alex with "heart of darkness"
ryan with "folklore of canada"
karol with "against his-story, against leviathan"
rick with "the shock doctrine"
lisa with "how to be canadian"
andrzej with "hard core road show"
(all photos by crewmember karol, except for karol, by alex.)
Lisa: Stern advice and voice of reason
Rick: aka, The Riggmeister
Karol: Currently on the run from garbagebag
Ringer: Management & oversight. Also, totally RAD
Alex: The wandering lentil pusher
Andrzej: Running commentary and perpetual death rigger
Image by Karol
Next we visit Tramway Pub 57, a small roadside oasis in Shawinigan, QC, just outside Drummondville, where, by the way, you will find another poutine shack, Le Roy Jucep, which claims to be “Plus que l’inventeur de la poutine” (more than the inventor of poutine). Why didn’t I visit Le Roy Jucep? Well, it’s simple: I didn’t know about it until now.
But no matter; the poutine at Tamway Pub 57 was, hands down, the most delightful poutine I’ve had yet on this tour. Super-fresh curds and beautiful golden fries nestled in a swamp of delicious home-style wayside gravy. Thankfully I ordered a mini; had I ordered a larger size, I wouldn’t have been able to eat fast enough to avoid having the fries turn mushy.
Also of note: at Tramway Pub 57 you’ll find an outdoor showcase of classic cars (including a replica General Lee); there’s an icecream stand next door; and it’s a great place to play a prank on your tourmates.
Andrzej fell asleep in the shady side of the patio, and the ladies at Tramway totally helped us pull a prank on him. We left him a note explaining that we decided to vote him off the tour, packed up in the van and hid the van behind a building nextdoor and waited for him to awaken, all the while video-taping him from afar. The tramway ladies claimed that they didn’t see us leave.
Hail Tramway Pub 57. Oh and… hail Satan.
- crewleader Ringer
rick documents the unicorns...
It’s Karol here, your official tour photographer checking in with another update from the road. Since I last sent you a set of pics from Montreal, we’ve travelled hundreds of kilometers and had a another pile of adventures. We tested the rig (and Andrzej’s patience) at a poutine stop near Drummondville, we setup and SLAMMED the amazing Bar L’Agitée in Quebec City, met some amazing folk musicians who rocked accordions hard, drove more, got a speeding ticket, had a Trois Pistoles beer at the foot of the church depicted on the label in Trois Pistoles, QC, and kept driving until we finally made it to Fredericton. Now, we wait to meet a Hurricane, and set up tomorrow all day at Crumbs Café for an impromptu art show and concert from 9:30am-7pm. TELL YR FRIENDS!
ryan observes practical joke victim andrzej from afar.
wendy ventricle's mom?
driving from drummondville to victo...
chevy till the death, and fuck the rest. (Belair, our man in Victo)
the softer side of terrorclown
cooking in quebec city.
quebec city shirt: a coincidence?
marking the spot.
camping outside quebec city. shot at 2am.
the cirque.
measuring cup of joe. (one of our quebec hosts)
accordion idols. (our quebec city hosts)
terrasse breakfast
kid tested. father approved.
a skid of skids.
we fought the law and...
1666
notre-dame de trois pistoles.
happy trails,
-crew photog karol.
Image by Karol
So I finally hit rock-bottom. I had poutine for breakfast. Some of my tourmates are concerned for my health. They think I should stop this gravy-laden debauchery…but I can’t; I’m hooked.
We met a guy (Belair) in Victoriaville who let us camp out in his backyard, where we cooked food over a steel drum fire and went nuts in the dark. The next morning, over dry cereal in the van, we asked him where to find the best poutine in Victoriaville. “The fucking goodest poutine,” he said, “is at the Cantine Chez Annie.” “It’s the fucking goodest, cheapest poutine!” So, with a quick, heartfelt goodbye, we packed up camp and set out for yet another sloppy poutine experience. We found the place in no time. It’s a little snack-shack on 27 Bd Arthabaska E. Cantine Annie’s is air-conditioned, service is tres friendly – and they have red and blue slush puppies.
I ordered a mini poutine. It cost me 6 bux and change. I should have ordered the baby poutine cuz, as is often the case in these parts of the poutine universe, a mini is enough to feed two people my size. At least I had leftovers (which I scarfed down in the van three hours later once we hit Quebec City). Anyway, I was a bit disappointed by this one. Though the curds were really fresh and abundant, the gravy and fries were poor. Really, I couldn’t taste the gravy because the fries, though perfectly crispy, tasted like three-week-old fryer grease. Overall, this was one of my least favourite poutines. To be fair, though – considering it was the first thing I consumed that day – less than two hours after waking up – and I washed it down with a Slush Puppie and a can of Pepsi – well, I must admit: my judgement may have been a bit impaired.
