Watch this show and more at SyncLive.com

After our one day off after Winnipeg, we were back on the road again. Before we took off, Shelley made us some amazing French toast and then we stopped by Sidney’s friends house who was kind enough to burn us a number of C.D.’s and equip us with a bottle of homemade wine…for those really long drives. JK. Thanks Yvan! He was also kind enough to pick me up a guitar strap to replace the shoelace I was using. Then it was Amy’s turn to drive. After about 2 and ½ hours we got to the HoJo Coffeehouse in Kenora where we were then greeted by an extremely friendly staff. I think it might be a requirement that your name has to start with the letter M in order to work there: Marlie, Melissa and Melanie. They would also end up making up about 1/3 of our audience. It was a small show, but like I always say, it’s always about the quality of the crowd, rather then the quantity. I think I had the most fun at this show so far on this tour… and I am not sure why. Perhaps it was because I always like to try my extremely new material out on smaller crowds. Or perhaps it was because everyone who was there were really enjoying, and responsive to our music. We sold C.D.’s to pretty much the entire audience, and ended up with more emails on our mailing list than actual audience members. So according to audience ratio, we did amazing!! Thanks to Kenora for the support. We look forward to playing there again. Then we were off to Thunder Bay. I was the one to start the driving. We would only arrive in Thunder Bay @ 3:00 am that morning, so we had to make sure our energy was up. We made a pit stop at Sidney’s favorite restaurant, the local A&W.

Tuesday, Nov. 2: Thunder Bay, ON.

We pulled into Thunder Bay at about 4 am this morning, and Alex, the sound guy from the Apollo was kind enough to let us in! I have to say, I am not sure of a more welcoming spot then the Apollo on the Canadian tour route and I am sure all other touring artists would agree. They always make sure there is roof over your head and food in your stomach, thanks Shiela and Tina! At 3:45 the next day I went to pay one of my favorite Campus radio music directors a visit, Jason, at CILU radio. He was a little disappointed that I didn’t bring any of my famous cookies with me this time, but he still let myself, Sidney and Amy do the Interview. We appeared on Jen’s Bent and had a lot of fun, as I did last time I was in Thunder Bay. Thanks again for the support Jen, we’ll be sure to stop by next time on our way through Thunder Bay. After the interview we headed back to the Apollo where Tina made us a marvelous meal and Sheila shared stories of all the musicians she has met over the years. Thanks to her I discovered a few new artists who are amazing. One in particular was Mason Rack from Australia. She made us sit down and watch a Youtube video on him, and let me tell you, I am sure glad she did. You should all go check him out right now. And when he is in your town, make sure you go check out a show. We also talked about some of my good friends from Edmonton, Scott Cook, Derrek Anderson… Sheila says hi!!

We had a great show that night with some awesome openers. Thanks to Les and John from the Uxmal Project; really enjoyed their tunes. John and myself have some similarity in our writing style. One song he performed, I maintain that he stole the line from me…jk. We can share John! However, I think it is defiantly fair to say that I stole Les’s dance moves. I tried…but nothing could compare. Hope we get a chance to play again soon boys!!

The next day was an early morning. Off by 10:00 and only 8 hours to Saulte Ste. Marie…

Saulte Ste. Marie:

