A-Trak in North America, July 2-Aug. 10, 2009
A-Trak in North America, Day 1, Charlotte, NC
So it's the first day of a new tour. It's been a little while since I've toured with someone new as most of the last year has been spent with The Stills, so it's pretty weird to jump in to something like this. We've spoken on the phone a few times, had lunch, etc... and I've worked with his brother in Chromeo for some time, so I think we're comfortable enough to get started and head off to the airport today.
Getting in to LaGuardia was business as usual. The lady at the check in counter mislabeled one of A-Trak's bags though, thankfully I caught it before it hit the belt, otherwise it would have made a nice trip to Pittsburgh... Everything was fine after that, got on the plane, ready to go, only to hear that all flights are delayed due to a weather system that just passed through and we're 35th in line on the runway. That means we sit and wait for 45 minutes before we can take off. I slept through most of that, the flight itself was ok, and eventually we land in Charlotte about 45 mins late.
So we wait for our bags, and 2 of 3 show up. Awesome. At least we're getting the shit out of the way on the first day. We wait around awhile, file the missing bag info and they tell us that it was just held back in NY and it's on the next flight. At least it's not lost, which is great. I call our bus driver who comes up to the gate to greet us and we're off to the hotel.
When we got in, I took a couple minutes to run over to the venue to meet everyone (we weren't going to soundcheck), got a bite to eat and then just went back to the hotel to work for a bit before we had to go to the show. It was pretty smooth until A-Trak realized that some of his necessary dj gear was in the missing bag, which by this point had arrived at the Charlotte airport, but still hadn't made its way to us... So we scramble a little bit, but everything comes together at the last minute, right before his set started...
Thankfully it all worked out and the set at The Forum was great. The highlight was when a bunch of people in the front row tried to grab the front of the dj booth, and to their horror, all of a sudden it started falling in to the crowd. I was standing at the side of the stage so I jumped out and we both grabbed it before it tipped too far and pulled it back. And through it all the music didn't even skip a beat.
After the set we hung around a bit and met some of the other people working on the Bacardi shows (the first few shows are sponsored by Bacardi) and then went back to crash. It's been a long enough day already, need to sleep...
Day 2, Atlanta, GA
There was no rush to get up today, so I leisurely got up around 10:30am (first time I've slept that late in weeks!), went for food and coffee and hopped on the bus to go to Atlanta. Fortunately we were also carrying the bag that US Airways "delayed" on our behalf; they finally managed to get it to us...
So we get to Atlanta, pull up at the lovely W Hotel, and go to park the bus behind the venue a couple blocks away. Parking a bus is complicated at best, and this one was not easy. I understand why parking lot attendants get replaced by machines sometimes... Anyways, it works out, go back to the hotel, then go we soundcheck, etc... During this whole time I was also on the phone with the hotel in Charlotte trying to find some items that were left behind. 2 days in, 2 days of mild drama...
Also, right before soundcheck, back at the hotel the mild drama suddenly escalated. I got a phone call letting me know that Rye Rye, the support act on our headline dates for the next 6 weeks, is backing out of the tour. 2 days before the first show. Amazing. That'll make the next couple days pretty interesting...
So that's about all I need for today, so I went out for a short walk to find some dinner, check out the neighbourhood, etc... That took up about an hour and then I just went back to the hotel to work for a while before we had to head back for the show.
We walked over a little while later and it pretty much time for the set to start. There was no booth-tipping today, but there were a number of people trying to get on stage most of the night. Felt bad for the dude doing security. Every once in a while there was a smoke machine that would go off and fill the crowd, more than I've ever seen, to the point where you literally couldn't see 2 ft. in front of you. That was kind of an open door for people to try and jump up, grab things on the booth, etc... Good times.
After it was all over, I just hung out on the patio with the Bacardi people for the rest of the night. Eventually went back to the hotel, worked a little longer and passed out.
Day 3, Orlando, FL
I woke up early today to catch up on some paperwork before we had to leave at 9:30am to drive to Orlando. I pulled open the curtains and saw sun, so that was good. Also saw a bunch of people running a marathon. Not on my list of things to do...
So I go to the business office, get some photocopies made, go back to my room to grab my stuff and check out. I go downstairs and as soon as I walk out the elevator I see our bus driver and he says "Man, we can't leave yet.". My initial though was someone probably broke in to the bus or something, but it actually comes back to the damn marathon. Turns out they were going down the street where the bus was parked, and the police wouldn't let the bus leave the lot until the last group of runners went by, which they expected to be at 11am. Awesome. Thankfully we didn't really have to be anywhere at a specific time, so we chilled out at the hotel, had a bite to eat (I got an Odwalla smoothie and a croissant for $3! At a W!) and after a while we decided to just drag our stuff to the bus and wait there so we could leave asap.
Just after 11am we were finally able to hit the road and we were on our way to Orlando. I slept through the first part of the trip; so nice not having to drive... When we pulled in to town, we stopped by the hotel quickly and then I went down to the House of Blues to check out the club. I can't believe how hot it is down here. It's been a while since I've been in the south and it's really intense. You really have to readjust your pace to keep it together... Anyways, after walking through the venue, I got a ride back to the hotel and grabbed some dinner. Just going to relax for a bit before going back at 11:30pm for the show...
So the show was good. The highlight for me was that DJ Jazzy Jeff of Fresh Prince fame was on right before A-Trak. He didn't do anything particularly crazy, but it was just cool to actually see him spin after being aware of him for so long. Then A-Trak did his thing, which seemed to go well, but overall it was just a weird crowd. 4th of July, 35 miles out of town at DisneyWorld... not the best combination for a DJ show. Oh well.
After the set we hung out a bit with Matt & Kim before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4, Tampa, FL
So we got up and left around 10am so we could get to Tampa for an early soundcheck, pick up packages, etc... When we pulled in, the part of town we were in, called Ybor, was sort of a ghost town, not all that weird for a Sunday after 4th of July I guess... Parked the bus, picked up some parcels at the hotel, went to the venue and started setting up.
Things were moving along well enough, just a little slower in the heat down here. It really hits you. Just took our time and worked through the afternoon. T-shirts were counted, iced coffee consumed, sound was checked. Cool (not in the temperature kind of way).
Around dinner time, we wanted to go back to the venue because they were having a free bbq on the patio. We never get to bbq in NYC, so this seemed like an amazing thing to do. One of the support acts on the tour, Treasure Fingers, arrived today, and we were all set to meet at the venue. The two of them went over before me and were horrified to find out that the bbq was done before 6pm. Before we even had a chance. That hurt. So they came over and met me at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company where I had been having a quick pint to cool off.
After dinner we went back to the hotel quickly, and then walked back over to the venue. There were some dj's already spinning when we got in, and I have to say it's become incredibly apparent to me what a bad dj is now that I see one of the best in the world almost every night. Most of them are pretty shitty, it's pretty funny. But very painful... Anyways, the crowd tonight was pretty incredible. A-Trak was killing them and they loved every second of it.
After the show I gathered up the merch and bailed pretty quickly. Late nights and early mornings are catching up, and I don't have to get up too early tomorrow so I want to take advantage.
Day 5, Miami, FL
I got to sleep in today and I loved it. I took my time, went and got some food and then waited for the others before we hopped on the bus to head to Miami. It was a relatively short trip, only about 5hrs, and I spent most of it working. I wanted to make sure I didn't have to worry about too much once we got in.
The hotel we're staying at for the next couple days is really more like a resort. It's on the beach, on the Atlantic Ocean, and it's nothing but pools, beach chairs, bars, etc... all over the compound. It's like being on vacation in Mexico all over again. It's so nice to have a beach. It's the first place I went when we arrived, walked up and down for a bit, then a little around the neighbourhood. I'm staying at the beach...
The rest of the night was pretty relaxing. Got some food, watched some baseball, just general chilling out. Gotta save some energy for the beach after all...
Day 6, Miami, FL
Today, the priority was hitting the beach, which I was able to do after sleeping in. Amazing. I got up around 11am and slowly headed down to work on my non-existant tan. On my way down, I stopped for a decent coffee, and before I knew it I was lying on the beach. I went in the water for a while too and it was the perfect temperature, matched almost evenly with the air.
After my swim in the ocean and lying under the sun, we had to go out and pick up some supplies for the tour. The hotel/resort was sort of in the middle of nowhere, so we rented a car and headed out. First stop was Guitar Center, which was pretty standard, and then we hit up Toys R Us for some general stage stuff. We went in looking for some various props, but we came out with much more than that. We looked all over the store, and we had really seen the best thing right at the entrance, so we went back to the start and picked up our new friend Mustard the Tour Horse. Mustard is awesome, best horse ever. He looks great everywhere he goes.
After our wildly successful shopping trip, we went back to the hotel, and then I went out again quickly to hit up Staples and the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up a pin (cause I collect them). On the way back, I stopped at a Mexican joint for dinner. When I was done with that, I grabbed a couple things at the bus and brought back the rental car. The rest of the night was pretty laid back.
Day 7, Miami, FL
Ah yes, today I must work again. But first, the beach. How could I not? It's right there, I really have to do it, so I spent a little bit more time lounging, swimming in the ocean, lounging some more... After some of that, I went back inside, went for some food, worked for a while, etc...
Eventually it came time for soundcheck, which was fairly easy. Got everything happening and we were out. I did a little bit of paperwork and then went downstairs to one of the resort restaurants where we met with a promoter and a couple friends for dinner. It was good, and then it was time to go up for the show.
So the show tonight is in this weird nightclub called LIV which is part of the hotel complex. It's bottle service only, and every table has their own gogo-dancing waitress. Very bizarre. The cheapest booze on the menu was a bottle of Jager for $300. It topped out at the Dom Perignon for $40,000. Unreal. Definitely not my world...
Everything was going pretty well until the last 5 minutes or so of the set. There was a guy that came up on stage, stood there talking to someone for a minute, and then went right up to A-Trak while he was spinning. Dude tells him he has to play stuff that's more commercial and less shitty. Turns out the guy was the bar manager. Telling one of the world's top DJ's what to play. Crazy. So I go up to the guy, I say "Hey man, I'm the tour manager, what's the problem here?". His response was to push me, tell me to "Back the f**k off or regret it". He was obviously on coke, I told him to chill out and he got livid. The security guy standing there had to get him to back off and just asked me to stay out of his way. So that was all pretty awesome. At least the guy left after that. The set ended, we loaded out.
When I checked out of our hotel, the staff asked if I enjoyed myself tonight, so I told them the story, they were horrified. Whatever. We packed the bus and at 5am we started the drive to Austin.
Day 8, Pensacola, FL
Today is just a drive day, and we stopped in Pensacola to break it up and give our driver a chance to rest. We pulled in to town and it looked pretty, well, lame. There was a mall across the street, so I went to check that out. I walked in the JC Penny, looked around for a minute, had enough and walked in to the rest of mall. Wow. 45 or so stores, all boarded up. There was a Sears at the other end. Hurting. I walked up and down the hall, actually ended up grabbing a couple things at JCP, and then went back to the bus.
