Sean Lennon, Toronto, ON

Mornings are rough. Getting to bed around 4am when you have to get up a 6:30 is a nightmare. And that was how my day started. I got up somehow and got to LaGuardia fairly painlessly, and remarkably quickly. It's a good thing I got there fast because that airport is a disaster. Thankfully I had an electronic ticket, so there was no waiting in the unbelievable lineup to check in. I just had to survive the free for all train wreck to get my baggage tags. In a normal airport, after you check in, you go to the counter, they print off your tags and you're set. Not here. No sir. They let hundred of people crash the counter while the machine spits out tags and they randomly call out names that no one can hear because everyone is too busy yelling at them because the system blows and half the people there will miss their flights. And then, while they're handing out some tags, a lot of other tags just end up on the ground and trampled, and who knows what happens to the people waiting for those. It's insane. After an hour and a half, I finally convinced a girl behind the counter to help me out, which was no easy task as they basically ignored everyone. At one point there was actually no one there because they all just too a handful of tags and walked into the crowd looking for people. It was brutal. And then, after you make it to the front and get your tags, you have to push your way back out through everyone to drop off your bags at the x-ray machine, and I'm not talking 20 people, I'm talking about 250. They don't even take your bags behind the counter! Anyways. I finally got my tags about 20 minutes before my flight, rushed to security (thankfully there was a tiny lineup) and made it on to my plane with seconds to spare. It was the first time I felt some serious stress at an airport; I really couldn't miss this flight. First day back with Sean, didn't want to start on the wrong foot... I now completely understand why most people hate to travel. If that happened to me every time I had to fly, I'd quit. I didn't think it was possible to hate an airport more than I hate Pearson, but I was sooo wrong. Pearson is a delight compared to what I went through this morning.

And then I got to Toronto. That was a walk in the park by comparison. All I had to do was meet everyone in a different terminal, then we all hopped in to vans and headed to the hotel. I somehow managed to get an hour or so of sleep, and then it was time to load in at The Phoenix.

I'm always happy to go there. I know everyone, I know the gear will work and it's actually a good place to play when the room is full. We had a good soundcheck and I felt like I never left, just right back in the saddle again. After a quick dinner break, we came back for the show, which was a bit bizarre. The main problem was that it was a club show on Canada Day. No one books a club show on Canada Day. You play outdoor festivals where people can party and see the fireworks. There was a small crowd, but they were good, solid fans and the show went really well.

After the show we dealt with gear issues for the flights the next day, had a quick beer, made a trip around the corner to The Big Slice on my way to the hotel and then actually made it to bed at a realistic hour, which was very necessary after my recent lack of sleep. Tomorrow, I fly home for about 48 hours, then it's off to Europe for the rest of the month...