Boarder Crossing times 5

Our first trips to both Toronto and Montreal were very pleasant. The sun was out(which from what I hear is more than whats going on back in LA), the French was flowing and we learned the hard way the Canadian Indian food wasn't the best choice before our set.

If I had to pick between the two cities it would be Toronto hands down. I'll have to blame that solely on the area we played in Montreal. The words "ghost town, alleys and depression" come to mind. There was just something off in the air and I think we'd all like to give it another chance soon. Despite the red hot sun during the day, Mother Nature did hurl some thick rain at us while trying to load into Ryan's Cousin's house to crash that night. A sleepy head on a soggy pillow case was a new experience.

The area we played at in Toronto reminded me of Downtown LA in a way. We were on a mission for some fun and after asking around for only about 10min we found it. Plesantry was in the form of a 3rd floor Apartment, kids jerkin in the streets and a caged, plastic tipped, hollowed out swisher sweet which we freed from the local 7/11. Oh and the sound guy at the venue's name was Axle and he saw Red Hot Chili Peppers play at The Viper Room in 1988. He made a very strong point to make sure each one of us knew that so I thought I'd pass that on. Ryan's Mother's Cousin's Mother had a wonderful house only about 5min away from the venue and we were able to enjoy a comfortable couch and a gourmet burger in peace.

Buffalo NY is right on the boarder being tugged between the US and Canada. It was the first really small and comfortable pub we had played on this tour and despite it's size, it felt really nice inside. We invited Blind Pilot up to jam with us on Sun Hands and I think everyone was in a great place that night. During a rough sound check we ran into a nice gentlemen by the name of Marty and his wife Susan. God bless America that people like this still exist. We had no where to stay that night until running into these two saviors. They lived about 20min east in one of the most creative houses I've seen in awhile. A breath of fresh air from the scented candles, shades of tan living rooms and flat green lawns. Marty makes a mean quiche and combined with Dave's Insanity hot sauce makes for quite the pick me up after a night of wine and great conversation. The Blind Pilot guys stayed with us as well. It was quite nice getting to knew each of them better. I remember having some great "music" dialog with Katie until like 3am, upon which we each escaped to our individual cave dwellings for some much needed rest.

Andy
Local Natives