MAJICAL CLOUDZ

August 21 – Portland – Mississippi Studios

                  The day of the 21^st was probably the most placid of the tour. I felt emotionally stable and healthy, we had a short drive, and it was a nice day outside – all things that can be unusual.

                  Mississippi Studios is a great venue. It has great acoustics and clear sound. The room itself feels warm and open. It lacks the ‘dirty rock ‘n roll’ feeling of some other clubs on the small-venue circuit. There is a bar but it is located in the other room – the venue space itself is reserved only for music. It has a balcony, and nice carpets on the floor (and on the stage). All things you don’t usually see!

                  When I was walking around outside with Matt before the show, the air felt exactly ‘room temperature’ and there was no wind. The weather was very placid. I felt content but lacking energy. People in this part of Portland seemed happy, and peaceful. Playing a show seemed strange but also so familiar that it felt inevitable.

                  We played a song, and then I asked if anyone wanted to do some push-ups, so a woman named Megan came onstage and we each did 31 pushups. We played another two songs, and then three people came onstage, two women and one man, and we all did 32. I counted out loud into the microphone as we went (the microphone was lying on the floor). This woke me up a bit, and I think it helped the audience as well. I try to involve them in what I’m feeling, and in that case I needed some exercise so we all did it.

                  The show was sort of quiet but people seemed genuinely appreciative of what we were doing. When we started “I Do Sing For You” a woman at the front audibly exclaimed her excitement, and seemed very happy throughout. I remember that moment primarily.

                  Although we thought this was going to be the last show without Neil, it would not turn out to be… the next day he tried to cross the border again, this time in the airport, and was denied. He instead flew back to Montreal, and the rest of the tour will be just Matt and myself. Very sad news but we are continuing to move forward. A few shows in California will include my friends Dylan and Nina who play as Some Ember.

RIP ‘Neil-on-Tour’: Aug. 10-Aug. 20