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March 1, 2007 - Burlington, VT Burlington is a great town. We were here last August with Bela Fleck and have some great memories of the downtown area. Nice outdoor mall with some awesome shopping. Today we're at the Flynn Center. Natalie has been here many times before and is always eager to come back. First of all this is a beautiful theatre. I believe there are about 1300 + seats and the walls of the theatre have these two stunning features on either side of the stage. Very classy place! Another great show with another great audience. In fact after we finished the first song I didn't know if we'd get to do a second one because the applause went on for what seemed like an eternity! Absolutely fantastic crowd tonight. Very appreciative. One other great part about Burlington that we discovered last time we were here, the catering is second to none. A company called St. Pierre catered this event and it was food to die for. With a meal like that there is no way we could have had a bad show! Anyway we're off to Fairfield, CT tonight. They're calling for heavy snow in the region so we are going to head out right after the gig. ............................................................................................................................... March 2, 2007 - Fairfield, CT So there is a DVD floating around our bus that is the absolute all time favourite of pretty much everyone in the band. The DVD is Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Live at the Quick. Well tonight we are at that same Quick Center on the grounds of the University of Fairfield. Now how cool is that! |
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............................................................................................................................... March 3, 2007 - Morristown, NJ What a beautiful day we had. We rolled into Morristown and it was a wonderful sunny, warm day. We all explored the town a bit and did a bit of shopping. Today we're at the Community Theatre which is a great little theatre of about 1200 seats. The staff here are top notch and treated us like kings (well and one queen!). Not only that but the sound and lighting were incredible.
Wonderful
crowd tonight. They were really appreciative of Natalie's music and
stories. Again we had a sprinkling of Cape Bretoners out there. Always a
good thing! We did have a bit of a funny thing happen tonight. First the
theatre is going through a bit of a So we are over-nighting tonight to Fairfax, VA which is just out of Washington, DC. We'll see you there... ............................................................................................................................... March 04, 2007 - Fairfax, VA We are at the George Mason University in the Center of the Arts theatre tonight. One of the more unusual theatres we've played just for the fact that the balcony is larger than the main floor. Very different from our perspective as most theatres are completely the opposite. Nice size in that it's just short of 2000 seats and great crowd tonight of around 1800. Gotta love that! Speaking of crowds they were a good bunch tonight. Only one Cape Bretoner out there tonight but the others were Cape Bretoners in spirit for the show. This in the sixth show in a row in six different states without a day off so we were getting a bit crazy on stage but in a good way. We had way too much fun out there and the crowd was with us for the ride! One more bit of good news; the tour has been so successful this year that I've been able to afford my own bass roadie! She does a great job but I have to admit that I'm getting a little tired of cleaning bits of food from my strings every show. Oh well it's worth it to have help like this! Yay we're on a day off tomorrow. We drive to Buffalo, NY and hang for a day before our next show. See you there... ............................................................................................................................... March 6, 2007 - Buffalo, NY Wow what a trip up here last night. Slow go as there was some terrible weather but we made it thanks to our fearless driver Jim. We actually got up here yesterday for a day off but unfortunately it was too cold outside to do much so we all basically caught up on some sleep and stayed warm in the hotel. We're at the Center of the Arts on the grounds of Buffalo University. Huge theatre of about 1700 seats with an amazing balcony. I decided to go for a walk up to the top and thought I was going to get a nosebleed from the height! Incredible view from up there, you just can't be afraid of heights! The show was great as usual. Again we had about half dozen Cape Bretoners out there to make Natalie feel at home. The rest of the audience were wonderful and gave us a ton of energy back. As Natalie says "we're in this together" so it helps us so much to play in front of an energetic audience. We now pack up and head to Athens, OH. I hear the weather is a bit nasty so it might be a slow go but we'll