Blue Rodeo in Atlanta

Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta, June 8th, 2010. Canada's Blue Rodeo plays as part of their little tour through the US. Sadly, I had to go alone, as Gudrun came down with the flu. I decided to hit Cowtipper's next door for a steakburger. I regret this now but it might be unfair to blame my stomach upset on their food.

Smith's is a great little venue. When I walked in, I couldn't believe I was going to see the band in such an intimate setting. they don't play stadiums or anything in Canada but nothing nearly this small, at least not where I have seen them. I got there late, but in time to check out the t-shirts. I met a mother and daughter there to see them for the first time. You Tube fans it seems, never seen them live. What a great place for your first Blue Rodeo concert! And I was sure only displaced Canadians like me would be there. At least one blog world friend is tuned into the event. I love the fact they have a fan base down here. I mean, they kinda are americana, as funny as that is for a band from Toronto. I know a lot of bands I hear on the radio here have the same kind of sound.

The back up band 'Cliff the Duke' was great. All young guys playing rootsy rock. The lead singer looked a little like Rivers Cuomo (?) from Weezer, but a little rougher (by design?) around the edges.

With anticipation I watched the crew set up for the BR show. I saw them tape the set list to the floor and my neighbours were stealing peeks at it. I didn't want to know so tried not to listen. A very disheveled Basil Donovan gentled pushed by me and went into the back to get ready for the show. A few minutes later the band appeared. They looked great, happy. They opened with 'Cynthia' and played many songs not normally on the rotation up in Canada. Some old favs like, "Stop Stealing the Indian Lands" and "Heart Like Mine" (first song from their first album) and a lot from Five Days in July ("Head over Heels" "Five Days in May"). Also, "Moon and Tree" and three or four from the new album ("Candice", "Don't let the darkness in your head", and I think "Never Look Back". I love hearing their new songs. They had Anne Lindsay with them playing violin and she did a fantastic solo to replace the guitar one in "Five Days in May". Greg Keelor came to the front of the stage and strummed a solo acoustic "Hasn't Hit Me Yet" while the crowd sang the first verse and chorus. Then the band kicked in and it really took off. I've seen this before up north and it was very cool to see it work here, the whole bar singing along. There were one or two Canadians in there I think. The place was full of people who love the band which made for a great vibe. Not that it isn't that way in Canada but I got the sense that the people here, like me, were really psyched to see them.

They played so well and it was so good to see them again. I loved being so close yet not crushed. As sad as it was that Gudrun couldn't be there, she would have been annoyed by all the other woman (did I say cougars?) competing for Jim Cuddy's attention.

They are a fantastic band. They joked about the barbeque they had earlier. Fat Mac's. I checked out the website, it looks good. I will have to give it a try before I leave.

Next stop for them is St. Louis. Looks like they are making their way all the way to the west coast. That is one long bus ride.

Car incidents and accidents

Today as Elise was getting out of the car at school, and as I was slightly distracted, the car next to us backed out. But the driver had some kind of coordination lapse and made contact with the open door and... kept right on going! The driver was oblivious to the door, the toddler behind it and likely anything she couldn't see out of her rear view mirror. With some wild gesticulation and coarse language, I managed to get her to stop and she got out, an odd smile on her face. I pointed out the red stripe and scratch half the length of her car left by our car door. She kind of laughed and said, "Yes, Ok" then got in her car and drove off. I think her English was weak so I don't think she got my sarcastic comments about her driving abilities.

This keeps happening here. And sometimes it is much worse. Another day not long ago. I was driving through campus and traffic was stopped due to a downed power line. A crew had just hit the scene and I was second from the front of a line of stopped cars. The small pickup stopped ahead of me was several car lengths into the work zone and started to reverse. Faster, faster, faster straight at me. Soon it was obvious she was going to hit me. I leaned on the horn and she hit the brakes, almost stopping beofre hitting my front grill. Almost, but not quite. I got out and once again brought out my trademark irritated sarcasm. Something like, "nice driving" or " way to spaz-out behind the wheel". The woman was about 60 with crazy messy hair and a soft southern voice. Why was I not surprised that she was driving a pick-up, everyone drives one here. She said, "I touched you some but there's no damage". Her car was still wedged against mine and I pointed out that she couldn't possibly know this. She said, "I'm very sensitive and I can tell these things" To add further to my irritation, she was right and only after she was on her way did I come to the conclusion that she was either drunk or high, or both.

But the cream of the crop of the ATL driving follies was the sideswipe perpetrated by the dirtbag. A tailgater who I irritated by driving progressively more slowly. I have grown out of the slam-on-the-brakes tactic, though I do miss the panic on their faces when they think they're going to hit you. Anyway, this fine citizen passed me but not before taking off my front fender in a crazy swerve toward me as he passed. I think it was unintentional but in any case he ran for it. I caught up to him at the next light but he darted down a sidestreet at about 60 miles an hour. As they say, I broke off the pursuit and reported the accident and his "tag". The officer checked but the tag turned out to be invalid so it cost me some money. I did get a trip to the Dekalb County courthouse and police station where I got to ride the elevator with some colourful individuals. "They say I got two B and Es but I ain't got but one!"

Gudrun and I are sure there will be in another accident. It is just a matter of time. The driving here is a different type of bad from Vancouver. There they are usually incompetent or aggressive, not usually both. Here they put it all together. We're bad, we're mad (and also we're proud, and loud) and we're gonna get you and your little girly Mitsubishi Lancer.

