Banff, Calgary and Cochrane

Banff, though a tourist magnet, is just sublime. To come here and actually be paid for doing so causes me to pinch myself. The Banff centre is a superb facility for the arts and I have loved each of the three times I have now played there. The setting takes your breath away on a 360 degrees angle, you cant fail to be impressed wherever you look. The Bow River that I canoed on in the summer is now walkable. Kurt Bagnell, who runs the place, is a star; enough said.Great to play again in Calgary. I have played a lot of shows here in the past few years and I realise that I’m probably not going to be through again for a year or so. I performed at most of the major festivals in Canada last year and have to concentrate on the States this summer. I will miss Her though, and leave a chunk of my heart here to pick up next time. The gig was in the Macewan Hall in the University with a PA system big enough for me to sound like U2..cool! My good friend Sam Matorana from West Jet flew in with Kim to surprise me, which indeed he did. Chris opened the door of the car for me out the hotel and I get in totally unaware of Sam and Kim hiding in the seats behind. They got me hook line and whatever! Tonight I played the delightful town of Cochrane. The gig was in a Ranchhouse opposite the Southern Baptist Seminary. I wonder what Northern Baptists are like? In the morning will fly to Winnipeg to play there tomorrow night. We are hurtling towards the end of this tour.