I leave as early as I can – after pancakes – and head out on Highway 1 to Medicine Hat – where my Dad lives – and where I’m going to play the first show I’ve every played for him. I’m a bit nervous, honestly, but the shows have been going well and my voice feels good.
I get to my Dad’s and we hang out a bit – I make some more CDs and play with his cats, Katey and Siley. We talk a lot about the shows – something we don’t normally do over the phone – it’s nice to give him the inside scoop on what I think during the shows.
Finally, I head out to Blair and June’s place, which is on the outskirts of Medicine Hat – it’s a beautiful place that Blair built himself. Although they’ve done a number of these shows and Blair was the first to get involved with them, tonight he’s stuck in Ottawa, so June’s fling solo.
We chat happily and I play with her border collie, Sadie, who seems to have an unlimited need to chase stuffed animals. She has a stuffed skunk that makes a noise similar to a Transformer when you bite it. She bites it a lot.
June’s mom and dad show up and then my dad shows up. It’s not like the show will really be any different, but I’m still nervous about playing in front of him – maybe it’s because this is one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to play this tour. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding” and I have no idea what my dad’ll think of it.
Unlike the night before, the crowd doesn’t really know each other, which makes for a nice night of socializing – everyone meeting each other for the first time. My dad seems to have a good time and I introduce myself to everyone.
June introduces me saying that Blair was really sorry he couldn’t be here – they’d listened to my CD and were looking forward to me coming the most out of the lineup – which again is very cool, since I kind of think my old CD is, well, old.
The chairs are lined up about Sadie’s width away from me – she snakes herself through the audience during the sets getting petted. The audience is excellent and my voice feels better than ever. Occasionally I glance over to my dad and he’s laughing and singing along with all of them – and he laughs with everyone during My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding – I’m a happy singer/songwriter. Betty, my dad’s wife arrives a couple songs in – she got stuck at work. At intermission I check in with them and they’re having a good time.
I meet a nice couple from Holland, Piet and Ina – Piet tells me the story of Piet Hein, a famous German pirate who fought the Spanish in Cuba, stealing all of the Spanish armada’s gold and silver. Apparently there’s a Danish song devoted to him. Who knew I had a famous Spanish-fighting Cuban-german pirate relative? There’s even a hotel chain in Amsterdam named after him.
In the second set I rib the Medicine Hat-ers about their city’s tagline, “The Gas City” – I told them that Rocky Mountain House was “Where Adventure Begins” and they could at least do “Where Gas Adventures Begin.”
June sings along in the background, mouthing the words to the songs off my album. In the second set, Sadie gets hold of her stuffed skunk again and goes off on a skunk solo during a song.
Eventually the night ends and we say goodbye to everyone – my Dad tells me he really enjoyed it. Someone tells June’s parents that they have a very nice son-in-law… ummmm… sorry, Blair!
I head back to my Dad’s and stay up with him and Betty for awhile – my Dad had a great time and wants to go to more house concerts – very cool.
