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May 27, 2006 - Pembroke, ON Big double bill tonight, Leahy and Team MacMaster on the scene, at the rink in Pembroke. Big stage, big lights, big sound. It was actually a pretty typical day of setting up gear and sound-checking, dinner, then the show. Nat went on first, Brad joined us, finger and all for a couple of tunes. We did our hour and it seemed to go by pretty fast. All was well.
After the
change over, Leahy hit the stage and did their thing. Once they had
finished their set, there was a big mish-mash of Leahy/MacMaster band
members onstage for a Grande finale. We even had Donnells Mom Julie, and
Natalie's Mom Minnie up to do a step dance. The gals still have "it",
and the place went wild. Brad came up to sing a chorus of Lay Down
Sally, everyone had a solo or feature, and it was pretty much all hands
on deck. Big finish, lots of fun, then it was over. We all packed up our
toys and went home. Actually, the boys went back to the hotel for
a few hours before getting up very early to drive to Ottawa for their
flights home. I just hopped in my car and went home. It's only 90
minutes or some from Ottawa. So, I got to sleep in my own bed. Yay me.
Next show is on June 23rd, from Brooklyn, NY. See you then.... May 26, 2006 - Belleville, ON Happy Birthday John Chiasson! |
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After the
show, the Natalie band guys (who had the night off) all piled into the
van, and we sped off across Ontario for the drive up the twisty 41 to
Pembroke, 2 foggy hours away. Was I ever glad to see the end of this
day, driving on that kind of road in the middle of the night with
everyone else sleeping in the van is not my idea of fun. May 25, 2006 - Toronto, ON Up dark and early to fly to Toronto for a noon show at First Canadian Place. It's a mallshow folks. We were running on auto-pilot for this one. We were all pretty spaced out, but everyone at the venue was so nice, it wasn't hard to do a half hour show...just strange to be playing when we were so tired, and so early in the day. But we managed, and Natalie was her fantastic fearless self, as usual. We have a special guest along for the next 3 shows; the lovely and talented Natalie Haas. She is an awesome cellist, and really adds a nice tone and vibe to our show. She kinda got dropped into the set, without rehearsal, and just.."ok, Natalie...GO!" She did really well, all grace and strong notes. Very impressive. And, she's a darling human too, which is always nice to be around.
After the
show, we all saddled up in the big van, and drove down the 401 to
Belleville. We had the night off, so that was nice. The guys hung out
with pizza and beers and watched hockey. What a treat to be back in
Canada watching our game on CBC. It's always good to come home. May 24, 2006 - Norfolk, VA What an awesome venue. The Granby Theatre is an old movie house, converted into a rockin' concert/dance hall. Very funky, good lights, great people to work with, and we had a good time all around. Brad sang his song tonight, with Johnny playing guitar, and that was nice to see him onstage again doing what he does. I saw some pics of his finger...ew. But it's healing as it should, so we're all pleased about that. Norfolk has a very vibrant downtown area, and it's too bad we have to leave dark and early tomorrow morning, it would have been nice to hang around and explore a bit. So many cities have really lost their character from suburban sprawl, and it seems when that happens, downtown cores just fall into disrepair. Norfolk has a lot going for it (from what I could see) and I hope to go back soon with a bit more time to confirm this. ............................................................................................................................... May 21, 2006 - Union, NJ Here we are, after a couple of weeks off, back in the saddle. It sure didn't seem like two weeks, it felt like 2 days. But, Natalie hasn't had any time off, she's been touring across Canada with husband Donnell. She never seems to stop. Interesting show today, we had an afternoon concert, so between the early morning to get flights down here, and the time of the show, we're all feeling a little thrown off. the show goes on. Light crowd today, but enthusiastic, and they had a treat. Brad our trusty wounded guitar player is along on this tour, to sing in the second half, and help out with the lights and stuff. He isn't playing of course, it will be some time before his finger is fully healed. But, he's a trouper so, he's along with us. Nice to see him back, we missed his energy. So, the show is over, it's only 5:30 pm, and we'll all get good rest tonight for our big show tomorrow at Carnegie Hall. See you then. ...............................................................................................................................
May 7, 2006
Last day of
the leg. After driving over the mountains and down into Arcata, we had a
chance to stop in at
Holly Yashi jewelry for a minute to pick up some catalogs. Paul and
Holly are super nice people, and they sponsor our shows when we play
here in Arcata, and they make spectacular jewellery. So, we always like
to drop by the factory/store to Arcata is one of our favourite places to play. The staff are always good, and the audience is so supportive. The Arcatians didn't disappoint us, they were a great audience, and we did our level best to give them a good night out. After the show, we got our toys packed away, got everything into the bus and headed over the mountains again, for the trip to Sacramento, and on to our respective homes. Well, some of us went home. Nat, Matt, Kelly and Chris went straight to Thunder Bay. I am going to go there too, but, I will be dropping in on Ottawa for a few hours, then taking the early flight to T Bay Tuesday morning. Brad is normally part of the Nat & Donnell show, but since he's out of action having hurt his hand, Matt & I are going to try to fill his shoes for the first show. Other arrangements have been made for subsequent shows. So, that's the end of this leg. What a tough last few days. All best wishes and prayers go to Brad for a speedy recovery. Feel free to e-mail your thoughts, wishes and prayers over to him, through the website . See you on May 21st, from Union, New Jersey.... ............................................................................................................................... May 6, 2006 - Redding, CA Poor Chris (our road manager), has been run ragged between getting ready for the next leg of the tour with Donnell and Natalie, booking flights for Matt and I, since we'll be doing the opening night with Nat and Donnell in Thunder Bay, Ontario on Tuesday night. All this during what is usually a very full work day as it is. At one point, he had his computer online booking flights AND had two cell phones going. What a guy.
