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September 24, 2008 - Sarnia, ON Welcome back folks. We are officially back on tour. It's been a while since we last played as a band but we're all excited to be back on stage with Natalie. We are kicking off the tour in Sarnia, ON at the wonderful Imperial Theatre. One thing we weren't expecting was the street in front of the theatre was completely torn up with construction. The only way to get to the front of the theatre was around the back alley. Once you get in you can see it's a real gem of a facility. Nice and intimate with a feeling that you can really connect with everyone in the seats. Of course we were concerned that people would have trouble getting to the gig but those fears were put to rest very fast. Once we walked out on stage we realized that a little construction wouldn't keep people from coming to see Natalie! The band was tight as usual considering it's been awhile. It's funny, one lady came up to me after and asked how long we rehearsed for the show since it's been awhile. She was shocked to find out that we basically just flew in and started playing. When I look around at the players on stage it's easy for me to see that these guys are the top in their fields and once they got it they really got it!! Anyway it was a great start to what we hope to be a great tour. The people of Sarnia were a great bunch and the staff and volunteers at the theatre made it all go smooth. A big thanks to everyone. We're off to Kingston, ON tomorrow so we'll see you there. ............................................................................................................................... September 25, 2008 - Kingston, ON |
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So it was a full house tonight with it being the grand opening and of course with Natalie being the first official act! The crowd was primed and the energy was high. Natalie was fired up right from the start and gave them everything. There was one funny moment in the show where some tape had fallen on some of the piano strings and there were a couple of "funky" notes coming out of it. Of course it happened right before Mac's big solo. He was good about it though and we all had a good laugh. Once it was fixed Mac was back in fine form! Well if the rest of the tour goes as good as the first two shows we're going to have a great time. A huge thanks to everyone who came out and a big congrats to the people behind this theatre. I'm sure it will continue to provide top notch entertainment to Kingston for years to come! Tomorrow Natalie is doing a special show in Oakville with a couple of the band members and a couple members of Leahy. Should be a good one. After that the band performs in Markham, ON. We'll see you there. ............................................................................................................................... September 27, 2008 - Markham, ON Hi folks. We're in Markham, ON tonight at the Performing Arts Centre. Natalie has played here before and has always had a great crowd. Nice intimate theatre with a little over 500 seats. Great stage and lighting as well. Tonight was the season opener and the place was jumpin'! Full house and a wonderful crowd. At one point I was worried that some fans in the top balcony were in danger of finding themselves on the main floor! They were having a great party up there!! Natalie was bringing it to them and they were giving it back. We had a blast tonight. Thanks to everyone who came out and as always the show couldn't go on without the staff and volunteers. They are definitely the unsung hero's of any show. We are now on a few days off until the 2nd of October and then it gets really busy. We'll see you next in Brantford, ON. ............................................................................................................................... October 2, 2008 - Brampton, ON Hi folks. Well what a treat tonight! We're at the wonderful Sanderson Centre in Brampton and we have the absolute pleasure of doing another dual show with the incredible Leahy family. This is the perfect theatre for such an event as we needed a large open theatre with a large stage to accommodate all the players from both bands! We did a similar show earlier this year and we have all been looking forward to doing it once again. Full house tonight and what an audience. Obviously it was full of fans of both Leahy and Natalie. The show started with Leahy and then we came on and did some numbers and then we all started mixing players for different tunes. Made for an interesting night both for the crowd and for us. Its rare that we get to play together and since we are all fans of each others music it was an incredible musical experience for all the players on stage. There is a bit of talk of maybe doing a tour together in the future. I sure hope it happens. Thanks again to everyone who came out to make this a night to remember. Hope to see you again in the near future. Now we drive to Toronto get an hour or two of sleep and then fly to Chicago then on the Seattle to meet the bus for a show tomorrow night in Bremerton. Going be a rough one with no sleep but that's show business!! See you there! ............................................................................................................................... October 3, 2008 - Bremerton, WA Hey we made it!! We'll we're here in body but with no sleep we're all dragging a bit today! Actually it was a really smooth