OMG!! First of all, I would just like to say I am thankful that I even made it here. So we filled up our tank in Thunder Bay. Amy took the first shift of driving where Sidney and herself tried to scare the crap out of me with their crazy ghost stories, while I, being out-of-touch with the spiritual realm decided to share with them my gift for advertising (it’s a long and boring story…you’ll be sorry if you ask). After lunch in WAWA, I asked the Miss Sidney York if it might be a good idea to fill up. She simply replied, let’s wait and see where we are at by Marathon. Just under ½ a tank of gas, I assumed this would be fine. So placing all my trust in the wisdom of Miss Sidney York I slipped the key into the ignition and we were off again. About 4 hours later… I was getting a little nervous. We were down to 2 bars of gas on the indicator when the gaslight finally went on. Sidney reassured me this would be fine, and we would pull into the next gas station. However, we are now down to 1 bar of gas and have not yet hit a gas station. Sidney once again reassures me that this is fine, and she has often driven for quite long distances with her gaslight on. Trusting that Sidney would never put me in such a predicament as running out of Gas in the middle of nowhere, at night, in the middle of the woods with man-eating moose and who knows what else, I continued to drive along, putting the car in neutral whenever we hit a hill in order to save as much gas a possible. However, about 15 km later, there is still no gas station, and we are now down to no bars of gas. Then I started to get extremely nervous. Sidney once again reassures me that we will be fine and states that we have at least 20 km to go on empty before the car gives out. However, little did she know that our fate would be determined by a large green sign about 100 meters away in the distance. A sign that read, Saulte Ste. Marie: 28 km. Upon reading the sign, Sidney simple says, “O Crap, we’re never going to make it.” Ohh what happened to those kind words of reassurance I was hoping for? Sidney and Amy like to say I panicked, but I beg to differ. I think I handled the situation like a complete pro. I may have ranted about how ridiculous it was that there seemed to be number of residences along the road without a gas station, and simply put the car into neutral whenever we were going down a steep enough hill. And then some how by the grace of God, at the bottom of one of these hills we saw a little convenience store…which we realized, was also a gas station. Thanks to a last minute left turn by yours truly we rolled into the gas station as we all let out a cheer of excitement and relief. We then filled up and made it the rest of the way to Saulte Ste. Marie.

Before we went to our show we had a little time to kill back at the Hotel. However, we were completely distracted by our very “noisy” neighbors. They were having a really good time, and I mean a “really good” time. It was really quite distracting, Amy was unable to focus during her Yoga Meditation, and eventually gave up while I tried to maintain my focus on an exam I was writing for one of my college courses over the internet. If I get a bad grade…I know who to blame.

The show that night was a blast to play, thanks to Stephan at Lop Lops for having us again. Also, to Frank Deresti for opening. This guy is amazing, you must check out his music. We actually ended up getting a copy of an album he cut with “The Granola People”, and it must be good. Myself and Amy ended up listening to it all the way to Sudbury, and then again to North Bay. Sidney and Amy played phenomenally that night, as per usual. I feel so lucky to play with these to talented ladies. Sidney performed the song she had written for a friends wedding she was going to be singing at that Friday. It was the first time she had performed it in front of a live audience and she did it like a pro! Love the new tune! Also I would like to thank Amy for the dedication, I think the audience was left a little confused about your sexual orientation…but I felt the love!!

I would also like to give a special mention to Chris who brought the wine…and thanks for leaving your beer by accident…we will most definitely enjoy it for you!! For now, Sidney is off to the wedding for Friday and Saturday while myself and Amy head off for two shows in Sudbury in North Bay. We look forward to meeting up back in Montreal on Sunday!! It won’t be the same without you Sidney!!

Well, what can I say, things got off to a good start. Amy and Sidney pulled into town and we picked up right were we left off this summer. We ate lasagna at my ‘rents’ house and were joined by one of my mother’s long time friends, Helen. I have since claimed her as one of my fans, but that is an entirely separate story. We talked a bit about her newfound hobby of “ceramics” since she has retired. I thought I was offering some encouragement when I suggested that maybe it wasn’t just a hobby but perhaps a new career direction. Helen laughingly replied, “well, you can hardly call it a career if you don’t make any money off of it.” The three ladies across the table stopped in silence and awkwardly offered comforting smiles to each other. It was the Miss Sidney York who broke the silence with a very convincing, “Since when?” Amen sister, amen.

After the hearty meal, we drove down to Jeffrey’s where we were greeted by the always friendly and hospital staff. The patrons, family member, friends, and fans of the three “Ladies that Like to Folk” flooded in and by 8:30 we had started the show. The show was a success. A special thanks to the incredibly attentive staff, also, a special stop in from AFA’s Al Chapman was a nice surprise. I unfortunately missed him before he snuck out, but greatly appreciate that he came straight from the airport to check out the show! It was nice to see some local Edmonton musicians come out to support us as well. I don’t want to namedrop in fear I might embarrass them, but a musician or two from two of my favorite Edmonton Local Edmonton bands stopped in, you know who you are. Also, to all those new and returning spectators, thank you once again for supporting live music. Thanks for giving our music a chance.

