Last Date on the Poster- The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto

Gapping on my Blog! Arriving back in Toronto to a four month catch up of junk mail, garden, lawn, and various other domestic crisis created a rapid disconnect for me. I got the PA gear back to Long & McQuade Toronto on schedule. Everything worked great as usual- and fortunately I didn't need to unpack the gear very often on this Tour. I do have extra mic stands now, thanks to Smoke Meat Pete (see previous Blog entry!), so the gear closet is better equipped...

Tonight it's my official Bad Boy closer. I'm solo- which is fun- but I wish I could of shared Big Dave with more of Ontario! The Toronto Blues Society is presenting me as part of a mostly acoustic blues series at the trendy Gladstone Hotel. No cover. Free blues.

My son Alasdair comes with me to roadie my gear. I let him carry a few things in- as if I haven't been doing this every night for months already- and then I buy him the junk food dinner he craves. I'm met by Jordan, from the TBS office. I get paid up front. Nice. It's a good little stage, the sound man is friendly and professional. The TBS volunteers all know me and chat to fill the space before showtime. They've done a fine job and work hard for the blues. Stage banners are up, lighting is good, a little cd and information desk sits off to the side. TBS President Derek Andrews drops by for a while. The place is busy, but not packed. There are a few family members and a few friends, and quite a few fans I haven't met before. It's a chatty sort of crowd, as one might expect in a big, no cover food and drink room.

Two sets and a few CD sales and I'm done. It's been fun, but it's always hard to know how to promo non-ticketed, no-cover shows. Usually the weight falls to the presenter- and I think the TBS has done a really good job of advancing this event. In the end, I'm very grateful to be thought of, and included in the Toronto Blues Society program. It wasn't one of those adoring, theatre crowds- but it was fun, social, and a great way to bring this National Steel Bad Boy Blues Tour to a close. Somehow, I forgot to bring the tour camera! I think perhaps I need a spare that will ride in one of the guitar cases...

It's an unseasonably warm night on Queen St. West as I pack my gear out into the Lincoln. Still early in this town. The lights are bright, streetcars are rumbling by- bells ringing. The sidewalks are busy and noisy. People drive by, honk and wave. The roof speaker and lights are enjoying their last night out! Bright lights, big city. In ten minutes I'll be home.

What a Tour. Four straight months. I'm glad it's over. I wish it would go on forever. I dread the next one. I can't wait to leave. Next I'll be unpacking, doing the paperwork. A couple more entries to wrap this Tour.

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.

GTA Blues- In Which the Bad Boys have a Quiet Night

Being in my home town for 48 hours doesn't change much- the beat goes on, as they say. It is kind of strange. When I got into music I imagined my "office" would consist of a coffee pot, a turntable, and a bunch of records. Now the laptop, the cellphone, the digital "cloud," and the web keep me company everywhere. The Lincoln has a pretty good stereo, but I do miss the coffee pot, the turntable, and late nights with Bix and Charlie Patton...

I picked up Big Dave at Pearson Airport last night. We're taking care of odds and ends, repacking the car, trying to stay on top of the books, the schedule, and the detailing of this lengthy Tour.
We are stuck in traffic and arrive about 20 minutes late to our Burlington, ON, Long and McQuade guitar clinic. About 30 people have come out for the event, and we have an excellent question and answer session, playing several songs and talking about open tunings, slide guitar playing, finger style guitar, resophonic instruments... It is a pretty nice location, although way out in the rolling sprawl of GTA suburbia.

Dave and I head into Oakville for a bite to eat, do the drive through promo across downtown, and then head over to tonight's gig. We are playing the Moonshine Cafe. It's a little, 75 seat venue with good sight lines, good sound, and very friendly staff and owner. We've played here in past years and it has been good. Selling out this venue is more practical for us than several other alternatives. This is to be our only stop in the GTA, so we are hopeful that some of our fans will come out from the surrounding regions.

Showtime- and we've got nine people in the audience. They are good folk and fun. They all buy CD's. But this reminds me of why I spend 275 days a year on the road. Quite a difference from the Marquee shows in the other regions of Canada. Ah, ya never know. I'll be back to try it again next year! But I can't promise to have Big Dave McLean in tow. I'm really sorry Toronto did not get to hear this show. Dave continues to be amazing every night. Tomorrow the Tour heads east, and we need to make more than gas money.