trip. Planes were on time, all our gear and suitcases showed up and the bus was right on time. The only minor glitch of the day is the GPS on the bus tried to take us to Bremerton on the ferry instead of on the highway. A quick adjustment and we were on our way. So today we're kicking of the US portion of the tour at the beautiful and unique Admiral Theatre. This theatre is unique in a couple ways. Instead of seats in the lower portion of the theatre they have tables and serve a dinner before the show. The top balcony is regular seats for folks who just want the show without a meal. Also the artwork on the walls have a marine feel with hand painted fish and mermaids! Quite the experience for both the audience and for us. Well we were all pretty tired from the monster trip from Toronto at 4am this morning but come show time we were primed for the show. Nothing like a full house to get the energy back. Natalie (despite having less sleep than all of us) kept us all playing hard to keep up with her energy. This lady is a machine! Of course the audience gets most of the credit for the energy they were giving us. We had people dancing in the isles and even saw some kids with hand painted signs in the balcony. This always makes us play better. As Natalie says, we're all in this together. The more you give the more we give back! A huge thanks to everyone in the audience tonight. What could have been a difficult show for us because of no sleep turned out to be a very fun show and a night to remember. Also a big thanks to the staff at this theatre. Not only did the stage crew have everything set up for us when we got there (saving our bacon big time!) but the staff treated us like royalty. And we have to mention that the meal tonight was top notch. A great way to start a tour. See you tomorrow in Olympia, WA. ............................................................................................................................... October 4, 2008 - Olympia, WA Hi all. Well today were at the Washington Centre for the Performing Arts in beautiful downtown Olympia. What a great city. The downtown core is alive and thriving with lots of cool shops and a whole lot of places to spend money! The theatre is a great place as well with some interesting seating. There are three balconies and the top one is way up there. In fact a few of us have stiff necks from looking up there while playing! Once again it was a full house and it was hopping! We had people dancing at the back, people dancing on the sides and people dancing in their seats (no easy task!). It was an absolute magical night right from the start. One great thing about this facility is it isn't very deep so you feel very close to the people in the audience. For such a large facility it had a very intimate feel. Hey there were even a few Cape Bretoners there! That always makes Natalie feel at home! Also once again a huge thanks to the staff. We've been so blessed with top notch local crews and that makes our tour manager, Trevor a happy camper. As well the catering was incredible and everyone involved in making this show possible went the extra mile. As well I have to send out a huge thanks to everyone who came out and filled the theatre. A great audience makes the show and tonight was no exception. We truly appreciate it. Now we jump on the bus and head off to Kirkland, WA for two shows tomorrow. A kids show in the afternoon and a regular show at night. Kids shows are always a highlight for us as it brings a whole new feel to the show and it's nice to maybe inspire the next generation to bring music into their lives. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... October 5, 2008 - Kirkland, WA Two shows today! We're in Kirkland, WA at the wonderful Kirkland Performance Center. This is a nice theatre with one level of seating so everyone has a great view of the stage. Great sound and lighting as well to make this a top notch facility. So yes, two shows. I always think that the early show will be a students show but I forgot it was Sunday today (you lose track of days on the road!) so there is no school. Anyway it turned out that there were enough people that wanted to see Natalie that they had to schedule two shows for today. Good thing as both shows were pretty full and Natalie was on top of her game for both shows. The only glitch in the afternoon show was that Natalie kept referring to "tonight". Easy mistake as it's dark in there and we rarely do an afternoon show! The band was cooking for both shows and considering the energy that was expended on the first show we still had lots in reserve for the second. Thanks to everyone who came out and again the staff at the Center were incredible. It sure makes our time there memorable. We now have a long overnight drive to Arcata, CA for a day off tomorrow and a show the next day. We're in the capable hands of Richard our trusty bus driver to get us there safely. We'll see you at the next show! ............................................................................................................................... October 7, 2008 - Arcata, CA Hi folks. Welcome to sunny Arcata, CA. We've played here at the Van Duzer Theatre before and each time its a fun time. The theatre itself is a great size and not only has great seating but lots of isle room for dancing, something that Natalie loves people to do. Great show and great audience tonight. I don't know what it is about northern California but the people really get into the music and we had a whole side of the crowd dancing up a storm. Right from the start there were quite a few people in front of Nathaniel who were chair dancing like mad. These people were getting into it! The energy was fantastic and Natalie was on her game. We had a ball here tonight and it's always nice to be back. Now we are off to Klamath Falls for the next show. