Over the Hump- I Say Farewell to the Rockies

I don't know if I've ever been in a mountain town with more hustle than Banff, AB. It's just on the edge of ski season, and the kids from Oz are crowded into the coffee joints, earnestly interviewing for jobs that will get them close to the slopes, close to the party. Downtown shows have rarely been fun here. Well, not fun to play- the fun just never stops for the money. The labour is largely imported and musicians- like servers, drivers, clerks and cooks- have their place.

Time to get out of town. It is a little disconcerting to note that "RCMP Surveillance Van 4" continues to figure prominently in my computer's little wifi scanner. I'm looking for free wifi to send my email, and these guys are still out playing cowboys. I hope they like the Blog, and hope that I get out of town without being stopped. Of course there is a chance that they are monitoring the communications of the ex-diplomat at whose home I've been staying. But that's another story for another time and place.

Rolling east out of Banff, through Dead Man's Flat, and soon the mountains are shrinking in the rear view mirror. Calgary casts up a little haze in the distance. Oil town. Cow town. It's a whole lot friendlier than one might think. This place has grown so fast that it is filled with people from other territories. Folks talk to each other. Compare notes. Exchange numbers. Great music scene. Several great venues. Big summer festivals...

I always look forward to playing southwest Alberta. The back end of this tour is not as tight as I'd like- there are some gaps this year, some places that just didn't get tied in early enough. It's been almost a year since my car crash, and the ratty end on this Tour is pretty much directly related to the time lost in that wreck. Yet, not a day goes by when I'm not reminded of how lucky I am to be out here doing this. I hope to stay lucky for the next couple weeks as I nurse this Tour in an eastward direction. Friends up and down the line help make my life possible! Maybe I'll get some extra shows in the badlands during good weather. I am coming back to western Canada in the summer to perform at some festivals- Salmon Arm Roots and Blues is now confirmed, others to follow.