Great Gig at the Trellis, Hubbards, NS

I'm sorry Big Dave missed this one! Perhaps the wind is changing! A really nice night here in Hubbards, NS, with a really nice group of people. I'm well fed, I'm treated nicely by an audience with several hard-core Doc fans in it. I'm encored. I'm paid, I'm accommodated. As much as I miss Dave, it is kind of nice to get to play a whole evening of my own material, too! I'm already booked here for next year.

In Which Doc and Dave Say Good-Bye

Waking up in the Coop. The woodstove has long used up the last log. It's a crisp morning in the building, despite the sun peaking in through the many windows.

Rich, rolling fields outside. Still green. Dave joins me in the Coop. We're all packed. Our hosts are nowhere to be seen, so we head up the highway to look for one more breakfast. We've got time to burn as Dave's plane doesn't leave until later in the day, and the airport is less than two hours drive.

And now the snow has caught up to us, as well. In a real sense we've reached the end of autumn. It waited for this day, just as we knew both the snow and the day would eventually find us. Nova Scotia snow, just teasing, showing off how it may charm.

After breakfast we climb back into the higher country. We're going to tour about a little before driving to the airport.

She's a pretty one, from up here. We continue on, climbing the ridge and dropping down to visit the Bay of Fundy.

It's an area known for having some of the highest tides in the world. Upon our visit, the water is down, and the shore is abandoned. A cold wind soon chases us back into the car, and sends us on our way. We stop in Wolfville and shop at the Dollar store. We stop in Windsor and check out the Thrift shop. I buy some socks and some spare gloves. Then we're off to the airport. I'm delivering Dave in plenty of time as I've got a solo show tonight and need to allow a couple of hours to get there.

Self-portrait by Dave. Over the course of three of these Tours Dave has gone from camera shy to developing an eye for images. Dave took quite a few of the blog pictures this year- including a bunch of the "art" shots.

Halifax Intl Airport. Is Dave smiling because he is escaping the Lincoln? Nah. Although from a business point of view the Tour has had ups and downs this year, it has definitely been the great Canadian journey again. We've rode a whole lot of blacktop. We've met some really great people across nine provinces. We've enjoyed each other's company, artistry and professionalism. We're still friends. Good friends. And we've really delivered some classic shows this year. Nobody reviews this stuff anymore, but I'd like to think anybody who took in a show would agree. I don't know if or when we'll get to do another run like this together, but I think it's safe to say that it's been one of the great blues adventures for both of us.

Bye, Dave. I know we'll be talking on the phone like old ladies before the week is out. Airport security is taking pictures of the car and jotting down the licence plate number. I guess I've got to get this rig out of here. I've got a gig tonight down in Hubbards, Nova Scotia. The big Lincoln seems strangely silent and empty as I edge it back onto the highway.

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.

Halifax, VIP

What's with the VIP, anyway? I mean, what's it mean? Like Very Important Place, or something? You should know that this city has been here a long time, and it's bigger than Charlottetown, cooler than Saint John, more sophisticated than Moncton... Heck, it's on the same coast as Boston and New York City! Practically a sister city! Let's play pretend today...

The cops follow us around town as we promote this evening's show. I come to look at it more as an escort. We drive up and down the Citadel driveway a couple of times to get our blues message out over the tops of the buildings below.

Taking a hint from New York City, Halifax removed the Occupy protesters in a clumsy, backhanded fashion. It's a pretty town, unless you are soaking wet in a jail cell.

We roll by the gig early to see about load in and sound check. There are no posters of us in the venue display cases outside. There are no posters of us in the venue or performance area. No marquee... A quick trip to the bathroom locates a single poster up over the urinal. The sound man arrives and informs us that our posters had been taken down "only hours ago." I wonder why anyone would want to take down all advertising prior to an event? But no one knows. I'm only told that since there have been just two advance tickets sold, that these will be "taken off the computer so we don't have to pay SOCAN." It's an upscale, downtown joint with pictures of Blue Rodeo on the wall. The sound system is actually built into the walls and ceiling- little speakers all over the place. Dave and I are set up and sound checked in less than 10 minutes. Four boom stands, 2 SM58's, 2 SM57's. Leave 'em hot, put a blanket over the board.

Clearly we can't afford to eat here, and as hospitality is not offered, we wander down the street to see what our options may be. Only a block away we find Q, a good looking, good smelling BBQ joint. We have one of the best meals of our tour at Q! Check it out. I don't know if it is actually the best BBQ north of Boston, but it might well be.

Back at the gig, we can tell that it's not going to be crowded on this Wednesday night. But there are a few folks coming in- some of my fans, some of Dave's, our pal Dale (the only Blues Society guy to come here), and the welcome face of Canadian blues icon Joe Murphy. He'll sit in with us later in the show.

