The Rural Alberta Advantage: Road To The Olympics

Hello, and welcome to the RAA "Road To The Olympics" tour blog. We've been touring almost constantly across North America since we released our record Hometowns back in July of 2009, but really that's all just been training for this, our February tour across western Canada, all the way to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics! We'll keep you posted on the places we go, the people we meet, the local food and microbrews we get to try, and the shows we play as we travel this great country of ours. By following this blog you'll get to experience all the most fun and exciting parts of being in a touring band, and you don't have to travel in our disgusting minivan to do it. Really, it's a win-win situation for you. Join us!

After a once-in-a-lifetime experience like playing as part of the Cultural Olympiad at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, you’d think that the pinnacle of the tour had been reached and there was no way anything else would come close to being as great as that had been. You clearly haven’t been to Victoria.

After a satisfying lunch of sushi (me and Matt, our amazing sound guy/tour manager) and burgers (Paul and Nils), we set out for the ferry to Victoria. I should mention now that even though it is in fact February, the weather in BC was absolutely beautiful. It’s apparently causing lots of problems for the ski events up in Whistler, but it’s pretty damned perfect for a ferry ride!

We met up with the Great Bloomers on the ferry and took some photos during our ride (which I’ll try to get up here ASAP). The Olympics were on the TVs on the ferry as well, so we were able to keep tabs on all the Team Canada happenings that afternoon. I wish I could say we saw more of the Olympics while in Van, but our experiences were limited to a short post-soundcheck stint in the Olympic Rockin’ Beer Tent at Media Club (a place we actually played at our first time in Vancouver last year).

We were thrilled to get to play one more show with Great Bloomers. I really can’t say enough about these guys. They’re talented musicians, write some fantastic songs, and (for the ladies, and guys, if you’re into skinny indie boys) they’re all really cute, too! Go see them.

The Bloomers again put on an incredible show, and we had so much fun playing to the enthusiastic Victoria crowd. We couldn’t believe the audience support we had on this tour, so thank you again for all who bought a ticket and came out to see us.

We had a great afterparty to cap off the tour at the Strathcona Hotel, but I won’t post any of the photos I took, in case any one of us wants to get a real job one day ;)  Just kidding.  It was all good, clean fun, and here’s hoping we can all tour again soon!

We’ll try to put up some pics of our adventures as soon as we can. Until then, thank you very much for following our tour blog. See you next time!

Amy xoxo

Nils and I were waiting backstage before the show when a nice lady approached us, smiling warmly. She introduced herself as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, and flattered us by saying she had recently purchased our CD. We chatted with her for a moment until the production assistant came by and informed her it was time to begin the show. The house lights dimmed, the stage lights brightened, and the crowd started hooting and applauding in anticipation.

Our new friend strode purposefully to the stage and began the introduction. “Bienvenue a Vancouver!” Her introduction would be bilingual, and we listened as she spoke of the majesty of the games and the evening’s entertainment in both of Canada’s official languages.

Then, drawing her introduction to a close, we heard: “Madames et monsieurs, the Rural Alberta Advantage LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, CITY AND COLOUR!!!”

The crowd roared. We froze. What do we do? 3000 people are expecting a band that definitely isn’t us to go out there right now! We can’t go out like this. Can we?

We waited a few moments, heard a chirpy, “The Rural Alberta Advantage!” from stage, and off we went.

I sort of remember playing the show. I remember the bright lights, and being thankful my new keyboard was better suited than the old SK-1 to filling out the incredible space. I remember being pleasantly surprised at the crowd’s enthusiasm for us. Nils described it as “Olympic fever” during the show; whatever it was, it made any nerves dissipate.

The show went by so quickly. We had to cut three or four songs from what I was positive was an even 40-minute set. Still, performance-wise it was probably the best show of the tour, and I thought all three of us really came together under pressure in a way we haven’t done in the past (*coughPassionPitShowcough*)

We went out for a few drinks to celebrate after the show, but it didn’t feel as cathartic as I thought it would. Maybe it was because we still had one show to go on the tour. Even so, I got back to our hotel pretty happy and proud at what our little band had accomplished that night. If every show could be like this one, I’d consider us supremely lucky. I do anyway.

