Slice of Lethbridge, AB

I'm up as early as the maids banging doors in the hotel here. "Do not Disturb" means "bang the surrounding doors as hard as possible." Now looking for lost spirts in this forlorn room, room of the California king, room of holes in the wall, room of the blasting heater and dripping shower.

It is really, really cold here. Still about -30 C as I load the car, try to make it warm, try to get organized to get out of town. I've got the guitars in the cab with me now so they won't freeze. All my water bottles are just hard chunks of ice. I find a Tim's on the Trail south— they call the highways Trails here– McCloud Trail, and so on. Gassed up, I'm tooling out onto the open road. It's usually a pretty nice drive out of Calgary to Lethbridge. Today it is mostly clear, but there are patches of snow covered highway and some areas where black ice has formed.

Here's the classic view coming into Lethbridge. The Bridge! It's a college town with more than a touch of cowboy lingering, a dash of roughneck, a little bit of cool. I've played here four or five times before, and I've always enjoyed my visits. Good coffee, good pawn, good folks.

The venue. The Slice. A really great music club run by a couple of brothers. Great music. Great sound. Great food. A nice friendly space. This would be my fave Canadian pizza stop.

Yeah, and here's dinner. They take good care of me at the Slice, and I appreciate it.

Showtime soon enough. It is wickedly cold out, and the wind is rising, great sheets of snow slamming across the street into the building fronts. People are coming in slowly. These are mostly fans I've seen before. I'm really grateful for this kind of support. I move about the room saying hellos. It's usually a late starting show here, so I lurk at the bar with a glass of wine and make conversation.

Can't wait another minute. It's a small but appreciative crowd, and I enjoy playing to them. Here's a review of the show! http://www.labeat.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1065:doc-maclean-brings-the-blues-back-to-the-basics&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

I don't know how long these links actually last, but it is current as of 3 Dec 2010.

It's 1:AM and I'm packing out to the big Lincoln. There's quite a storm raging out here now. The streets are deserted and the winds howling, snow drifting and swirling. It feels maybe a little warmer, anyway. Due to a little communications problem I've got an 800 km drive to my next show. Normally this does not present any significant problem for me. But in the moment, this is bad. I decide I had better try to make Calgary or Red Deer now, to break up the drive, and to insure that I get to the show in Hinton on time.

By the time I leave Lethbridge the big car is being buffeted about by the winds. These highways are empty but for me and this storm. I'm a little apprehensive as I get into white out, zero visibility conditions. Should I turn back? How? Stop? Where? I resolve to make Fort McLeod. It's another 30 or 40 km down this road. I can stop there if I need to. I'm already regretting the half empty tank of gas– there were no stations open as I headed out. It's a slow journey. Occasionally it clears, and the wind sweeps the road open ahead of me. I snap the high beams and pick up the glint of reflective markers ahead, a broken line here, solid there. Keep her pointed in the right direction. Slow and steady. Mind the ditches! No sliding! I'm tearing along at about 25 or 30 km per hour.

Fort McLeod's gas station appears out of the night like a beacon, and I head for it. All but one of the pumps are frozen. And it's slow. The attendant gives me a coffee when I finally get the tank full and get back inside. The wind is still howling, but it seems a little clearer. I elect to push on for Calgary. I won't actually get there until 6:AM. It will be a 16 hour drive to Hinton, but I'm there on time for the show! Crazy business, eh?