see you all there! ............................................................................................................................... March 7, 2007 - Athens, OH Who says there's strength in numbers? We didn't have a huge crowd out tonight but they were a mighty one! We're at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Theatre tonight on the grounds of the Ohio University. Huge theatre with just under 2000 seats. Great staff here and one of the best meals we've had. As I said the crowd was a bit on the small side but those that were there sure were full of energy. We had to work hard tonight but I think we won them over. If nothing else it'll get people talking for the next time we come through town! Thanks to all the people who came out tonight. I have to mention a huge thanks from the band to our trusty bus driver Jim. He's had some terrible night drives through snow storms and awful conditions and he's handled it like a true professional. However after last nights drive I think it might have driven him over the edge! I'll let you decide... We now head out on another night drive to Notre Dame, IN. We'll see you all there... ............................................................................................................................... March 8, 2007 - Notre Dame, IN Hey we're at the home of the Fightin' Irish!!! That's right we're on the grounds of the historic Notre Dame University here in South Bend Indiana! What a place. Absolutely beautiful university with some incredible buildings. Just as an example the Leighton Concert Hall is an absolutely beautiful building and typical of many of the structures here on campus. The inside is even more stunning with around 900 seats. Everything is top notch here and over the stage is an incredible structure that reflects the lighting. Just as wonderful as the theatre is, the people were just as delightful. Very enthusiastic crowd tonight. Very supportive. A huge thanks to the crew and staff here today. They made us feel very much at home and the catering today was top notch. We head out tonight for Springfield, OH. Hummm I wonder if that's where the Simpsons live? Maybe I'll put their name at the door! ............................................................................................................................... March 9, 2007 - Springfield, OH
What a
lovely city Springfield is. Woke up this morning to an absolutely
beautiful day. It must have been close to 60F! Felt like a wonderful
spring day. First of all the architecture in this city is incredible.
Everywhere you look you see these incredible stone or We're at the Kuss Auditorium which is a wonderful theatre. The people here are very proud of their facility and it shows. It's a fair size with around 1500 seats and incredible acoustics. The audience was with us from the first note. Natalie was in fine shape and everyone had a blast on stage tonight. Thanks again to everyone here who helps up put on this show tonight. I hope we can come back some time soon. Well as usual we pack up tonight and do a night drive. I believe Tecumseh, MI is our next stop so we'll see you all there. ............................................................................................................................... March 10, 2007 - Tecumseh, MI Okay if there was a hall of fame for audiences the pictures of everyone in the crowd tonight would be hanging on the wall. Wow what a good bunch of people. Now mind you Tecumseh is a smaller center and we usually get our best audiences in the smaller towns but these people were over the top. I think Natalie is out in the lobby right now trying to convince them to come on the road with us!! Yes we're in the beautiful town of Tecumseh at the Civic Auditorium. A great little theatre of around 500+ seats. It doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles that the bigger theatres have but the staff and crew here more than make up for that. A huge thanks to everyone here at this great theatre. I hope everyone in Tecumseh realizes what a gem they have here. Also if you ever get a chance to come here for a visit it's a beautiful place. Brad and I went for a run today in the neighbourhood and we saw some stunning houses and beautiful rivers and streams. Definitely a place to stop. We're off tonight again to Elgin, IL for a show tomorrow night. See you all there... ............................................................................................................................... March 11, 2007 - Elgin, IL
Okay this
was not a normal night. Talking with Natalie after the show she said she
had never played to an audience like this before. First though let me
tell you where we are. We're at the
Hemmens Cultural Center
just outside of Chicago in Elgin, IL. A
Now back to
the audience. There were between a dozen or two super fans in the crowd
tonight and most were in the front 3 rows. Now Natalie is used to
getting a standing ovation after pretty much every show but tonight she