Amy

We were there. We played a show at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. We did! I still can’t really believe it.

We traveled from Edmonton after our two Pawn Shop shows (both of which were ridiculously fun) all the way to Vancouver in one long drive, sustained by sandwiches packed courtesy of Nils’ stepmother. We made excellent time and got in at around 10pm to the VANOC-provided Oceanview Hotel (which didn’t actually have a view of the ocean, but who are we to complain, right?) and settled in, trying our best to calm down and get rested for the big day ahead.

A great clothing brand out of Vancouver called Lily & Jae has been providing me some awesome clothes to wear for our tours this year. I got to visit their showroom for the first time in the morning before soundcheck and pick out an outfit for the show. I was probably a little too giddy at the prospect of wearing something for this important night that hasn’t been crumpled in my suitcase for two weeks. I’m sure it sounds kind of silly, but it takes a little bit of pressure off, somehow- like, one less thing to worry about for a show of this scope.

I met up with the boys and we went to CBC Radio 3’s makeshift outdoor chalet they’ve got set up for the Olympics and did a short interview with Lana Gay. It was a lot of fun being outside amongst all the fans (of the Olympics, not of us). The noise and excitement of people from all over the world converging on this place got us feeling even more excited for the show.

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is incredibly beautiful, acoustically perfect, and freaking enormous, and our jaws hit the pristine floor when we walked onto that empty stage for the first time and looked out to where the audience would later be. We tried to figure out how far apart to set up our instruments from one another- we’re used to stages that force us to be in pretty tight quarters during a set, so we opted to remain close to each other and at least attempt to keep some of the intimacy that normally works for us.

After soundcheck, we went downstairs and met some of the guys from City And Colour. They’re really nice dudes, and Dallas Green graciously thanked us for coming to play the show with them (though I think he and we both knew the RAA would have accepted in a heartbeat.)

Then all there was to do was wait.

Next up: The Show! The Aftermath! The Ferry To Victoria!

Amy

means that I get to be the judge of the “male model walk” competition the Wooden Sky is having in the green room of the Pawn Shop in Edmonton right now. I’ll try to get pictures.

Amy

Paul says:

I’m pretty sure being in a touring band is a lot like being a trucker. And when you meet other people who have the same life, you bond over the common experiences that make it fun/strange/sometimes terrible. Amigo’s in Saskatoon is known among bands as a place that a) has a crazy layout (3 rows of tables in the middle of the dance floor), b) feeds bands really delicious and huge portions of mexican food right before playing (imagine getting on a treadmill after eating a giant burrito… that’s basically what it feels like…), and c) takes really good care of us (”so there’s 3 of you in the band… is 24 drink tickets enough?”). It always adds up to an awesome experience.

In exciting tour news, Gavin from the Wooden Sky had his hair lit on fire by their drummer Andrew during our after party at the Lo Pub in Winnipeg. I’d offer more details, but that’s basically the whole story. Good times.

And in sadder news, the Great Bloomers got into an accident on the way to Calgary, resulting in a solo Lowell show in Calgary, and a return trip to Saskatoon for the rest of the boys. Thankfully, everybody is fine and they’ll rejoin us tonight for our second Calgary show.

…was the first time a pair of underwear has been thrown at me on stage. They were green men’s briefs. They landed on my glockenspiel.

Amy

Last night felt like a big, public family reunion. We got to hang out with our old friends The Great Bloomers and The Wooden Sky for the first time on tour and play to a sold-out crowd in Winnipeg.

These bands we’re playing with are so good, you guys. If you don’t know of them or haven’t heard their music, you need to find them on Myspace immediately, and then go out and buy their records. Actually, why don’t I just direct you to their pages now:

www.myspace.com/greatbloomers

www.myspace.com/thewoodensky

As Paul mentioned last night, our demands for more beer were (repeatedly) met by Mike, the super cool promoter at the WECC. Pair that with a few of bottles of wine, including one nice cabernet supplied by Gavin (of The Wooden Sky), and I think it’s fair to say that we all had a really, really good time in Winnipeg. All three bands even met up after the show at our fave bar in town, Lo Pub, to cap off the night. Maybe stayed a little too late, but thanks to the free breakfast at the Marlborough (even free eggs benedict! Awesome!) we’re in good shape for the drive today.

