We arrived in Brandon in the midst of a torrential downpour…something they definitely didn’t need there with the Assiniboine River rising to dangerous levels. 

We enjoyed playing again at the Lady Of The Lake.This time, thanks to the rain, I didn’t get to see my magnificent Manitoba sunset framed by the window directly across from the stage. I had been thinking about it for days in advance. Oh well…next time.

After the Brandon show we headed directly to Winnipeg for some visiting time with the family and the last show of the tour at McNally Robinson’s bookstore. We really enjoyed playing there…always do. Not only are you singing for the folks in the restaurant but the music is piped throughout the store so shoppers hear you as well.

It was a great tour. And when we get back home I’ll add some photos to the tour blog…didn’t bring the instructions with me and pictures have to be sized to certain specs.

We left Lethbridge with the intention of driving to Cypress Hills Saskatchewan and checking out this beautiful part of the province we never had the chance to really see when we lived out here. Well, it’s going to have to wait for another trip. We tried, but the roads we had planned to travel on (unpaved) were not in very good shape…too much moisture in the area. We didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. So we got back on the Trans Canada Hwy at Medicine Hat and headed east. No shows til Moose Jaw so there was no pressure to get somewhere specific.

In the few hours it took to drive from Medicine Hat to Swift Current we encountered some crazy weather. One minute it would be sunny and bright and the next swirling frozen rain/snow and very poor visibility. It alternated between these all the way. Luckily there wasn’t much traffic on the road.

The scenery was beautiful. Unfortunatly for farmers in the area, there is way too much water in the fields…some look like lakes. That doesn’t bode well for planting.

The following day we decided to check out the Co-op store, a prairie institution. Dwight was hoping to find a hat or shirt with the Co-op logo on it but there were none to be found. Ironically when we were in Tanzania, we met a woman who was wearing a shirt with one. How is it that she can get one on a different continent but we can’t in the heart of the Prairies..ha ha!

I decided to do some driving on the leg to Moose Jaw…my first of the tour. Unfortunately the car we rented doesn’t have cruise control so that was a bit of a challenge maintaining an even speed. Funny how we get so reliant on gadgets. We made if safe and sound, checked into our hotel and watched old movies on TV until it was time for our show at the Java Express, a beautiful little coffee shop downtown.

We’re on the road now, headed for Lady Of The Lake in Brandon, the second last show of our tour. It has been a fun trip, feeling quite a bit like a good road vacation alot of the time. We’re both feeling a little sad that it is winding down.

It was a bit tough leaving Banff on Saturday morning, because we’d enjoyed our time there so much. It is a bit of a paradise…so pristine and scenic. The mountains almost look like a painted backdrop.

More blowing snow enroute to Calgary. This Winter doesn’t seem to want to let up.

Our first stop in Calgary was the Open Jam at the ‘Ship and Anchor’. We both did a double-take when we walked in and saw Rob Fenton, slide guitarist extraordinaire, from Toronto on stage. Small world! He’s touring with Cindy Doire and they were featuring/hosting the Jam. It was great to hear them play. We got up and played some tunes too.

On Sunday we had our show at ‘Weeds Cafe’, a great little coffee shop near the University. One of the microphone stands was missing the clip to hold the microphone so we had to share one. It took us a song or two to figure out where to stand so we didn’t impale each other with our guitar heads. This was one of those times where being a little closer in height to each other would have been handy. But it all worked out fine and we actually enjoyed sharing the mic.

Left Calgary this morning and drove to Lethbridge, where we heard there was a good Open Mic on Monday nights at a club there. Along the way we stopped in some small towns to check out music venues we’d heard about. At about 1:30pm Dwight had a craving for bacon and eggs so we pulled into Fort Macleod (birthplace of Joni Mitchell) to look for an all day breakfast place. Spotted a nice little bakery/cafe and went in. Although the sign said breakfast was only served til 11am, I thought I’d ask if they were firm on that deadline Well, apparently they are…no breakfast after 11am. However, we could have a “bacon and egg on a bagel”. Huh!?…isn’t that just bacon and eggs stacked? Didn’t I see something like this in ‘Five Easy Pieces’? I bet they would have made Joni Mitchell bacon and eggs after 11am

That Open Mic in Lethbridge that I mentioned above was at a club called the ‘Acoustic Owl’. And it was great. The room itself is beautiful and the staff and audience very warm and receptive. Definitely a club we’d like to do a show at sometime.

There’s an amazing full moon out over Lethbridge tonight. I’m up way too late but that seems to be trend on this tour.

Yesterday morning we awoke to a Winter Wonderland. As anticipated, the storm hit Calgary during the night and then headed up to Edmonton. Visibility was very poor until we reached Red Deer, where it improved significantly. A lot of snow fell during a short period of time and the temperatures were above zero so it was quite mucky on the road. Unfortunately there were a lot of big trucks on the road swamping up with slush as they passed. One time, after two tandem trucks passed us in a row, our windshield wipers got so clogged with slush they weren’t clearing the windows and we had to pull over to shake them off. It was a bit scary. Luckily there was a…I think it’s called a “turnout” area where we could safely stop. By the time we got to Banff it was clear and sunny.