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... October 8, 2008 - Klamath Falls, OR Hey all. We're back here in Klamath Falls at the great Ross Ragland Theater. This is one nice theatre with cool side boxes for a great view of the stage. Natalie has played here before and always looks forward to coming back. Tonight was a fun night. It wasn't a full house but it wasn't too bad. There was something a bit nutty on stage tonight and it got to everyone. We were all having minor glitches in parts of some songs but it wasn't bad, just different. And Natalie was in full "mommy brain" mode (as she calls it) and got side tracked on some of her stories. It was a whole lot of fun and it had it's funny moments. As well Natalie decided to put the band to work by letting the audience dictate what we should play. What key, what feel, everything. It went pretty good considering we were making it up on the spot! A big thanks to eveyone who came out as well as the staff at the theater. We had a memorable evening. See you all in Pocatello, ID next. ............................................................................................................................... October 10, 2008 - Pocatello, ID Hi folks. We are now on day one of three dates in Idaho and it is getting cold out there. Well okay it's cold for a west coast boy like me but probably not for the locals. Feels like winter is just around the corner! Today we are in Pocatello, ID at the beautiful Jenson Theater. This facility is only 4 years old and it is a top notch theater. It's set up with incredible acoustics and I can only imagine how a symphony sound in this great hall. So we had a small but mighty crowd tonight. Actually it wasn't that the crowd was small it's just that this place is huge. This is Natalie's first time here and judging by the crowd response it won't be the last! We had people dancing in the isles and kids dancing in their seats for the whole show. It's sometimes hard to feel the energy of the crowd in a hall this big but these folks were wonderful. Hopefully we'll be back soon. A big thanks to all the staff and volunteers. They went out of their way to make us feel like home and the catering was top notch. We are now off to Rexburg for show number two in Idaho. We'll see you there! ............................................................................................................................... October 11, 2008 - Rexburg, ID Wow what a place this is! We're playing the Hart Auditorium at the Brigham Young University here in Rexburg. What a huge place this is with a little over 4000 seats. Great crew and equipment as well with some really great lighting. Everything about the facility is top notch and you couldn't find a nicer bunch of folks to help us out with whatever we needed. So as soon as Natalie walked out on stage we knew we were going to have a great night. The volume coming from the crowd was intense. These people came primed for a great show and Natalie didn't disappoint them. It's so nice to play for such a large crowd who are really into the music and not afraid of joining in. We had people dancing up a storm, we had people clapping along, it was more like a giant house party than a concert! This will be a memorable night for some time to come. A bit of surprise when we went out to the bus. Apparently it snowed while we were inside. They had a football game earlier on and lucky for them it wasn't an evening game. They would have needed snowshoes!! Now we pack up and head to Nampa, ID for tomorrow nights show. See you all there. ............................................................................................................................... October 12, 2008 - Nampa, ID Well we are at our final stop in Idaho for this fall tour and it's in Nampa which is just outside of Boise. Today we're at the Nampa Civic Center. Nice multi-use facility with a intimate theatre with a great view of the stage from every seat. We had an early show tonight and as sometimes happens not everyone knew that. Unfortunately we are so used to the shows being either 7:30 or 8:00 pm, a 7pm show really throws us off. Poor JD didn't get the word and actually missed the first two numbers. Then Natalie broke a string (which never happens!!!) and needless to say the start of the show was a bit rocky. Luckily the good folks in the audience didn't seem to mind and after the few glitches were worked out we went on to have a great show. Natalie has never played Nampa before so it was nice to see a crowd come out and enjoy her music. I have to say we owe a huge huge thanks to our bus driver Richard. While we were all snuggled up in our bunks he was fighting a wicked snow storm. At times you couldn't even tell there was a highway out there. I woke up a couple of times and couldn't believe the snow and ice. By the time we all woke up we were safely at our hotel with most of us unaware of the challenges that were behind us. The only evidence was the snow stuck to the bottom of the bus. So we sure appreciate the skill that this man has behind the wheel. So we are now off to Eugene tonight for a day off tomorrow and a show