Desperate not to have highway food for dinner, we hopped in a cab and headed for downtown Pensacola. That turned out to be along the same lines. ¨Pretty deserted... After walking around for a few minutes, we settled on a tapas bar called Global Grill, and it actually ended up being really good. The place was packed and they had live music that didn't suck. Crazy! We were there for about 3hrs and it was a really solid all around experience. Once wrapped, it was back to the bus, waiting to continue the drive to Austin...
Day 9, Austin, TX
So we drove most of the day to get in to Austin, finally arriving around 4pm. Checked in to the hotel, got the bus parked and went to get a quick soundcheck out of the way. Once that was done, we went to check out a couple record stores to get some supplies and went back to the hotel.
For dinner tonight, one of my longtime touring friends who now lives in Austin came to pick me up, we stopped for coffee, and we went waaayyyy out of town to a bbq joint called the Saltlick, which I found appropriate as my favourite steakhouse in Canada is called Saltlik. Anyways. We drove for about 30mins and finally pulled up to a compound of farmhouse-style structures in the middle of nowhere. The place gets so busy that they actually have cops directing traffic to get in and out, and good luck if you stop to drop someone where you're not supposed to - they don't take kindly to that. Of the 3 main buildings, one seemed to be the kitchen, and the other 2 were for seating. We got a place fairly quickly and within moments we were served what was easily some of the best bbq I've ever had. It was so good I bought a t-shirt.
After dinner we made the trek back and just hung out at the hotel until it was time for the show. Tonight we're at a place called Speakeasy. Originally it was supposed to be Austin Music Hall, which is a great venue, but they had to switch it at the last minute because of some sort of liquor sponsorship law, and the show is put on by Bacardi, etc, etc... So we go to this place that's 1/5 of the size, and they crammed in just as many people. Hot and sweaty doesn't even begin to describe it. It was really intense. Really hard to take. For the most part, I hung out in a back corner of the artist area only because no one else was around so it was about 10 degrees cooler. The show itself was pretty nuts though. The kids loved it.
After it was done, I pretty much went straight back to the hotel to crash. Always nice to get some sleep in when you can, maybe get up early and have a chance to grab a bite to eat and a coffee.
Day 10, Houston, TX
Today was a smooth start, got to sleep in a bit and slowly make my way down to the bus to hit the road. Today marks the final drive of 2 guys on a bus. We pick up our lighting guy and a new opening act today, so we'll have 3 more on board. Have to say the 2 guys on a bus with a horse vibe was pretty good.
So we get to Houston, check in to the hotel and head over to the venue. We pull up right beside it and our lighting guy pulls up right behind us with the lighting rig we'll be carrying. So far so good. We go inside, promoter brings us to the room we're in (it's a multi-room venue) and it's time to load in, but the loaders haven't shown up. Awesome. One of the guys at the clubs helps us out, so that's cool, and it all gets in the door. Everything gets set up, moving right along. Then A-Trak comes in to soundcheck, looks at the room and asks "What are we doing here?". To which my response is: "Huh?". Turns out the show was supposed to be in a smaller room where bands were already set up and playing. It turns out that the promoter switched the rooms without telling anyone on our end. Awesome. So that unleashed an avalanche of phone calls with various colourful opinions flying through the air... Eventually we stuck with the room we were in. There was no way to switch rooms with the other show so late in the game... So we got through the check and I walked down the street for a dinner break.
Thankfully once people showed up it started coming together and was actually alright. The show ended up being fine, despite the fact that the promoter douched out on the loaders. That was fun. We had just enough time to run to the hotel for a shower once we were done. We were leaving pretty soon after to drive to El Paso for our day off.
Day 11, El Paso, TX
So after driving all night and most of the day, we pulled in to scenic (?) El Paso. By scenic, I mean deserted. At least the downtown area anyways. It was pretty dark. The hotel was decent though, so the first thing we did was grab a bucket of Corona at the bar and sat on the patio. It was the absolute best way to deal with the Texas heat, and there was absolutely nothing else to do. After killing some time doing that, I went back to the bus to enjoy the air conditioning while I worked for a bit.
Our plan for the evening was to go see a movie. One of the guys even went and bought us all tickets online. So that being decided for us, we ordered a couple cabs only to find out that the theatre we were going to was at the far east end of town, ie a $35 cab each way. Awesome. Whatever, it was something to do. Got to the theatre, had dinner there, and oddly enough got the exact same cab back to the hotel. I think the guy just waited there because he knew it would be a sure thing...
Once back, we took quick showers before heading to the bus to drive the rest of the night. Before we left though, I noticed that the border with Juarez was only about 6 blocks away. It's probably the most dangerous border crossing in this hemisphere, so I thought I should go take a closer look, just cause... Well, I got about a block in before I turned and ran back to the bus. I saw enough shit going down in the first alley I walked by to keep me far away from there for life. On to the bus, drive to Tempe, AZ.
Day 12, Tempe, AZ
Oh my God. 114 degrees. What the hell?! It's hard to take 5 steps without getting drenched in sweat. This is intense. We pulled in mid-afternoon, stopped at the hotel for a minute and then headed over to Club Red to park the bus. It was a bit of an ordeal, punctuated by being outside in the sun, but eventually it worked out. The highlight was being offered lawnmower cable for shore power. If you've ever had to plug in a bus, you can appreciate the humour of the situation.
So we got in the room, set up, everything was going well. In fact, the whole show was pretty smooth and the crowd was great. It was nice after the disaster in Houston. We got out fairly quickly after it was all done and I just went straight to the hotel to crash. Have an early drive in the morning to go to San Diego.
Day 13, San Diego, CA
So this was a good one. The drive itself was ok, went through a couple Homeland Security checkpoints but we were all good. We pulled in to San Diego on time, again stopped at the hotel for a few minutes and waited for the promoter to meet us so he could show us the bus parking. He didn't have a spot earlier that day, so I was eager to find out what his plan was…
He found a spot, a loading zone right beside the venue, Voyeur. This seems ok, but there's a catch: "It's only free after 6pm, so if you could get your driver to sit in the bus for 4hrs til then…" I almost clubbed the guy. The douchebag alarm hit the highest levels. I told him to forget it, I'd figure it out and we went to check out the venue before loading in. This was also a bit worrisome as our lighting guy took a walk over while we were at the hotel. When he got back, he was less than optimistic. When I walked in, I instantly saw why. There was no stage. Despite the douchbag telling me there was an 18'x10', more than enough room for our lighting, there was a just a glorified dj booth. Unbelievable. Back on the phone with the agent, more colourful expressions shared, and we made the decision to do the show without the light rig. Insane. I sent the bus to the baseball stadium to park.
The highlight of the afternoon was meeting one of the club owners, a guy named John Shockey who used to play in the NHL. That was kind of cool. He told me a few stories about the guys and teams he played with, loved it. Really good guy. The club itself was amazing, it was just the promoter who messed it all up. The food was ridiculous (in a good way). If if Iived in SD, I'd eat there every day.
So anyways, all things said and done, the show happened with a number of headaches, but we made it through. When it was over, we roamed the streets for a bit to find some pizza. Everything else was shut down by the time we were done. After finding success in that department, it was time to crash. Looong day tomorrow.
Day 14, to SF via Hollywood
We have a day off today and we're heading up to San Francisco, but we have to make a stop in Hollywood so the boss can check out a new recording program. So we eventually make it through the LA traffic, park the bus and we have a couple hours to check out the hood. I had to some stuff to take care of, only took 4 trips to UPS (why can't the world just use Fedex?), and then I had time to find some good coffee and food. It was a great afternoon to sit down on the concrete and have a bite.
Back on the bus for the rest of the day after that. We got into SF fairly late, around 10:30pm. I ended up meeting a friend for food and drinks and called it around 12. Sitting around in a bus all day kind of sucks the life out of you…
Day 15, SF
This is my favourite morning of the tour so far. Today I get to go to the Blue Bottle Cafe, home of arguably the best coffee on the west coast. I can't wait, and it doesn't disappoint. In fact, it was far better than the other times I've been there. The elitist attitude seems to have taken a back seat. Nice.
I went back to the hotel to work for a bit after that, got my laundry done, tracked a package, went to the gym, went back to the Blue Bottle… This time they even made me a single origin with the hand pump machine after they shut it down! (I know you don't care, but it's amazing.)
And so off to the venue, The Independent. I knew it was going to be a good show when I walked in the door and there was a big picture of The Stills on the wall. My boys. It was so good to be in a real venue. They just know how to run a show, and it was amazing. The lights looked great, it sounded great, it was sold out, everything went right for us tonight. After the show a super fan named Spencer hung out around the bus and provided us with some amusement, and we ended up staying up till about 5am. Best day of the tour so far.
Day 16, Portland, OR
Back to reality again today… Another promoter who just didn't get it. Pulled up in Portland, and the venue, Rotture, is in an industrial park. I was told we had parking and load in was ground level. The parking was another business' lot, and I quote "Just wait for them to leave, then you can use their lot and we don't have to pay em", and the load in was up 20 stairs. Amazing. And the guy pissed off our booking agent, so we're off to a flying start.
Eventually it all gets in the door, somehow gets set up on the excuse of a stage, and we wait for dinner. We're told there's going to be an awesome bbq, so we were definitely looking forward to it. About 2hrs late the food is finally ready, and it's lacklustre at best. Wicked. Just going to be another one of those days. The show itself was good, the kids loved it, but everything around it was just wrong. I was pretty happy to get out of there at the end of the night.
Day 17, Seattle, WA
Here's hoping today is better. To celebrate my hope, I rented a bike from the front desk at the hotel and took a ride in to town to Stumptown Coffee, the other contender for Best in the West. And it was so worth it. Amazing bean. I had to get back pretty quickly though, so I didn't have time to sit and enjoy as much as I'd have liked. Dropped the bike, grabbed my bags, and jumped on the bus for the short ride up to Seattle.
This is going to be hard to summarize, so I'll just say that my Seattle-based travel agent recommended an incredible restaurant for dinner, and a couple great coffee spots. One of them, Cafe Vita I think it was, had an in-house roasting operation that they let me check out. Very cool. I also found another Stumptown, so I had 2 Stumptowns in 2 cities in 1 day. Love it! I really like Seattle a lot. It was just the promoter that killed me, and I think I summarized it nicely in this email I sent to the agent, the names have been changed in some cases to protect the innocent, in others to avoid libel or slander charges. I also forgot to mention that every time this douche came up to me, he'd slap my ass like we were football players. And he tried to pour beer on the horse numerous times...
The show itself actually went well. The crowd was really enjoying it and Alain had a great set. Everyone who worked at the venue itself was totally cool, no problems at all, but the promoter rep, "Hank McGee"… wow. This guy is a piece of work.
I advanced two loaders for 6pm load in. Dude shows up at 6:45pm, no loaders. By then we had already given up and loaded in ourselves. He had actually called me in the afternoon and asked if I was sure I wanted to load in before doors.
I advanced 7:30pm soundcheck. The rented gear was barely in the door by the time Alain walked in.
I advanced 9pm doors. Venue thought they were at 8pm. Our friend obviously had a lack of communication in that department.