When we returned home, Sidney and Amy were excited to see that they had matching beds that ‘momma bird” so graciously coordinated for their first sleep on tour. And for some, their first sleep as a homeless person, cough, Sidney, cough (you probably shouldn’t get used to it…I’ve got a box you can use for the rest of the tour). I have to admit I had a restless sleep that night. I had yet to pack for the tour, and was stressing about the expiry date on my passport, but I was sure it would all come together the next day…

Thursday, Oct. 29: The Ladies that Like to Folk Live from Lloydminster Alberta…. I mean Saskatchewan….

So after I realized my passport wasn’t going to expire, I managed to throw some clothes in a bag, gather my gig equipment and get ready to head off. I have to give Sidney and Amy props. While I ran around like a mad women gathering my stuff last minute they managed to fit 1 performance amp, three mic stands, 3 suitcases, 3 laptop bags, my school bag, 3 guitars, 1 large merchandise duffle bag, 1 gig bag, a cooler, bedding and Sidney’s tour mascot all in to the tour bus, a.k.a., the Honda Civic. Not to mention, they still left enough room for three healthy women.

The ride to Lloyd was pleasant. We got to catch up with each other and what was happening in each other’s careers. Sidney just recently got a gig at the Olympics, Amy was busy working on her debut album, and I, well, was thinking I was coming down with HINI in the back seat. However, I’m pretty sure it was a false alarm because I felt rejuvenated after we pulled in at the Vermillion truck stop.

Three hours later we were at Sidney’s brother and sister-in-law’s place. We heard they were getting ready to welcome their first child, and we thought the right thing to do would be to give them a little hands-on-experience before the baby actually arrives. I mean what is closer to taking care of a newborn child than Sidney, Amy, and myself? Sidney doesn’t know how to take care of herself, so lesson #1 was to feed us a nutritious meal. Lesson #2: I am literally not able to feed myself, so after dumping lasagna on the floor, and getting wine on the table, they had a good taste of what it will take to clean up after their new infant. And Lesson 3: Amy is a vegetarian, and let’s be honest babies can’t eat steak dinners for a while, so you’ll be preparing more then one dish for quite sometime…(Just kidding…thanks for the hospitality, we had a blast…and the meal was amazing. Once again, sorry for the wee bit of lasagna on the carpet, I am working on my serving skills.)

The show in Lloyd was amazing! Besides the fact, that in my rush to pack I forgot a guitar strap. However, Kaley Bird is not one to let that stop her. I have since been using a shoelace in its place. Thanks to the massive amounts of Sidney’s Family that came out to represent (Sidney made a comment that it looked like a family Christmas
dinner), as well, a special shout out to Rob and Charlotte!! I would say the show went seamlessly…. except that I stole Carmen’s (the lovely lady who booked us) purse on the way out. In my defense, it was completely accidental. It was lumped in with the rest of our stuff and I thought it was Amy’s. Carmen came running out when she realized I had taken it, and retrieved the purse. She understood that it was an accident and said there was no harm done. I wasn’t sure how understanding she would be when I later found that I had accidently grabbed her sweater as well. (Carmen’s belongings have since been returned and she has reassured me that she won’t hold it against me…. thanks Carmen!)

Friday, Oct. 30: Gig Numero 3, Ladies that Like to Folk @ The Lady of the Lake, Brandon, MB.

I started the drive from Lloyd that morning, and was ready to hit the road with a coffee and a bagel. It’s a nine-hour drive to Brandon from Lloyd, so we decided to split the driving evenly. Amy took the 2nd shift of driving and did great considering she has never driven stick before this tour! She only stalled 3 times! I would also like to give an honorable mention to the lovely Sidney York, who I swear has the most efficient bladder of all time. We stopped three times in the 9-hour drive, all three times because Amy or myself needed to use a restroom. I don’t know how it’s possible, but if the music thing doesn’t work out she could definitely be a trucker.

