Bound for Home

My show in Isle Perrot has fallen through. Just one more slap at the Tour by fate. I've done hundreds of house concerts over quite a few years, and I don't think I've ever had a cancellation of any sort until this year. Suddenly there has been a rash of them. Is it new presenters getting cold feet? I don't know. But I do know that these late cancels leave the Tour without revenues on such occasions. Not only am I left without income, but I am burdened with the extra expenses of travel, meals and accommodation. While I've always done house concerts on a "no risk" basis to the host, I'm thinking that I may need to start requesting a small deposit that I can use as "cancellation insurance." Would that be out of line? On the current Tour, from coast to coast, I've lost a full week of show time over these non-events. That's roughly $2500 in expenses, plus complete loss of any projected income for these shows.

Since I'm here in the west end of Montreal, I decide to drop into Smoke Meat Pete's. You may remember that gear was left here some two years ago on the Century Tour. Numerous phone calls could not seem to sort it out or recover my gear. As a matter of fact it was rental gear, and had I reported it lost or stolen it would of been covered under my insurance policy. Instead, I ended up paying for the gear out of pocket, and was pretty unhappy about it! Last year I dropped in and picked up a box that was later found to be filled with light fixtures. Then I came back to do a show, and the staff knew nothing about my missing gear... But today... all is different! Pete greets me warmly as I arrive! "I've got your gear," says he. And sure enough- there it is! All boxed up and pretty! I have lunch and leave with everything happy again in Doc land. Funny things happen in this world. Sometimes things end better than you would of thought.

I've decided to keep driving for Toronto. The weather is warmer, clearer. Snow and rain are behind me. I'm driving into the falling sun of shorter days. I'm headed for home. I've been on this blacktop for nearly four months now. I've got three new mic stands and a smoked meat sandwich for my efforts today. Tonight, my own bed. There's cops all over this big highway, so I set my speed low, drink coffee, and count down these final road miles.

Port Williams, NS- Landing in the Coop: Last Doc and Dave Show

We are most thankful to Dale and Eva for their hospitality! Inviting us to stay at their place was very kind. Now, full of coffee, Dave and I bid Dale good-bye and head north to play the last duo show of the National Steel Bad Boy Blues Tour. From a financial point of view the Maritime leg of the tour has been a disaster. Not just one or two slow shows. Taken as a region, only a single show has approached expectations. The cost of running the Tour here is simply much greater than the revenues generated. Costs are up, revenues are down. Dave didn't want to play the Maritimes, while I gambled that we could make it work better than in the past. Previous Maritime legs have been marginal, but in the black. This time all the bets have gone down. I've never put more time and resources into marketing, packaging, sales and promotion than this time around. Normally we've played the east first, and then made our real money across the rest of the country. This time the tour has gone west to east, and we're bleeding badly as we reach the end.

These km eat up the gas and coffee, but keep us going somehow. Dave and I have been delivering some amazing shows- from our perspective anyway. I think we both agree that we've performed some of the best music and some of the best shows of our lives on this last leg of the Tour. These moments kind of make it worth while although, like everyone else, we've got bills to pay and not enough money. I'm constantly amazed to have a player of Big Dave McLean's ability and stature at my side on these stages. I remember what it was like to sit next to Bukka White, Sam Chatmon, any number of other players. Dave's a mature player in his prime.

We're in to Port William early, so we drive on up the road to the Lookout ridge. Quite a view on this late fall day.

As has become our custom, Dave and I sleep in the Lincoln for a couple of hours. We're dead tired, and it kills some down time quickly.

The Coop is a very interesting, family run building, out on a farm near Port William, NS. Dave and I both like the feel of the place right away. Lots of wood. Big room with great acoustics and a woodstove. This is also pretty close to Wolfville, and some other towns we've played over the years. We're hopeful that we'll actually get a crowd out to hear us tonight! Either way, we're going to have fun on this last show. It'll be an all acoustic event- the sound is so good that we are not going to set up mics.

Our hosts, Angela and Tim, make us welcome and show us to our quarters. Dave will stay in a little guest cabin. I'll stay on in the big room after the show. It doesn't take long for us to settle in. Soon our gear is set up and there's nothing to do but wait for people and showtime!

Before you know it there's a good little crowd coming in. Pretty soon there are people at all of the tables. Some folks have come in from Halifax for the show! Wow. People who like us seem to like us a whole lot! Tonight, for the first time in six years, some people have come out to hear us from the Deep Roots Festival in Wolfville. Maybe we'll get an invite some day? We have a great last night here, out in a warm, wood heated building filled with warm souls who wish us well. Thank you so much. Dave and I really appreciate such an ending to this epic tour! It's been great. We've delivered a classic, duo, acoustic blues show.

Here's the last winner of a genuine satin, white stripe tour jacket!

Dave and I go into town after the show. We get pizza to go, bring it back, eat too much. We're too tired to talk- and we've said it all anyway. Soon Dave is off to his cabin. I put some logs into the woodstove and move a couch closer to it. The fire crackles. Rain pounds on the windows and roof. Tomorrow it's Dave to the airport, and me to continue down this highway alone.