We had
another good night tonight. The audience tonight in Redding was amazing,
just like they were the last time we were there. And the staff were
really great, it made for an easy day. Well, as easy as it could be. We
put the boot's to 'er tonight, had a blast and no one went home
disappointed. My God, the last couple of days have been really tough for
us all! May 5, 2006 - Davis, CA Happy Cinco De Mayo. It's Allan Dewar's birthday too. Not much rest last night; right after we got to the hotel, there was a loud hit and run car crash in front of the hotel. Sirens, hurt people...it was awful. Hard to sleep.
Tonight's
show was a little different. We had to come up with a different way to
make this all work without Brad who had hurt his hand. It was fun
actually, facing the challenge. I'd say the hero of the day was Allan;
he had to do all his usual playing, plus cover some of Brad's
parts on guitar as well. He did a great job. I guess we all did, we felt
great, and the 1700 strong crowd was really with us through a tough
night. We did it. And after all was said and done, we found a few
minutes on the bus to the hotel from the show to celebrate
Allan's birthday. May 4, 2006 - Napa, CA Wine country. Cool venue tonight, a lovingly restored old second floor opera house, rather unique. Great crowd, no problems, a good night all around...until...after the show, we drove over to Davis to spend the night there. On the way, as we arrived into Davis around 1 am, we took a wrong turn, and ended up on a narrow dirt road. We had to try to turn around, with the gear trailer on the back. Couldn't manage, so it was decided to take the trailer off, turn the bus around and then hook the trailer on again and get to the hotel. Should have been simple but there were problems and Brad ended up hurting his hand. In the end we ended up only catching 2-3 hours of sleep... ............................................................................................................................... May 3, 2006 - Carmel, CA
Lovely two
days off here for everyone. Carmel is quite the fairytale setting. So
many lovely cottages,
groovy shops and big, big, BIG expensive houses. Here's
a little shack ............................................................................................................................... May 2, 2006 - Carmel, CA Day off. Just walked around, got to watch some hockey on TV for the first time on this trip, and had some time to call home and catch up on the news. Seems like we've been going hard at it. On a crumby note, I somehow managed to throw my lower back out yesterday during a nap, and this morning I could hardly walk. I had to literally crawl out of bed to the shower and take a long hot one to try to loosen things up. It sort of worked, but I really need to see a chiropractor, it's locked up tight. ............................................................................................................................... May 1, 2006 - Carmel, CA An interesting thing happened to us just before we arrived in Carmel; on the freeway, a few drivers past us, and were honking their horns and waving their hands. Since we're pulling a trailer with all our gear in it, we have to assume that is the issue. It's a small trailer and the driver can't see it in the mirrors. So we pull over, and go back for a look. Lo and behold, the hitch and ball are gone, and we were pulling the trailer by it's safety chains only. And the tongue of the trailer was dragging along the ground, so it was smoking hot... After a few minutes of us thinking about what to do next, some good Samaritan pulled up in front of us in a van, laughing and holding the hitch and ball. He held it up and said "did you lose something?"...it was pretty funny. He told us he found it about a half mile back up the freeway. Then he took our driver off to find a new hitch and ball for us. He was back within 30 mins, and we were off. The rest of the day was uneventful, we hung around Carmel, shopped, did the beach etc. ............................................................................................................................... April 30, 2006 - Wickenburg, AZ
After an
overnight drive, we checked in
just after sunrise this morning to our hotel to sleep for a bit. The
hotel was kind of cool, there was a palm tree growing
through the roof in one
section and there was some nifty decorative features. Great what
a little paint can do.
It's Arizona, We're talking hot here. It was 97 at one point today.
