20130802

Friday morning 4 AM - awake, fill the travel mug with coffee, the car with
backpack and cooler filled with fruit, soda, water and the Pet Parade cd
"The Big Bend" from the release show last night. 4 hours straight and
it's time to drain and tank up at some truck stop in the Pocanos while
morning haze burns off both the road and my eyes. Score REAL Whoopie Pies
from Amish Farms from Ohio at the concession. Been following 70 to 219,
the river route. Get lost due to road construction and end up taking 81
to Syracuse and 90 across to Buffalo and Rainbow Bridge.

My luck, they decide to search the car. I'm bare foot, shorts, and muscle
undershirt. Cooler has lemons, peaches, bananas, grapes, blueberries, soda,
water, milk. Trunk, hood opened while I sit observation/isolation foyer.
Test sounds (alarms) played to see if I'm nervous...back on the road.

Drive into TO just as a massive rain storm pelts the downtown and it's a 
good thing I'd been there before 'cause you couldn't see a thing.
Check in and make apologies that Professor Gunderson, who the reservation
is make under, is unable to attend. Computers are down so they uv stamp
and escort everybody. Carnival is in the streets.

Horseshoe.  Unable to withdraw Canadian money on the walk over, the
bar tender points me to and lets me go around the corner to CIBC atms
on Spadina.

Peptides rock some indie noise pop.

Sterling Sisters are a big show band with horns and 2-3 girl harmonies
with 2 guys, dance moves. Lots of fun.

Slim Cessna's Auto Club is a Hank Williams adorned frontman and they do
faithful country roots and mix in some indie noise.

Walk back to Pizza Pizza and Nighty Night.

20130803

Early wake to coffee and get concierge to get ice. He says, "Drinks in
the room, eh?" Not at all, I have a cooler with fruit and soda.
They get me set up and also have a room key card now. Yay.

Wake to walk route out College street that I remember from before 
out past Sneaky Dee's to corner where the Bar Code was (it's gone),
then up to Bloor to verify Lee's Palace and back down Yonge around
Ryerson to find Paramusic. Try the wrong door and convince myself
to come back after snack and a rest. The Yonge and Dundas intersection
has been redeveloped as a showplace with huge screens you can see
across the downtown section and a stage. Streets crowded with Carnival,
Ice Tea promo hand out with Lemon erupts onto my shirt, thirst quenched
in half a block back to hotel. Short nap. Back to Paramusic and scan
through inventory to pick up tunes for the ride back. Rest of afternoon
watching some fascinating CGI alterverse sci-fantasy.

Yonge to Bloor to Lee's Palace to catch end of bdr sound check say hi
to Jose and meet Alyssa and Geordie, who says to Jose: "Is this the guy
you were telling me about?". Jose has to run do an interview. House guy
runs me out before show, Geordie had recommended hanging out at a place
he had worked at just down the street, I settle in there.

When the doors open at 9, I get in and Jose introduces me to Lily (Frost),
and she shows me a pic of their girl Alison (?). I say she winked at me!
Merch!

Tess Parks opens the show with some entrancing goth pop. 

So Young is next with indie pop that covers a few different bases.
Jose has produced there their new album, they're from London(?), Ontario.

Tess is walking around and some old guy is following her trying to get
ahold of her. Do I look like that when I try to talk to other musicians?

The D!ll (Dylan Hudecki, bass on bdr's Good Morning Beautiful and
Sweet Confusion, now doing Cowlick with his brother) and a few other bdrs,
maybe Brian Borcherdt (Holy Fuck, Hand Drawn Dracula records), is that
the Champ (Brendan Canning, clean shaven, Broken Social Scene, Cookie Duster,
etc.) are standing by the sound board. D!ll comes over and talks to me;
we've traded emails in the past when he was working with inner city kids
to get them to actualize.

bdr puts on a cosmic show with all the material from the new release,
Organized Accidents, and Mutant Message with other faves from the 
catalogue, weaving in and out with the hints and nods to even more songs.

I part and go to the third floor bathrooms and rave club, doorman says,
"up to the cave for the caveman". Ha! Walk back to the hotel and rest
for the drive home.

20130804

Cross the border and attendant asks what's in the cooler? I say some
fruit and he asks what fruit. I have a lemon and a peach left. He
says give me the lemon.

Come to think about it, all I saw were limes while in TO.
He takes the lemon and waves me through.

I guess that's to mean, no sour face.