Playing tonight in Saskatoon and looking forward to giant plates of Mexican food at Amigos…I have heard good things.

Amy

Paul says:

Last night was Thunder Bay, which, despite our worries, was an amazing show. We didn’t know what to expect from a smallish Ontario city that we’ve never played before. What we got was a warm, receptive and perfect crowd for our first show heading west.

On the way into town I saw the Sleeping Giant and pointed it out to Nils and Amy. I was pretty happy with myself for recognizing it. But then, about 5 minutes later, I saw the real Sleeping Giant… It turned out that although I’m surprisingly good at recognizing and associating similar terrain, I’m not so hot at actually telling the difference between one land-mass-that-looks-like-a-guy-lying-down and another.

Tonight is Winnipeg, and our first show with our tourmates until BC, the Wooden Sky and the Great Bloomers… Check back tomorrow to hear how it went. (sneak preview: all-band-members green room chant / protest - “more beer! more beer! more beer!” - totally worked…)

Hey everybody,

Thanks for checking in on our travels. We’re currently passing through Nakina, ON (home of the “Nakina Masquita”, so says the welcome sign) on our way to Thunder Bay for the first official show of our Road To The Olympics tour. We’ve got our throat lozenges, our crossword book, and our “WFMU: The Best Show” podcasts, and we are ready to tour Canada for the first time in 2010. Let’s do this!

First though, I’ll give you a little recap of Saturday evening, where we played as part of the Hillside Inside Festival in Guelph. We got our first taste of the Hillside spirit this past summer, when we played the regular (Hillside outside?) fest. It was a really wonderful experience, though memories of the stormy weather that weekend made us even more grateful for the warm, dark confines of the Sleeman Centre this time around.

We played relatively early on in the day on the main stage, following a beautiful set by Basia Bulat. To be honest, I was a little antsy before the show- two weeks off from touring feels like forever for us these days, and with no soundcheck time (very common for festivals), I was a bit worried the rust would show. However, we made it through our 40 minutes with no more than a few hiccups (which I won’t reveal, in hopes the crowd didn’t notice them!) and before we knew it, we were done and free to enjoy the rest of the show.

Hillside always treats bands really, really well- in the Artists’ Lounge in the mezzanine level of the Sleeman Centre, there were trays upon trays of cheese and crackers (probably my favourite thing ever), and helpful volunteers everywhere you looked, making sure everything was okay. We also got to participate in a few interviews, most of which took place in various stairwells around the arena. We got to meet a few other artists during this time, like the aforementioned Basia, SoCalled and Hawksley Workman, all of whom seemed like really cool people, and all of whom sounded fantastic on stage. Actually, all of the artists who performed on Saturday played uniformly great sets, and we were honoured to be included in such company.

And now, Monday afternoon, we’re on our own. It’s just us and our Dodge Caravan, on the road to Thunder Bay. We aren’t playing with our tourmates, Great Bloomers and the Wooden Sky, until tomorrow night’s show in Winnipeg. We’ve never played in Thunder Bay before, so I’m not sure what to expect tonight, but I’m pretty excited. It’s fun to play in front of a 100% new audience.

I’m also debuting my brand-new keyboard tonight, the KORG R3. I’ve been playing my little Casio SK-1 for my entire tenure in the RAA thus far, so this begins a new era for me. Normal-sized keys! Can I handle this???

See you soon,

Amy

P.S: Road Tip of the Day for Touring Bands: seriously, don’t text and drive, or talk on the phone while driving, or drive too long without a break if you’re tired, or anything! It’s not easy being on the road for this long, and it’s scary how close you can come to something really bad happening if you’re not as alert as you should be. Be safe out there.