Monkey House – Burlington, VT – 11/13/09
This gig was seriously right down the street from where we were staying (thanks, Ross…Russ…haha, had to). It’s located a little on the outskirts of the city, but if you know Riverside Drive…you’ll find it before you hit 89…it’s on that roundabout thing, which btw is all too common out here on the east coast. The 5th Business and Brother Through Glass were on the bill with us, and they spiced things up by covering Miley Cyrus and Tool, respectively…imagine us fitting into that!!! The 5th Business let us crash at their pad for just that night, since we were getting done so late. We watched something called “The Life & Times of Tim” (i think???) while at their place, and it was funny as hell. Pretty much an animated Jason Schwartzmen kinda thing…totally hilarious! The Monkey House was really a great room, with a good soundguy, and if you can play with these two bands, do it! They were uber-generous and great musicians! We had a blast!
Charlie O’s – Montpelier, VT – 11/12/09
We stayed in Burlington for about 4 days, and used it as our hub for the next few shows. Charlie O’s was not far away from Burlington and was a lot of fun. Becky, the bartender, was super helpful, and she had the Bruins game on…which was something that I realized I sorely missed!!! I love NESN!!! We played with another super talented band, Osage Orange, and they had a great Americana vibe. I think this was the perfect “first gig back in the U.S.” for us, playing in front of a small town crowd, at a bar that’s one of the oldest around…a very “hometown” kind of feel to it all. The PA at Charlie O’s is under the floor on which the band performs, so we were in charge of bringing it up and running our own sound. Not a big deal to us…just something to keep in mind for anybody that wants to play there. Great beers on tap…almost all local!
Green Room – Montreal, QC – 11/11/09
We drove by the venue…it looked cool…but our van was unfortunately robbed in broad daylight…so we had to cancel the show and head back across the border (two of us now without passports) to try and recollect ourselves. This is a big reason why updating the blog took so long…NO MORE COMPUTER! Oh well…I still love that city, but now I’ll be extra careful there from now on…
Algonquin College – Ottawa, ON – 11/10/09
Haven’t updated this blog in awhile, so I’m playing a little catch up! Algonquin was a very cool place to play! The college definitely treats its bands right…we had a green room, complete with Molson and a huge veggie platter (we gotta stay healthy, you know!). The stage was very deep and pretty wide, which was a nice change of scenery for us. The sound was great and the students there were very cool! If you are going to eat in their cafeteria, I recommend the footlong steak and cheese! We got to visit with quite a few of the students at the merch table afterwards, and it pretty much solidified all of Ontario for us…KICK ASS! Our couch surfing friends made their way out to see us, though Ter accidentally gave them directions to our hotel…hmm (Thanks for finally making it you guys…sorry about that!). Modern Boys Modern Girls rocked it again tonight and even got a few people dancing up front…something that we are always down for…come on…hint, hint…shake your inhibitions when you come see us! The night ended at the hotel…with all of us enjoying the premium-ness (word?) of Molson original….and a lot of broccoli/cauliflower of course…
Marcello’s – Streetsville, ON – 11/7/09
This show was a pleasant surprise! The community seems VERY wealthy for such a “small town” appearance. I’ve never seen block after block after block after block after mile of mansion-sized domiciles. We were afraid that there wouldn’t be much turn out as the owner was pretty nonchalant about everything and told us “ah…we haven’t even started setting anything up yet…” for about 2 straight hours. Eventually, we set up and played our asses off despite some technical difficulties (everybody thinks I’m miking my snare…I’m not, I swear). The crowd had a great time, as did we in the end, and we talked to several locals for a few hours afterward. I definitely wanted to thank Earl from the Imports for letting Joe and I stay on his couches last night, and for letting us get a sneak preview of DJ Hero (a future purchase for me, I’m sure). One of these nights, I hope to get more than 4 hours of sleep…
The Silver Dollar – Toronto, ON – 11/6/09
We played with Modern Boys Modern Girls last night at The Silver Dollar in Toronto. The club was close to Toronto’s “Chinatown” and seemed like a great place to want to explore for days. Unfortunately, we had just one night, and though it was a long one, we spent most of it at the club and at a house party with MBMG until 7 a.m. So, exploring Toronto will have to wait until next time…
The guys in MBMG were great performers and I really dug their cover of Nirvana’s Aneurysm! Totally killer! I haven’t heard that song in years, and they pulled it off perfectly! The Silver Dollar had great sound, however, the space was a little odd. The stage is right in the middle of the room, facing the bar, with about 10 feet between the two. But the room was really long…so, you basically had a long, shallow room, and if you wanted to sit down, you were looking at the sides of everyone on stage. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it at least helps me remember what it looks like…cool place though! Oh, and one last thing to say about Toronto…exPENsive!