Banff is beautiful. And, Bruno’s Bar and Grill turned out to be an awesome club. Garry, who runs it is a musician himself and a great supporter of artists. We had a really fun time sharing the evening with two other singer songrwriters’ Lisa and Kristen. One highlight of the evening was doing the “ski shooters”…a ski with 6 holes to hold shooter glasses. Participants hold onto the ski and at the count of three, tip it to drink the shooters. Thanks to Kristen for tipping me off that the trick is to have your lips on the glass before the tip. Without that tidbit I’d have ended up with even more on my chin than I did

Today was a day off from music so after a good sleep in, we spent the day in and around Banff. Apparently there is more snow in the forecast tomorrow as we move on to our next destination.

Our show last night at The Druid was really fun. Chris Wynter was a great host. Here’s something funny that happened…three young guys were sitting by the bar and singing along to ‘Angel Of The Morning’ when one of them pulled out his iPhone and started waving it above his head. I almost laughed out loud when I noticed there was a picture of a flame on the screen. Ha ha…there’s an app for everything!

We are lovin’ Edmonton even though it seems impossible to find food after 11pm. Even the 24 hour McDonald’s Drive Thru was closed. What’s up with that? Oh well, thankfully the Macs convenience store had Clover Leaf Tuna Salad Kits, which may not sound too exciting but when you haven’t had dinner and it’s after midnight, it’s a feast

Why were we eating so late? Well, we decided to check out the Open Stage at The Fiddler’s Roost. We’d assumed it was a restaurant and were going to eat there but it just had a little snack bar with chips and popcorn. Anyway, it was well worth the wait to eat. We had a blast at the Open Stage. Everybody was so friendly. A fellow named Pat had a djembe and he played along with us on our songs. It was especially nice to have him join us on ‘Gulu’ as Dwight played kalimba. The host, Brian Gregg, invited us to do an extra song since we’d come from so far away…out of towner special priviledges The accordion seemed to be a big hit and later on in the evening Dwight jammed on it with other musicians. It sounded great.

Well, it’s really late and I should get to bed. Looks like there’s a snowstorm brewing in the area, which hopefully won’t impede our travels to Banff tomorrow.

We are already one third of the way through the tour and this is the first chance I’m getting to blog.

Because we have lived in both Winnipeg and Saskatoon, that part of the tour was a trip down memory lane and the opportunity to catch up with family and friends.

Our tour kick-off show at Sam’s Place in Winnipeg was, in a word, all kinds of awesome. Wait, that’s 4 words isn’t it?

We had a full house…I think there was one empty rocking chair left in one of the book aisles. Brock Peters joined us on bass and did a fabulous job. The folks that run Sam’s Place are great and the performance space has a good sound system and spacious stage.

The following day we started heading west…next stop Saskatoon, but not without an overnight stop on the way. Us city folk who don’t own a car aren’t used to sitting for long periods in a vehicle. After a 5 hour drive, upon arrival in Yorkton I said to Dwight “Let’s live here.”

Well rested by the next morning, we cruised on to Saskatoon. Must mention the breathtaking beauty of the Prairies here…bright blue skies and endless horizon. Never truly appreciated it when we lived out here. Funny how that is.  

Oh, and Dwight wants me to tell you about the Boh Phenomenon…cases of Bohemian brand beer tossed in the ditch at many points along the route from Yorkton to Saskatoon. Not sure how they ended up there and why only that brand. Another question for the ages…like how did they build the pyramids and who’s responsible for crop circles?

The first of our two shows at McNally Robinson started off on rocky footing sound wise. For some reason we had difficulty getting a clear mix with any volume (aka Oomph) to it. And there was a mysterious chatter coming through the speakers…like a talk radio station horning in on the frequency. Shades of Spinal Tap! Got that sorted out for the most part and while the sound wasn’t ideal, we did have a great crowd out so had a fun night just the same. Strangely, on the following night the sound was good and we had none of the issues we’d experienced the night before.

After a day off to visit with friends, we headed west to Edmonton. Must mention the breathtaking beauty of the Prairies AGAIN here…more bright blue skies and endless horizon and we even saw bison. Oh, and a giant pysanka in Vegreville!

Even though we were pooped from our almost 6 hour drive, last night we decided to check out an Open Stage at a place called Devaney’s Irish Pub in Edmonton. It was one of those great finds. Got to play half a dozen songs to a responsive audience and enjoy the music of other singer songwriters…and eat some delicious sweet potato fries!

Tonight we have our show at The Druid to look forward to.

Bye for now. We’ll check in again soon as the tour moves along.