Saint John…was wet. But that wasn’t what stuck out about the town when we finally got into the Saint John Ale House last night.

The kindness of people in the eastern part of Canada is renowned, most any Canadian would agree, “Them there east coaster’s, are some of the friendliest bunch of folks you could meet.”

CA made a point about how when someone out here in the maritimes ask you how y’er doing, you can give an actual answer, its…its not a formality of a discussion out here like it would be in most places in the country…or the world for that matter.

Folks genuinely take there time for you, slow their cars down so you can cross the street…or as I discovered in a chaotic moment at an intersection…slow down their cars so they can allow you to make a left hand turn…even if they are going right…and in the oncoming lane. Total mind fuck.

Its this kindness that led to us not having to find a place to stay when we had no where to go. That led our friend Ryan in Saint John last night to say, “Well, I dunno know who can, but someone will put you up for the night. Let me go ask around, don’t worry I’ll get it sorted.” It was heart breaking to decline an offer from no less then two people, opting instead to grab a cheap hotel and crash out for a long sleep in. Even still, there was no discouragement. Ry was just happy we were settled.

You just don’t seem to find this as much in the rest of Canada…maybe in a different form, maybe its this predisposition to the “East Coast Friendliness” knowledge that I recognize it more out here. Whose to say?

Something to think about after our show tonight here in Fredericton at The Library Lounge during the long road home.

Thank you so much Eastern Canada. We’ll see you soon.

Kirby

Its been four days since Kingston. Its been such a blur. I’m recovering from a great night last night here in Moncton at Plan B.

Had an excellent breakfast, a Cape Breton’r…

A few cups of coffee and now…I’m trying to recall for you the last four days…and…well its just haze. Awesome haze, fun haze, but haze none the less. There really is far too many stories to talk about so here are some pics to summarize the tour since we chatted.

Well it was a fun drive up the 401. I haven’t been up this way in about a year. At least Kingston anyway.

Last night CA and I played the Grad Club.

This wonderful pub is on the Queen’s University Campus. The kind of place that I would hang out had I been smart enough to decide to go to University when I was younger.

Great staff, a fantastic sound man (Matt Kirby….double bonus on the last name) and our good friend Patrick Lawton helping us open up a most excellent night.

According to Matt, our last name “Kirby” is Scottish…who knew.

It was too dark to take any great pics…at least with my iPhone but CA had a bunch of old friends show up, not the least of which were his friends from Weeping Tile, including the wonderful Sarah Harmer. I was beyond stoked to perform for all of them. Really warm, awesome crowd last night for all of us: Myself, Pat and CA.

CA and his friends I’ve met back home and as we’ve moved along on the road are fantastic, I’m truly lucky to be on the road with this great man. Stellar musician, stellar dude.

Not so stellar…losing my car keys…again.

As some of you might remember I did this same thing in St. John’s NFLD. last year. Unfortunately this time the keys are gone gone…not left in a cab gone like they were last time. Right as we were about to leave last night and following a brief speech to CA about how we need to be careful as this is our only set of keys…I lost them.

I don’t know how, I don’t know where. But I lost them. First came the scouring search, top to bottom of the Grad Club, eliciting the help of some of CA’s friends and the staff here at Grad Club, though we tried, nothing was found.

Maybe locked in the car? Nope, CAA was called, came by, unlocked the car…and no dice. Not out front of the club, not down the street…just GONE.

So what does one do when they have no keys? Well this particular 29 year old…had to call his mummy. Yes..I had to call…well text my mother, to see if they had my spare set. The thought of having to call and have my father tell me “You know you should have brought them with you and left them in your car.” was too much to bare. So I went with the cowering mother text.

“Hey…feel like making a drive to Kingston?”

Lucky for me, she agreed and is on her way to drop of my spare set from Burlington.

CA and I can move along to Ottawa as we take on Raw Sugar tonight with Marc Charron.

Hopefully, at least for me, it’ll be smooth sailing…and no more losing things.

I’ve been up since 6:30 searching for these keys to no avail…so for now, time for more coffee…

Pics From Grad Club

The last few shows have been great, Toronto, Hamilton, St. Catharines. So much so that I only ever end up grabbing a few shots of CA hanging out and playing and totally forget to pass off the camera. Mostly its stuff like this:

What did you miss of me? Well me playing with my friend Nancy at The Drake…she plays the French Horn dontcha know and helped me out on Into The Dark. It sounded stellar. Now I know every time I’m in Toronto…I’m French horning it up.

Thursday at the Drake was just cool, caught up with some old friends got to see CA play again since we last jammed in Brantford…what did that look like?

BOOM

Friday at Casbah? Well I don’t think CA could have asked for a better welcome home show. Lots of great folks and stellar performances from Terra Lightfoot and Mark Raymond.

Lots of more shows coming up for the east too, today we mosey on off to Kingston for a show at The Grad Club with Patrick Lawton. And I promise I’ll get some Kirby footage…yah know…to prove I’m actually out on the road.

Now…I just gotta pack…after coffee of course.

Some More Pics From Strega

Believe it or not this post is from Hank Azaria on talking about one of his acting instructors Roy London. From an artists standpoint, I don’t think it could be more true.

“Post It’s On M’puter” are snap shots of…get this…Post-It Notes I have on my computer. Typically funny things or motivational things. I like looking at them every day to keep me moving.