A Narrow Escape From Death and Other Trivialities
I am still not used to the time change. In fact, I didn't notice it until I got up this afternoon, when my clock read 12:45 MST, and I was in CST. I got up, showered and went downstairs to the bar to see if I could find some breakfast. I was offered a beer instead. I gracefully declined, and ended up in the adjoining restaurant. Dave walked in while I was finishing my meal, and shortly thereafter, I was working.
It was damn cold and windy in Neepawa this afternoon. Dave and I moved in all the equipment, and started assembling the PA. It happened to be that Dave forgot some cables in the trailer, and sent me outside to retrieve them. In hindsight, he should have went out to get them instead. The wind was howling, it was bitterly cold, and the case was so heavy that I had trouble lifting it back into the trailer (copper wire is not light). I climbed into the trailer. While I was lugging the brute into the front end of the trailer, a huge gust of wind came, and blew closed the door. With a pile of other equipment sitting at the opposite end of the trailer, the trailer tipped along the axle, and the door was effectively pinned shut against the asphalt. It was pitch black inside, and I was trapped. My mind started racing, and I began to think that Dave & Arleen wouldn't discover my whereabouts until Saturday evening, a decaying body trapped in their own trailer. After a few moments, I managed to tip the trailer in the opposite direction and free myself. I was not happy about the situation, to say the least.
The events of the rest of the day were not too eventful, so I will fast-forward to the moment we hit the stage at 9:30. The place was deserted, but not for terribly long.
Even though the rooms in this hotel are acceptable, the bar is in rough shape. It is difficult to describe this place, but there is a lot of concrete visible, including much of the floor. The Men's room is lit only by blacklights -- contrary to the rest of the bar. It might be more fun to party in there rather than the rest of the bar.
The first set was relatively boring. By the second set, the clientele in the bar quadrupled, and they were very enthusiastic about our performance. By the second set, the band was playing very well, almost like we hadn't taken a few days off. The owner of the bar approached us and spoke to us for some time during one of our breaks. I was making friends with a few other bar patrons, so I didn't get to hear much of the conversation, but I did manage to catch the owner tell Dave & Arleen "Every time I hear you guys, you keep getting better and better"! I figured that was quite a compliment, since the last time this gentleman heard the band was when Dave & Arleen performed on the main stage at Minnedosa's Classic Rock Weekend last summer. If we continue playing like we have been, it is likely that we will be playing at Minnedosa on the August Long Weekend again this year.
We played our final set of the evening, and although we did not get an encore, we were well-received. We turned off our equipment and relaxed. Dave & Arleen went upstairs to watch a movie; I stayed in the bar to finish my drink. I soon found myself sitting with a few people who really enjoyed our music, and it ended up that they bought me beers. "Malcolm" (one of the guys I met) was a kind, laid-back person who ended up living in one of the hotel rooms down the hall from me. The bar closed, and Malcolm bought some off-sales, and we continued drinking in my hotel room. Some girls showed up, but it soon apparently became clear what they wanted to do for the rest of the evening - get high. I asked them to not commit such acts in my room, and they were respectful of my request. They left, smoked some dope, and returned for a few minutes. By this time, I had lost my second wind, and I decided to go to sleep. They kindly left to find some other excitement in this small town. Apparently, they all work at this hotel, so I expect I may see them again in the upcoming days.
So as I was in my room, getting ready for sleep when I hear some racket from the staff downstairs. For some unknown reason, I decided to see what was happening. It turned out I met the bar manager "Donald". He didn't look a day over 25, and he was a very kind to me. I spoke with him for about ten minutes. He claimed that tomorrow night was going to be crazy at the bar. He seemed to take a liking to me as he suggested that we would end up drinking until 6:00 in the morning tomorrow. This sounded like a good idea at the time, though I do not like being hung over. Amidst my current drunkenness, I an wondering how I am going to feel in the morning. I really don't want to feel pain tomorrow.
It was damn cold and windy in Neepawa this afternoon. Dave and I moved in all the equipment, and started assembling the PA. It happened to be that Dave forgot some cables in the trailer, and sent me outside to retrieve them. In hindsight, he should have went out to get them instead. The wind was howling, it was bitterly cold, and the case was so heavy that I had trouble lifting it back into the trailer (copper wire is not light). I climbed into the trailer. While I was lugging the brute into the front end of the trailer, a huge gust of wind came, and blew closed the door. With a pile of other equipment sitting at the opposite end of the trailer, the trailer tipped along the axle, and the door was effectively pinned shut against the asphalt. It was pitch black inside, and I was trapped. My mind started racing, and I began to think that Dave & Arleen wouldn't discover my whereabouts until Saturday evening, a decaying body trapped in their own trailer. After a few moments, I managed to tip the trailer in the opposite direction and free myself. I was not happy about the situation, to say the least.
The events of the rest of the day were not too eventful, so I will fast-forward to the moment we hit the stage at 9:30. The place was deserted, but not for terribly long.
Even though the rooms in this hotel are acceptable, the bar is in rough shape. It is difficult to describe this place, but there is a lot of concrete visible, including much of the floor. The Men's room is lit only by blacklights -- contrary to the rest of the bar. It might be more fun to party in there rather than the rest of the bar.
The first set was relatively boring. By the second set, the clientele in the bar quadrupled, and they were very enthusiastic about our performance. By the second set, the band was playing very well, almost like we hadn't taken a few days off. The owner of the bar approached us and spoke to us for some time during one of our breaks. I was making friends with a few other bar patrons, so I didn't get to hear much of the conversation, but I did manage to catch the owner tell Dave & Arleen "Every time I hear you guys, you keep getting better and better"! I figured that was quite a compliment, since the last time this gentleman heard the band was when Dave & Arleen performed on the main stage at Minnedosa's Classic Rock Weekend last summer. If we continue playing like we have been, it is likely that we will be playing at Minnedosa on the August Long Weekend again this year.
We played our final set of the evening, and although we did not get an encore, we were well-received. We turned off our equipment and relaxed. Dave & Arleen went upstairs to watch a movie; I stayed in the bar to finish my drink. I soon found myself sitting with a few people who really enjoyed our music, and it ended up that they bought me beers. "Malcolm" (one of the guys I met) was a kind, laid-back person who ended up living in one of the hotel rooms down the hall from me. The bar closed, and Malcolm bought some off-sales, and we continued drinking in my hotel room. Some girls showed up, but it soon apparently became clear what they wanted to do for the rest of the evening - get high. I asked them to not commit such acts in my room, and they were respectful of my request. They left, smoked some dope, and returned for a few minutes. By this time, I had lost my second wind, and I decided to go to sleep. They kindly left to find some other excitement in this small town. Apparently, they all work at this hotel, so I expect I may see them again in the upcoming days.
So as I was in my room, getting ready for sleep when I hear some racket from the staff downstairs. For some unknown reason, I decided to see what was happening. It turned out I met the bar manager "Donald". He didn't look a day over 25, and he was a very kind to me. I spoke with him for about ten minutes. He claimed that tomorrow night was going to be crazy at the bar. He seemed to take a liking to me as he suggested that we would end up drinking until 6:00 in the morning tomorrow. This sounded like a good idea at the time, though I do not like being hung over. Amidst my current drunkenness, I an wondering how I am going to feel in the morning. I really don't want to feel pain tomorrow.
posted by MC at 22:03
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