EVAC (East Village Arts Center) – London, ON – 11/5/09
Very cool place to play! I’m totally digging the artist circuits in the more recent cities we’ve played, and this place was no different. Located just east of London proper, EVAC is a great little place looking to host new and upcoming bands. They definitely know their music and will chat with you for hours on end about the great music coming out of London (I loved everything I heard except for the “noise” sound that apparently was born around the area). The artists that were featured from the area were incredible and inspired us to raise the bar a bit when playing in the converted garage (the sound guy actually corrected me when I said “converted,” saying instead, “no…it’s not converted…it’s definitely still a garage”). Bring all your winter clothes if you come to London…this college town will provide you with a lot of warm and friendly people, but the weather wasn’t so accommodating!
During the day, we played at Grooves Record Store (353 Clarence St.), a local record shop that had an amazing collection of vinyl. You don’t find many of those anymore! Unfortunately, I’m totally broke…otherwise, I could see myself starting to collect vinyl again with a shop like that around. I don’t recall seeing any record shops quite as cool in Boston in the 10 years I was there. After Grooves, we did a quick appearance at 94.9 CHRW, playing a couple tracks minus the drums. The usual engineer for the program was not around, so setting up drums for the performance was going to be difficult. Ter and Joe performed Danse, 9 to 5, and 79 while I sat in the room and tried to make them laugh.
The Boathouse – Kitchener, ON – 11/4/09
We were a little worried when we heard people say “I think that’s just a blues bar,” but once we got there, we felt right at home at The Boathouse. The bar is built adjacent to an actual lake dock in Kitchener. The owner – Kevin, the cook – Pattie (a.k.a. Patrick…a.k.a. Dave Grohl), and Maureen all made us feel right at home there. Kevin used to run his own radio station at a local college, so he definitely was able to handle the PA at The Boathouse in addition to his tending the bar. He threw us a few Guiness, as well as a couple excellent burgers, and we ended up closing the place down with him after the show. He’s extremely down to earth and treats his entertainers very well. The stage is pretty big and deep as well, so we had no problem with our 3-piece. The only thing that was funky was the lighting…there was a cool sound-triggered colored light, but it was almost completely overpowered by a main, white light that washes out the whole stage. Not a huge issue, but on-stage mood lighting wasn’t really an option. Either way, we all highly recommend checking this place out sometime. The food was great…I saw a few people with amazing-looking poutin, and I can tell you that the burgers are friggin’ great. The variety of bands was also great, with some U2 flavor, some folk flavor, some hard rock, and us. I can’t wait to play this place again…thanks to Kevin!
Stix Sports Bar – Barrie, ON – 11/3/09
Management/Booking – 3/5 – Jen was the owner of Stix. Very hospitable and accommodating staff. The only fault here is that our food and drinks were not comped ($55 tab…ouch!).
Stage – 3/5 – Deep, but narrow, and about 8 inches higher than the rest of the floor, so it’s a pretty intimate atmosphere. The stage resembles a large box because of its depth but good luck getting a big group up there unless you want to play in a straight line. I would say 4 people, maximum, for those of you looking to play at Stix.
Sound – 4/5 – Very cool guy. Has his console set up right off the stage, almost in front of you, so I found it odd that I was often looking at him as part of the crowd while rocking out up there.
