Saskatoon

First of all, I stayed up too late last night. I couldn't help it. After the show, Ryan, Brendon and I settled in at the hotel lounge to sing some karaoke. We were pretty tongue in cheek about it until it actually started happening, then we got into it. We each sang solo numbers and sang a few together. After visiting with some of Bill's friends, Russ and Susan joined us and Susan sang a couple too. There were some talented patrons (and some less talented), and the whole thing made for a truly fun evening.

The bus, however, was pulling out only five hours later to head to Saskatoon. I was the last one on (though still only 10 minutes late). The bus ride was also ridiculously fun- we played cards, stopped for breakfast, visited some tourist sites, and I managed to nap for a couple of hours. Our bus hosts Blaine and his wife (who I should have asked for the spelling of her name- it sounded like Rain-deen. Oops.) were fun and very gracious. In a perfect world we would always travel by bus with them and their dog, Love (who took a special shine to Bob).

Again our accomodations are pretty swank, we're at the Sheridan downtown in Saskatoon. The casino (Dakota Dunes) was also pretty great, with delicious food and an extremely organized and capable sound crew. The show was as much fun as any we've played all year, and (as it's likely our last show of 2008) was a great way to close the season.

Now it's closing in on midnight and I've got a 4:15 lobby call to be taken to the airport. I guess I can sleep when I get home. I don't think the Colts play until Monday night.

Calgary, pt. 2

TV was a blast this morning. We did two songs live in the studio: Hair and Deliver Me. The latter is a song of Bill's, so it was a natural to perform in Calgary. There was a brief interview with Bob, Paul and Susan, and they were every bit as "on" at 8am as they are at an evening show (maybe even more).

I finally broke down and got some Canadian money, then put my $20 bill into a vending machine and got $18 worth of $2 coins back. I love the big two-tone coins and I'm happy to have a pocketful of them. Of course, we're in a casino, so I may not make it out of here with them.

Soundcheck is done, the photo shoot is in an hour. My shirts are ironed and I'm just relaxing until I have to be somewhere. Perhaps I'll see what's on my big LCD screen...

Calgary, Alberta

Yes, it's really 5am (of course, that's 7am where I come from). I'm in Calgary with the Cowsills and we've got a local TV appearance scheduled for this morning. I'm all clean and shaved and ready to go, so I'm enjoying some quiet time with my coffee.

Today's kind of a busy day. We've got the TV thing this morning, then an afternoon photo shoot, soundcheck, and the show tonight. Tomorrow we head to a show in Saskatoon. I just found out last night that Wayne rented a bus to take us there. It's nearly as old as I am, but it sleeps 12 and should be much more comfortable than a cab.

The Deerfoot Inn is one of the nicer hotels we've stayed in. I've got a big flat screen HD television on the wall, Starbucks coffee in my room, and I had a truly delicious steak last night. So far, I'm totally cool with Calgary.

Bill Cowsill lived and played music up here for many years. I'm interested to see what the crowds are like. No doubt there will be lots of people sharing their memories of Bill at the meet & greet tonight. I'm looking forward to another great show.