Quote of the day:

“Hey guys, I checked the weather for our trip today. It calls for alcohol, poor decisions and low standards.”

– Dan Ball

Tuesday, November 22nd, 5:00 pm, Toronto

The trip through the shield and further into Ontario took 16 hours. It wasn’t the worst drive. There’s some pretty magical scenery to take in along the way, but also in turn, miles of factories and strip malls. Hooray. We stay in another cheap motel when we arrive in Sudbury the night before, called the “sketchy shade inn” or something along those lines. Trip Advisor told us there had been vehicle and room break-ins in the past so we slept with our instruments of defense under our pillows, a tire iron and a whiskey bottle, they do the trick when trying to ward of undesirable company, but hey, whatever works for you. We get up early and make our way into Toronto, a beautiful city, let me tell you. Even through storms and rain and fog, it remains a sight for sore eyes. I am, and probably always will be, a big fan of this city. Good music, good food, friends and family, a mecca that provides all those good times you look back on. Our experiences here have all been awesome so far in our story, and we pray for many more. I get extra nostalgic every time I’m here, where The Kids In The Hall resided for so many good years, and I point out all the famous spots they filmed their best skits, shouting things like “Let’s play a game of Screaming Numbers!” or “I’m crushing your head!” or “Look! It’s the son of The Flying Pig!” Have I mentioned that I’m a huge loser yet? Okay, well, yes, I am, and I’ve been told it’s fine but still wonder if it is? Also, the rock band Rush was formed here. That’s good enough for me.

6:00 pm

We play at Sneaky Dee’s tonight, our favourite, and I’m sure a good portion of the city’s, place to catch a game, meet up with pals for a beer or 10, see a fucking great show, and hey, if you eat half-price mounds of fajitas while you’re at it, everything is golden. We even catch up with our old friend Dean Rhode from a band called “Theset” who we wait for to get off work and he helps us trudge our gear up the set of narrow stairs up into the venue. What a guy! He’s even letting us stay at his place tonight, which houses those Tristan and Brendan characters from Theset as well. Looking forward to it, for sure. We’ve missed getting into trouble with all those guys. Tyson once lived in their house for an entire month and he came back a changed man, like the transformation Mel Gibson makes in the Mad Max series, everything but the Australian accent, a totally crafty and leather-clad badass road-warrior, or some title along those lines.

8:00 pm

We are re-united with the TSE boys finally. They are still recovering from the Living With Lions show the night before and appear to have no bones, slumped over their gear and merch table, sweating it out. But I don’t let appearances fool me, no amount of self-abuse or drinking heavily can keep these boys down. Soundcheck ends and the venue fills with friends and fans of each band that’s playing tonight. Our friends Tara and Lindsay show their lovely faces and I tell them they smell like red froot loops and they tell me I’m weird. We even run into our old buddy Gypsy Josh and he puts a beer in my hand, the handsome devil. “Lacerda” plays a dynamite opening set, followed by a band called “Chasing Amee” and I am extremely impressed, the way they are with a crowd of people is quite a thing to see. We play next and my shoe becomes untied, as usual, but the sound is good and the audience is enthusiastic and definitely came to Sneak’s tonight for a good old fashioned punk rock sing-a-long. Pat and Daniel from TSE even help us out for our last number. Lewis and I do the same when TSE plays their monster set to their large pack of loyal Toronto fans. I will not get “Count Yourself In” out of my head for the rest of the tour. Good tunes tonight, for sure, and hey, I even got way drunker than usual. This is a good sign. For awhile there, I thought something might have been seriously wrong with me.

Check out a review of the show HERE