was getting one after pretty much every song!! I have to tell you that
she was honestly shocked by it. It was such a A huge thanks to the people of Elgin and I'm sure this will be a place we'll be coming back to in the future. Now Natalie is off to meet up with her hubby for her day off tomorrow and we're doing a night drive to Huron, OH for a day off ourselves. Next we're in Sandusky, OH for a show on Tuesday night. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... March 13, 2007 - Sandusky, OH Another beautiful day today. The thermometer read 72F! Not bad for the middle of March and also considering we're right on Lake Erie! We're in Sandusky today at the State Theatre. Another great theatre of about 1200 seats. As well the features in this theatre are outstanding. They have an beautiful chandelier in the middle of the theatre as well as artwork on the walls. Very nice facility. Free show tonight for the residents of Sandusky. Didn't have a problem selling out the theatre at those prices! Nice crowd tonight. Great response and Natalie was putting on a great show for them in return. A huge thanks to everyone who came out and also all the staff and volunteers at the State Theatre. Well some of us are off for the rest of the week and some are playing with Natalie in Detroit with the symphony. I fortunately/unfortunately get the week off so I'll continue with the road stories next week. See you then. ............................................................................................................................... March 18, 2007 - East Lansing, MI
It was a bit
of a tough one for Natalie but as usual she came through with flying
colors tonight! We're at the
Wharton Center in East Lansing. Once again another
great theatre
and it's a pretty fair size with
around 2400 seats. So
getting back to the night. Natalie, along with Mac and Miche had to play
their last show with the Detroit Symphony this very afternoon! After
packing up they were driven to East Lansing and arrived just in time for
a short sound check and then we hit the stage. It was a great crowd
tonight of about 1200 + people and they were a great bunch. They
definitely gave Natalie the energy she needed to give them a great show.
As well this audience got to witness a very rare event, Natalie broke a
string! I've never seen it so it was a first for me too! As luck would
have it, it happened just before Mac's We're off to Springfield, IL tomorrow for a day off and then a show the next day. The Lincoln museum and Abe Lincoln's house are located in Springfield so I'm pretty excited about having a day off to check out these two amazing American treasures. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... March 20, 2007 - Springfield, IL Well tonight finds us at the wonderful Sangamon Auditorium on the grounds of the University of Illinois, Springfield. This is one big theatre with around 2000 seats stretched out across two balconies and the main floor. Now I swear if we were to have played with our eyes closed it would have sounded like there was 4000 people out there tonight. The audience was so fired up and loud we loved it. Now here's the kicker; there were only around 500 people there! Natalie hasn't played in this area much so she isn't as well know as in some of the other centers we've played. But I tell you she had some hard core fans there in the crowd and I guarantee she'll want to come back here. Thanks to everyone who came out tonight and next time bring a friend! There is one last thing I'd like to mention about our stay in Springfield. For those of you who have never been here I urge you to make the trip. Some of you may or may not know that Abe Lincoln lived here for several years before he became president. You can still walk through his home and see many pieces of furniture that the Lincolns actually used and the rest of the home is restored to it's time. Absolutely amazing to walk through there. As well there is the Lincoln museum which I'm not going to tell you how good it is. I urge you to come and check it out for yourselves. It's an absolute treasure (and that's coming from a Canadian boy!!) Thanks again Springfield and now we're off the Anderson, IN for a day off and a show. See you there.... ............................................................................................................................... March 22, 2007 - Anderson, IN Hey everyone! We're at the incredible Paramount Theatre in Anderson, IN. Now incredible is the understatement of the year. This is one of the most magnificent theatres we've ever been in. Check out the detail in this hall and they even have an evening sky painted on the ceiling. All of us stood on stage at soundcheck with our mouths hanging open just taking in the scenery. Absolutely stunning. And apparently this theatre was only seconds away from the wrecking ball! Tonight show was a good one. Not a huge audience but they seemed to enjoy the show. Natalie was in fine form tonight and gave her best. I think we all had to work extra hard tonight to concentrate on our playing as we all