Oct 19th11:25 PM
I just finished my first “official” show of the tour. A house concert presented by Dean Verger and his lovely wife, Ruth. House concerts are beautiful things. The performers are given an interested and well behaved (usually) audience, %100 of door and merch, plus wonderful home cooked meals and a room for the night. The people who open up their homes and run these shows are absolute saints. I could definitely get used to doing these.
The concert was a welcome dose of normality after a whirlwind weekend. The 72 hour non-stop party known as the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF for short) is hectic, exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating, and joyful. All at the same time. Once a year the Canadian folk music Industry (yes, I said it, the “I” word. Go ahead and call me a capitalist) converges on the Crown Plaza hotel in Ottawa for a weekend of schmoozing, boozing, listening, and discovering great music.
This was my third OCFF and the best one yet. I got absolutely no sleep and made some new friends and connections. My favourite part of the weekend is always the last night, which is total chaos and takes a week to recover from. Walking through the lobby the next morning and watching the other zombie musicians who are just as tired and hung-over as you really makes you feel like you’re part of a community. As we pass each other, dragging our lifeless bodies to the Tim Hortens, we remove our aviators, revealing the dark canyons under our eyes and smile half heartedly. While last night we toasted tequila and beer bottles, this morning we toast coffee and tea, desperately hoping it will help us attain some level of consciousness…though deep down we know it won’t. In the end, we’re all in this together, and these late nights spent having fun and doing what we love affirms this, year after year.
I discovered and re-discovered some great music this weekend. Run, don’t walk to your nearest computer and check these people out:
Josh Cockerill, The John Henry’s, Jadea Kelly, The Rucksack Willies, John Davis, Katherine Wheatley, Nagmar, Stacy Burke, the Good Lovelies, Ariana Gillis, David Baxter, Jack Marks, and David Celia. They are all amazing and working their asses of to do what they love!!!
Next show is on Friday at the Bridge St. Café in Sussex, NB. It should take me three days to get there. I’m looking forward to a beautiful drive spent listening to all the new music I picked up over the weekend. Here are the stats of the day:
Favourite color: Red, like the leaves on the beautiful Ottawa trees.
Favourite food: Soup. Mmmmmmm.
Favourite drink: Peach rooibous tea. I cannot describe the happiness brought by a warm cup of tea.
Thought of the day: Fuck. I’m tired.
Word of the day: Cozy
Song of the day: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Item I wish I had: an Iphone or blackberry or other portable internet device.
Item I’m glad I brought: extra good hand lotion.
Goodnight to all. I’ll write again as soon as I find an internet connection.
Much love,
Tay