The Saskatchewan Tour: a photoshoppy debrief

Driving through Saskatchewan is certainly an experience. A rocking experience. If, by 'rocking', you mean staring at this for twelve hours straight:


Minus the pink writing. Yes, that's right. One long un-bending road and an infinite supply of wheat fields. Titillating.

Then of course there are the en-route diners with their matter-of-fact service standards.


Then there are the pleasant surprises: Saskatoon was very quaint and picturesque, I dug it and upon arrival, took myself on a little getting-to-know-you / reintroducing my legs to circulation type walk.


It was pleasant. Backed by the ego trip of finally seeing your name up in - well, not so much lights as big black letters - for the first time.


Then of course, there's the ridiculous buzz of adrenaline pumping and whatever the rocket fuel Red Bull equivalent is that you ingest JUST before a gig, only to have it backfire when you cannot get to sleep til 2 in the morning, despite knowing that you have to rise in only a few hours to head back home again.


But then, oh yes then...there is the elation and returning to the excited fam, and of course the sleep deprived delerium that leads to a compulsion to stuff around with photoshop so you can blog about it.

Weird Stuff.

Quick cyber-postcard from the road

Hey dudes!

I'm in Saskatchewan doing my first tour as a headliner! BTW, Saskatchewan is the big state right next door to Alberta which is filled with pretty much fifty million hectares of wheat fields - I realised how understimulated I was on the drive when I started staring at clouds and going "Wow. Stuff to look at."

Anyhoo, after the ridiculous 9 hour drive from my hometown (I haven't risen before 5am since the kids were bubbas) I was pretty trashed but it was so fun. The crowd in Saskatoon was definitely one of the most incredibly up-for-it and eager-to-be-pleased bunch I've EVER encountered. There were even festoon lights in the room, how cool is that? This is only my second tour here admittedly, but I must admit the novelty doesn't seem to be wearing off anytime soon. I actually really dig living out of a suitcase and exploring hotels and new towns and stuff. Next month looks like I'll be up at Edmonton - the hubbster and kidlets will be along for that one - so yay.

I wish I had something more eloquent to write to update this, however I'm in my hotel lobby now in Regina before we gig tonight - the sign next to me to 'please govern your time accordingly' so consider my brief update me simply governing my butt.

Wish you were here!

xx

Do I not rock completely?

That question was rhetorical, by the way.

All hail Stuart McLean

Last night Tim and I had the very good fortune of being dragged along by my lovely newfound friend and co-preschool Mama Sabina and her hubby Graham, to see Stuart McLean live at the Banff Centre.

Now all I knew about Stuart prior to this was that:

- he was a storyteller. What kind of storyteller, I didn't really know, other than that from what I'd read, his shows encompassed music, comedy and good old-fashioned, well...storytelling.

- he had a radio show that was rather popular. (I later was told that his radio show The Vinyl Cafe - of which this show was pretty much just a live version - attracts over 700,000 listeners every single WEEK.)

And now I know why.

Wow, oh wow. To say I was 'blown away' would just be too easy. But I'm tired. So there you have it. I was blown away. Just to see somebody telling stories - with funny parts, to be sure, some of them inspiring tears of laughter, but by no means punchline after punchline - and able to weave their spell over the audience such that they are hanging on the teller's every word, was an incredible thing to be part of.

And the musicians - guests of his, as would be the case on his radio show no doubt - were incredible to boot. The whole evening just really opened my mind up to what live performance can really be.

Plus I've decided that what I really admire - besides his natural charm, relaxed way with a massive crowd and apparent genuine love of live performance - is Stuart's evident commitment to sharing his profile to benefit up-and-coming artists. I've been told that thanks to him giving unknown talents a shot on his shows, tours, and so on, they have gone on to massive things shortly thereafter. Talk about sharing the love around!

On another note, it is my hubby's b'day today - he had a very suitably spoiled day, capped off with a CHESS BOARD BIRTHDAY CAKE. I'll post a pic soon. I didn't even get it out of a magazine but designed it and whipped it up all on my own! (those long-term readers of you out there will appreciate why, given my track record in disastrous b'day cakes, this is a big deal for me). Yes, yes. I know. Landmarks all round.

Hello Blog? It's me, Jenny.

By Jove (I love that phrase) it's been a while between blogs! This time however, I have an actual excuse, namely that we've been moving house. Ergh. Luckily the ordeal was again, grist for the mill.

But yes, we've moved and there are good things in the air!

For one, the new house rocks. So much space. An awesome yard, which - we only discovered upon moving here as I hadn't even laid eyes on it til moving day and Tim hadn't paid much attention when he checked it out - comes complete with a cubby house and slippery slide. And a little fire holding thing to toast marshmallows on. And as Nemo's Mum said just before she became fish-food herself: "The neighbourhood is awesome." Kids everywhere, we've been here four days and already our doorbell has rung with play-date requests more than it did the entire six months at our previously rocking - yet relatively child-free - abode.

So that rocks. Plus we've found a rocking chick (am I using the word 'rock' too much? Nah, it can't be possible) who is keen to move into the basement suite downstairs for cheap rent in return for helping us out a bit with child-minding. Which we DESPERATELY need. That is just the fudge icing on top of the Devil's Food Cake. (Sorry, I've got my mind on my hubby's upcoming birthday festivities...back on track.)

Plus I'm going on tour again next weekend - just 2 nights this time and it's gonna be a little less glamorous (or so I've been led to believe) than my last jaunt, as this time we're heading to Saskatchewan. All I know about Saskatchewan is that the highway I'll be on is so straight that people often resort to driving in the wrong lane just for stimulation, and from what I've seen on Corner Gas.

Then, just to add the cherry on top of the sundae, my sister calls me today.

Me (knowing she's been trying to call for days without success thanks to our screwed up phone line): "So what's the rush, are you up the duff?"

Her: "No! But guess what? I'm coming to Canada. In three weeks!"

Me: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!" (the good kind.)

So yes, thanks to her shining loveliness as a travel agent, she has apparently won a touring trip to Canada to check it all out. She'll only be in our neck of the woods for a day and a half, but, in the (mildly paraphrased) words of Sarah Connor: "We'll love a lifetime's worth." Translation = I'm planning to exist on no sleep for that entire period.

Yes, yes, the answer is yes. I really am that hardcore.

Improv on 4ZZZ!

I'm rethinking this whole blog thing at the mo, not in an I'm not doing it anymore so nah-ni-nah-ni-nah-nah way, but in a Hmmm...I wonder what other things I could put on here instead of just written thought-spillage kinda way.

Anyhoo, as serendipity would have it, Brad from Edge Improv has just this very day put up a podcast of one of our old improv segments from back in the old Aussie days (they seem so far away now...sniff!) on 4ZZZ. It's a funny thing about improv, once you've done it, more often than not the little nugget - or turd - you created on the spot just flies straight out of your head and shuts the door of your memory, never to be thought of again. Having it recorded and then listening back is kinda surreal, in a 'Memento' kinda way. Point is, I honestly can't even remember us doing this one - but it sounds like we were having fun. Which is, I believe, the idea.

It's online here if you care to partake.

If not, no worries.

(But 'Nah-ni-nah-ni-nah-nah!')