It was easier for the man to see the city on foot. He got his exercise and threaded his way through the hustle and flow of the city. There is no better way to connect. Halifax harbour was vivid and almost regal in today’s presentation. Tourists could expect no more. The postcard pictures matched the sky and the temperature was perfect. It was unseasonably sunny bright and flags on mizzenmasts flew perfectly as an optimum wind velocity rifled the fabric. The man sought high ground on Citadel Hill as instinct dictated. The sunken fortress’s surrounding green lawns fell away from the crest of the hill past the white wooden clock tower and into the streets below. Young Sunday floppers dotted the hill in groups of two or three. He decided on a course. He would run west to the MacDonald Bridge and cross the harbour to the Dartmouth side. He wasn’t sure if he liked heights or he was afraid of them. What better way to find out than to cross the thing on foot? He’d done it before and, whatever the phobias, it was a small thrill. Past the Halifax Armory and thoughts of the heaviness of foreign conflict and into the quiet of one of the city’s transitional neighbourhoods he was almost there. A few more blocks and cranking a hard right he was soon on the foot of the bridge. Steady traffic helped maintain the sense of disorientation that hits you when you step out onto a large metal suspension bridge that heads to a 49-metre peak above the white-capped sea. Locals call it “the Old Bridge” and that inspired the man to feel more of a connection to reality. This is what makes an old wooden roller coaster more fun. There is an illusion that safety may somehow be compromised. The numbers must indicate that somehow. Phillip Pratley designed the bridge in 1955 and that is why it resembles Vancouver’s Lion’s Gate Bridge. Same guy. Same ideas. He began immediately to rise up over the gray battle ready minesweepers at the HMC Dockyard and was soon at the summit of the bridge’s arc. He watched his feet as they treaded the pebbly grip surface of the walkway. It was the same colour as the warships below. The water was visible through a gap to his left that separated the roadway from the walkway. This magnified the distance to the surface of the water. He thought what all people think at that point. Could I live if I fell? Is 150 feet too high? Do you try to point your toes and enter like a knife? No. Femurs driven up into the lungs. Definitely. Do you curl up into a cannonball? No. Knees into face...out cold. As he calculated his chances of survival on his way down the longer descent of the south side he passed a pedestrian coming the other way. Probably in his early twenties and wearing a camouflage hoodie, ipod buds and aviator sunglasses the man smiled in no particular direction and trucked slowly up the walkway.
The man continued on to where the bridge touched down and turned back to retrace his steps. At the crest of the bridge he came up behind the pedestrian. He noticed the bottle of Molson export dangling from between the fingers of his right hand and as he drew up beside he could hear him singing into the strong wind. The ear buds were blasting and the pedestrian would have had no idea anyone was nearby so ... he felt free to sing full blast. On a gorgeous day with his lungs full of fresh air and sauntering through the sky over the sparkling ocean the pedestrian bellowed these words. “Shoot me! C'mon. Blow a hole in my lung. I'll lick out the hole when I swallow my tongue”. Violent J and Dark Lotus. We all run alone for different reasons. Maybe the energy is more important than the message.
The man continued to run past and kept his expectations in check. As he left the pedestrian far behind his daydreams continued to run wild now fueled by the deeds of the Insane Clown Posse.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/darklotus/swarm.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Lotus
There’s been a block in my blogger reflex lately. There has been too much music to stop and write down my abstract musings. Just wanted to thank Tim “the Finger” Der for all his hard work in the myspace realm and in all his collecting and keeping up with what is going on in my/our world. He has really expanded our group of friends and that is all under his own steam. Fantastic.
Last night we finished an intense run of “1 nighters” in a smelly van with “the New Odds” (not an Odds “reunion” as has been sometimes reported). Thanks to all the people who came out and sat ready to hear some new material. It really allowed us to get to the heart of the songs and have some fun doing what we love. We continue to record the record but we’re all very busy and we have to go out and hunt and gather in order to pay for all this. There is a new “links” page at thenewodds.com .
Huge thanks go to Jason George for putting that whole tour together and to Leeroy Stagger who opened all the shows and became our pal. His new album “Depression River” is fantastic. Get it now. Thanks to Eric "Big E" Webster for the beautiful portrait of 4 ugly Kraftwerk looking guys. A huge thanks to Blair Calibaba who helped us make all those old Odds records and who made us sound so good on this tour. Thanks to Blair there is always a refreshment in your hand and comedy on the stereo.
I think Tim is changing his tribute site from oddstp.com to oddsrock.com. Look for that change if it hasn’t already happened. He is the holder of all the cool archives.
I believe Tim has also archived the performance Pat & I did with Jeremy Fisher on Craig Ferguson’s “Late Late Show”. I look forward to that because I missed it.
I wonder if there is any cameraphone bootleg action from the run of 8 Kevin MacDonald "Hammy & the Kids" shows at "Just For Laughs" in Montreal. I wanted to send another big thatnks to the crew at Theatre St. Catharines. They are marvelous people. Had a ton of fun doing the new "Kids in the Hall" live show. I think any of you who saw it would attest that the new material stands up against the best material of the past. I am continually blown away by their killer chops.
I look forward to seeing some of you when I leave in 10 days for the Colin James & Craig Northey dates. We’ll be in the Maritimes and Ontario to start and there will be BC dates announced for November. Check colinjames.com for details. I will try to update all my web locales but …I have a lot to do at home and might not get to it.
Look for Pat & Jeremy (Fisher) on tour with the Weakerthans in the US in two weeks time.
Look for Murray Atkinson doing his solo thing as he has won the Vancouver Seeds 2007 contest for 99.3 FM. This means he gets some money to develop his songs and get out there. We’re very proud.
Look for Doug with Colin and I on select dates.
Hey…if you’re looking for something to read may I suggest you order Paul Myers book “It Ain’t Easy” about the life and times of Long John Baldry. It’s out in a few days. Check Amazon. Doug & Pat (New Odds) both spent time playing with Long John and I have great memories of watching him and talking to him over the years. A true unsung hero behind the music I love.
We’ve all read “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon” by Crystal Zevon. You’ll love it and we love him.