Had to pester to get our dinner buyouts.
Serato box he provided was shit, died during local opener's set. Thank god we had one on the bus.
I advanced a merch person to arrive 30mins before doors, he stalled and made pathetic excuses til 11pm., then he had his girlfriend come over to do it. At least the crowd was a little light until then anyways, otherwise I would've made him sit back there and deal with it.
He bought beer tickets from the bar instead of actual bottles at the store. Whatever, that's fine. Then near the end of the night, he asked if he could have some of them back so he could get drinks for his girlfriend. Turns out that him and his dj buddy who was the local opener also had a fair bit of our vodka.
At various points throughout the night he complained to both me and Alain about how no one else was allowed to use our lighting rig. He thought we should share it and it would make for a better show.
During settlement, he kept whining about how he only made $XX on the gig and we made $XX, wouldn't let it go. It was like he was trying to hint that he wanted me to settle for less and shoot him some cash to help ease his pain.
After the load in shitfest, I made him swear up and down, promise on his mother's life that I'd have 4 loaders for the out. Nothing. Him and his buddies were drinking in the back hall through which we had to load out, I had to scream at them to get out of the way numerous times. He actually told me Alain took away his loaders to go party. At the time, Alain was getting food at a hot dog stand outside the club.
He pestered me for free shirts all day, told me if I knew anything about branding that I'd give him one because he's in clubs all the time and people would see it. I finally told him I'd throw him a shirt if he helped load out, he grabbed one light and bailed. I didn't give him a shirt.
He found Alain at some after party, said "I don't know what's up with your guy Tom. He said he'd give me a shirt if I helped load out, but I didn't really feel like it. I wanted a Fool's Gold shirt to help you out and market." (or something to that effect). Alain said "So you didn't help him load out? You just left him there alone?" Dude turned and walked away.
Then he started texting me til 4am trying to find out where we were, asking if we were still loading out, undoubtedly to try and snag a shirt. I was already in bed and made sure he knew. Then he started texting this morning trying to find out where we were. Thankfully we were already on the road.
One thing I'm noticing on this tour is that promoters who do dj/electronic stuff really don't have a clue about what we're doing, even though I've spoken to them all and advanced every detail. I have all the emails. They can't get it through their heads that we're not just flying in and walking on stage, and that we actually have a fair sized production that requires time and effort to put together. Schedules and details matter a great deal for us. Aside from the Bacardi shows, the only promoter that had it together was the one in SF, at the Independent, probably because they deal with bands and production requirements all the time so this was just another day at the office for them. Also, the guy in Tempe, "John Bell", was really good. This is a tour that has to run like a band, not like a dj, and none of these guys know how to handle it. It's so far out of their league it's not even funny.
I'm really calm, easygoing, nothing really gets to me that much (sometimes to a fault), but by the end I was ready to slug this guy.
Day 18, Vancouver, BC
Oh Canada. I can taste it already. I got up early enough to get my last taste of Seattle coffee for the foreseeable future and we hopped on the bus and headed north. I haven't been "home" in a month, but it feels like a year, really looking forward to this one.
The border crossing was a little long, but overall not too bad, fairly smooth given all the paperwork we had for everyone. We pulled in to Van a little later than I was hoping, but I still had time to go meet my cousin and her husband and chill for a bit outside the tour vibe. Nice change of pace. Kept this one pretty early, the last couple days were a little tiring and tomorrow's gonna be a long one…
Day 19, Vancouver, BC
Today is technically a day off, but there's lots to do. First and foremost, I need to head over to Wicked Cafe, my favourite spot in Vancouver. Great bean (Black Cat), great baristas. I sat there for a long, long time. Back to the hotel, hit the gym, then had to start doing real stuff. Made various trips to Staples, shipping companies, etc… Just doing what I gotta do.
For dinner I met up with my cousin again, then we went and walked around the harbour. There's this whole other side of Van that I never knew, and sort of like. The place is starting to grow on me a bit. Don't know if I want to move there or anything, but it's taking a few steps in the right direction.
Day 20, Victoria, BC
Tonight there's a show in Victoria, ending our quick break. First thing first, I went to Wicked and chilled for a while. I got to talking with one of the guys there. Turns out he's a judge at the Barista World Championships and he gave me 4 pages of recommendations for coffee shops around the world. Absolutely incredible. I would move in to this place if I lived in Vancouver. With some regret, I had to go hop on the bus so we could ride the ferry over to Victoria.
It was a pretty relaxed afternoon. I don't think any of the others had ever taken the ferry across to Victoria, and they all seemed to enjoy it a fair bit. I had a completely reasonable meal on board, which is kind of a miracle in the ferry food world. Once we got over, we went to the hotel which was conveniently located in the same building as the venue, Element. Gold. I can hang out in my room instead of on the bus for a day.
Everything at the venue was smooth today, which was amazing after the last show in Seattle. Hopefully this will be a trend for the Canadian shows. Everything was nice and smooth. The highlight of the evening was a crazy dude on the street who started screaming at me for leaving the bus running. It was just the generator but he didn't seem to understand, so I just walked away laughing. It was pretty hilarious. Another load out and crash scenario. Back to Van tomorrow.
Day 21, Vancouver, BC
Before heading back to the ferry, I made sure I got up early enough to check out a coffee shop that my dude from Wicked recommended a couple days ago. One of the places he mentioned, Street Level Espresso, was conveniently located about a block from the hotel, so I went straight there and pulled up a stool at the bar. It was good, but definitely not Wicked. Ended up talking with the staff for a while, good people. I'd go back.
The ferry ride back to Van was just as smooth as the one over, and before long we were at the venue, conveniently called Venue, loading in. I tried to make it over to Wicked before they closed, but I just missed… Anyways, aside from the fact that the house lighting person didn't have a clue, and the sound console was beside the stage, I think everything went alright. It was just the 2nd show at this place since it got renovated so it wasn't all finished up, so I have to give them a little bit of a grace period for that…
After this one, we had to head straight out, so I took a minute to grab a slice and we jumped on the bus. Somehow we all managed to get there on time and we started the overnight drive through the Rockies.
Day 22, Calgary, AB
It was pretty cool to wake up, walk to the front lounge and just see the mountains flying by. The best part of touring Canada is driving through the Rockies. Just not in winter. We made a stop for food and I tried to hit up a Tim Horton's for the first time on this run, but the lineup said otherwise. It would have to wait…
And so we drive in to Calgary. The customary quick stop at the hotel, then over to the HiFi. This one had it together as well. Nice big lot to park the bus, loaders, clued in crew… So far so good. After a painless afternoon, I walked over to the Saltlik for dinner, my favourite steakhouse in Canada. Well, technically the Banff location is my favourite, but I have no problems with this one. It was good, and I discovered a great wine, the d'Arenberg Footbolt. Nice.
And the show was good too. Packed, slammed, etc… Even found some Chromeo graffiti on the wall. This was a late one, so I didn't hang out longer than I had to. Unfortunately it was a little longer than I'd have liked. When we were going to the leave, we walked out the front door and saw that the street was filled with cops, their cars, ambulances and fire trucks. Total of maybe 15+ vehicles. It was intense. All because a meathead threw a few punches. When it was cleared up a bit, I just hopped in a cab and went back to the hotel.
Day 23, Edmonton, AB
Today started with a bit of a lengthy walk to DeVille's Coffee, another Black Cat brewer, where I was able to sit an enjoy a not-too-long, not-too-short, breakfast. I had to head back a little quickly to get on the bus to head to Edmonton. This has sort of been the theme of the week I guess. Go for coffee, run back, ride bus to next town. Could be worse…
Today was also our last day on the bus, so it took a little longer to make it over. We had to stop for the last gas fill up, to get a bus wash, grab a couple supplies to ship the gear after the show, etc… We ended up getting in rather late, but whatever. It wouldn't have changed the fact that the promoter didn't really have any loaders, the house tech wasn't there so I had to run the soundcheck, and there was no house lighting tech. So much for the Canadian run being flawless… At least the pub downstairs had good food for dinner.
At least the show was good. It was at the Starlite Room, where I had been just a few weeks ago with The Stills, and it was a good venue for this type of show. Lots of room to set up the lights, big impact. Turns out the Sam Roberts guys were in town tonight too, so a couple of them made it over to hang out and it was good to chill and have a drink with a couple old friends.
The load out took a little longer than I'd have liked given the lack of help, but the more pressing situation was that our shipping guy wasn't here to pick up the gear and we had to get to the airport. I waited about 30 minutes before deciding I had to call my head guy back in Toronto, and I felt bad about waking him up at 3am, but it had to be done. After tracking everyone down, we figured out that the guy who was supposed to meet us slept through his alarm. Sweet. So I had to haul major ass to get to the airport, I was really late by the time the gear was gone. Thankfully the bouncers at the club were cool enough to stick around and help load out. By the time I got to the airport, I had no time to spare. I pretty much went straight through everything (thank you Star Alliance Gold status), got searched, and walked right up on to the plane as it was boarding. A little tight for my taste, but I made it… On to Toronto for a show tomorrow night.
Day 24, Toronto, ON
So I didn't sleep on the flight. That was awesome. I've only been up for 27hrs now.
So we landed, went straight to the hotel and I had to work for a bit. I also gave up on trying to sleep so I hopped in a cab and headed for Manic, my favourite TO coffee spot. Spent some time there, then it was time to head back and go over to the venue to soundcheck. That was fairly painless, and I was happy to see I knew most of the people there. Once that was done we made some dinner plans and met up a bit later to hang out at Terroni's, a great Italian spot on the east side.
Back to the venue later on, the set time got changed, so we only had to be there around 1am. I still haven't slept, I'm feeling the pain. The show was fairly smooth, it was a big rave-like party, whatever. Once it was over and we headed out, it was past 4am, but at least I headed out with my brand new pair of Nike hip hop kicks (like I'll ever wear 'em, but nice gesture…). I didn't bother going to sleep after either. I had to leave at 6am to head to the airport to fly to Ottawa. 4 days off and I'm trying to get back fast enough so I can see the family before they leave on vacation. As if they're actually leaving when I'm coming home… Such is life…
(I ended up being awake for 49hrs and slept through most of the time I was there before they left, next time I'll be in town will be Xmas…)
Day 25-28, Off in Ottawa.
I did fun things like go to the dentist and get a haircut. I also stayed home and did nothing and it was great.
Day 29, Ottawa, ON
So I never thought I'd have a homecoming show with a DJ and a hip hop club. Weird. And naturally, today was a long one. It started with an early trip to Montreal to pick up a van and trailer. The nice part about that was that I was able to squeeze in a coffee break at the lo' ArtJava with a couple of my Stills guys. Always good to sit down and have breakfast with them. I picked up Alain at his folks place (it's visit the parents week in our world), grabbed our LD at the airport and made the drive back to Ottawa for the show. Made a quick stop at my parents place to grab the merch that got shipped over and we went to Ritual, a new venue in town. So weird to come back not with a DJ at a hip hop club, but a club I've never worked at before…
Anyways. We got there, the lights had been delivered, the horse survived the shipping (remember Mustard? He has a facebook page too…), and we started putting it together. It was a little interesting as the owner was having sound issues with the restaurant upstairs. I think they actually had to pay them off to close for the night… Weird. For dinner I went to a Vietnamese place I used to go to a lot, and I had a friend come out and take some photos and it was cool to hang out beforehand too. Anyways, the show happened, it was alright. Again, once it was done, no loaders, and that made it rough. It was 4am by the time we were totally done and we had to leave to drive to NYC at 9am. Awesome. Thanks for nothing, promoter who shall remain nameless… Loaders make a difference.
