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Our Toronto experience started with a much appreciated week off which happily co-incided with a big street festival. Who should be playing but fellow Aussies & great friends The Waifs! Casually we spread ourselves across the very front of the stage & watched while they set up to sound check. What fun to witness the slow ripple of recognition until they were all leaning over the edge of the stage & responding with hugs & exclamations. It was a great show despite the oppressive heat & the fact that they had JUST arrived from Indianapolis without the benefit of food or sleep. We all spent the evening eating out on Queen St & comparing road stories. If success has changed these guys it could only be for the better. Nothing has tainted their earthy goodness & no one deserves success more than they do. They work SO hard!
Ottawa really is a beautiful city & not as much like a big Canberra as I'd been led to believe. Sure- it's clean, landscaped & populated by government employees, but it also feels quite hip & cosmopolitan, has a healthy indie music scene & lot of obvious history. It nestles between two rivers joined by a beautifully engineered canal system. The larger river forms part of the border between Ontario & Quebec. More beautiful buildings & after witnessing the changing of the guard outside Parliament house by chance I had a hard time believing I hadn't fallen through some wormhole in the time/space continuum back into London. The warm, bright sunshine & the presence of a Mountie on horseback surrounded by high pitched childish Canadian accents snapped me back into reality soon enough. It's kinda hard to take those guys seriously after seeing Monty Python's Lumberjack song, though... We were taken under the wing of Bridget & Charlie & enjoyed the sound of Aussies accents & earthy hospitality before setting off for the Heart & Crown. Our first gig reassured us that Canadian audiences would surpass our fondest hopes in their levels of enthusiasm & attention. After a surprise interview for Canadian television we opened for a local band & the sight of their lead singer Eric Eggleston drove me to distraction until I worked out that he MUST be a long lost relative of our friend the irish guitarist Jim Murray. The only real discernible difference to me was slightly darker hair & the absence of that cheeky grin that so often flashes across Jim's face. Maybe Eric just needed a Guinness! Anyhow guys, thanks for playing 'Down Under' for a bunch of homesick Aussies. Back to Toronto & the beginning of what our Canadian publicist referred to as 'guerilla touring'. We had two free nights before our much anticipated gig at 'C'est What' so it was time to drum up an audience for ourselves from the streets of Toronto. We managed to squeeze in 6 separate open-mic (show-up, sign-up, tune-up, play hard & get off) appearances in the musical equivalent of a pub crawl. We danced, played, sang, kicked up our heels, sold a stack of CD's & made a whole swag of new friends. Most notable of these was Uncle Herb who presided over the open-mic at the Shakespeare's Cafe- everyone always welcome & encouraged & in the case of these crazy Aussies- given a double length spot & the keys to the city. Through Herb we met Mark (Toronto's very own freelance angel to streetkids, homeless people & travelling musos alike) & the quieter but oh-so helpful Brian. And so an entourage was formed & operation OPEN MIC JIGZAG hit the streets. Next stop Jeff Healey's Bar(yep, that blues guitar guy). I remember walking into this dark, smoky room with memories of the jam at the Annandale Hotel as my only point of comparison. I was sure they were going to eat us alive after our first three notes, but before we'd even got our instruments out of their cases Uncle Herb & Mark had spread the Jigzag gospel around the room & we were greeted with so much warm expectation that we couldn't help but put on an electric performance. Wow! What a night! Caroline was almost leaping out of her skin with fiery energy & Man of Wood got taken up a notch in pure sensuality thanks to some audience participation. In fact I discovered some smoky depths to my voice that I didn't realise were accessible! Here our entourage expanded to include Rich- incredibly gifted songwriter & performer & the members of the houseband. The following evening we had grown slightly cocky after our previous nights onslaught & we planned not two but four stops this time(!?!). First another fun & relaxed set at Shakespeare's & then the Artful Dodger. Imagine if you will the atmosphere of the Annandale but crammed into a small room an eighth the size with an ear-splittingly loud covers band crammed into one corner & more nicotine than oxygen in the air & you will be somewhere close to picturing the venue. This time we braved the indignities of straight mic stands & a treble overloaded guitar amp & put out another energetic set which went down really well. Next stop was a bar called the Silver Dollar where a great Canadian Bluegrass outfit called 'Crazy Strings' was playing. This is when the night suddenly turned into a rather ludicrous logistical nightmare. Now imagine the three of us accompanied by our expanding Canadian entourage all eager to hear us play, talk up the band to the waiting audience & to help in any way possible. Two blocks away is a crowded Uni bar called Einstein's (as scary as Scruffy Murphy's on a Friday night). Rich is there eager for us to play & guarding a small bass amp he lugged on the bus just for me to use. My obligations lie in this direction while the other guys are hoping to circumvent a bluegrass taboo & fill in the break at the Silver Dollar. What resulted was a race between the two places with instruments in hand not once but TWICE- missing the Einstein's spot narrowly but managing to squeeze a few songs in between bluegrass tunes. I finished up the night playing