Posted by
octoberman
on Oct 08, 2007
On the night of our tour kick-off show in Vancouver, every single member of Octoberman is sniffling, sneezing and coughing. Uh oh. We manage to fight through the phlegm and strange sound in the gym-like Ukraine Hall and the show goes over well.
The next morning as we are leaving Vancouver, it takes two and a half hours for the U-Haul guy to get our gear trailer attached, forcing us to cancel the night's show in Golden. Not to worry -- one phone call later and we've set up a private house show for some cool kids in Kelowna. Renee, Laura and Heather from the Whitehouse Night Gallery called all of their friends in last minute, and a night of driving turned into a whisky-soaked dance party. Thanks to our amazing hosts! Arch still won't shut up about the delicious French toast.
So it seems like all is smooth sailing as we turn to leave Kelowna, that is until we hear an intense banging sound and quickly pull over. It turns out that van's rear differential died and we have to get it towed to a mechanic who informs us that because of the Thanksgiving holidays it won't get fixed until Wednesday or Thursday. Cory and Leah are super-troopers to volunteer to babysit the van in Kelowna while the remaining seven of us take two cars and high-tail it to Calgary. We pull in at 10 pm and luckily the local band on the bill is cool with letting us use their amps and drums. The next morning we scarf down a Lumberjack breakfast on 16th Ave with our friend Ian from Flemish Eye Records. Timber!!
The next night, all nine of us reunite at the Blackspot Cafe in Edmonton and play one of our funnest shows yet. We even did a last-minute cover with Arch from The Mohawk Lodge of Pavement's "Summer Babe." The rest of the night is spent partying in a random Edmonton garage, telling stories that none of us remember the next day. Props to Parker from the Blackspot for showing us a good time.
As I write this, Scott and Arch from The Lodge inform me that the Slice's bartender has just volunteered to drive our van and trailer for us from Kelowna to Winnipeg, meaning that all of us can still play our Saskatoon and Winnipeg shows together. It seems that a lot of what touring requires is the ability to turn shit into gold. Partay!!