Day 30, New York, NY
So weird to be in my home town for a show one night, then a show in new home the next. Webster Hall tonight. At least it's going to be smooth. My biggest problem will be parking the van. I couldn't be bothered to care about that.
We got in late, of course, but it didn't matter. Everything was hammered together. I eventually ditched the van in a no parking zone, it's an eat-the-ticket kind of day. It was going to be a long one… NY shows always are. The guest list was a massive 88 people (the limit was 50), backstage was completely out of control (in a fun way) and that was pretty much the night. The show was great, it was the right size for the lighting, it looked awesome. It took a little while to get out, but we had help. It was with great pleasure that I delegated the van parking for the night and went home to sleep in my own bed.
Day 31, Montreal, QC
So from hometown, to home, to adopted home in 3 days. That's kind of fun, just wish the order was reversed to avoid the long drives. It barely felt like I was home when I pulled myself out of bed and ran down to hop in a cab to go meet the van in Brooklyn. Everyone was on time, which was nice, so I took a minute to stop at Second Stop Cafe in Williamsburg to grab a brown one before we hit the road. The brew Stumptown coffee and they do good work. And so the drive back up to Montreal begins.
It was ok. Slight delay at the border for the requisite paperwork and we were on our way. Usual stop at the hotel and then over to SAT, where again, it was a smooth night, hammered together. That was a nice touch for the boss' hometown show. We got off to a bit of a rough start when the mixer died during his intro, but thankfully we had another one sitting in the van. It was brand new, just sitting around the whole tour. We were about to return it but today it saved us. He told jokes while I switched mixers, gave it a quick check and we were back in the game. Ended up being a really solid show. Best part is tomorrow we get to sleep in a bit. Only have to drive 3hrs to Quebec.
Day 32, Quebec City, QC
So it is upon us. The last day of the headline shows. After this, just two festivals next weekend and we're done. I start today with a trip up to ArtJava, of course, to meet my Stills guys, have some coffee, have some breakfast, have good times. It was done before I knew it and I went back to pick up everyone else. We stopped at Alain's folks place on the way out of town, and before we knew it, we were sitting around the kitchen table having bagels talking about the neighbourhood. Nice. And then we hit the road.
The show itself is actually in a suburb, Ste. Foy, at a place called Ozone. Interesting venue, but no room for our lights! Again! On the last show! It's sort of a repeat of the San Diego situation. That was a disappointment, but at least we were staying at the Chateau Frontenac, which was always a place we all wanted to stay at, so that was cool. We had a decent dinner, threw the show together, and that's all folks. The shipping guy came and picked up the lights we didn't have to use (at least that was sort of convenient in that sense…), and we headed back to the Castle to sleep. Tomorrow won't be too bad. Just have to drop the van in Montreal and then we fly home. 4 more days off. Nice.
Day 33-36, Off in NYC
Dropped the van in Monty, flew home. Mixed a band called Hollerado at the Music Hall in Williamsburg, kick ass show. Hung with friends, drank coffee, wine, etc… NICE.
Day 37, Chicago, IL
Back in the saddle, off we go again. Trusty horse packed and ready to move, we hopped on a plane and headed for Chicago. We have 2 shows today, an evening slot at Lollapalooza, then an afterparty at Sonotheque. It's going to be long…
So the flight is alright, it landed, which is all you can really ask for. We get the rental car and head for the city. Traffic was a disaster and it took about 2hrs til we go to the hotel. By this time we missed our scheduled pick ups to go to the festival, we couldn't catch a cab to save our lives, but the hotel came to the rescue. One of the guys had access to the hotel suv, so he pulled it around, we piled in and headed for the site. We missed some press by the time we got there, but it wasn't the end of the world. It was a little rainy and our unconventional stage had no walls. Weird. Thankfully we decided not to bring out our lighting rig this weekend. He ended up playing under a little tent erected on stage to keep the gear dry. It was hilarious but the kids love that kind of thing.
After the set, we ran over to do a signing at the site music store, and then we had some time to kill before moving on, so I went to say hi to some friends. The Kings of Leon were headliners tonight so I had to go. I couldn't be at the same festival as them and not stop by after all the touring we've done together. It was brief, but it was fun. One of the promoters from our Aussie tour was there too, which was a nice surprise. Solid group of people. But it was over before I knew it and I had to run back for settlement and to move on to more press.
We had an MTV interview that just wouldn't end, and when it did we were happy to get back to the hotel for some dinner before heading to Sonotheque. It was a quick break and we ended up getting there a little later than we'd hoped, but it was all good. The show was just a low key thing in a dj booth, no stress. I ran in to people I knew from Ottawa, which was fun, and we all had a good night. Didn't push it much longer though as we had to get an early flight to LA for a show tomorrow.
Day 38, Los Angeles, CA
It started off fairly regularly. We went to the airport, flew to LA, all good. Once we landed, we went to grab our rental car, upgraded to a sick Volvo, and made our way to the Custom Hotel. Well, that booking was a mistake. We got in, it was early still, so we understood when they said our rooms weren't ready yet. So we asked where we could get some food and the woman at the desk said to check out the restaurant in the back of the lobby. So we go down the hall, to the restaurant and it's nothing but high bar tables and pool tables. No menus, no servers, no clients, nothing. So we go back to the front desk, ask what the deal is and she says, "Oh it's after 10am. It's closed." Wha?!?!? So we ask for a recommendation in the area and she says, "You *have* to go to Bristol Farms. It's just a couple blocks away and everybody we send there loves it." Ok ,cool. We walk a couple blocks, find the place, walk in and….. it's a grocery store. Awesome. What the hell are we going to do at a grocery store? Stock up, fill the fridge and cook in our hotel room? Idiots… Thankfully we found an Italian place that was just opening up for the day, so we stopped there and it was good.
Then, moving right along, we go back and our rooms are finally ready, so we drop our bags and then I went straight to the Great Western Forum to soundcheck for Chromeo (I'm working for Chromeo and A-Trak today). I arrive, find out soundcheck is delayed by about 2hrs, so I just do some work, get stuff set up for A-Trak on the other stage and just go about daily business. Eventually we soundcheck Chromeo, it's fine, I take care of A-Trak's concerns, all is good. I then go to set up merch only to find out there's no vendors. An outdoor artisan offers to sell our shirts, I pass…
So doors open, show starts and it comes up to Chromeo's set time. We only had 15mins to changeover and we killed it. Possibly the best changeover ever, we are set to go, nothing can stop us now. Except the promoter. He ran onstage and told us to wait, there was a problem. I go up on stage and look out at the crowd and I understood completely. There were kids jumping from the upper decks of the arena down in to the lower bowls and then to the floor. They were landing on others, there were injuries, etc… and the fire marshall said he was going to shut it down. So the promoter was up there trying to clear out parts of the floor, gets kids to chill out and sit down and just try and restore order to try and save the show.This went on for about 2hrs. It was long and painful. Every few minutes we'd get updates from the show staff saying "Show is on!" or "Show is off!" or "Fire Marshall freaking out!" or "Police are here!" all kinds of stuff. It was really wild. The kids calmed down after a bit, but apparently not enough…
About 100mins in, I was told to grab the 2 most important things on stage and get them off, so I did it very calmly, didn't want to get the kids worked up and start a riot, which was a legitimate concern at the time. About 20 mins later, I was told to find all my people (Chromeo and A-Trak) and get them the hell out of the building as fast as possible. I ran around, found everyone, made calls to get vans out back, and a couple minutes later there was just me and one other guy waiting to grab a couple more things from the stage before we bailed. It turns out the whole time things were going back and forth, and being delayed, the LAPD Riot Squad called in all their people and were slowly surrounding and locking down the building. We had no idea at the time, then one of my guys sent me a message when they left that the building was surrounded. It was getting really tense. Then the stage manager came up to me and said "Get out. Now. We have insurance. F**k your gear, save yourself." It was pretty blatant, I was pretty surprised, my jaw hit the floor and the two of us that were left ran out the back door and up the loading ramp. As we were leaving, the Riot Squad was marching down the ramp and into the arena. I've never seen anything like it. It was like a crazy CNN video.
When we got to the top of the ramp, one of our vans was waiting for us. We had to flash our passes so the cops surrounding the building would even let us out. We got in the van and bolted back to the hotel to wait for news. While waiting, we figured it would be a good idea to hit the hotel bar and try to relax; we were all a little frazzled. No one ever has a show shut down by the LAPD Riot Squad. Eventually I started getting calls from the promoters that all was ok and we could go back in the morning and get our gear. The kids were cleared out, without incident, relatively… Just a few arrests. Google "LA Hard Festival" and see what pops up. It's really wild.
A little later on, we met a promoter in the lobby at the hotel and had a glass of wine. That pretty much wrapped up the most unusual day I've ever had on tour.
Day 39, Los Angeles, CA
Woke up this morning and went to deal with the aftermath of last night. When I showed up at the arena, it seemed pretty normal, day after the show kind of stuff… I found out right away that all A-Trak's t-shirts were stolen, but that was the worst of it. All the Chromeo gear was fine. We loaded out and got out quickly. I went back to the hotel and then drove A-Trak to a lunch thing and I had the afternoon off.
The first thing I did was check out of the disaster of a hotel, then I went for coffee. Not just anywhere, but the mothership. I went to the Intelligentsia Coffee Bar in Venice. It was as space age as a coffee shop can get and it was incredible. I spoke with the barista for a bit, he had cool NYC tattoos on his fingers and arms so that was the starter. He gave me a spectacular single origin from Honduras. It was a coffee break and a half. And then, before long, it was back to normal.
I went to check in to the hotel for the night, met P-Thugg from Chromeo for a great lunch by the pool on a killer afternoon, and A-Trak arrived and it was time to go to the gig. It was a pretty chill gig today too - just dj'ing on a patio for a Sunday afternoon party in Hollywood. Nice. Really good vibe, and one of the best shows of the last 2 months. Ironically, the easiest, most low maintenance as well.
After the show, we all got together and had a birthday dinner for P at Japanese joint in Hollywood. Not bad at all. By the end of it we were all exhausted and stuffed, so it was back to the hotel and crash.
And so ends my 6 weeks in the dj world. It was a crazy trip, lots of highs, a few lows, but through it all we had a blast. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the people I was with were the best in their world, nothing but class, which is hard to maintain among so many losers. It was a pleasure when all was said and done. And with that, I call it a night. Early flight back to NYC tomorrow as I have lots of work to do before flying right to Norway to start a couple weeks with Grizzly Bear. Never stops...