a solo spot at Einstein's with some Djembe accompaniment from Rich- thanks bro! It was the only course of action that made sense in a noisy bar at 2am when there was only one mic & an amp to spare. Everything possible done to drum up support for our first official gig in Toronto & we gnawed our nails in anticipation to see who's willing to PAY to see us... There was no need for concern as we witnessed face after familiar face walk in from all of our open-mic appearances as well as a whole swag of friends the Ember has brought along from her birthday bash. First to arrive was Maureen who we met watching the Waifs. She came with an armload of presents responding to an-off the cuff comment about feeling homesick- what a sweetie she is!!! The venue is fantastic! Great food, non-smoking, beautiful atmosphere & great sound system & operator (Ta, Crispin). We can't help but have a great gig- managing to work in some Canadian songs into 30 Secs (Big Yellow Taxi, Summer of 69, Heart of Gold) & Greg feeling cheeky enough squeeze in the Bullfighter song to Ember's uncontained delight. Another day, another five hour trip to Ottawa but this time we finally discovered belatedly that we had a CD player in the car which shortened the perceived length of the trip dramatically. It was nice to play a whole set after the open-mic 3-4 song deal. We had no trouble relaxing into the set assisted by about three shots each all delivered onto the stage by appreciative audience members. This was a night of firsts for me- The first time indulging in a pan-galactic gargle blaster in a club called 'Zaphod Beeblebrox' (though wasn't up to Douglas Adams' description- I felt a bit cheated) & the first time I'd ever signed an autograph directly on a guys chest! Finally we wind up the Toronto leg of the tour with the most unusual venue- Cafe May. Run by the eccentric but warm-hearted Keiko the vintage Japanese cook it is a tiny little piece of quirky, acoustic heaven. We crowded around a single mic & played away for the last time to all of our new friends. One last Toronto surprise remained until part way through the first set I notice Caroline's eyes grow wide with astonishment & Greg totally forget a set of lyrics. All the way from Scotland accompanied by his partner who lives just down the street was our friend Tony Mc Manus! Well the world seems smaller every day... Next stop Vancouver & with no set plans for for five days the first order of the day was to find a place to settle. Soon we landed at the doorstep of a particularly friendly hostel in China town. Before we had walked three paces Megan (a sweet young traveller from the more remote centre of Canada) had appeared & was soon helping with luggage. Less than 3 minutes later a casual hallway conversation introduced us to the talented poet & decorator extraordinaire, AsZa, who completed our newly formed social set. She gave us the low-down on the open mic's in Vancouver & before we had touched down in Vancouver for 4 hours we were the feature act at Cafe Mont Martre. I also had a great time accompanying some poetry on double bass. All I needed was dark glasses, a beret & a moustache! We caught up
on our old busking habits in the subway foyer during the week. This
was all made possible by my newest Canadian friend- 'Ned' the Fender
amp-can. He is no bigger than a very small lighting can & totally
rechargeable! I picked him up in a Toronto music shop second hand
& he has made playing Sebastian in less than ideal environments
a dream! We also found a few more open mic nights to limber up with.
The Silvertone Tavern; jamming with the irrepressible Monty at the
Purple Crab Tuesday & Wednesday; & a particularly inspired
set at a cute little place called the Cottage Bistro on Wednesday
night. Time once again for goodbyes & we bid AsZa & Megan
farewell after being assisted onto the Sky train for another near
impossible relocation via trains, public buses & a ferry to
Vancouver Island.
We were whisked away by the festival's artist transport directly & settled in to fresh hand-picked raspberries from our very feisty hostess Eleanor who kept me enthralled for hours with stories about her youth across the world. Eleanor's talents didn't stretch towards cartography however, & if yours truly didn't have such a keen sense of direction Caroline & I might still be wandering around endless forest trails on the island, no longer finding the deer & the squirrels so cute & endearing... And now the
Jigzag Canadian swansong 2003- The Islands Folk Festival. As the
Friday evening concert unfolded we prepared for our last few sets
for the tour. The sun hung lower & lower like the muscles gradually
unwinding from our bones in the friendly atmosphere. The audience
gathered on picnic blankets & caught up with each other as the
evening slipped into gear & it didn't take many notes before
we could feel that they were with us. The sound was fantastic &
there were smiles all round. There were lots of great bands that
night. The most fun being La Volee D'Castors from Quebec. Apparently
La Bottine Souriante aren't unusual in their choice of percussion
instruments. It's quite common for Quebec musicians to accompany
themselves by sitting down & mic-ing the sound of their tap-dancing
while they play. I talked to the bass player after their set had
finished & thanked him for his part in the first band in a long
time to inspire me to dance stone cold sober! Strangely enough the
name of Jim Murray came up again in my travels. Rejean, the afore-mentioned
bassist was at the jam-of-a-lifetime at Koroit Hotel with Jim, Sharron
Shannon & Fine Friday amongst others earlier this year just
after Port Fairy Festival. What a tiny world this is? By the end
of the night I'd sang, played, danced & made lots of friends-
most importantly the girl that makes the best cappuccinos on site-
'Tangle' & her quiet off-sider Steve who was granting me freebies
by the end of the festival.
