Thanks Jen!!! It is so cool of him to blog like this!!!

Thanks Jen!!! It is so cool of him to blog like this!!!

 

it is pretty awesome. I love the roadie name-dropping too!!

no new blog today, but I have been checking out the blog links.

 

This guy is out on the road with Green Day http://guitaretch.blogspot.com/

 

the whole roadie blog thing is fascinating me

this is great jen, thanks . just discovered this thread

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Day Off in Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

Made it to the border around 10:30 this morning. Took the better part of two hours to get all five buses of personnel through Immigrations. On any rock tour, there are always a couple of guys with (minor) criminal records that require thorough examination by the Immigrations folks.

 

Got away clean and made it to the hotel by sometime around 1 or 1:15pm. We're staying at the Radisson in central downtown Winnipeg. Last time I was here, I stayed at the Fairmont, about 5 blocks away. There's a cool minor-league baseball park nearby, too. I went to a game there one year.

 

As luck would have it, we're here on Sunday, which is the night that all the classic car aficionados cruise the downtown area, specifically Portage Avenue, the main drag, where our hotel is located.

 

Before I even went to dinner, I saw nothing less than 30 cars I'd love to own. I'm talking pristine-condition pieces from the 60's and 70's.

 

I went to Hy's Steak Loft for dinner, probably the best steak house in Winnipeg. Had a great shrimp cocktail appetizer and a blackened tuna steak for my entrée. Service couldn't have been better, but maybe that's because I had the entire bar area to myself.

 

Spoke to the sommelier for about 20 minutes about Canadian wines. He was very helpful and educational. One of the waitresses overheard our conversation and I wound up talking to her for another 15 or 20 minutes about Charlotte, of all things. She had friends in Huntersville, NC, (just north of Charlotte) and knew plenty of North Carolina.

 

After dinner, I hit my hotel bar for a beer and went to stand outside to watch all the vintage cars go by. Think I'm gonna have to buy another convertible at some point…

 

http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-off-in-winnipeg-manitoba.html

Monday, June 15, 2009

Show Day in Winnipeg

 

OK, I'm a dummy. I left my camera charger at home. By being extremely frugal with it, I managed to squeeze four weeks use out of the battery, but it finally died in New Orleans last week. I'm too cheap to buy another one, especially since I’m flying home next Monday, the 22nd.

 

So don't expect to see any pictures here this week…

 

http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/06/show-day-in-winnipeg.html

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Day Off in Calgary

 

Crawled into my bunk last night around 2:30am, a few minutes after we pulled away from the venue in Winnipeg. Woke up this morning around 8:00, but having changed time zones yet again, it was really 7am in Alberta.

 

Whenever I'm in Alberta, I can't help but think of my favorite Neil Young song, "Four Strong Winds." Neil performs it, but it was written by a guy named Ian Tyson. Partial lyrics:

 

"Think I'll go out to Alberta,

Weather's good there in the fall.

I got some friends that I could go to working for.

Still I wish you'd change your mind,

If I ask you one more time.

But we've been through this a hundred times or more.

 

Four strong winds that blow lonely,

Seven seas that run high.

All those things that don't change, come what may.

If the good times are all gone,

Then I'm bound for movin' on.

I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way."

 

Beautiful song, and it's from my all-time favorite Neil Young album, "Comes A Time," from 1978. I have listened to that record hundreds of times in my rocking chair on my front porch. And I'll listen to it many more…

 

Finally made it to the hotel around 3pm. Up to my room and get some work done for a bit, then shower and head out for dinner. I walked around for awhile, stopping and reading menus at places I passed along the way, but wound up eating back at the pub attached to the hotel. The entrees sounded good, and the appetizers sounded even better. I got the Stilton Cheese Dip, which was served in a pumpernickel bread bowl with Granny Smith apple slices and bagel crisps. Damn good, damn fine.

 

Also got an order of Blarney chips, which were really nachos without the tortilla chips. In their place, the base was made of waffle fries. Had the usual toppings – cheese, onions, jalapeno pepper slices.

 

I was drinking some lager from the Netherlands that the bartender recommended. All I remember is that the name started with a "D." Tasty stuff it was, indeed.

 

Made it up to my room by 9:30 and in bed by 11:30…

 

http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post.html

 

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Monday, June 22, 2009

Heading Home

 

Noon flight from Vancouver to Toronto. Nice seat, cranky asshat in the seat next to me, though. Forgettable flight, as they all should be. I watched a movie (Bourne Identity) on my iPod, listened to some tunes, read a magazine, and before you know it, we'd landed. Even after going through U.S. Customs and Immigrations (in Toronto? Huh?), I still had an hour-plus to kill, so I went and grabbed a bite to eat. The flight to RDU was on a Canada Air Regional Jet, much smaller, but a had a row (of 2 seats) to myself.

 

On the ground in Raleigh by about 10:30pm. Cab to the house and then there I sat, wide awake until 3am…

 

http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/06/heading-home.html