We play a really good show to about 20 or 25 people. Joe Murphy gets up and does a couple of numbers with us. Later I discover that not all of this small crowd has even paid to get in. The venue didn't want to turn anyone away on such a slow night. Actually, at the end of the night the sound man tells me that after ticket sales are deducted Dave and I OWE THE CLUB $275!!! Didn't anyone tell you you had to pay for sound?

You know and I know that I've got a full Long and McQuade PA out in my car. Not only can I have it loaded in and set up in less than 20 minutes, but I can call and get anything else I need in a matter of minutes. Dave and I mix our own show, live, on hot mics. It's called dynamics. In the real world dynamics of venues and artists there's something going on here. No, the manager isn't in tonight.

It's an interesting business where presenters can feel that this is normal practise- to build and design fixed operational expenses to be directly taken from the incoming shows. Who would think that it would be anything but normal to pay a small Halifax, Nova Scotia venue's sound man over $300 for a mid-week show? Presenting shows is always a partnership of some kind, and it involves some kind of balancing of assumed risk as the partnership brings elements to the table and calculates possible returns on the risk. Anyway I go to the car and fetch the Tourbook... the small print in my agreement does read that there may be miscellaneous expenses up to $300. It DOESN'T say that this is actually a FIXED EXPENSE to pay a staff person's wages, but that's the way it is. Of course, a simple misunderstanding. How foolish of me not to expect, know, and understand that the venue sound man will get a fat guarantee out of my pocket! Hey, the venue seems to have a good reputation. Other shows have come and gone- apparently successfully.

Dave and I leave the venue with exactly $0.00 for tonight's show. Dave and I have been full time professionals for over 40 years and neither of us has ever been billed at the end of a show. It's a first for us. It's embarrassing. It's somewhat degrading. Clearly, in the scheme of things, the chef, the waitress, the beer company, the bar tender, and the sound man all deserve to be paid. But only two guys leave with absolutely nothing at the end of the evening. Much less than nothing. Sometimes you don't make what you might have hoped on a door deal- and that's the nature of the business- but we leave here tonight feeling tired and used, like low status objects. Only one guy is made to feel stupid. Yup, you got my ass. Just a country boy, bumbling like a fool in the Big Town.

Island Exit: Farewell PEI- Until Next Time

You know I love these red dirt roads!

All hands on deck! It's a warm and windy day as we watch the Island slip away. Thanks, everyone. We did have a great time here. It's nice to come away with so many new friends. As usual, I can hardly wait to return. It's the Dunk next September!

C'Town- Baba's Lounge

Oops, no pics. I don't know what we were thinking today! Slow start at the Dunk cabin this morning. Hung around and helped Hal move piles of firewood. Went for another run on the Confederation Trail. Under cover of darkness we head into town, the big, C'Town, to play Baba's Lounge. Even at 9:00 we are way too early. Our sound tech doesn't arrive until 10:00. It's more like 11:PM when we start our first set. Too bad the late start- some of our folks just aren't going to come out. We do have a pretty nice little crowd though. A whole bunch of PEI musicians show up- including our new pals the Bad Habits Blues Band. Alas, at the end of the night we make less than $100. The cover was not between $10 and $20 as expected. Unknown to me, the venue charged only $5- and didn't collect from the folks in the back! Seriously, the sound man (who did an excellent job), and the bar staff all made more than we did. Much more. My share, before expenses, came to $45. PEI folks had no trouble paying $20 a couple of nights ago at the Dunk. I wouldn't have unpacked the guitars if I had known. I don't mind taking a chance on the door- when there is a door. Here, we had a modest crowd, but effectively played for free. What was the venue thinking? Who was responsible. Yeah, write this down to "bad communications," eh? I've got a pretty good track record at communication. We're not a kid band playing for drinks, and we've been at it for over forty years now. Call me shafted in Charlottetown.

Red Dirt Day: Down at the Dunk and a Run on the Confederation Trail

Breakfast with Hal at the Dunk. What a beautiful building, and what a wonderful host. There are few places or people I enjoy visiting as much. It's been a real honour to be a part of this over the past few years. Really, stops like this make it possible to keep going.

Here's the blacktop in front of the Dunk. I sit on the centre line to take some pics! The red dirt roads are not far away. It's a beautiful day, so I decide to go for a run. When I get back I can relax in Dunk Hall or in the wood heated guest cabin. The blog can wait. I'm going to run the red dirt!

The Confederation Trail runs the length of the Island on the old railway tracks. It has little branches and loop trails most of the way. I elect to run along the forest trail by the Dunk River. After the wooded loop, I get up onto the nice, level Confederation Trail mainline and run easy for another 10 km or so. I stop in the ditches a couple of times to plunder some old power insulators and to watch the beavers at work.

I was wearing red today, but I didn't meet anybody with guns.