So it's Nick here again. I have returned to bring some calm to the proceedings. I had to leave the tour for a couple of days because of some job related business in Toronto. I had it figured that I could make it back for the weekend shows. Friday was supposed to be in North Bay but it never happened so I drove the six hours to Northern Quebec on the saturday to meet up with the guys for the final show of the tour. I actually met them in New Liskeard and we went to a Harvey's to eat. I had been really sick on the days I was gone and my family urged me not to come back up and play with the guys for the final show. Not being one to shirk my rock n roll duty, I packed up the aspirin and the insulin, cranked the Ramones and headed on my way. They had told me on the phone that the show didn't look promising, but Darryl had always seemed to come through for us so I was confident that it would be good. We got to the hall and the guys had everything set up, including the banner and they had made signs with "punk show" painted on them with arrows and put them on the roads to show the way to the hall. I was sure we would get some people out. We were only like 20 minutes from New Liskeard and every time we play there we always get a turnout of a couple hundred kids. Darryl's band Billy Jack were playing. When we played with them in Ottawa they had a sit in drummer so I was interested to see them with their real one.
A couple of people came by the hall to see what was going on and then left. The admission charge was by donation: whatever you could afford would get you inside. Billy Jack's drummer through $1.50 in the jar to get things started. At 9pm there was nobody there and everybody was getting discouraged. Billy Jack started playing and some kids gathered outside. We told them to come in and they did but left when the band stopped. We got ready to play. We're here so we might as well run through some songs, play some of our new ones for Darryl. The kids plus some more came back again which was okay. Maybe eight total. We got Darryl to play rhythm guitar on Giv'er which was awesome. We did Blitzkrieg Bop with Pete singing and Randy playing drums and it was mayhem with Pete spazzing out in all directions, trying to run up the walls and grab my dick screaming Blitzkrieg Cock. Yes, he is definitely a crazed frontman. We ended the set and packed up our stuff. It was kind of depressing really. The end of the road if you will. I felt bad the way the last show of the tour had turned out. We had so much fun earlier tromping through Eastern Canada, making new friends and spreading the rock that this was a let down to end this way. Hell, our donation jar for admission was empty...
We stopped at a Tim Horton's on the highway outside New Liskeard and decided that Darren and Randy would ride with me in my car back to London and Pete would take the van and all the equipment. Darren drove and I passed out in the back seat. I remember waking up at one point and looking at the speedometer. It said 160 km/hour. "Where the hell are we," I asked. "Mississauga," came the reply. Four and a half hours since leaving Tim's, and one speeding ticket later I was home.
I want to thank Pete, Darren and Randy for looking out for me and for a having a great time. I really didn't know what to expect, but I think I handled it pretty well. I had never been with the boys for an extended stay like that and it really opened my eyes. They are like my second family. Thanks to all the great people I met. It was awesome and I'll never forget it. Hopefully we'll be at it again next year. I accomplished something I always wanted to, defied the naysayers in my life, and most importantly... learned how to do my laundry. Thanks for reading,
Nick
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