So it's the first day of a new tour. It's been a little while since I've toured with someone new as most of the last year has been spent with The Stills, so it's pretty weird to jump in to something like this. We've spoken on the phone a few times, had lunch, etc... and I've worked with his brother in Chromeo for some time, so I think we're comfortable enough to get started and head off to the airport today.
Getting in to LaGuardia was business as usual. The lady at the check in counter mislabeled one of A-Trak's bags though, thankfully I caught it before it hit the belt, otherwise it would have made a nice trip to Pittsburgh... Everything was fine after that, got on the plane, ready to go, only to hear that all flights are delayed due to a weather system that just passed through and we're 35th in line on the runway. That means we sit and wait for 45 minutes before we can take off. I slept through most of that, the flight itself was ok, and eventually we land in Charlotte about 45 mins late.
So we wait for our bags, and 2 of 3 show up. Awesome. At least we're getting the shit out of the way on the first day. We wait around awhile, file the missing bag info and they tell us that it was just held back in NY and it's on the next flight. At least it's not lost, which is great. I call our bus driver who comes up to the gate to greet us and we're off to the hotel.
When we got in, I took a couple minutes to run over to the venue to meet everyone (we weren't going to soundcheck), got a bite to eat and then just went back to the hotel to work for a bit before we had to go to the show. It was pretty smooth until A-Trak realized that some of his necessary dj gear was in the missing bag, which by this point had arrived at the Charlotte airport, but still hadn't made its way to us... So we scramble a little bit, but everything comes together at the last minute, right before his set started...
Thankfully it all worked out and the set at The Forum was great. The highlight was when a bunch of people in the front row tried to grab the front of the dj booth, and to their horror, all of a sudden it started falling in to the crowd. I was standing at the side of the stage so I jumped out and we both grabbed it before it tipped too far and pulled it back. And through it all the music didn't even skip a beat.
After the set we hung around a bit and met some of the other people working on the Bacardi shows (the first few shows are sponsored by Bacardi) and then went back to crash. It's been a long enough day already, need to sleep...
Day 2, Atlanta, GA
There was no rush to get up today, so I leisurely got up around 10:30am (first time I've slept that late in weeks!), went for food and coffee and hopped on the bus to go to Atlanta. Fortunately we were also carrying the bag that US Airways "delayed" on our behalf; they finally managed to get it to us...
So we get to Atlanta, pull up at the lovely W Hotel, and go to park the bus behind the venue a couple blocks away. Parking a bus is complicated at best, and this one was not easy. I understand why parking lot attendants get replaced by machines sometimes... Anyways, it works out, go back to the hotel, then go we soundcheck, etc... During this whole time I was also on the phone with the hotel in Charlotte trying to find some items that were left behind. 2 days in, 2 days of mild drama...
Also, right before soundcheck, back at the hotel the mild drama suddenly escalated. I got a phone call letting me know that Rye Rye, the support act on our headline dates for the next 6 weeks, is backing out of the tour. 2 days before the first show. Amazing. That'll make the next couple days pretty interesting...
So that's about all I need for today, so I went out for a short walk to find some dinner, check out the neighbourhood, etc... That took up about an hour and then I just went back to the hotel to work for a while before we had to head back for the show.
We walked over a little while later and it pretty much time for the set to start. There was no booth-tipping today, but there were a number of people trying to get on stage most of the night. Felt bad for the dude doing security. Every once in a while there was a smoke machine that would go off and fill the crowd, more than I've ever seen, to the point where you literally couldn't see 2 ft. in front of you. That was kind of an open door for people to try and jump up, grab things on the booth, etc... Good times.
After it was all over, I just hung out on the patio with the Bacardi people for the rest of the night. Eventually went back to the hotel, worked a little longer and passed out.
Day 3, Orlando, FL
I woke up early today to catch up on some paperwork before we had to leave at 9:30am to drive to Orlando. I pulled open the curtains and saw sun, so that was good. Also saw a bunch of people running a marathon. Not on my list of things to do...
So I go to the business office, get some photocopies made, go back to my room to grab my stuff and check out. I go downstairs and as soon as I walk out the elevator I see our bus driver and he says "Man, we can't leave yet.". My initial though was someone probably broke in to the bus or something, but it actually comes back to the damn marathon. Turns out they were going down the street where the bus was parked, and the police wouldn't let the bus leave the lot until the last group of runners went by, which they expected to be at 11am. Awesome. Thankfully we didn't really have to be anywhere at a specific time, so we chilled out at the hotel, had a bite to eat (I got an Odwalla smoothie and a croissant for $3! At a W!) and after a while we decided to just drag our stuff to the bus and wait there so we could leave asap.
Just after 11am we were finally able to hit the road and we were on our way to Orlando. I slept through the first part of the trip; so nice not having to drive... When we pulled in to town, we stopped by the hotel quickly and then I went down to the House of Blues to check out the club. I can't believe how hot it is down here. It's been a while since I've been in the south and it's really intense. You really have to readjust your pace to keep it together... Anyways, after walking through the venue, I got a ride back to the hotel and grabbed some dinner. Just going to relax for a bit before going back at 11:30pm for the show...
So the show was good. The highlight for me was that DJ Jazzy Jeff of Fresh Prince fame was on right before A-Trak. He didn't do anything particularly crazy, but it was just cool to actually see him spin after being aware of him for so long. Then A-Trak did his thing, which seemed to go well, but overall it was just a weird crowd. 4th of July, 35 miles out of town at DisneyWorld... not the best combination for a DJ show. Oh well.
After the set we hung out a bit with Matt & Kim before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4, Tampa, FL
So we got up and left around 10am so we could get to Tampa for an early soundcheck, pick up packages, etc... When we pulled in, the part of town we were in, called Ybor, was sort of a ghost town, not all that weird for a Sunday after 4th of July I guess... Parked the bus, picked up some parcels at the hotel, went to the venue and started setting up.
Things were moving along well enough, just a little slower in the heat down here. It really hits you. Just took our time and worked through the afternoon. T-shirts were counted, iced coffee consumed, sound was checked. Cool (not in the temperature kind of way).
Around dinner time, we wanted to go back to the venue because they were having a free bbq on the patio. We never get to bbq in NYC, so this seemed like an amazing thing to do. One of the support acts on the tour, Treasure Fingers, arrived today, and we were all set to meet at the venue. The two of them went over before me and were horrified to find out that the bbq was done before 6pm. Before we even had a chance. That hurt. So they came over and met me at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company where I had been having a quick pint to cool off.
After dinner we went back to the hotel quickly, and then walked back over to the venue. There were some dj's already spinning when we got in, and I have to say it's become incredibly apparent to me what a bad dj is now that I see one of the best in the world almost every night. Most of them are pretty shitty, it's pretty funny. But very painful... Anyways, the crowd tonight was pretty incredible. A-Trak was killing them and they loved every second of it.
After the show I gathered up the merch and bailed pretty quickly. Late nights and early mornings are catching up, and I don't have to get up too early tomorrow so I want to take advantage.
Day 5, Miami, FL
I got to sleep in today and I loved it. I took my time, went and got some food and then waited for the others before we hopped on the bus to head to Miami. It was a relatively short trip, only about 5hrs, and I spent most of it working. I wanted to make sure I didn't have to worry about too much once we got in.
The hotel we're staying at for the next couple days is really more like a resort. It's on the beach, on the Atlantic Ocean, and it's nothing but pools, beach chairs, bars, etc... all over the compound. It's like being on vacation in Mexico all over again. It's so nice to have a beach. It's the first place I went when we arrived, walked up and down for a bit, then a little around the neighbourhood. I'm staying at the beach...
The rest of the night was pretty relaxing. Got some food, watched some baseball, just general chilling out. Gotta save some energy for the beach after all...
Day 6, Miami, FL
Today, the priority was hitting the beach, which I was able to do after sleeping in. Amazing. I got up around 11am and slowly headed down to work on my non-existant tan. On my way down, I stopped for a decent coffee, and before I knew it I was lying on the beach. I went in the water for a while too and it was the perfect temperature, matched almost evenly with the air.
After my swim in the ocean and lying under the sun, we had to go out and pick up some supplies for the tour. The hotel/resort was sort of in the middle of nowhere, so we rented a car and headed out. First stop was Guitar Center, which was pretty standard, and then we hit up Toys R Us for some general stage stuff. We went in looking for some various props, but we came out with much more than that. We looked all over the store, and we had really seen the best thing right at the entrance, so we went back to the start and picked up our new friend Mustard the Tour Horse. Mustard is awesome, best horse ever. He looks great everywhere he goes.
After our wildly successful shopping trip, we went back to the hotel, and then I went out again quickly to hit up Staples and the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up a pin (cause I collect them). On the way back, I stopped at a Mexican joint for dinner. When I was done with that, I grabbed a couple things at the bus and brought back the rental car. The rest of the night was pretty laid back.
Day 7, Miami, FL
Ah yes, today I must work again. But first, the beach. How could I not? It's right there, I really have to do it, so I spent a little bit more time lounging, swimming in the ocean, lounging some more... After some of that, I went back inside, went for some food, worked for a while, etc...
Eventually it came time for soundcheck, which was fairly easy. Got everything happening and we were out. I did a little bit of paperwork and then went downstairs to one of the resort restaurants where we met with a promoter and a couple friends for dinner. It was good, and then it was time to go up for the show.
So the show tonight is in this weird nightclub called LIV which is part of the hotel complex. It's bottle service only, and every table has their own gogo-dancing waitress. Very bizarre. The cheapest booze on the menu was a bottle of Jager for $300. It topped out at the Dom Perignon for $40,000. Unreal. Definitely not my world...
Everything was going pretty well until the last 5 minutes or so of the set. There was a guy that came up on stage, stood there talking to someone for a minute, and then went right up to A-Trak while he was spinning. Dude tells him he has to play stuff that's more commercial and less shitty. Turns out the guy was the bar manager. Telling one of the world's top DJ's what to play. Crazy. So I go up to the guy, I say "Hey man, I'm the tour manager, what's the problem here?". His response was to push me, tell me to "Back the f**k off or regret it". He was obviously on coke, I told him to chill out and he got livid. The security guy standing there had to get him to back off and just asked me to stay out of his way. So that was all pretty awesome. At least the guy left after that. The set ended, we loaded out.
When I checked out of our hotel, the staff asked if I enjoyed myself tonight, so I told them the story, they were horrified. Whatever. We packed the bus and at 5am we started the drive to Austin.
Day 8, Pensacola, FL
Today is just a drive day, and we stopped in Pensacola to break it up and give our driver a chance to rest. We pulled in to town and it looked pretty, well, lame. There was a mall across the street, so I went to check that out. I walked in the JC Penny, looked around for a minute, had enough and walked in to the rest of mall. Wow. 45 or so stores, all boarded up. There was a Sears at the other end. Hurting. I walked up and down the hall, actually ended up grabbing a couple things at JCP, and then went back to the bus.
