Edwin, Ryan Malcolm and Ryan’s Mom.. and a Unicorn.

I had to work that day so I left early and headed home to wait for the one and only Courtney Klassen to come and pick me up. It only seems fitting, as the only thing he needs to bring is a briefcase with his mic and in-ears in it. I have an entire kit to bring. He should be taking the bus and lending me his car! But anyways, Courtney could not come and get me until slightly after the time we were supposed to be there for sound check. So, of course when I get in the car, the rest of the band was calling asking where we were. “We’re right around the corner. Be there in a second!” (LIE!)

As we cruise though China-town, we see the venue on the left. Courtney makes a quick turn down an alley to turn around. Yikes! For those who don’t know, The Royal Unicorn is located one block west of Main on Pender. Basically we were in the heart of hell. Like rats, people were hiding behind garbage cans with needles still in their arms. Not a red carpet entrance, but a welcome no less. As we pulled around to the front of the Unicorn, we pondered why prostitutes would move from the exciting Seymore area over to the Hastings area. Perhaps it’s the other way around, but what do we know?

We pull up and are greeted by Courtney’s brother and his friend. Familiar faces are what we needed, oh, and strong arms. “Grab some gear boys!” We had two flights of stairs to go up. I should have taken my fathers advice and played the flute. Instead, I had my drums to lug. As we entered the room we could see a frantic sound crew still getting levels and setting things up. I started to set up my drums while the rest of the band was sitting having a drink. I tried to act all cool while doing it. Sure, Edwin and Low Level Flight both had tech to do all that for them. But I was just a simple man.

After we were given a location to put our gear, I finished setting up and decided to “Mozy”. That’s a term that means to wander, but with a swagger. I went to grab a drink with my free drink ticket. Yummy Kokanee. (Sarcasm). After I quenched my thirst, I headed to the bathroom. Now, the bathroom was pretty scummy. With writing all over the walls and water on the floor and no paper towels…. BUT there was ice in the urinals. That little touch of class made me overlook the other issues. I headed back out to the main room. I saw that I knew the sound guy. Kevin!! He is a fellow drummer and great sound guy. I knew that we were in good hands.

The first band hit the stage. Splitting Adam put on a great show. Super hooks and great energy. It was great to listen to them and it was too bad that there wasn’t enough people there to appreciate them. I would love to see them at a larger venue with more people.

Now the mad rush to move gear so we can get up there. Luckily, I was using a very small kit and everyone else had a simple setup as well, we were up and running in no time. As usual, I don’t remember much of the gig other then great energy and at one point Christian was on top of a speaker doing a solo. We were solid and no major mistakes. The songs we played were Eyes Wide, Follow You, Paranoid, Machine Guns, Critical Mass, Nocturnal, One thing Scares Me. The last beat hit and we cleared the stage. I was sweating like a pig. (Something my grandpa always says!)

The techs for Low Level Flight started moving gear up to the stage, while the band was in back drink their free drinks! These guys put on a good show as well. Ryan Malcolm was on Canadian Idol 3 years ago, and to be honest he had a pretty good voice. He mentioned that he was on Canadian Idol and received a groan from the audience. He sang his heart out for the few dozen people there. The band cleared the stage.

A large kit was placed on stage, and then one guitar amp and a bass amp and then 5 guitars on a rack were placed on stage. We knew that it was going to be a good show. Edwin hits the stage and his very recognizable voice sang though his catolog of music. Consisting of a whack of I Mother Earth Songs. Being a big IME fan, I could hear that the guitarist was playing all the right parts, but didn’t have the finesse that Jag had. Great guitarist though!! During the show, Edwin thanked Ryan Malcolm and A Sheep At The Wheel. “What a great band name, if you guys had a shirt, I would wear it!” Then he slips into another one of his hits. Quickly I ran over to our merch and grabbed a T-Shit and just as he finished that song, I placed it in front of him. “Thanks man! This shirt will be worn! This shirt will be worn!!”. He held it up in front of everyone.
After his show, we caught up with him and got a quick picture when him holding the shirt. He was a very nice guy who was about to start a very long tour. Good luck Edwin…. good luck.

By this time, I had already had my gear packed up. We said goodbye, and we started dragging gear down to the car. Down stairs is much easier. Courtney and I got in the car and headed into the moonlight, uh smog.

PJ