everyone knows this is nowhere

So I spent my birthday out on the plains of Saskatchewan. Could have been worse. Could have been better, I suppose. I've never been really fond of celebrating my birthday at all, and for whatever reason I get a little bummed about getting older, especially when I'm alone in a strange place. My dad has a strange psychic connection with Saskatchewan, however. When I was a kid it was his fall back anyplace. If he didn't feel like telling me where he was going he would always say 'Saskatchewan' mostly because it sounds like a rather mythical place to be heading. It sounds like the kind of place where herds of wild bears roam the streets in search of manflesh. In reality it's a bit like a bland version of Indianapolis without the Kurt Vonnegut. Its capital is also fairly unremarkable other than the fact that Mick Jagger once said 'I love Regina, it rhymes with fun.'















The past week has just dragged on. The weather is getting really cold up in Canada, and since I'm with the support band on a really massive tour there is not a damn thing to do with myself for 10-12 hours a day. We are all locked in a single room, most often a locker room in a hockey arena in the absolute middle of nowhere. For some reason the middle of nowhere Canada seems so much more dire than the middle of nowhere anywhere else.  I've been doing a lot of reading, teaching myself garage band, dreaming, watching baseball, and making repeated trips to catering for their never-ending stream of delicious goods. Every time I wander down the hall for a coffee I come back with eggs benedict, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a slab of baked salmon. It needs to stop. I'm also kind of getting obsessed with the last Slant 6 record, but that's neither here nor there. Today is looking quite a bit like yesterday.















Last night I watched Neil (yeah, first name basis, wanna fight about it?) from the side of the stage. It's a sleepy set peppered with some really great moments. He played Heart of Gold and Old Man with Hank Williams' guitar last night. I'm not sure if things get much better than that. If they do I might need to be sedated for the duration of this one. 















Back in the USSA tomorrow. Lock up your bourbon.