Here we go with BC Homecoming tour update 2!
July 30 – After an 11 hour drive from Prince George to Vancouver Shane’s brother Jeff and his wife Beth were kind enough to have us stay at their place for the evening. In the morning we met Shane’s niece who told me I had mermaid hair like her and that Shane needed a haircut. In the meantime his nephew had created a gallery worth of colour experiments by the time I’d had my morning coffee.
August 1 – Victoria Onwards to Victoria! Instead of taking the van on the ferry (which is expensive!) I thought it would be smart to haul our gear over there. Nope. Bad idea. Transit from North Van to downtown Victoria was a backbreaking nightmare. (Note to self for next time – suck it up and take the van!)
The gig of course was a lot of fun. We played at Logan’s Pub, which was one of my old haunts back when I lived on the island. It was also really great to see my old southern rock band, The Revival, play again. They even invited me up for a guest song. So much fun.
My amazing friend, Kayli, hosted us that evening. We drank a lot of beer and sat in her…sun-hall?.. it’s a long skinny sun room, basically. Greg played us some tunes and we sang along and then I broke a window with my arse (ok, lower back, and I’m still claiming Shane angered me so I broke it with his head). That didn’t end the partying…it was just one of the more memorable events of the evening . I have no clue when we went all went to bed…
August 2 – After the monstrous trek back from Victoria to North Van I hugged the van for 5 minutes and said I would never abandon it again (while on tour). We re-organized and headed to Falconettis for our Vancouver gig. I’m just saying, the place was packed. We packed the house. They were turning people away at the door. One of the many wonderful things about Falconetti’s is that if you play to the room (it’s not a huge place or anything) and the weather is decent people will walk in based on what they hear when they walk by. Also, I have a bunch of great friends in Vancouver. My brother and a few of his firefighting friends also made it out so it looked a like a small football team was there to watch the show. Some newfound Fans from Chilliwack bought us a beer but apparently you can’t stand up in a bar that serves food on Commercial Drive? I’m still not sure if this is a special rule for Commercial Drive or whether it applies everywhere in BC…
I may have had one to many beverages that evening and I definitely sat on a bunch of cherry-tomatoes. I wasn’t the only one though. During breakfast the next day my brother informed me he had been woken up by a policeman at a bus-stop. Did I mention that was at breakfast and that our host Erin was incredible and made us blueberry pancakes (despite our not-as-quiet-as-we-thought-we-were-being 3am entrance). Anyhoo, we had a lot of fun BSing with Erin, Ross, Andrew, and my brother. A lot of the conversation involved how I keep my band in line (tasers and regurgitated food anyone? tmi?)
August 3 –The Kelowna gig was a bit more unpredictable since I have never played there before. Luckily it was a Saturday night and we were booked to open for local band, My Kind of Karma’s, album release. What a fun night. Fernando’s Pub apparently had a record night for earnings, the place sold out, MKOK was awesome, and people seemed to really enjoy our set. It was also awesome to see my good buddy Mike who showed up and kept putting me in headlocks, which made the bouncer nervous.
After the gig we didn’t have a place to crash so Isaac from MKOK put us up in his living room. Not that we were able to sleep much since we were ambushed for a 2 band cuddle which resulted in us all having a post show beer together complimented by the “best mustard and cheese sandwiches ever.” MKOK also taught us some new terms too: “Chotch” and “Big Dumb.”
August 4 – We had to wake up reeeeally early for a 12 hour drive to Smithers. Luckily we can all drive so we were able to take shifts. When we arrived we got to watch Ole Johnson play some greasy blues followed by Mark Perry’s band (my dad). This was a really nostalgic moment for me since I grew up with these musicians playing in my basement. So basically I got to dance my sleep deprived face off and then it was our turn to play. It was one of the most fun gigs of the tour because even though the crowd thinned out a bit by our set the people who were there were full of energy and enthusiasm and really energetic and they kept asking us to play more. After the gig we had a little after-hours hang out with my dad, a few audience members, and Tom (who ones the Hilltop). Greg played us some tunes and we had some laughs and then we cabbed home. Good times.
August 5 – The next day we swam in the swimming hole about a 20 minute walk from the house. This time I have to give Greg credit for being the first one fully in. But I still beat Shane in. It was very cold. But not as cold as the Kispiox River. In the evening we played our Smithers Centennial gig on the new Legacy Stage with Hudson Bay Mountain as a backdrop. We played 2 45 minute sets and our confidence grew as the gig went on. Emilyn Stam joined us for our last few songs, which was really amazing since she and I have been friends since our Smithers days. We had a few dancers and I think it was probably pretty aesthetically pleasing as the sun dropped behind us. We hung out a while after with our friend Shaun Hunter-Maclean and Greg tried to learn how to long-board. I think he’s hooked now. Later we wen’t back to my folks’ place and hot-tubbed with some beer.
August 6 – After the endurance part of the tour we had a day off in Smithers. Greg and I hiked up to the Twin Falls and I wen’t right up under them and got soaked. I’ve always loved the thrill of going up close to the falls. You start to lose your breath as you get closer and increasingly soaked by glacier water. We had a pretty chill evening. Ending in the hot tub. Obviously.
August 7 – We found out the next morning that a fire had occurred right next to the brand new stage in Legacy park. One of the buildings affected had been Perry & Co which has been in my family since Grandpa started his law practice (Immediately below; Left panel). It was a sad day. But did that stop my amazing hometown from celebrating? Hells no! The Centennial Committee moved the stage up Mainstreet. Party back on Garth! Emilyn’s band from Holland, Te, headlined that evening and even got me up dancing Balfolk routines (Immediantely below; Middle panel). They always make that stuff look so easy in the movies! Anyhoo, big shout out to Smithers for resilience!
We drove to Prince Rupert after watching Te’s set so that we could catch our Ferry at 11am on Thursday morning. It was pretty special since we arrived at around 2:30am and got to crash for a few hours at the Moby Dick Inn.
Edge of the World Festival August 8 – 10 – After 7 hours on a ferry (with decent weather, luckily) we pulled up to Haida Gwaii. I really don’t know how to describe this part of our journey. Let’s just say I felt like my chest was constantly going to explode because it could barely contain my bursting heart. Cheesy but true! It involved an artist named Linda, an adorable cabin in a garden called ‘Sparrow Fart,’ a Sea Hag, a warm Pacific Ocean, some jellyfish, a ship-wreck, lots of salmon, music, and wonderful people, dancing, and a 9pm Friday night show that we killed (we were even called back for an encore!).
August 11 – Sadly we had to leave Haida Gwaii early. Shane and Greg made threats that they were going to stay. I’m lucky I managed to drag them back with me. After another long ferry ride we stopped off at Cow Bay in Prince Rupert for a Cowpuccino and then headed back. One we were back in Smithers we chilled with my folks, ate more delicious food, played a few games of ‘bump’, built some inukshuks for my parents (it’s a macho man, a frog, and an artistic white-tailed Haida Gwaii deer, in case you needed a hint) and then we hot-tubbed. Obviously.
Now we are back in Toronto and are all still wearing our sea-shell necklaces from Haida Gwaii (all the performers got them). This post is late because it took me a whole week to come down from the high of that tour. Here’s to next time! Hoorah!
Love,
“Rainbow-mountain” Mip, “Driftwood” Grzes, and Shane “Short-grass, barefoot” MacPherson
aka the Mip “West Coast Hippie” Power Trio