The show at the Lady of the Lake was a blast, as it always is. Highlights included our surprise guest and good friend of mine Scott Cook who played an incredible set between our “Ladies that Like to Folk” antics. Amy showcased her beat boxing skills, while Sidney and I shocked and awed the crowd when we unleashed our rapping skills. We are seriously thinking of switching genres to hip-hop. Maybe we’d make more money if we hopped around on stage in booty shorts while we sang. Jk. The evening was topped off by a surprise dance routine of a local dance troop. They came in dressed like Zombies and did a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Very fitting as it was the day before Halloween.

Thanks again to everyone @ Lady of the Lake for their excellent hospitality and amazing food!

Saturday, Oct. 31: Off to Winnipeg.

We got off to a little rocky start as our alarm didn’t go off in the morning and we were a little late on route to Winnipeg. Although it’s only about a 2 and a half hour drive from Brandon, we needed to be at The Mondragon by 11:30 am because we were doing an afternoon show. Something had to be sacrificed, so without adequate time to get ready, we each put on a hat, got dressed and headed to Winnipeg. After taking turns doing make-up in the car, we got to the Mondragon on time! Alex McGowan did an awesome job opening for us! We really enjoyed his tunes. And if you are in Winnipeg on Nov. 12, he is having a free show to celebrate the release of his new album. You should check it out, there’s no excuse why you shouldn’t…It’s Free!!

The show went really well. Some highlights included the bearded lady who was serving everyone, meeting the paper bag princess, and the man who came in to offer us spatulas to scrape our audience off the walls once we were finished playing. I think he was referencing something similar to when metal heads shred and “melt” people’s faces off…so perhaps this was in relation to folk performers. However, I have never heard of this before and I was mostly just confused.

Overall the show was a success!! After we finished playing our show to the very attentive crowd, filled with some new and some familiar faces, the Mondragon was kind enough to serve us an awesome meal from their entirely vegan menu. I had the twister wrap and their soup of the day (amazing) and Amy and Sidney both had the dragon bowl, I know their thoughts were the same.

We then headed back to Sidney’s friend Shelley’s place. Shelley as well as her two roommates also came to the show. Thanks Shelley, Tiffany and Jocelyn!! You’re the best. It was nice to unwind and just relax when we got back, however that didn’t last long as I had to work on some schoolwork (Arts and Cultural Management courses I am completing by correspondence). However later that night, Sidney got some exciting news, her brother and sister-in-law (whom we stayed with in Lloyd. A few days prior) were in the hospital and getting ready to give birth to their first daughter! Congratulations!

Here are the tour dates for the Ladies Who like to Folk, (in case you are against pages.)

The Ladies That Like To Folk Tour: Fall 2009/Winter 2010

Kaley Bird, Sidney York and Amy Thiessen

Wed. Oct 28: Edmonton, AB.
@ Jeffrey’s Café and Wine Bar
89640 142 St.
Time: 8:00
$10

Thurs. Oct. 29: Lloydminster, Sk.
@ Ernie’s Coffeehouse
5001 50 Ave.
Time: 7:00
$6

Friday, Oct. 30: Brandon, MB.
@ Lady of the Lake
135-B 17th Street North.
Time: 8:00

Sat. Oct. 31: Winnipeg, MB.
@ Mondragon Cafe
91 Albert St.
Time: 12:00 noon.

