March 11th and 12th – Guelph – Jimmy Jazz
2 shows in Guelph came at a crazy time. We kept traveling back and forth to Toronto during the day to attend the CMW panels, but then would drive to whatever city the show was in that evening. This meant we played in Guelph at Jimmy Jazz on the 11th, stayed up until 3 am, drove to Toronto at 7 am, then drove back from Toronto at 6 pm in order to play at around 10 pm that night, once again at Jimmy Jazz. This type of scenario had been going on for a couple of days, so I actually took the opportunity to take a nap in the car before the first show.
That first night I played with Banquet and The Music Box. Both bands shared some similar members, but the difference in material was clear. Banquet was a folky, rootsy trio, while the Music Box brought a lot more rock, with a full band and drummer. My good friend Brent Coleman put on the show, and did a fantastic job (as usual). It’s interesting playing at Jimmy Jazz, because there’s no cover, so the people that attend aren’t necessarily there for music, but they’ll stick around if they like it. I was stoked because I managed to grab people’s attention both nights, and had them clapping along by the end of it too!
The second night I shared a bill with Texting Mackenzie, an eclectic indie/rock band that likes to blend genres (one of my favourites!). I’d been in touch with Robin Wright, the vocalist/guitar player for quite a while, as I’m stoked to bring them to Thunder Bay. They’d start a song with a campy feel, then switch into punk rock mid phrase only to bring it into something different right after that. That night we crashed at Shannon’s friend Sean Mackay’s place. He also hooked us up with a delicious vegetarian lasagna earlier that day, which we were late for because of crazy Toronto rush hour traffic (sorry again!).