June 7, 2010

Today was a perfect day. It is now 7 pm and I was just outside. There is a sense of relief when the sun goes down and hot gives way to warm. It is now breezy and a comfortable 26 Celsius. Funny that I now think 26 C is comfortable. But it does seem like a nice Hawaiian evening. Yeah, just like that except the beach is a 4-hour drive east, or south but that one has oil all over it, or soon will.

Earlier I ran over to Piedmont Avenue and back. The sun was still up and although it was 6 pm, it was scorching. I was sweating like a human being (who has a disgusting sweat disorder) and annoyed by all the traffic. It took me longer than I thought. Irritatingly, the sidewalks along East Rock Springs keep ending and then continuing on the other side of the street. As Georgie likes to say now, "What the!" So I was on the road a lot, with the excellent Atlanta drivers. I went through 20 oz of Gatorade but was still parched. I ran past the beautiful homes. Lovely large brick houses with nice yards for under a million. Hard to believe.

I don't usually run that way but I had to go to Smith's Olde Bar to pick up tickets to Blue Rodeo, playing in concert tomorrow night. The poster outside reads: "Direct from Canada, Blue Rodeo!" It is hard to see how that will be a selling point. Hey, that band is from Canada, let's go! No, Canada is not cool in the south. Harmless, and maybe and a little silly but not cool. Oh sure, the democrats admire our health care and some Yankees who have found themselves marooned here have an almost positive view of the great white north. But, Canada is such a long way away and just sort of... irrelevant.

Now the sun is down and the fireflies have begun their nightly performance in the front yard. The girls are in bed chatting up a storm. Most nights recently, the girls and I have gone outside to watch the fireflies. From a distance they look like the end of a cigarette, glowing while someone takes a drag. They hover, slowly falling closer and closer to the grass then have a burst of energy and rise sharply. That's the moment their tails light up. It's like they have little afterburners. They are really active just before dusk until it is dark then they seem to disappear. Who knows where they go. One was in our living room recently. Weird looking thing, almost like a elongated beetle. Gudrun didn't believe it was a firefly until I took it outside. It flew around for a while until one of his compadres came by and they flashed each other. Dirty little buggers.

Today was Georgie's first day of camp and Elise's first day in her new class. It all went swimmingly, though drop-off was a nightmare. All the CDC and Emory parents were on site at 8:30, their SUVs choking the parking lot. One Cilfton mom told me once, "I won't drive a car again" and then jumped in her BMW monster. She then drove off down the road, talking (texting?) on the phone, and ran over two (o)possums and a squirrel. People like her probably are the ones responsible for all the roadkill. They can't possibly see those critters from way up there. I thought Vancouver was SUV crazy until I came here. SUVs and huge pick-up trucks. Now if the US would stop keeping the price of gas so low, these folks would really start to sweat.

My friend Jim and I headed out to Tucker after our girls were happy in class. His daughter Maya is in camp with Georgie. Tucker, Georgia is just outside the perimeter. Our destination was the Heritage Golf Club. We had no illusions about playing such a fancy course, we just wanted to use their practice facility. And god knows, we could use the practice. We had heard they have a big putting green, sand bunkers, chipping areas and a driving range. Heritage was until recently owned by NBA legend and Atlanta resident Doctor J. He had a dream to bring in all sorts of celebrities and celebrity tournaments here but that dream died when the place went bankrupt. Charles Barkley and Hank Haney did visit during the ill-fated "Haney Project" attempt to cure Barkley's yippy swing. I think the hard times on the course actually benefited us. An attendant came to ask if we needed help carrying our clubs. We told him we were just driving range scum but he still treated us well! Turns out Jim has a friend who works there and has offered to get us on for next to nothing. Well, nothing for Jim, 25 dollars for me. It might have been my questionable attire. Jim looks the part of a golfer while I look more like a greens keeper. I am Bill Murray to his Chevy Chase. Before we actually play there though, I am going to have to stock up on golf balls. There are some big lakes there and reportedly a Sawgrass-style island green.

We had a great time getting ready for our game tomorrow at East Lake. We putted on the 15-on-the-stimpmeter greens, hacked out of the bunkers and slashed many outrageously bad shots down the range. A few good ones thrown in for good measure too, most of them care of Jim. It is customer appreciation day tomorrow at our "home course" and we will be playing a free round of golf, along with about 500 other golfers. Jim and I have played there three times and my score gets worse every time. I swear I am playing better but the scorecard does not lie.

Jim gave me some photos he took of our last field trip. I am becoming increasingly aware that my time here is short and Jim has been a good friend and golfing buddy. The photos are nice shots of Maya and Georgie having lunch at Chic Fil-A, and some of Jim and his wife and girls. Chic Fil-A is basically a chicken sandwich fast food joint. It is huge here and they even sponsor the college football opening game, held in Atlanta. Our field trip was last week with Maya, Georgie, Elise and Maya's little sister Alexa. The dads and the girls. Gudrun was back in Vancouver and Jim's wife Lore was at her job at the CDC. Before lunch we explored a new park, with trails that Maya was especially keen on. Georgie was less enthused when we came upon a snake. It was either a very large garter snake or a teeny tiny pit viper. I will stick to the pit viper story, though I know they don't exist here. (They are fresh in my mind because I just read about a little Afghan boy, bitten by a pit viper, deathly ill, refused treatment by the US military... then a change of heart, a Blackhawk airlift, touch and go for a few hours in the field ICU and an eventual return to good health) There are vipers here, not the least of which is the deadly copperhead, a snake that I can't seem to stop mentioning in this blog. Note to self: take "snake whacking stick" on next walk in the woods. Maybe then I will take a page from my old favourite comic strip, "Bloom County" and in error beat the life out of a spark plug cable from a '73 Ford Pinto. Just like Opus and his buddies did.