"Seb put it best... it's that feeling of weightlessness that gets the adrenaline going. The first time we hit black ice was gut wrenching." February 19, 2016 - 11:47pm It's like I finished the last post, closed my eyes, then was back in the van... 2 hours sleep isn't enough... although when I woke up nobody else seemed to be getting up to be in the van for 3am... I'll once again try and keep this short... need sleep badly... plus people are flooding into the hotel and the lobby is the only place I could find to write... just a matter of time until someone recognizes me... right? ... right? *cough* Seb and I did the first shift driving... left Tim's at 3:40am. Figured the roads would be clear and with steady driving, hopefully hit Dawson Creek by 12pm. ... except the weather created a variable. Seb put it best... it's that feeling of weightlessness that gets the adrenaline going. There was a storm rolling past Edmonton and we drove into it... and in a place where the speed limit is 110km/hr, having to drive 60-70 really adds time to a trip. The first time we hit black ice was gut wrenching. On the highways out here, there's these big, graceful curves in the road... which combined with black ice create this amazing opportunity for the trailer to try and overtake the van. I didn't think we were going to die... the roads are wide enough and the ditches aren't that deep... and we really weren't going that fast... fast enough to get banged up but not to throw/roll the van. ... safety first. ... even if safety is going to take us forever to get there. ... and I always figure in situations like this, you're not alone. If we're hitting this weather and road conditions, the other bands/buses trucks are too. We switched off drivers around 6:30am. It was a long drive... definitely got dicey a few times but again, we were taking our times. I think we slid 4-5 times... and it kept everyone awake. I guess if you're going to die in a car accident, it's best to be awake for it. ... I knew we were fine though... I have faith in the Seb. This is a lot of single sentences. The roads were fine after Edmonton... back to normal traveling speeds and the sun being out probably helps. We arrived in Dawson Creek around 2:30pm... surprisingly not that late. We went in to check out the venue... the stage looked like it'd just been finished and the crew were starting on the first bit of lights/rigging. ... we are definitely behind schedule. We a better idea how much time we have in this situation now. Odds are we're free to do whatever until 6pm (doors at 6:30... lol... *tear*), but be ready to go, go, go when it's time. Breakfast/lunch was good... they went ham on the bacon. :-| We all tried resting in our own way most of the time since sleep wasn't really to be had in the van today. I grabbed a (hockey) shower in our dressing room which at least helped wake me up... hopefully athlete's foot doesn't take hold since I don't have shower sandals with me. Things are sort of a blur now... I think we started loading ours and Saint Asonia onto the stage at 6:10pm... I was thinking the doors aren't opening at 6:30pm... no way... they were still working on rigging and we were booted off the stage while loading to do the pyro test. ... I started thinking if there was a day for an accident, it might be today... not that people were recklessly rushed, but that's how accidents happen... when you don't have time to cross your T's or when you're overly confident... this crew is solid though... I think they opted to not put up a couple light rigs because of the delay. OH! I forgot to mention... when we got there, the stage looked like it'd just been finished... why? It wasn't long before the buses and trucks showed up. Apparently there was an accident on the highway that stopped traffic for a couple hours. That could've been us, could've been anybody on the production... I overheard a few others talking about how they felt the weightlessness of their bus at times during the trip. ... that'd be scary... I think buses are way more dangerous in an ice related accident. So at least everyone is on the same page... and glad everyone made it. We finished soundcheck just after doors opened... people ran to the front of the stage... felt less like a loser soundchecking after doors opened... I'd heard the floor tickets were sold out... 1,600 or something. ... this is good. We ended up going on (told to) 7 minutes late... which was totally cool with us. We had time to run back to the dressing room to mentally prepare... still felt like a long time between setup and showtime. ... lights go off... intro music. ... blur. My hi-hat clutch was giving me problems but aside from that, it was one of the better shows I've personally played on the tour. It was awesome to hear after the show that everyone felt similar about their performance and our performance as a whole. ... even Reid was happy! ... Matt! Even Matt was happy!!! Good times... great crowd too. The place looked packed from the stage and walking around after, it pretty much was. We signed a few shirts and took some photos after Saint Asonia's set. (signed a guitar for the venue earlier too!) ... one girl asked us to sign a Saint Asonia t-shirt and I vetoed that. It's faux-pas in my books. ... with that she went and bought an Age Of Days shirt and asked us to sign it. That wasn't my/our intentions but it was awesome she liked the band enough to grab a shirt and help support. ... it really does help... merch sales are the lifeblood of a band on tour. We finished packing our personals in the dressing room and headed out just before Down With The Sickness started up. By far, this was the loudest "encore" crowd on the tour. We could hear the thunder of stomping feet above our dressing room. ... awesome. So now we're back at the hotel... Reid, Dane, and I have assembled in the lobby... converted it into our production office for a while. Chatted with a few fans coming through about the show but overall it's pretty tame. ... apparently the parking lot isn't... but that's another story. I'll leave some more notes about the day in the slideshow. ... breakfast opens at 4am, we're back on the road for 6am. Edmonton tomorrow... supposed to be nuts... ... we're ready. - Mike :-) P.S. Happy Birthday (again) Dad! Glad I could catch you on Skype, but sorry I couldn't show you the stage setup out front because of the wifi... will try again tomorrow. :-)
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Mike Langford - Official BlogBeing on both sides of the glass, I get the chance to wear many hats in the music industry. This is a place to share my thoughts, views, predictions, rants, stories and news! Categories
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