All beautiful weekends come to an end but it all happened too soon for me. I was whisked away mid cider to a shuttle bus at only 4pm. I hardly had a chance for any goodbye hugs, only one last quick jam with a half of Das Macht. It was a sad moment- waving goodbye to my on tour Jigzag family as the bus pulled away. An earlier enquiry about hostels in Victoria put to a neighbour during a morning song writing workshop had earned me an unexpectedly generous offer of accommodation for my last night on the island. Thank you so much Jaci, you are a gem! She even took me to the Victoria folk club that evening so I could see another new pal, Eileen Laverty perform. Of course, being a folk club what muso can resist the chance to get up & do a floor spot? I only wish I had brought some CDs as I would have definitely sold some that night. Eileen performed exquisitely & even dedicated a song of hers to me that had been recorded by Mary Black. Apparently a fellow Australian had been responsible for sending Mary the song, so I think Eileen always feels a particular warmth towards Aussies. One last moonlit tour around the beautiful city of Victoria before a 2 hour nap & then the whole car/bus/ferry/bus/aeroplane circus started all over again. Finally I was delivered into the loving hands of Chris While & Julie Matthews with less than six hours sleep in THREE days at Manchester airport...but that's a new tale. As an epilogue
to this episode- Jigzag have heard from the organisers of the Islands
Folk Festival that we out-sold everyone else in product & we
may have some interest from booking agents now in Canada. Wouldn't
that be amazing? Not having to do everything ourselves! YAY!
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No more struggling with luggage on the Tube. Instead we were bundled
into the Dodge & taken straight to Toronto's finest Roti-making
establishment. I can't believe the hospitality we've been shown
on this tour! Thank you, thank you once again to all our kind hostesses
& hosts. Your generous gift is priceless. Andy & Jane, Gilly
& Mali, Megan & Alli, Cath & Jay, Chris & Julie,
Ember & Lyndal, Bridget & Charlie, Lynn & Danella...
& of course all of the pets who cuddled, licked, purred &
drooled on us. Though Hudson & Hamish were a little too keen
to eat our food.
Next Greg & Caroline took off for Niagara Falls & upstate
New York while I enjoyed the company of Ember & Lyndal &
quiet life of cafes in College street. I resumed my quest for good
coffee, but unfortunately Canada seems to have the same coffee taste
as their neighbours. More crappy American coffee chains than you
can poke a teaspoon at- Starbucks, Coffee Cup, Coffee Time, Second
Cup, Tim Hortons, Timothy's World of Coffee...(who are these Tim's
& who let them near a drip percolator???). I chose to share
my disdain with a Canadian but realised my mistake when he ordered
his coffee 'Double Double' ie. double cream, double sugar! My one
big tourist outing was taking the ferry to Toronto Islands. One
minute you are in the thick of the city, trying not to get hit by
a bicycle in the shadow of the CN Tower & the next you walk
off the ramp into a little Eden with gardens, waterfalls, beaches,
parkland, amusements & restaurants. I walked all afternoon in
an attempt to take it all in & then curled up in the long green
grass under a maple tree & dozed in the warm sunshine. Ah....
refreshed & ready to gig.
By
the time we arrived in Victoria for our Radio interview we were
a sorry sight. Wandering like stray pack horses with no idea of
where to catch a taxi from we soon began to lose heart. Then out
of nowhere, his armour glinting heroically in the afternoon sunshine,
came warm-hearted Dan the Man with the Great BIG Van! He was on
a courier run with an empty Van & just happened to be an avid
listener of the radio station we were headed for.
Saturday
continued in the same joyous fashion. We played an exquisite gig
acoustically in an old chapel (well almost acoustically... Sebastian
had some help from 'Ned') & then performed our last concert
to an ecstatic audience all lounging in the shade of beautiful big
trees. |
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