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July 21, 2009 - Elora, ON Well hello everyone. It's been a long time. I sure missed you folks! I was surprised a while back when I got a call from Natalie that she wanted her old band back for one gig in Ontario. Of course I jumped at the chance to work with her again as well as the incredibly talented musicians in her band. Not too mention that when I found out the gig was in Elora, ON at the Quarry I couldn't resist. So for those of you who don't know about the Elora Quarry, well it was just that, a quarry. Years ago it was abandoned after they got out what they needed to get out. This left a huge hole in the ground that had filled up with water. So I guess one day someone was sitting on the edge and thought "hey this would be a great live venue!" So they put a floating stage in the middle and some bleachers around the edge and presto a new venue was born (well I'm sure it was quite a bit harder than that!). Now I played this very venue about 10 years ago with another act and it has stuck in my mind ever since (not too mention I went for a swim in the quarry between sound check and the show!). Well the show itself was wonderful to say the least. The view we had from the stage was pretty amazing. We started when the sun was still up and we were able to see the people all around the edge. I think the closest person was probably 200 feet away! Poor Natalie was telling jokes left and right but the people were so far away it was hard to hear if they were laughing or not. I thought Natalie was going to get a complex thinking that her jokes weren't that good. But if you listened very hard you could hear a few chuckles!! Okay getting to the show itself, well all I can say it was magical. Do you know it was 7 months to the day that we were all on stage together! Other than a few "grey matter" moments (mainly on my part) it felt like we had never stopped playing. Natalie was |
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having a ball having her boys back and she was on fire. Everyone played great (considering we were standing on a floating stage with 30 feet of water underneath us!) and the laughs and smiles were plenty. Before we all knew it the show was over and we were back on the boat heading to shore. The stage even looked more incredible in the dark! After getting our fill of pizza we all checked into the hotel and then went out to continue our catching up on what everyone is doing. Still more laughs and some sadness that it was all over way too soon. However I can't think of a better place where we could have all gotten together for this magical night. Elora is a beautiful town that should be experienced. The Elora Mill Inn, where we stayed, is a real gem of a hotel. Great history in this place and never a shortage of things to do or look at. Well what can I say. I can't thank Natalie enough for doing this special show. To be back on stage with all my musical "brothers" (and sister) is something that I'll always treasure. To Mac, Matt, JD, and Nathaniel, your musicianship is second to none and your friendship is even greater. Thanks to Doug McKendrick for babysitting us and making everything go so smoothly. He's an unsung hero who makes everything work so we can have all the fun. Not sure if we'll be back playing together or not but I hope so. Natalie is doing different configurations for most of her shows but she'll be consistently using Mac and Nathaniel for most of the shows. If you are ever near where she is playing do yourself a huge favor and check out the show. You'll be hard pressed to see a better group of musicians. Thanks again folks for reading my ramblings. I always take pleasure in writing these road stories and love the comments that come back. Take care of yourselves and all the best. See you down the road. ~ Shane ...............................................................................................................................
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