Room/crowd – 3/5 – Twenty or so people witnessed the show, and they were pretty receptive, though awfully reserved. Six or seven of the people hung out at the bar while watching, which put them at a safe distance of approximately 20 yards (meters for the Canadian folk) feet from us…I mean, you never know when we might projectile vomit, so I appreciate their taking precautions. Of the remaining eight people, there were six that were from high school (had to leave 3 songs into our set), their chaperone, and a drunk guy that claimed he was caught up in the throes of his bachelor party.
Beer – 1/5 – Very limited selection of beers, only one of which was of decent quality, and the prices were outrageous. They advertised $8.25 liter stein specials and then sold them to us for $9.65…yes, that’s per liter stein. In the flavor department, Rickards Red was the winner here, and I had some pale ale that I can’t remember the name of…probably because it was impressively unmemorable. Molson and Coors Light rounded out the tap (oh…….Canada…..).
Food – 4/5 – Red Hickory Smoked Wings were phenomenal…great, crunchy skin on large, meaty wings…sauce reminded me of KFC’s BBQ sauce, which actually is a good thing in my eyes. In addition, it could be said that Ter recommends the steak sandwich (“It was REALLY good…it was AMAZING…”)!
Nobody’s – Buffalo, NY – 11/2/09
Management/Booking – 5/5 – Not sure who runs this place, but our contacts were our friends Cortney, who triple dutied as bartender, hula-hoop-ist (word?), and djembe drum circle leader; as well as Ian, your fun-time drummer extraordinaire, bartender, and stand-up comedian. Nobody’s is the upstairs of a house and features local artists both on stage and on the wall (all of which is for sale). The art scene in Buffalo is very supportive and we were lucky enough to tap into a small sample of it.
Stage – 5/5 – Very large…perhaps 20’ x 12’…sitting on a platform raised 4” from the main floor/dance area. Very intimate, and extremely comfortable!
Sound – 5/5 – Jeff was running sound for us (and doubling as a kick ass drummer/DJ act…definitely worth checking out) and he had a kick-ass PA that was just right for our 3-piece. Console was set up on-stage and required minimal tweaking during the show.
Room/crowd – 5/5 – Again, we love Buffalo! Great crowd…very vocal approvals all night. We hung with all of them and had a drum circle going for about an hour near the end of the night (2 a.m.?)…totally cool!
Beer – 4/5 – Limited selection, but at least it was good beer. Labatts, one of the best “cheap beers,” as well as every Saranac specialty brew you could imagine. First round was on the house for us, and everything after that was $2/beer…can’t really beat those prices!
Food – 5/5 – Can’t really expect this sort of thing in a “house party” environment, though they went out of their way to provide Triscuits, a cheese ball, salsa, and assorted veggies…well done!
Sheetz Gas Station – PA, OH – 10/21/09 through 11/1/09
One of my top 5 sub shops in the country, and luckily, you can find it everywhere in PA and some parts of eastern OH. Come to think of it, it’s actually more of a bummer that you can’t find these anywhere but PA. “Pennsylvania…come for the trees, rolling hills, and Sheetz.” $1.99 for a 6-inch, and $3.99 for a footlong ($4.65 if you want to add cheese…can you tell I like this place?).
The Loft – Buffalo, NY – 10/30/09
This place absolutely rules! Probably my favorite spot so far (I know…the tour just started…)! Buffalo was surprisingly a cool looking city, with cool-ass people and a great artist-supporting vibe! The Loft is located just a few blocks from where the Sabres play and right across the street from Town Ballroom (681 Main St.). It is located in a personal loft…rented out by some new friends of ours. They have a great set up in there…huge space, with an extra room for merch/chilling. We played with Dali’s Ghost once again, and Tyler joined us for a couple tracks as well! The sound was a bit of an issue (tons of feedback for all bands), but the guy was brand new to the space…so we forgive him (my ears, however, are still holding a grudge…haha). The lighting was awesome…the christmas lights made it look like stars were everywhere in the room. Tons of people were at this show, and hardly anybody showed up without a costume! The crowd had a blast, and the lineup was pretty good. I hope we play with all these guys again! We had a lot of fun here!
