but these are big, big, boats, and at this time of year the traffic was apparently pretty good.
It was pretty neat being on this big boat. Dave and I drank coffee and explored.

This is all new territory for me, so it's quite exciting. We stood out on the forward deck, not wanting to miss anything.

There was quite a bit of activity out in the water. I think that there were seals fooling around out in Departure Bay, but I don't really know what they were. Hell, they could of been blues singers that got chucked off an earlier boat. Har! Walk the plank, lads!!


After a great ferry ride, and a wonderful drive across the island we reached our destination- a house concert on a lake near Port Alberni, BC. Rain, mist, old growth trees that touch the sky. A magic night with rain beating down on the roof of a big house. We played to about 50 people, were well fed and received. Sometimes being a blues singer is good. Very good. The Island is everything I imagined it would be, and more.

Hastings Street, East Vancouver

This morning I was up early and off to tour the Vancouver Native Health Centre. A dear, old friend of mine is on the Board of Directors, and she pretty much insisted that I come and visit what has become her life work. The breakfast drop in program was underway, so I got out my guitar and played for everybody. I met many dedicated volunteers working to bring health and dignity to those in need. And I met some folks who may or may not be alive next time I come to town. I'm going to write more about this later. Volumes. Help is needed here. Nobody should be living and dying as they are on these mean streets. Nobody planned to end up here. The condition of this street speaks volumes for the health of our society in Canada- and comparisons to other cities, other countries, other cultures should be no excuse for low standards. We can make a difference. We will. The world is going to come and look at this place, soon enough.

A relative of mine, Isaac Matheson Maclean, was the first medical health officer for the City of Vancouver. He had made his home not far from here, at another Hastings St. address- now a vacant lot. So I suppose I have some thin, thread of a connection to this place and it's history. I played "Spadina Blues" here this morning, and the folks on Hastings were on the same page.

Mountain drive to Vancouver

This is what kind of travel day we had! Winter had to catch up to us sooner or later! The storm lasted only a couple of hours in the high mountains, but not being familiar with the truck we drove pretty carefully. You never know what to expect in the high country. We've been lucky so far.





We were glad to get into our hotel in North Vancouver- here just rain. That's the way I know this city best! This is a rare, rest night for us, so we settle into our rooms, call a few friends, watch a little tube. We're tired, but can hardly wait until morning to get started again.