there the next day. We'll see you all there. ............................................................................................................................... October 14, 2008 - Eugene, OR Hey everyone. We are in the beautiful city of Eugene, OR today for a show at the Shedd. Very cool and intimate theatre that used to be a Baptist church in it's earlier day. Before I talk about the gig I have to mention our sound man/road manager who is the unsung hero of this gig. Unfortunately a lot of the equipment for the show tonight didn't materialize and there were a few other problems he had to deal with today. He put in extra time and did double duty to make it all work and fortunately the show went off without a hitch. He deserves a huge amount of thanks and if anyone is interested his favourite drink is a Grande Latte with two sugars from Starbucks!! So back to the gig. This venue is a very intimate and the crowd is all around the stage with the balcony. Great bunch out there tonight and they were really into the music. It's always nice to see young children up to the senior citizens equally enjoying the music. Natalie was on top of her game and the band was right there with her. It was a very special show for us and we want to thank everyone who came out. As well the house monitor man helped saved the day and he also deserves a big thank you. So we have a big overnight drive to Redding, CA for a show there tomorrow. We'll see you there! ............................................................................................................................... October 15, 2008 - Redding, Ca Hi folks. We're in the beautiful city of Redding at the lovely Cascade Theatre. This is a wonderful old venue with great seating and beautiful murals on the walls and ceiling. We had a real fun night tonight. Everyone was in a crazy mood and the crowd was right there with us. It wasn't a full house tonight but man they were an energetic bunch. In fact at one point Natalie asked them to stand up and dance with her and I swear I saw daylight between their feet and the floor! The energy tonight was over the top. We'll take an energetic crowd over a full house any day! Makes us play that much better. A big thanks to everyone who came out as well as the staff at the Cascade. Now we're off overnight to Davis, CA for a show there so we'll talk to you then. ............................................................................................................................... October 16, 2008 - Davis, CA Hi there. Well we're at the beautiful Mondavi theatre on the campus of the UC Davis. I have to apologize as I only took one picture today and that was of the inside of this great hall. You see today we had two shows and I kind of forgot my picture taking duties. We rolled in fairly early and soundchecked as we had an 11am kids show. These are always fun as you get a wide range of kids coming from the local schools. I love when you look out in the audience and it seems to be "bubbling" with the energy from these kids. They always appreciate the music and I think for them the event is more special than anything else. The evening show went great. Wasn't a full house but again this place is huge! The people that were there were obviously fans of Natalie's as the response was over the top. It's so nice to look out there and see young and old together enjoying Natalie's music. Again it was a bit of a crazy show with some of the boys showing up with sunglasses for a few tunes. In fact Mac did his dance with Melissa's (babysitter) new sunglasses on! He was in a crazy mood. It was a terrific show tonight and we have to thank everyone who came out. You were a great audience. A huge thanks to all the staff who did double duty today with the two shows. Very professional bunch here. As well honorable mention goes out to our road manager and front of house guy, Trevor who made it all work with very little sleep. This guy sure puts in the hours for us. Well we are now off to Napa, CA next for a show tomorrow. We'll see you all there. ............................................................................................................................... October 17, 2008 - Napa, CA Well we are in the heart of California's wine country today in the beautiful city of Napa. I swear there is a wine store on every corner! Pretty famous place if you're into wine. We are playing the beautiful and historic Napa Valley Opera House. This venue was built in 1879 and there are still original parts of the structure in certain areas (I know cause I was sitting on such a piece until one of the staff kindly explained what I was sitting on and offered me a chair! Sorry!). The theatre is fairly small with a balcony that looks like it came right out of a western movie. For us tonight it felt like a house party. Being a small theatre and everyone right there in front of you we could imagine that it was someone's large living room! And the crowd made it feel even more like a house party as we had people dancing and standing and cheering the whole time. It was an incredible audience tonight. We were all floored by the participation of the crowd. Just a great venue and a great group of people. Now we're off to Modesto tonight for a show tomorrow. We'll see you there. ............................................................................................................................... October 18, 2008 - Modesto, CA Hi folks. We're in Modesto California to day. One of