couldn't stop taking in the breathtaking scenery. The people of Anderson sure have a gem in their town! We're off to Brookfield, WI tonight for a show tomorrow. We'll see you all there. ............................................................................................................................... March 23, 2007 - Brookfield, WI We're here at the Wilson Center for the Arts on the outskirts of Brookfield. Lovely theatre with about 600 seats. Its a great little theatre that has one of the most interesting fireplaces in it's lobby. This is also a busy place as it has two theatres and there was another event going on in the other theatre so the place was busy tonight! Good crowd tonight. Wasn't sold out but it was pretty darn good. The people here really enjoy their music and they definitely enjoyed Natalie's tunes tonight. Good energy in the place and that really helped us take it over the top. Also a huge thanks to the staff here at the Wilson Center. They took really good care of us today. Now we're off to Spencer, WI for the 2nd last show. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... March 24, 2007 - Spencer, WI Wow a bit of a tough one today. We're at the Lucille Tack Center for the Arts tonight. Nice little theatre that is attached to the local school. The venue seats around 500 people and probably has some of the nicest people working there. Well the day turned a bit for the worse when our drummer, Miche, had to be taken to the hospital with a bad flu. He was pretty dehydrated and although he fought it for the last couple of days it finally took it's toll on him. Everyone thought it was best for him to go get checked out. So we went on stage tonight without a drummer. It was quite an experience for us not having him on stage with us. Fortunately it turned into a very special night for everyone and we had a great show. Some tunes were changed at the last minute, some were added, it was all good! The audience helped us out being our "drummer" by clapping when it was needed so we got though fine. A huge thanks to everyone who came out for sharing this special show with us and another big thanks for the staff for taking care of us during our stay. Well, now we're down to 1 more show. We head out to Fond du Lac, WI for our last one... ............................................................................................................................... March 25, 2007 - Fon du Lac, WI Well yesterday it was Miche, today it's me! .... First of all we're at the Performing Arts Center here in Fon du Lac. Great theatre that is part of the high school. Fair size too at around 1000 seats and some of the best local staff around. So if you read my last report you heard that Miche had to go to the hospital to get looked at after the flu got the best of him. Well today was my turn to go to emergency. However it was early enough that I didn't miss the show so that was good. Just had to go get topped up with fluids. This darn flu is a tough one! Enough of my complaining! (oh yea, big thanks to the emergency staff at the hospital. Great bunch of people) Great show tonight. It's the last of the tour and the last before Natalie takes 6 months off so you can imagine we were in fine form. Everything was great until Mac's dance number. He just happened to find a wig backstage and came out dancing in that! Natalie just about fell off her chair! And if that wasn't bad enough, on the last song Matt and Brad came out in wigs and dresses! I didn't think Natalie would get through the final group! Pretty funny stuff and the crowd got into it too. Great bunch tonight and they gave us a wonderful send off. Well folks that's it for awhile. It's been a great honor to bring you these road stories and a huge thanks to everyone who sent me those great emails. Actually the list of people to thank is pretty long so bear with me! First a big thanks to the "boss", Natalie, who continues to make wonderful music and just happens to be the best person to work for that you'll ever meet. I never fail to be amazed at her talent and wonderful personality. We should all be so lucky to have a boss like her! Thanks to the bandmates, Brad, Matt, Mac and Miche. You would be hard pressed to find a more talented group or a more fun bunch to hang with. (Check on their personal websites to see what they are doing on their time off!) Chris, our soundman and road manager, is one of the hardest working people I've met and the train would run off the track without him. Thanks to Donnell, Barbara, Minnie, Dianne, and everyone at CAMI for keeping the business side of it all running smoothly. And of course to the webmaster Cheryl, without her talent you wouldn't be reading this report! Last but definitely not least and huge thanks to everyone who came out to the shows, the local crews, volunteers, catering, and anyone else I might have missed. There definitely wouldn't be a show without you! Have a safe and great summer everyone and we'll see you in 6 months or so...
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