- posted crewleader Ringer
Aug 19
Image by Alex
Image by Alex
Image by Alex
Image by Alex
I must admit, it was an unexpected pleasure. Cornwall crept up on me. From wide open parks to hidden walkways that lead to authentic poutine stands, we wandered through big box store parking lots, into the old downtown and back again. A cafe on the East end welcomed us to siphon Internet for hours. Our hosts (Ryan’s brother Aaron, his wife Missy and their six children) added six more people to their household without a moment’s hesitation. We set up two shows in two perfectly odd venues. We burned bonfires high into the night and ate fresh vegetables from Aaron’s garden. I’ve left with an impression of honesty. Life for many may be tough, and the work never ends, but there is a beauty in the roughness and a pride in the people, and I for one and grateful to have had the time to notice.
- Crew member Alex.
Image by Alex
Louis Pizzaria -Image by Alex
Image by Alex
The East end -Image by Alex
The East end -Image by Alex
Adam -Image by Alex
The old downtown -Image by Alex
Wandering big box land -Image by Alex
Enjoy!
Alex. Image by Karol.
Andrzej. Pic by Karol.
Lisa. Image by Karol.
Rick. Image by Karol.
Karol. Image by Rick.
Ringer. Image by Karol.
Aug 17
ryan ringer conducts a beer tasting.
As we prepare to leave Montreal, I’m taking a minute to look back over my shots and get wistful. Montreal has brought us the best crowds, the best food, and a whole lot of love. Our show at the Centre Chat Bleu was amazing, with Aleks Bartosik joining us again for live drawing, Big Pig driving all the way from Brooklyn to slamdown with us, and Ryan Ringer doing one of his infamous beer tastings. On Sunday, we setup at Les Tam-Tams, and had an amazing time talking with people about the work and the tour. Terror Clown made an appearance and brought laughter and the opposite of laughter to children and adults alike. Also, my dear friend Shane and his partner Jolene took us in last night for an unbelievably good spread of vegan South Indian cuisine, including a vegan Saag Paneer that just about destroyed me (in a good way).
Above and Below are a selection of snaps from our short sojourn in the cité plus sexuelle.
a shot of the setup
aleks bartosik gets real.
some of the audience watches...
big pig slams down.
setup at the tam-tams.
tam-tams people (photo by ryan)
terror clown gets made up.
(thanks to myke briggs for the title inspiration.)
- crew member karol.
Aug 14
Oh, Ottawa….the city that By built…
This place occupies a special place in my heart, with all its regal majesty, culture + heritage. The sights are epic: the Rideau Canal, Parliament Hill, the Unknown Soldier, museums, consulates, the Byward Market, etc.
Speaking of the Byward Market, here’s a li’l rought snippet from our roving ventures with our Lemonaid Truck
->>>> Making friends over an ice cold one
But we didn’t come here to sight see this time (or at least it wasn’t our prime objective). No, we’re here b/c
We Made A Deal with the Devil, and until we(+he) showed up at Avante Garde Bar to install our Portage Gallery showcasing over 90 artists from around the globe, we had no idea how litteral (sic) the deal would be.
Here’s a burst of stills from outside the bar. Alex, Lisa, Andrzej + I are waiting for the owner/barkeep/+general_despot to show up. He lurches up just as Karol + Ringer pull up in our truck with the sound gear & check out the what-we-don’t-know-yet-to-take-as-a-bad-omen of a broken side-view mirror (apparently they threaded the needle and the needle lost).
Set to an excerpt from The Styrofoam Ones, whom had been touring with us since Kingston (and on thru to Cornwall), played later that night.
So we may have gotten off to a rocky start (and even midway point, where the Czar of the ‘Bar, after we all rigged the space and are in the midst of tossing a killer party, can’t even comp a glass of OJ freshly-squeezed from a bag of condensed sugar water. And I know he squeezed it between his ass cheeks but I still don’t think it was worth the $3 bucks…. I definitely think this warrants a visit from the Terror Clown on our return trip -> If only b/c I’m disappointed in myself for actually paying for it!)
And lastly, here’s another excerpt from the throwdown that night. Daiquiri. The Styrofoam Ones. Times Neue Roman. Garbageface. Self-explanatory enough.
->>>> EN GARDE, “avante garde!!!”
Oh wait! I actually did manage to squeeze in some sight-
seeing…
->>>> and almost get squeezed in by a bus!!! This is me on my flying land-canoe, tearing down Rideau from Parliament hill towards meeting up with my tour mates in Byward Market. Yes, that is a bus honking at me.
->>>>> HEYWATCHOUT!
->Crewper. Krusty
@ the avant garde bar in ottawa
The logistics of this tour can be trying at times. We’re essentially taking a very modular setup of gear to wildly varied locales and working within ever-changing time and spatial constraints. With just over a third of the tour under our belts, we’re getting used the shifting conditions and different demands.
Rig Master Rick and All Hands Andrzej have been especially instrumental in dealing with the logistics of the constant setups and tear-downs. Above and below are some snaps of the various ways that we’ve put up our show so far. Coming up in just a couple of days is a slamming banger of a party in Montreal which will once again put our setup skillz to the test.
- crew member karol.
@ blockhouse park in merrickville
an epic setup at murphy's inn in cornwall
@ lamoureux park in cornwall, sunny skies