Desperate not to have highway food for dinner, we hopped in a cab and headed for downtown Pensacola. That turned out to be along the same lines. ¨Pretty deserted... After walking around for a few minutes, we settled on a tapas bar called Global Grill, and it actually ended up being really good. The place was packed and they had live music that didn't suck. Crazy! We were there for about 3hrs and it was a really solid all around experience. Once wrapped, it was back to the bus, waiting to continue the drive to Austin...
Day 9, Austin, TX
So we drove most of the day to get in to Austin, finally arriving around 4pm. Checked in to the hotel, got the bus parked and went to get a quick soundcheck out of the way. Once that was done, we went to check out a couple record stores to get some supplies and went back to the hotel.
For dinner tonight, one of my longtime touring friends who now lives in Austin came to pick me up, we stopped for coffee, and we went waaayyyy out of town to a bbq joint called the Saltlick, which I found appropriate as my favourite steakhouse in Canada is called Saltlik. Anyways. We drove for about 30mins and finally pulled up to a compound of farmhouse-style structures in the middle of nowhere. The place gets so busy that they actually have cops directing traffic to get in and out, and good luck if you stop to drop someone where you're not supposed to - they don't take kindly to that. Of the 3 main buildings, one seemed to be the kitchen, and the other 2 were for seating. We got a place fairly quickly and within moments we were served what was easily some of the best bbq I've ever had. It was so good I bought a t-shirt.
After dinner we made the trek back and just hung out at the hotel until it was time for the show. Tonight we're at a place called Speakeasy. Originally it was supposed to be Austin Music Hall, which is a great venue, but they had to switch it at the last minute because of some sort of liquor sponsorship law, and the show is put on by Bacardi, etc, etc... So we go to this place that's 1/5 of the size, and they crammed in just as many people. Hot and sweaty doesn't even begin to describe it. It was really intense. Really hard to take. For the most part, I hung out in a back corner of the artist area only because no one else was around so it was about 10 degrees cooler. The show itself was pretty nuts though. The kids loved it.
After it was done, I pretty much went straight back to the hotel to crash. Always nice to get some sleep in when you can, maybe get up early and have a chance to grab a bite to eat and a coffee.
Day 10, Houston, TX
Today was a smooth start, got to sleep in a bit and slowly make my way down to the bus to hit the road. Today marks the final drive of 2 guys on a bus. We pick up our lighting guy and a new opening act today, so we'll have 3 more on board. Have to say the 2 guys on a bus with a horse vibe was pretty good.
So we get to Houston, check in to the hotel and head over to the venue. We pull up right beside it and our lighting guy pulls up right behind us with the lighting rig we'll be carrying. So far so good. We go inside, promoter brings us to the room we're in (it's a multi-room venue) and it's time to load in, but the loaders haven't shown up. Awesome. One of the guys at the clubs helps us out, so that's cool, and it all gets in the door. Everything gets set up, moving right along. Then A-Trak comes in to soundcheck, looks at the room and asks "What are we doing here?". To which my response is: "Huh?". Turns out the show was supposed to be in a smaller room where bands were already set up and playing. It turns out that the promoter switched the rooms without telling anyone on our end. Awesome. So that unleashed an avalanche of phone calls with various colourful opinions flying through the air... Eventually we stuck with the room we were in. There was no way to switch rooms with the other show so late in the game... So we got through the check and I walked down the street for a dinner break.
Thankfully once people showed up it started coming together and was actually alright. The show ended up being fine, despite the fact that the promoter douched out on the loaders. That was fun. We had just enough time to run to the hotel for a shower once we were done. We were leaving pretty soon after to drive to El Paso for our day off.
Day 11, El Paso, TX
So after driving all night and most of the day, we pulled in to scenic (?) El Paso. By scenic, I mean deserted. At least the downtown area anyways. It was pretty dark. The hotel was decent though, so the first thing we did was grab a bucket of Corona at the bar and sat on the patio. It was the absolute best way to deal with the Texas heat, and there was absolutely nothing else to do. After killing some time doing that, I went back to the bus to enjoy the air conditioning while I worked for a bit.
Our plan for the evening was to go see a movie. One of the guys even went and bought us all tickets online. So that being decided for us, we ordered a couple cabs only to find out that the theatre we were going to was at the far east end of town, ie a $35 cab each way. Awesome. Whatever, it was something to do. Got to the theatre, had dinner there, and oddly enough got the exact same cab back to the hotel. I think the guy just waited there because he knew it would be a sure thing...
Once back, we took quick showers before heading to the bus to drive the rest of the night. Before we left though, I noticed that the border with Juarez was only about 6 blocks away. It's probably the most dangerous border crossing in this hemisphere, so I thought I should go take a closer look, just cause... Well, I got about a block in before I turned and ran back to the bus. I saw enough shit going down in the first alley I walked by to keep me far away from there for life. On to the bus, drive to Tempe, AZ.
Day 12, Tempe, AZ
Oh my God. 114 degrees. What the hell?! It's hard to take 5 steps without getting drenched in sweat. This is intense. We pulled in mid-afternoon, stopped at the hotel for a minute and then headed over to Club Red to park the bus. It was a bit of an ordeal, punctuated by being outside in the sun, but eventually it worked out. The highlight was being offered lawnmower cable for shore power. If you've ever had to plug in a bus, you can appreciate the humour of the situation.
So we got in the room, set up, everything was going well. In fact, the whole show was pretty smooth and the crowd was great. It was nice after the disaster in Houston. We got out fairly quickly after it was all done and I just went straight to the hotel to crash. Have an early drive in the morning to go to San Diego.
Day 13, San Diego, CA
So this was a good one. The drive itself was ok, went through a couple Homeland Security checkpoints but we were all good. We pulled in to San Diego on time, again stopped at the hotel for a few minutes and waited for the promoter to meet us so he could show us the bus parking. He didn't have a spot earlier that day, so I was eager to find out what his plan was…
He found a spot, a loading zone right beside the venue, Voyeur. This seems ok, but there's a catch: "It's only free after 6pm, so if you could get your driver to sit in the bus for 4hrs til then…" I almost clubbed the guy. The douchebag alarm hit the highest levels. I told him to forget it, I'd figure it out and we went to check out the venue before loading in. This was also a bit worrisome as our lighting guy took a walk over while we were at the hotel. When he got back, he was less than optimistic. When I walked in, I instantly saw why. There was no stage. Despite the douchbag telling me there was an 18'x10', more than enough room for our lighting, there was a just a glorified dj booth. Unbelievable. Back on the phone with the agent, more colourful expressions shared, and we made the decision to do the show without the light rig. Insane. I sent the bus to the baseball stadium to park.
The highlight of the afternoon was meeting one of the club owners, a guy named John Shockey who used to play in the NHL. That was kind of cool. He told me a few stories about the guys and teams he played with, loved it. Really good guy. The club itself was amazing, it was just the promoter who messed it all up. The food was ridiculous (in a good way). If if Iived in SD, I'd eat there every day.
So anyways, all things said and done, the show happened with a number of headaches, but we made it through. When it was over, we roamed the streets for a bit to find some pizza. Everything else was shut down by the time we were done. After finding success in that department, it was time to crash. Looong day tomorrow.
Day 14, to SF via Hollywood
We have a day off today and we're heading up to San Francisco, but we have to make a stop in Hollywood so the boss can check out a new recording program. So we eventually make it through the LA traffic, park the bus and we have a couple hours to check out the hood. I had to some stuff to take care of, only took 4 trips to UPS (why can't the world just use Fedex?), and then I had time to find some good coffee and food. It was a great afternoon to sit down on the concrete and have a bite.
Back on the bus for the rest of the day after that. We got into SF fairly late, around 10:30pm. I ended up meeting a friend for food and drinks and called it around 12. Sitting around in a bus all day kind of sucks the life out of you…
Day 15, SF
This is my favourite morning of the tour so far. Today I get to go to the Blue Bottle Cafe, home of arguably the best coffee on the west coast. I can't wait, and it doesn't disappoint. In fact, it was far better than the other times I've been there. The elitist attitude seems to have taken a back seat. Nice.
I went back to the hotel to work for a bit after that, got my laundry done, tracked a package, went to the gym, went back to the Blue Bottle… This time they even made me a single origin with the hand pump machine after they shut it down! (I know you don't care, but it's amazing.)
And so off to the venue, The Independent. I knew it was going to be a good show when I walked in the door and there was a big picture of The Stills on the wall. My boys. It was so good to be in a real venue. They just know how to run a show, and it was amazing. The lights looked great, it sounded great, it was sold out, everything went right for us tonight. After the show a super fan named Spencer hung out around the bus and provided us with some amusement, and we ended up staying up till about 5am. Best day of the tour so far.
Day 16, Portland, OR
Back to reality again today… Another promoter who just didn't get it. Pulled up in Portland, and the venue, Rotture, is in an industrial park. I was told we had parking and load in was ground level. The parking was another business' lot, and I quote "Just wait for them to leave, then you can use their lot and we don't have to pay em", and the load in was up 20 stairs. Amazing. And the guy pissed off our booking agent, so we're off to a flying start.
Eventually it all gets in the door, somehow gets set up on the excuse of a stage, and we wait for dinner. We're told there's going to be an awesome bbq, so we were definitely looking forward to it. About 2hrs late the food is finally ready, and it's lacklustre at best. Wicked. Just going to be another one of those days. The show itself was good, the kids loved it, but everything around it was just wrong. I was pretty happy to get out of there at the end of the night.
Day 17, Seattle, WA
Here's hoping today is better. To celebrate my hope, I rented a bike from the front desk at the hotel and took a ride in to town to Stumptown Coffee, the other contender for Best in the West. And it was so worth it. Amazing bean. I had to get back pretty quickly though, so I didn't have time to sit and enjoy as much as I'd have liked. Dropped the bike, grabbed my bags, and jumped on the bus for the short ride up to Seattle.
This is going to be hard to summarize, so I'll just say that my Seattle-based travel agent recommended an incredible restaurant for dinner, and a couple great coffee spots. One of them, Cafe Vita I think it was, had an in-house roasting operation that they let me check out. Very cool. I also found another Stumptown, so I had 2 Stumptowns in 2 cities in 1 day. Love it! I really like Seattle a lot. It was just the promoter that killed me, and I think I summarized it nicely in this email I sent to the agent, the names have been changed in some cases to protect the innocent, in others to avoid libel or slander charges. I also forgot to mention that every time this douche came up to me, he'd slap my ass like we were football players. And he tried to pour beer on the horse numerous times...
The show itself actually went well. The crowd was really enjoying it and Alain had a great set. Everyone who worked at the venue itself was totally cool, no problems at all, but the promoter rep, "Hank McGee"… wow. This guy is a piece of work.
I advanced two loaders for 6pm load in. Dude shows up at 6:45pm, no loaders. By then we had already given up and loaded in ourselves. He had actually called me in the afternoon and asked if I was sure I wanted to load in before doors.
I advanced 7:30pm soundcheck. The rented gear was barely in the door by the time Alain walked in.
I advanced 9pm doors. Venue thought they were at 8pm. Our friend obviously had a lack of communication in that department.
Had to pester to get our dinner buyouts.
