Fantasy Land

Vancouver Island

Nanaimo British Columbia
Tuesday, November 11, 2025

What a show, what a crowd, what a crew!
It started as soon as we set up our gear. The crew took over (in a nice way) and conducted the most efficient and orderly sound check I’ve experienced in years. 
My complaints (and I’m not alone) about this project so far have been the varying competence of the sound people at each theatre. The profile and reputation of each venue don’t seem to matter. You’re just as likely to get inept or lazy employees at a famous venue in New York or Toronto as you are in some hole in the wall in Cow Corners. To be fair, the bad ones have really been in the minority. Most were very acceptable and some crushed it.

Yesterday at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, British Columbia, I had the pleasure of dealing with the best monitor mixer and the best front-of-house sound person I’ve worked with in quite a while. They ran a very professional sound check while consulting with us regularly to make sure we were getting what we wanted.
And all the people, from the fans to the hotel staff, treated us with the kind of respect we were getting last week in Orillia!

Victoria British Columbia
Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Okay, there must be something in the water on this island. For the second day in a row, we had a stellar crew and audience! 
I don’t care if I sound like a broken record…..What a show, what a crew, what a crowd!
This was our last show of 2025. 
During my almost fifty-two-year career, I’ve worked with many bands. Whenever we’d reach the end of a project, particularly the end of a season, there would be a period of re-assessment by band-leaders or management, so it was of practical importance to have as good a final show as possible. Obviously, it was also really nice just to feel good about what you were doing and bring that optimism with you when things start up again.`
And we aced it. 

Just So You Know

A quick shout-out to the people who had kind words to say to me about my blog. I’m not naming any names, but it all came within the last few weeks. You know who you are. Thank you. That means a lot to me.

And I’m Not Forgetting

There are others who have been supportive for years. I can’t get any more specific than that, for issues of privacy. Again, you know who you are. Thank you.

An Apology

I have friends on the island that I didn’t contact. I’m sorry. This whole trip was so on-again off-again with so many details to attend to my head was spinning. Next time I’m on the Island, I’ll look you up.

Coda… The Island

Vancouver Island is God’s country. The unbelievably scenic mountains and verdant valleys along Trans Canada 1 between Victoria and Nanaimo are breathtaking. I have to think the rest of the Island is the same. Despite the modern cities, there’s an unmistakable sense of separation from the rest of North America. As far east as this island is west, there’s Newfoundland, which has that same sense. Because of that, these two areas and my own part of southern Ontario are among my favourite places in Canada. Hell, I like all the different areas and all the different people of this wonderful nation.
CANADA ROCKS