Canmore and home

I’m tapping this into the computer at Toronto airport, waiting for my connection home, having flown in from Calgary. The last few days of this trip have been amazing. On the weekend I traveled up to Canmore for the Folk festival there. Took part in various events there against the amazing backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.The highlight was my main- stage set on the Saturday night. Around 6000 folks listened to me play a fairly emotional set, with a setting sun and the glorious mountains swelling up behind. True, there was a haze over the giant structures of rock due to the raging forest fires some 100 km away, but it did not detract from what has to be one of the top five gigs of my life. Sometimes you walk on and the sound is good and everything feels right and it all flows. Those are the only things I ever really fear, it’s just a question of having the things right that are out of your personal control. This was perfect, and singing ‘Whoever It was..’ for an encore, although slightly misplaced in the sense that right then I didn’t want to be anywhere else, felt very special. I never know where to look when audiences rise out of their seats and stand applauding at the end of a gig..i just said a quite word of ‘thanks’ because it was just one of those moments. On Sunday, a good friend called Mark and I paddled down the Bow River. We put in just below the Bow falls at Banff and then canoed 15 miles through Turquoise colored water and the beautiful mountain scenery to Canmore. It was stunning, and as we swept down one stretch with Mt Rundle before us I felt like I was being summoned to some great cathedral to worship; it was quite a moment. After around three hours we approached Canmore and could hear the sound of music from the various stages at the festival. Driving back to the hotel to get changed before my next workshop, ‘Springsteen’ comes on the radio singing ‘Jungleland’..well, I just floated into the afternoon. I played a final workshop spot and quietly slipped away back to Calgary. A day off yesterday and I’m on my way home. Whether its two months or two weeks, its always good to head home. Canada has done it again though, touched me deeply and inspired. I now have to work hard to get the new album ready in the next month or so, but I feel a little more up to it than when I left home. Gotta go, there calling my flight..