Serato box he provided was shit, died during local opener's set. Thank god we had one on the bus.
I advanced a merch person to arrive 30mins before doors, he stalled and made pathetic excuses til 11pm., then he had his girlfriend come over to do it. At least the crowd was a little light until then anyways, otherwise I would've made him sit back there and deal with it.
He bought beer tickets from the bar instead of actual bottles at the store. Whatever, that's fine. Then near the end of the night, he asked if he could have some of them back so he could get drinks for his girlfriend. Turns out that him and his dj buddy who was the local opener also had a fair bit of our vodka.
At various points throughout the night he complained to both me and Alain about how no one else was allowed to use our lighting rig. He thought we should share it and it would make for a better show.
During settlement, he kept whining about how he only made $XX on the gig and we made $XX, wouldn't let it go. It was like he was trying to hint that he wanted me to settle for less and shoot him some cash to help ease his pain.
After the load in shitfest, I made him swear up and down, promise on his mother's life that I'd have 4 loaders for the out. Nothing. Him and his buddies were drinking in the back hall through which we had to load out, I had to scream at them to get out of the way numerous times. He actually told me Alain took away his loaders to go party. At the time, Alain was getting food at a hot dog stand outside the club.
He pestered me for free shirts all day, told me if I knew anything about branding that I'd give him one because he's in clubs all the time and people would see it. I finally told him I'd throw him a shirt if he helped load out, he grabbed one light and bailed. I didn't give him a shirt.
He found Alain at some after party, said "I don't know what's up with your guy Tom. He said he'd give me a shirt if I helped load out, but I didn't really feel like it. I wanted a Fool's Gold shirt to help you out and market." (or something to that effect). Alain said "So you didn't help him load out? You just left him there alone?" Dude turned and walked away.
Then he started texting me til 4am trying to find out where we were, asking if we were still loading out, undoubtedly to try and snag a shirt. I was already in bed and made sure he knew. Then he started texting this morning trying to find out where we were. Thankfully we were already on the road.
One thing I'm noticing on this tour is that promoters who do dj/electronic stuff really don't have a clue about what we're doing, even though I've spoken to them all and advanced every detail. I have all the emails. They can't get it through their heads that we're not just flying in and walking on stage, and that we actually have a fair sized production that requires time and effort to put together. Schedules and details matter a great deal for us. Aside from the Bacardi shows, the only promoter that had it together was the one in SF, at the Independent, probably because they deal with bands and production requirements all the time so this was just another day at the office for them. Also, the guy in Tempe, "John Bell", was really good. This is a tour that has to run like a band, not like a dj, and none of these guys know how to handle it. It's so far out of their league it's not even funny.
I'm really calm, easygoing, nothing really gets to me that much (sometimes to a fault), but by the end I was ready to slug this guy.
Day 18, Vancouver, BC
Oh Canada. I can taste it already. I got up early enough to get my last taste of Seattle coffee for the foreseeable future and we hopped on the bus and headed north. I haven't been "home" in a month, but it feels like a year, really looking forward to this one.
The border crossing was a little long, but overall not too bad, fairly smooth given all the paperwork we had for everyone. We pulled in to Van a little later than I was hoping, but I still had time to go meet my cousin and her husband and chill for a bit outside the tour vibe. Nice change of pace. Kept this one pretty early, the last couple days were a little tiring and tomorrow's gonna be a long one…
Day 19, Vancouver, BC
Today is technically a day off, but there's lots to do. First and foremost, I need to head over to Wicked Cafe, my favourite spot in Vancouver. Great bean (Black Cat), great baristas. I sat there for a long, long time. Back to the hotel, hit the gym, then had to start doing real stuff. Made various trips to Staples, shipping companies, etc… Just doing what I gotta do.
For dinner I met up with my cousin again, then we went and walked around the harbour. There's this whole other side of Van that I never knew, and sort of like. The place is starting to grow on me a bit. Don't know if I want to move there or anything, but it's taking a few steps in the right direction.
Day 20, Victoria, BC
Tonight there's a show in Victoria, ending our quick break. First thing first, I went to Wicked and chilled for a while. I got to talking with one of the guys there. Turns out he's a judge at the Barista World Championships and he gave me 4 pages of recommendations for coffee shops around the world. Absolutely incredible. I would move in to this place if I lived in Vancouver. With some regret, I had to go hop on the bus so we could ride the ferry over to Victoria.
It was a pretty relaxed afternoon. I don't think any of the others had ever taken the ferry across to Victoria, and they all seemed to enjoy it a fair bit. I had a completely reasonable meal on board, which is kind of a miracle in the ferry food world. Once we got over, we went to the hotel which was conveniently located in the same building as the venue, Element. Gold. I can hang out in my room instead of on the bus for a day.
Everything at the venue was smooth today, which was amazing after the last show in Seattle. Hopefully this will be a trend for the Canadian shows. Everything was nice and smooth. The highlight of the evening was a crazy dude on the street who started screaming at me for leaving the bus running. It was just the generator but he didn't seem to understand, so I just walked away laughing. It was pretty hilarious. Another load out and crash scenario. Back to Van tomorrow.
Day 21, Vancouver, BC
Before heading back to the ferry, I made sure I got up early enough to check out a coffee shop that my dude from Wicked recommended a couple days ago. One of the places he mentioned, Street Level Espresso, was conveniently located about a block from the hotel, so I went straight there and pulled up a stool at the bar. It was good, but definitely not Wicked. Ended up talking with the staff for a while, good people. I'd go back.
The ferry ride back to Van was just as smooth as the one over, and before long we were at the venue, conveniently called Venue, loading in. I tried to make it over to Wicked before they closed, but I just missed… Anyways, aside from the fact that the house lighting person didn't have a clue, and the sound console was beside the stage, I think everything went alright. It was just the 2nd show at this place since it got renovated so it wasn't all finished up, so I have to give them a little bit of a grace period for that…
After this one, we had to head straight out, so I took a minute to grab a slice and we jumped on the bus. Somehow we all managed to get there on time and we started the overnight drive through the Rockies.
Day 22, Calgary, AB
It was pretty cool to wake up, walk to the front lounge and just see the mountains flying by. The best part of touring Canada is driving through the Rockies. Just not in winter. We made a stop for food and I tried to hit up a Tim Horton's for the first time on this run, but the lineup said otherwise. It would have to wait…
And so we drive in to Calgary. The customary quick stop at the hotel, then over to the HiFi. This one had it together as well. Nice big lot to park the bus, loaders, clued in crew… So far so good. After a painless afternoon, I walked over to the Saltlik for dinner, my favourite steakhouse in Canada. Well, technically the Banff location is my favourite, but I have no problems with this one. It was good, and I discovered a great wine, the d'Arenberg Footbolt. Nice.
And the show was good too. Packed, slammed, etc… Even found some Chromeo graffiti on the wall. This was a late one, so I didn't hang out longer than I had to. Unfortunately it was a little longer than I'd have liked. When we were going to the leave, we walked out the front door and saw that the street was filled with cops, their cars, ambulances and fire trucks. Total of maybe 15+ vehicles. It was intense. All because a meathead threw a few punches. When it was cleared up a bit, I just hopped in a cab and went back to the hotel.
Day 23, Edmonton, AB
Today started with a bit of a lengthy walk to DeVille's Coffee, another Black Cat brewer, where I was able to sit an enjoy a not-too-long, not-too-short, breakfast. I had to head back a little quickly to get on the bus to head to Edmonton. This has sort of been the theme of the week I guess. Go for coffee, run back, ride bus to next town. Could be worse…
Today was also our last day on the bus, so it took a little longer to make it over. We had to stop for the last gas fill up, to get a bus wash, grab a couple supplies to ship the gear after the show, etc… We ended up getting in rather late, but whatever. It wouldn't have changed the fact that the promoter didn't really have any loaders, the house tech wasn't there so I had to run the soundcheck, and there was no house lighting tech. So much for the Canadian run being flawless… At least the pub downstairs had good food for dinner.
At least the show was good. It was at the Starlite Room, where I had been just a few weeks ago with The Stills, and it was a good venue for this type of show. Lots of room to set up the lights, big impact. Turns out the Sam Roberts guys were in town tonight too, so a couple of them made it over to hang out and it was good to chill and have a drink with a couple old friends.
The load out took a little longer than I'd have liked given the lack of help, but the more pressing situation was that our shipping guy wasn't here to pick up the gear and we had to get to the airport. I waited about 30 minutes before deciding I had to call my head guy back in Toronto, and I felt bad about waking him up at 3am, but it had to be done. After tracking everyone down, we figured out that the guy who was supposed to meet us slept through his alarm. Sweet. So I had to haul major ass to get to the airport, I was really late by the time the gear was gone. Thankfully the bouncers at the club were cool enough to stick around and help load out. By the time I got to the airport, I had no time to spare. I pretty much went straight through everything (thank you Star Alliance Gold status), got searched, and walked right up on to the plane as it was boarding. A little tight for my taste, but I made it… On to Toronto for a show tomorrow night.
Day 24, Toronto, ON
So I didn't sleep on the flight. That was awesome. I've only been up for 27hrs now.
So we landed, went straight to the hotel and I had to work for a bit. I also gave up on trying to sleep so I hopped in a cab and headed for Manic, my favourite TO coffee spot. Spent some time there, then it was time to head back and go over to the venue to soundcheck. That was fairly painless, and I was happy to see I knew most of the people there. Once that was done we made some dinner plans and met up a bit later to hang out at Terroni's, a great Italian spot on the east side.
Back to the venue later on, the set time got changed, so we only had to be there around 1am. I still haven't slept, I'm feeling the pain. The show was fairly smooth, it was a big rave-like party, whatever. Once it was over and we headed out, it was past 4am, but at least I headed out with my brand new pair of Nike hip hop kicks (like I'll ever wear 'em, but nice gesture…). I didn't bother going to sleep after either. I had to leave at 6am to head to the airport to fly to Ottawa. 4 days off and I'm trying to get back fast enough so I can see the family before they leave on vacation. As if they're actually leaving when I'm coming home… Such is life…
(I ended up being awake for 49hrs and slept through most of the time I was there before they left, next time I'll be in town will be Xmas…)
Day 25-28, Off in Ottawa.
I did fun things like go to the dentist and get a haircut. I also stayed home and did nothing and it was great.
Day 29, Ottawa, ON
So I never thought I'd have a homecoming show with a DJ and a hip hop club. Weird. And naturally, today was a long one. It started with an early trip to Montreal to pick up a van and trailer. The nice part about that was that I was able to squeeze in a coffee break at the lo' ArtJava with a couple of my Stills guys. Always good to sit down and have breakfast with them. I picked up Alain at his folks place (it's visit the parents week in our world), grabbed our LD at the airport and made the drive back to Ottawa for the show. Made a quick stop at my parents place to grab the merch that got shipped over and we went to Ritual, a new venue in town. So weird to come back not with a DJ at a hip hop club, but a club I've never worked at before…
Anyways. We got there, the lights had been delivered, the horse survived the shipping (remember Mustard? He has a facebook page too…), and we started putting it together. It was a little interesting as the owner was having sound issues with the restaurant upstairs. I think they actually had to pay them off to close for the night… Weird. For dinner I went to a Vietnamese place I used to go to a lot, and I had a friend come out and take some photos and it was cool to hang out beforehand too. Anyways, the show happened, it was alright. Again, once it was done, no loaders, and that made it rough. It was 4am by the time we were totally done and we had to leave to drive to NYC at 9am. Awesome. Thanks for nothing, promoter who shall remain nameless… Loaders make a difference.