the first things that I saw on the way to the gig was this giant arch that said "Water Wealth Contentment Health". I thought that was kind of unique and mentioned it to my wife. She got on the computer and looked up Modesto on Wikipedia and found out that the slogan was the result of a contest in 1911 and it actually came in second. The winning slogan was "Nobody's got Modesto's goat"!! I guess now they're glad they went with the second place entry! We're at the beautiful Gallo Center for the Arts and what a wonderful place this is. Great seating and state of the art equipment all around. Not to mention great facilities backstage and ample dressing rooms. Just a great building all around. We had a wondeful audience tonight but there was only one slight problem for us. With the great lighting they have we had a hard time seeing the people out in the theatre. We always like to see the people so we can connect better but with the lighting tonight it was hard to see anyone. Oh well we looked good under that great lighting but we just had to work a little harder to make sure the people were enjoying the show. A great moment tonight; Natalie's mom is out with us on tour now and she managed to coax little Mary Francis out on stage for a dance! We couldn't believe it and actually Natalie had tears in her eyes as this is the first time that her little daughter has danced in front of a audience. Grandma sure knows how to get the little one to do anything! Modesto will always be a special place because of this. Anyway a huge thanks to the staff here. They looked after us really well and made our performance here go flawlessly. We are now off to Chico for a evening show tomorrow and a kids show early (really early!) on Monday. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... October 19-20, 2008 - Chico, CA Well we're here in Chico for a double show. The venue is the Laxson Auditorium on the grounds of the University of California. Very cool place with a wonderful Spanish style architecture to almost every building. The venue itself has a great look to the inside and a wonderful stage. Natalie has played here before and always looks forward to coming back each time. So we did the first show Sunday night. Great crowd and a fun show. We had another appearance from Natalie's mom Minnie and Natalie's daughter Mary Francis. They came out together on the last tune of the first half to give the folks a little dance together. I don't think it will be too long before Mary Frances takes over the show! The audience tonight were wonderful and again full of energy. As well it was our 5th show in a row without a break and everyone is still playing extremely well and not showing signs of "road fatique"! It does get a little goofy on stage some times when we do this many shows in a row but it was pretty calm tonight with only a few minor instances of "goofy-ness"! Next we did an early morning show on Monday for some school kids. As I mentioned before we love doing these shows. The kids are always great and are very willing participants. Natalie even taught them how to do a simple Cape Breton style dance. They were a great bunch today and really got into the music. Nice to see. Now we have a huge drive to Tucson with a break in Bakersfield for our driver to catch some rest. Hopefully be there by noon tomorrow so we can have a relaxing couple days off. We'll see you Thursday for another double header in Tucson, AZ. ............................................................................................................................... October 23, 2008 -
Tucson, AZ ............................................................................................................................... October 24, 2008 - Poway,
CA ............................................................................................................................... October 25, 2008 -
Pasadena, CA ............................................................................................................................... October 26, 2008 -
Wickenburg, AZ As well Matt brings to the band a
great sense of humor and is a great guy to hang around with.
Thanks to Mac who is a one-of-a-kind guy. His mastery of the Cape
Breton style piano is only matched by his whacky sense of humor.
Add to that one of the craziest laughs you've ever heard and you have a
guy that's a blast to be around. Thanks to JD who I've been a fan
of for years. I used to listen to recordings years ago with JD
playing drums and instantly was a fan of his playing. Never in my
wildest dreams did I imagine I would be sharing the stage with him some
day. He's taken me by the hand and taught me more about rhythm and
feel in the short time we've gigged than I've learned in a lifetime of
playing. I am truly indebted to him. A huge thanks to Trevor
who literally keeps this ship afloat! It takes a special person to
do his kind of job. He's the last to eat, first in the theatre,
last to go to sleep, I don't know how he survives. Honestly there
would be no show without him. Also thanks to the behind the scenes
people, Jenelle, Minnie, Melissa, Dianne, Donnell, Richard the bus
driver, everyone at CAMI and also our web master Cheryl who's talent and
skill allows you to keep up with Natalie's schedule. If I've
forgotten anyone please accept my apology. ...............................................................................................................................
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