Andy's Dummies, Longs, and the Dunk

Blasting out of Moncton, NB, at a fairly slow rate this morning. After breakfast the highway opens up under us. We gas up. The weather has improved, and the money we each made last night is all but spent and forgotten.

Bound for the Confederation Bridge, which will carry us to our dates on Prince Edward Island, we see some old signs on barns and sheds. "Andy's Dummies." These look really old and weathered, and I wondered if they were left over from some circus act long, long ago. Yet here and there are signs which appear to be a little newer. Handmade signs. "Eight miles to Andy's Dummies." "Five miles to Andy's Dummies." Some of these are pretty much hidden in the bushes on the roadside. Spotting them becomes a game for us... But then... What! There it is! Turn Here For Andy's Dummies." I hit the brakes and the Lincoln skids to a halt in a cloud of dust and oil smoke. "Should we?" "Well, yeah!!"

We make the turn onto a little sideroad. It's not far to a narrow, pothole filled drive which disappears into the bush... Should we? Well, yeah!

Hundreds of handmade signs adorn the trees on either side of the track.

At the end of the drive we see a small house, a shed, and an old school bus. We are met by a jolly gent with a white beard. Do we want to see the Dummies? Well, yes! If we made it up the drive we are in for the whole tour. "Step this way to the Museum," says our guide, leading us not to the shed or the house- but to the bus.

We clamber aboard and an amazing, unique show of folk art and oral history unfolds before us. This is indeed, Andy. And these are His Dummies. Andy's Dummies. Thirty-five years in the making. A rare piece of Canadiana. The National Gallery should buy this outright to save and preserve it.

Andy and a Dummie.

It would take hours to read all of the little buttons and signs!

Turtle born with a Baby's Arm.

One of the highlights of over 20,000 km of blue highways. Go visit Andy. Tell him Doc and Dave sent you!

One of the wonders of the modern world, the Confederation Bridge links Prince Edward Island to the mainland.

Long and McQuades awaits us. As a matter of fact, they DID await us. They expected us at 1:PM and our schedule said 3:30. Usually I call ahead, but today we were distracted by Andy's Dummies and didn't. Some 30 people showed up for the 1:PM workshop. We are truly sorry. Out of all these shows and workshops across Canada this is the ONLY one that has messed up. We do a workshop at 3:30 anyway, but only about a dozen people are here for it.

Workshop done, we are off to Breadalbane, to The Dunk. It's always a real pleasure to visit here. Pre-show we go to a nearby house warming party for dinner...

The show at the Dunk is really good. The place is full of new and old friends, and Dave and I give what is probably the best show of the Tour. We are aware that the end is coming up in just a few more shows, and we are taking it in ourselves. I don't review our own shows in the Blog, but from a personal point of view this is the best that we've done. Certainly one of the very best of some 300 shows together. It's been a real honour to work with Big Dave McLean. He's at the top of his game after a lifetime of writing and performing. We encore. We raffle a jacket. We're good and we recognize and enjoy the moment.

Jacket winner!!!
Later, these folks take us back into Charlottetown to hear a local band, Bad Habits. It's a very kind gesture. Usually Dave and I are too tired to do anything after our own shows. But these folks promise to drive us into town and get us back again as well. It is a wonderful, relaxing night for us. We return tired, but happy. We have a piece of home made pie, put the woodstove on, and lounge for a few minutes longer in its glow.

Reversing Falls, Reversing Fortunes- The Tour Visits Saint John

Perth-Andover: Way Cool! Bless The Bogan!!

Yeah. You might have noticed that the caption above has nothing to do with Woodstock, New Brunswick. I wake up this morning to discover that our house concert there- booked some eight months ago- has been cancelled! Nice, eh? Now, to be fair, the email was dated 48 hours earlier, but we've been in places where we didn't get email. Nice, eh?

A phone call later, and a little luck, and we've got a show scheduled for tonight in Perth-Andover, at a venue called the Bogan! Nice. A very amazing gesture. These folks will book us, and promote us on eight hours notice. Nice, eh?!! We really, really appreciate this!

We have a ball at the Bogan, and are well fed and cared for as well! Thanks, Heidi and Alfred for coming to our rescue! We'll be back! Lots of friends up on this wall. Our poster will join them shortly.

Toronto to Picton, ON

A quick stop at Master Mechanic to get the torque on the wheels checked out. I blew tires on the run down from Thunder Bay, and I was not impressed by the quality of the work in Blind River, ON. Not one, but two wheel hubs flew off as I left their shop. And only one could be found. So I'm out... what $100, for a replacement Lincoln hub. The tire shop just looked at me like it was my fault they couldn't put the wheel hubs on properly. These are guys who are supposed to be popping these on and off all day every day... So here we are today having the work checked out by a shop that I know and trust!

All good! We add oil and are on the highway. Eastward bound on the Big Road- Hwy 401- apparently the busiest highway in North America. It's not a bad ride out around mid-day.

We forget the tour camera at the Acoustic Grill in Picton! In the car that is! Damn! No pics of one of the nicest little venues in Ontario. After a wonderful night, we check into a motel overlooking the harbour. It's still early, so we watch a DVD of Louis C.K., one of Big Dave's favourite stand-up comics. After a lot of laughing we sleep. Tomorrow: Quebec.