Quote of the day:

“Beers for years!”

– Acres/TSE tour salute/cheers

Wednesday, November 16th, 9:00 am, Calgary

We spend a night in Calgary after driving all day Tuesday from Nelson. We left early in the morning and were more than surprised when we didn’t hit any snow. The day was a beauty, for sure. We hang out with Kelly and Jayme again, drinking tequila and watching “Hoarders” while trying to book a few more shows along the way of the tour. It is colder than I am used to and make subtle complaints to the boys all day. You know, like “Man, it’s crisp out, hey?” or “I think I need better gloves.” or “My feet are taking forever to warm up!” When, really, all I’m saying with those characteristically less than exuberant statements is “WAAAAH, I’M COLD. PAY ATTENTION TO ME BEFORE I SCREAM.” I change my guitar strings in the van, eat a breakfast sandwich and pass out like the forever-fat-kid that I am.

6:00 pm, Saskatoon

It gets colder and we drive for a good 8 hours, running into only minor winter road hazards. No “ice-fog” yet. We stop in the middle of the frigid prairie-land to film a short acoustic video and Tyson and I nearly get frostbite on our fingers. Not really, but we’re from the island and we like to complain. We make excellent time for once and begin loading into a downstairs venue called “Walkers Night Club” which features my favourite amalgamation of all-ages AND 19+. Good times, for sure. We grab a beer and a cheap hotel room across the way at a place called “Winston’s” which will for certain be our stomping ground for the night, other than the venue. That pub atmosphere on a cold night always does it for me. The show begins with “High Hopes” a solo acoustic act by a guy named Joel. He is a great singer with catchy emo anthems in which the locals sing along to, knowing them by heart. “Come Hell or High Water” is up next and dazzles us with some catchy rock songs. “Decisions Made” is a power-pop-punk band reminiscent of Four Year Strong, and hey, they even do a cover of “All The Small Things” by Blink 182, my GOD, what a plus! We play next and try to induce a sing-a-long in almost every song. The locals are okay with this and show us some love by clapping and stomping along to our end sequence sing-a-long during the song “Collections.” Daniel from TSE has even begun to join us on stage for the last number. A wonderful moment, for sure. Ten Second Epic takes the stage and it is immense. They play flawlessly and whip the crowd into a stage-diving frenzy. During their finale, an old song called “Home in the Heartland,” one guy dives into the crowd and no one catches him. It is difficult to see the extent of, or if he even has injuries, but he is still standing with a smile on his face he just landed on.

12:30 am

We are at Winston’s Pub knocking back a few before the night is over. There is the tour salute and story-telling back and forth, and we are even joined by a few of the locals. Daniel and I talk a great deal about songwriting and our band’s histories, depression and bouncing back, being crazy and dripping with inspiration, and we even discuss when it is appropriate to spit when on stage. I had always wondered, but apparently, to my astonishment, it is always looked down upon, but it is more rock and roll if you don’t think and just DO. A motto in which I am becoming more familiar with each and every day I am away from home. God help me. Before we retire upstairs for the evening our minds are blown as we run into the bass player for the “Bay City Rollers,” (WHAT) re-iterating that, anything and everything can happen, while on the road. Things get weird, for sure.