Note form...OK? Firstly the thanks:
January 21, 2003
Note form...OK?
Firstly the thanks: Thanks to Andrew White for doing so much work on prep for the tour. Unfortunately Drew couldn’t actually come and I know he really wanted to be there. I hope all the cellphone calls made it feel like you were there.
Secondly: Doug Elliott & Pat Steward for sharing the notes, the beverages and the smells. Rob Howick for stepping in to mix when I needed him most. My pals in Treble Charger leant me their monitor rig for this tour and I’d like to say a big thanks to Rosie, Bill, Greig and Trevor. Thanks to Blair Packham for the guitar amp and the storage space. Thanks to Flavio Monopoli, Kari Wilcox and Craig Collett at Coll Audio for big help in that department. Thanks to David Himelfarb for putting together the Mike Bullard stuff and treating us to good food. Thanks to Matt Smallwood for the PR and to Karen Pace for her groundwork. Thanks to my extended Kingston family for the happy hosting and the deluxe crash pad. Thanks to Jesse Mackowycz at the 360, Paul Symes at le Mouton Noir, Stu Hill, James and Virginia Clarke at the Queens Grad Club for having me to the party. Thanks to Chris Blake, Mary Boutette, Laurie, Phillip, and Jeff Craib for your legwork. Alistair Calder did the emergency internet updates and continues to be my knight in virtual armour.
finally ...all you loyal Craigies who showed up despite the cold. Jenn even flew from Calgary.
Open Mike with Mike Bullard: I think it went as well as live music on TV can go. I didn’t hear any clinkers and there was no parsley in my teeth. I wanted to do something visually interesting so I brought along an extra drummer. Paul Brennan (Odds, Mae Moore, Big Sugar, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sarah Slean) had to be the man. I was unprepared for how much I would enjoy the sound of two drummers behind me. The material on the record is really rhythm heavy so the fit was snug. Loved it. Hope to do it more often. People keep referred to me as the former Odds “front man” in interviews and reviews. Let me go on record as saying we had 4 frontmen at all times. We initially got much more mileage out of Steven’s hair than anything else. His hair was our “frontman”.
Toronto, the 360 Club: The room was a bit cavernous for the “respectable crowd”. There was a british bulldog line of people up front and then a yawning casm and then all the rest of the people stood at a safe distance. The band & I had a great time and I felt more relaxed on an opening night than I think I ever have. A couple of years ago the Colin james Band started using “in-ear” monitors to protect singing voices and get rid of the inconsistencies suffered in stage sound when flitting from place to place. They also come in handy when you’re playing with loops, click tracks and effects. I’ve really enjoyed them and try to use them whenever I do stuff with my own band ...but...when some of your best friends are comedy writers and they show up to the gig you really want to hear all the heckling. Sometimes the monitors block some of that out. If it seemed like I was stunned by their salvos its not true. I couldn’t hear them. Mo Berg & Blair Packham joined us for the background vocals on Warren Zevon’s “Excitable Boy”. I felt like it would be fun to try a couple of my favourites from our (Odds) time with Warren. In this time of tributes to him I guess it looks like bandwagon jumping but I feel like its a more than worthy bandwagon and one that we helped drive at one time in the past.
Wakefield, the Black Sheep: I’d heard about this place for a couple of years. Full moon and a beautiful little town in the Gatineau Hills at -30 degrees. Our host Paul Symes knew how to make any musician feel welcome and respected. The intimacy of the show was a product of the warm atmosphere and the friggin’ extreme cold outside. Shout outs to Kim, Mary, Kath and Marty for always being there for the downbeat. We managed to swallow a few ales and hang out into the wee hours...again. Don’t worry we learned years ago that your pee doesn’t freeze on the way down to the snow.
Kingston, Queens Grad Club: While we knew we would have a good time with our chums we didn’t know how the gig would go. The gig came in late so there wasn’t much time to let people know we were coming. The band was loosey goosey in the way that it should be and the crowd was attentive and overflowing ...as they should be. I was amazed at the turnout and we kept the good vibrations of the show undulating (once again) into the small hours of the night. Its always bittersweet to end on a high note because you mourn the fact that you finally have the whole machine up and purring and then you have to stop. If you never got into the groove then it wouldn’t matter that you couldn’t do it the next night.
basic song list for the shows:
Giddy Up
Slow Motion
Take A Hit Off This
Satisfied
What Lack of Love Has Done - Nick Lowe
Write It In Lightning
Old Mistakes
Always Breaking Heart
Famous Grave
Make You Mad
After Walking In Space
SomeOne Who’s Cool
Sons & Daughters
encore 1
Mohammed’s Radio - Warren Zevon
Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
Out Come Stars
encore 2 Kingston
Beautiful Pain
Mercy to Go