Monday, Nov. 2: Kenora, ON.
@The HoJo Coffeehouse
117 Main St.
Time: 6:30

Tuesday, Nov. 3: Thunder Bay, ON.
@ The Apollo
239 Red River Rd.
Time: 10:00
$5

Thursday, Nov. 5: Sault Ste. Marie, ON.
@ Lop Lop’s
651 Queesn Street E.
Time: 9:00

Fri., Nov. 6: Sudbury, ON.
@ The Townehouse
206 Elgin St.
Time: 10:00
(We are opening for Patty Cano @ her C.D. release)

Sat. Nov. 7: North Bay, ON.
@ The Urban Café
101 Worthington St. East
Time: 8:00
$7

Sun. Nov. 8: Montreal, QC.
@ O’Regan’s Irish Pub
1224 rue Bishop
8:00

Mon. Nov. 9: Ottawa, ON.
@ Avant Garde Bar
135 ½ Besserer St.
Time: 9:00 pm
$6

Tues. Nov. 10: Quebec, QC.
@L’agitee
251 rue Dorchester, (St-Roch)
Time: 10pm
$6

Wed. Nov. 11: Fredericton, NB.
@ Crumbs Café
551 King Street E.
$6

Thurs. Nov. 12: Halifax, NS.
@ Tribeca Bistro Bar
1588 Granville Street.
Time: 10 pm
$6

Sat. Nov. 14, 2009: St. John’s Newfoundland
@ The Rose and Thistle
208 Water Street.
Time: 10pm
$8

Tuesday, Nov. 17: Charlettetown, PEI.
@ Baba’s Lounge
81 University Ave
Time: 11
$6

Friday, Nov. 20: Sackville, NB
@ Joey’s Bar
16 York St.
Show: 9:00

Sat. Nov. 21: Montreal, QC
The Yellow Door
3625 Aylmer.
Time: 8:00
$8
w/ Nancy Snipper and Lisa Malachowski

Sun, Nov. 22: Montreal, QC.
Qui Des Brumes
4481 St. Denis.
Time: 9:30
W/ Athena Holmes.

Mon, Nov. 23: Peterborough, ON.
The Spill
414 George St. N.
Time: 9:00

Tuesday, Nov. 24: Toronto, ON.
The Supermarket
268 Augusta Ave.
Time: 10
w/ Colin Oliver
$8

Wed, Nov. 25: Newmarket On.
@ Orleans Jazz Lounge
17380 Yonge St.
Time: 8:30
No Cover

Thursday, Nov. 26: Windsor, ON.
@ Phog Lounge
157 University Ave. West.
Time: 9:30
w/ Jackie Robitaille
Cover: $5

Friday, Nov. 27: London, ON.
@ the Yoga Shack
154 Bruce St. Upper Level
Time: 8:00

Sunday, Nov. 29: Winnipeg, MB.
@ Le Garage Café
166 Provencher Boulevard.
Show: 9:00

Wed. Dec. 2: Lethbridge, AB.
@ Squeaky’s Pub
411 3 Ave. South
Time: 8:00

Thurs. Dec. 3: Medicine Hat, AB
@ Derailed Pub
403 North Railway St.
Time: 9:00
Free!!

Fri. Dec. 4: High River, AB.
@ The Beef’n’Brew
601-1 St. Sw.
Time: 8:30
Free!!

Sat. Dec. 5: Edmonton, AB.
@ Mikey’s Juke Joint
1901 10 Ave. SW.
Time: 9:00
$10

Wed. Jan. 13, 2010: Grande Prairie, AB.
@ Better Than Fred’s
9903 101 St.
Time: 9:00

Friday, Jan. 15, 2010: Prince George, BC.
@ Café Voltaire
1685 3rd Ave
Time: 8:00

Mon. Jan. 18, 2010: Duncan, BC
@ The Duncan Garage Showroom
201 330 Duncan St.
Time: 8:00
$6

Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010: Victoria, BC.
@ The Tudor House
533 Admirals Rd.
Time: 9:00

Friday, Jan. 22, 2010: Penticton, BC.
@ Voodoo’s
67 Nanaimo Ave. East
Time: 8:00
Cover: $6

Sun. Jan. 24, 2010: Canmore, AB.
@ The Drake Hotel
909 Railway Ave.
Time: 9:00

Mon. Jan. 25, 2010: Jasper. AB.
@ The Atha B Hotel
510 Patricia St.
Time: 10
Cover: $5

Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010: Golden, B.C.
@ Rockwater Grill And Bar
429 9th Ave. N.
Time: 8:00