Day 30, New York, NY
So weird to be in my home town for a show one night, then a show in new home the next. Webster Hall tonight. At least it's going to be smooth. My biggest problem will be parking the van. I couldn't be bothered to care about that.
We got in late, of course, but it didn't matter. Everything was hammered together. I eventually ditched the van in a no parking zone, it's an eat-the-ticket kind of day. It was going to be a long one… NY shows always are. The guest list was a massive 88 people (the limit was 50), backstage was completely out of control (in a fun way) and that was pretty much the night. The show was great, it was the right size for the lighting, it looked awesome. It took a little while to get out, but we had help. It was with great pleasure that I delegated the van parking for the night and went home to sleep in my own bed.
Day 31, Montreal, QC
So from hometown, to home, to adopted home in 3 days. That's kind of fun, just wish the order was reversed to avoid the long drives. It barely felt like I was home when I pulled myself out of bed and ran down to hop in a cab to go meet the van in Brooklyn. Everyone was on time, which was nice, so I took a minute to stop at Second Stop Cafe in Williamsburg to grab a brown one before we hit the road. The brew Stumptown coffee and they do good work. And so the drive back up to Montreal begins.
It was ok. Slight delay at the border for the requisite paperwork and we were on our way. Usual stop at the hotel and then over to SAT, where again, it was a smooth night, hammered together. That was a nice touch for the boss' hometown show. We got off to a bit of a rough start when the mixer died during his intro, but thankfully we had another one sitting in the van. It was brand new, just sitting around the whole tour. We were about to return it but today it saved us. He told jokes while I switched mixers, gave it a quick check and we were back in the game. Ended up being a really solid show. Best part is tomorrow we get to sleep in a bit. Only have to drive 3hrs to Quebec.
Day 32, Quebec City, QC
So it is upon us. The last day of the headline shows. After this, just two festivals next weekend and we're done. I start today with a trip up to ArtJava, of course, to meet my Stills guys, have some coffee, have some breakfast, have good times. It was done before I knew it and I went back to pick up everyone else. We stopped at Alain's folks place on the way out of town, and before we knew it, we were sitting around the kitchen table having bagels talking about the neighbourhood. Nice. And then we hit the road.
The show itself is actually in a suburb, Ste. Foy, at a place called Ozone. Interesting venue, but no room for our lights! Again! On the last show! It's sort of a repeat of the San Diego situation. That was a disappointment, but at least we were staying at the Chateau Frontenac, which was always a place we all wanted to stay at, so that was cool. We had a decent dinner, threw the show together, and that's all folks. The shipping guy came and picked up the lights we didn't have to use (at least that was sort of convenient in that sense…), and we headed back to the Castle to sleep. Tomorrow won't be too bad. Just have to drop the van in Montreal and then we fly home. 4 more days off. Nice.
Day 33-36, Off in NYC
Dropped the van in Monty, flew home. Mixed a band called Hollerado at the Music Hall in Williamsburg, kick ass show. Hung with friends, drank coffee, wine, etc… NICE.
Day 37, Chicago, IL
Back in the saddle, off we go again. Trusty horse packed and ready to move, we hopped on a plane and headed for Chicago. We have 2 shows today, an evening slot at Lollapalooza, then an afterparty at Sonotheque. It's going to be long…
So the flight is alright, it landed, which is all you can really ask for. We get the rental car and head for the city. Traffic was a disaster and it took about 2hrs til we go to the hotel. By this time we missed our scheduled pick ups to go to the festival, we couldn't catch a cab to save our lives, but the hotel came to the rescue. One of the guys had access to the hotel suv, so he pulled it around, we piled in and headed for the site. We missed some press by the time we got there, but it wasn't the end of the world. It was a little rainy and our unconventional stage had no walls. Weird. Thankfully we decided not to bring out our lighting rig this weekend. He ended up playing under a little tent erected on stage to keep the gear dry. It was hilarious but the kids love that kind of thing.
After the set, we ran over to do a signing at the site music store, and then we had some time to kill before moving on, so I went to say hi to some friends. The Kings of Leon were headliners tonight so I had to go. I couldn't be at the same festival as them and not stop by after all the touring we've done together. It was brief, but it was fun. One of the promoters from our Aussie tour was there too, which was a nice surprise. Solid group of people. But it was over before I knew it and I had to run back for settlement and to move on to more press.
We had an MTV interview that just wouldn't end, and when it did we were happy to get back to the hotel for some dinner before heading to Sonotheque. It was a quick break and we ended up getting there a little later than we'd hoped, but it was all good. The show was just a low key thing in a dj booth, no stress. I ran in to people I knew from Ottawa, which was fun, and we all had a good night. Didn't push it much longer though as we had to get an early flight to LA for a show tomorrow.
Day 38, Los Angeles, CA
It started off fairly regularly. We went to the airport, flew to LA, all good. Once we landed, we went to grab our rental car, upgraded to a sick Volvo, and made our way to the Custom Hotel. Well, that booking was a mistake. We got in, it was early still, so we understood when they said our rooms weren't ready yet. So we asked where we could get some food and the woman at the desk said to check out the restaurant in the back of the lobby. So we go down the hall, to the restaurant and it's nothing but high bar tables and pool tables. No menus, no servers, no clients, nothing. So we go back to the front desk, ask what the deal is and she says, "Oh it's after 10am. It's closed." Wha?!?!? So we ask for a recommendation in the area and she says, "You *have* to go to Bristol Farms. It's just a couple blocks away and everybody we send there loves it." Ok ,cool. We walk a couple blocks, find the place, walk in and….. it's a grocery store. Awesome. What the hell are we going to do at a grocery store? Stock up, fill the fridge and cook in our hotel room? Idiots… Thankfully we found an Italian place that was just opening up for the day, so we stopped there and it was good.
Then, moving right along, we go back and our rooms are finally ready, so we drop our bags and then I went straight to the Great Western Forum to soundcheck for Chromeo (I'm working for Chromeo and A-Trak today). I arrive, find out soundcheck is delayed by about 2hrs, so I just do some work, get stuff set up for A-Trak on the other stage and just go about daily business. Eventually we soundcheck Chromeo, it's fine, I take care of A-Trak's concerns, all is good. I then go to set up merch only to find out there's no vendors. An outdoor artisan offers to sell our shirts, I pass…
So doors open, show starts and it comes up to Chromeo's set time. We only had 15mins to changeover and we killed it. Possibly the best changeover ever, we are set to go, nothing can stop us now. Except the promoter. He ran onstage and told us to wait, there was a problem. I go up on stage and look out at the crowd and I understood completely. There were kids jumping from the upper decks of the arena down in to the lower bowls and then to the floor. They were landing on others, there were injuries, etc… and the fire marshall said he was going to shut it down. So the promoter was up there trying to clear out parts of the floor, gets kids to chill out and sit down and just try and restore order to try and save the show.This went on for about 2hrs. It was long and painful. Every few minutes we'd get updates from the show staff saying "Show is on!" or "Show is off!" or "Fire Marshall freaking out!" or "Police are here!" all kinds of stuff. It was really wild. The kids calmed down after a bit, but apparently not enough…
About 100mins in, I was told to grab the 2 most important things on stage and get them off, so I did it very calmly, didn't want to get the kids worked up and start a riot, which was a legitimate concern at the time. About 20 mins later, I was told to find all my people (Chromeo and A-Trak) and get them the hell out of the building as fast as possible. I ran around, found everyone, made calls to get vans out back, and a couple minutes later there was just me and one other guy waiting to grab a couple more things from the stage before we bailed. It turns out the whole time things were going back and forth, and being delayed, the LAPD Riot Squad called in all their people and were slowly surrounding and locking down the building. We had no idea at the time, then one of my guys sent me a message when they left that the building was surrounded. It was getting really tense. Then the stage manager came up to me and said "Get out. Now. We have insurance. F**k your gear, save yourself." It was pretty blatant, I was pretty surprised, my jaw hit the floor and the two of us that were left ran out the back door and up the loading ramp. As we were leaving, the Riot Squad was marching down the ramp and into the arena. I've never seen anything like it. It was like a crazy CNN video.
When we got to the top of the ramp, one of our vans was waiting for us. We had to flash our passes so the cops surrounding the building would even let us out. We got in the van and bolted back to the hotel to wait for news. While waiting, we figured it would be a good idea to hit the hotel bar and try to relax; we were all a little frazzled. No one ever has a show shut down by the LAPD Riot Squad. Eventually I started getting calls from the promoters that all was ok and we could go back in the morning and get our gear. The kids were cleared out, without incident, relatively… Just a few arrests. Google "LA Hard Festival" and see what pops up. It's really wild.
A little later on, we met a promoter in the lobby at the hotel and had a glass of wine. That pretty much wrapped up the most unusual day I've ever had on tour.
Day 39, Los Angeles, CA
Woke up this morning and went to deal with the aftermath of last night. When I showed up at the arena, it seemed pretty normal, day after the show kind of stuff… I found out right away that all A-Trak's t-shirts were stolen, but that was the worst of it. All the Chromeo gear was fine. We loaded out and got out quickly. I went back to the hotel and then drove A-Trak to a lunch thing and I had the afternoon off.
The first thing I did was check out of the disaster of a hotel, then I went for coffee. Not just anywhere, but the mothership. I went to the Intelligentsia Coffee Bar in Venice. It was as space age as a coffee shop can get and it was incredible. I spoke with the barista for a bit, he had cool NYC tattoos on his fingers and arms so that was the starter. He gave me a spectacular single origin from Honduras. It was a coffee break and a half. And then, before long, it was back to normal.
I went to check in to the hotel for the night, met P-Thugg from Chromeo for a great lunch by the pool on a killer afternoon, and A-Trak arrived and it was time to go to the gig. It was a pretty chill gig today too - just dj'ing on a patio for a Sunday afternoon party in Hollywood. Nice. Really good vibe, and one of the best shows of the last 2 months. Ironically, the easiest, most low maintenance as well.
After the show, we all got together and had a birthday dinner for P at Japanese joint in Hollywood. Not bad at all. By the end of it we were all exhausted and stuffed, so it was back to the hotel and crash.
And so ends my 6 weeks in the dj world. It was a crazy trip, lots of highs, a few lows, but through it all we had a blast. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the people I was with were the best in their world, nothing but class, which is hard to maintain among so many losers. It was a pleasure when all was said and done. And with that, I call it a night. Early flight back to NYC tomorrow as I have lots of work to do before flying right to Norway to start a couple weeks with Grizzly Bear. Never stops...
posted by t. at 1:15 AM
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