Violators will be ventilated

Monday, September 10, 1:40 at night.

We're sitting on the tour bus waiting us to depart "lovely" Vancouver, BC. I guess the city is nice, but the area where Rickshaw Theatre is located must be the worst area I've ever been to. I guess there is a reason why Vancouver is sometimes called a drug capitol of the North America.

Anyway. It's been a while since I wrote anything. I've been just too lazy and on tours it so often happens that these little things like opening your laptop become just too huge tasks.

Day off in Ontario, OR. Ontario has a Walmart and several little stores and restaurants around it so it wasn't that bad! Mitja, Matson and myself packed some drinks and food for a picnic down to the riverside. However, this (or that, since we're in Canada right now) is the USA and you just don't walk to places like that. "Private property. No trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted." So we decided to walk to Idaho and try that side of the river. We had a little more luck there but not much. Basically all we could access was the little dusty area under the highway bridge. Still, it was a picnic so we did have beers there.

Rest off the day was spent mostly in and around the buses. And in the motel pool. And every now and then popping back in Walmart to get more drinks. However, that particular Walmart had no hard liqueurs so I had a brilliant idea and posted our location and problem on our Facebook page. Some of us also took a cab to an actual liqueur store and returned with several bottles of vodka and whiskey. A bit later a man shows up with 5 bottles of vodka. Facebook worked. However, later the dude turned out to a bit of a... well... not a person I'd like to be associated with. Then a while later a young couple showed up with some more vodka, so we really had more than we needed. Oh well, it is better to have too much than to run out at a critical moment. Oh yeah, I did manage to do some laundry too!

At midnight we continued again towards Seattle and arrived there rather early. Seattle's Studio 7 is not my most favourite venue, but it is actually at least decent. Mainly because it has a shower. It is located several kilometres from the actual city in a rather scruffy sort of industrial area, or at least a former industrial area. We've been there now on all of our North American tours and I have to admit that area is changing. More and more nice little shops and coffee places. And a Starbucks Headquarters where I went to have my breakfast. I am a sucker for their blueberry muffin. Muffin sucker. EEeheehehhehehhee! Eehhe! Eeh! Eh?

Once again I spent the day just around the venue. It was a nice sunny day, so I set myself outside in a chair with a Neal Peart book and Rush on my headphones. I have to admit that during the day I took a drink or two too much and wasn't really playing that well. Nothing serious, but didn't really feel comfortable. Show was good though. 450 people in that venue. That was quite a lot. Really cool. And also one of the "all ages" shows so it was good to see younger people in there too. We had plenty of time to do whatever we wanted after the show. Bus call was at 6 in the morning. As usual, once the audience was gone the upstairs bar was open for the bands and the crew. I had the worst ever gin&tonic there. How can you mess up a gin&tonic? I quite quickly lost my interest in that party and went to bed.

I woke up this morning when we were approaching the Canadian border. Crossing was surprisingly painless. Let's see how it will be this time. We should be at the border any minute now. Today was a boring day. Being tired and mostly just watching TV most of the day. It was rainy too and that always takes my mood down. Crew/band entrance to Rickshaw Theatre is in an alley behind the venue. I really wish I'd have a "smell-o-cam" with me so that I could share the stench with you. That was bad. On top all was urine. Then all the waste from the surrounding buildings. And then something that I don't even want to know of.

Rickshaw Theatre itself is quite nice venue. Not a decent backstage behind or even close to the stage but a sort of a nice one in the old projector room up in the back of the hall. And there also is a shower downstairs so it is indeed a decent venue. I didn't watch other bands today except a bit of Moonsorrow. They always deliver the goods. Brilliant band. We did a decent set today. The breaks between the songs have started to stretch again but I already gave Matson a lecture on that. Let's see how that will be tomorrow.

Border now.