Matinee – Akron, OH – 10/29/09
Tried out background vox from behind the kit for the first time in my life. First time legitimately anyways. The gig went pretty well, but we had some issues with the lead vocal mic coming in too hot. We are trying out the new performance line of Blue Mics, outfitted with some e100′s and e200′s. They are amazing looking mics, and are extremely comparable to the Shure SM-58 and Beta 58′s, respectively. We are happy to be trying them out, but for some reason, this club could not handle the lead mic too well…tons of feedback. I think it was more the sound guy’s problem, as he was also tending bar and didn’t really care a whole heck of a lot. I’m sure that’s a tough position to be in, but it brought us down a little bit. The club was decent, but the stage was a bit small. They DID have Magic Hat #9 on tap, a rarity for me these days! Highlight of the show was watching Dali’s Ghost absolutely tear it up! They are one great band…if you are in Buffalo, do yourself a favor and check these talented dudes out!
The Rex – Pittsburgh, PA – 10/24/09
The sound guy remarks, “ooh, those are pretty.” We feel good about the opportunity to be performing with Blue microphones on stage. Having established their name in studio recording, starting with the Baby Blue (?), Blue has consistently offered not only great sounding microphones, but also carved a niche for themselves through innovative looks that combine old-school curves with new-school sheen.
Caleb Lovely opened the show with a high-energy acoustic set that made us wish that he hadn’t been filling in on such short notice. It truly would have been great to see his whole band, but apparently they were all tied up tonight.
Up next was Ben Hardt & His Orchestra. They were simply phenomenal, and they convinced us that we badly need a cello player (let’s face it…bass players are so last century). They were so good, in fact, that I felt weird about following them. Bottom line…if you are in the Pittsburgh area, go see Caleb or Ben Hardt whenever they are playing…you will not be disappointed.
Johnny Dee’s Café – Pittsburgh, PA – 10/24/09
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many football and hockey jerseys at one time. And they weren’t just Steelers and Penguins. There were even folks in opposing jerseys (Vikings and Devils). People absolutely love their sports in this town, and it was perhaps most apparent by the abundance of Penguin jerseys (yes, that’s right…there are in fact people who watch hockey in the U.S…they are all named Michelle and they all live in Pittsburgh). We hung out at Johnny Dee’s post-show. It’s a decent hang for the whole crew, but if you are used to the smoking ban in most coastal cities prepare to dress your lungs in retro black. This poor man’s pool hall would be more aptly named “Johnny Dee’s Café Is On Fire.” Either way, good times were had by all at this “no-tap” establishment, as canned Guiness was aplenty (for $4/each).
Here’s some news about the great people we’ve met through www.couchsurfing.org (THE way to tour!):
Deb’s Place – Barrie, ON
So nice! Deb and her father, Gary, were the ones who put us up in Barrie. They were kind enough to sit through our show at Stix and get to know us ahead of time. Glad we did! They were both super great people and they had a great little place not too far from main street Barrie. Deb has been in the house since she was 1, and the charm of an actual “home” spoke to us quite a bit. The house had two beds and a couch for all three of us. We stayed up talking about our favorite books (Deb’s an English teacher for grades 7 – 9) and slept beautifully all night…nothing but quiet out there. In the morning, we were treated to coffee, banana bread, and some friendly company from her dog, Willow. Great stay!
Sarah, Rob, and Emily’s Place – Kitchener, ON
Great cooks! We were treated to samosas (veggies in a rice wrap, cooked in vegetable oil), dal (hearty vegan stew), many custom teas (I chose blueberry cream rooibos), dark chocolate chip bread, and oatmeal M&M cookies. I’m still full…
Joe and Rob spent about an hour talking about traveling in Europe. It’s great to make new friends!