Really great people at the venue, very helpful friendly types, and the
crowd was almost rabid in appreciation. It made for a nice evening all
around. After the show, we took off overnight for a couple of rest days
in Carmel, California. 5 shows in a row, we need a day to rest. But
first, why not grab a
beer/cigar break at the truck stop while we refuelled? I bought some
locally made cigars in San Diego, and was willing to share. Good times. April 29, 2006 - Pasadena, CA
Interesting
venue tonight, a round theatre
on spectacularly manicured grounds of the Caltech campus. Nice weather
today, warm and sunny. Just as you'd imagine California to be in the
spring. Good show tonight, we are really enjoying the shows lately,
everyone seems lifted by the spring weather, and our audiences are
showing their appreciation, which always helps us play better. April 28, 2006 - Malibu, CA Didn't get much of a look around the campus here today. Too bad, you always hear so much about how pretty it is, but there just wasn't time to look around. But, the campus sure was nice, and I could see the ocean far off behind the venue. Good show tonight. solid, and no surprises... ............................................................................................................................... April 27, 2006 - Lancaster, CA Huge beautiful building tonight, with autographs all over the doors. It's a bit warmer here than down the coast in SD. It's in a more central part of Cali so, it's warmer, more like you'd expect. Little Mary seems to be doing very well indeed, and even when she cries, it seems pretty quiet. She's a very good baby. And cousin Kelly is a wonderful nanny and fun to be around, so that is a bonus for us all. ............................................................................................................................... April 26, 2006 - San Diego, CA We flew out here on the 23rd, and had 3 days off. That was pretty cool. I had a friend come down from home for a surprise visit (awesome) and we enjoyed a few days of sightseeing in the area. The weather was perfect, not too hot, but still lovely so not many tourists were around and about. San Diego has SO much to offer, and we did all we could, visiting Tijuana Mexico (30 mins south by streetcar), Oldtown, the Midway aircraft carrier museum and just cruising around. It's a great place to visit, I'd come back for more anytime. The show was up in La Jolla, at the University (UCSD). What an awesome campus, so beautiful. Good show tonight and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. We even had some dancers on the floor in front of the stage, whooping it up. Good fun. And now, we have our bus, so we can get into our regular tour groove, watch some NHL action, and just get back to a normal tour routine. ............................................................................................................................... April 22, 2006 - Salt Lake City, UT Another beautiful day here in SLC, another easy day to rest up at the hotel, walk around downtown, and take in the sights. The show itself went fine, another sold out house (maybe 2500 seats) and everything went just fine. Not much else to say, except that it's always fun playing with the orchestra, even though a lot of the symphony players. ............................................................................................................................... April 21, 2006 - Salt Lake City, UT Easy day. The venue is right across the street from the hotel, and we don't have call til 4 pm. I slept in, really enjoying the Marriot Hotel bed, then it was time for a walk in the warm spring Utah sunshine. Salt Lake City is a nice place, very clean, lots of new buildings and parks (since the Olympics) and it was a beautiful day. We did our thing with the Symphony, to a sold out house of happy fans. The format of the typical MacMaster/Symphony show is that the orchestra comes out and does a couple of pieces, then we the band and Natalie head out and do a couple of pieces with them, then we might do one ourselves, then a couple more with the orchestra, and that's the first half. A similar situation would occur in the second half of the show. All in all, I might be involved in 6 pieces in total for the night. It's a pretty easy night for me as a drummer. After the show, we all simply walked across the street to our rooms for the night. I think some of the boys headed out to a jazz bar, but I stayed in to go online and check out the happenings in the NHL. They show almost nothing about the NHL on TV down here. It's all baseball, basketball and football. Thank god, in a few days we get our bus, and we can watch the games on satellite. ............................................................................................................................... April 20, 2006 - Ogden, UT Lobby call at 4:15 am. for the flight to Utah. Off we go, bleary eyed. Once safely in Salt Lake City, we headed downtown, threw our bags in the hotel, then headed across the street to the theatre for a set up and rehearsal with the Utah Symphony. Once we'd gone over the music we'd be doing with them, we all headed into vehicles and drove an hour up to Ogden to set up for the show with orchestra. Everyone was really beat, and it seemed like we were in a daze. There were all manner of technical issues, and it looked like we were in for a rough night. The doors were being held while the stage crew worked on trying to solve all these issues, and the doors opened 20 minutes late. It was a wild scene but somehow, at the last possible minute just before curtain, it all came together, and we had a really good show. The full house seemed to really enjoy themselves, and it's always a treat to play with a big orchestra, because they make everything so plush. After the show, we headed back down the road to Salt Lake City, and our hotel beds for much needed sleep. The Marriot has fantastic beds, and while I can't say how everyone else did, I was asleep in minutes. ............................................................................................................................... April 19, 2006 - Kirkland, WA Day two of Kirkland. Lazy morning hanging around the hotel, slept in and just hung out. After the show, we packed up our gear for trucking and sent it on it's way to California on a truck. The rest of our personal gear is coming with us to Utah for 3 symphony shows. We ended up at the hotel around 1 am, with our lobby call at 4:15 am. Here comes another long day... ............................................................................................................................... April 18, 2006 - Kirkland, WA Looooong fly day. We all got up very very early out of our beds at home, made our way to various airports and flew out to Seattle for the short drive up to Kirkland. We were met by venue staff at the airport with sandwiches and drinks. That was a first, and we really appreciated it. Everyone was quite hungry. The show itself went fine and then headed for the hotel. It was the end of a 26 hour day, and we needed sleep. ...............................................................................................................................
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