Category — Pearl Jam Canadian Tour

Well we got a mention online from them here, Whitney said she tried to get us into the article, but we got edited out… Whatever still pretty cool we get a mention.

Just wanted to let everyone know that the website for my trip is online. You can access it at: http://www.touringvan.com. I still need to add more photos and journal entries from myself and Jason, however there should be enough for you all to enjoy for now.

September 5, 2005

Driving on our way up to Edmonton with the 4 full timers (Dirk, Jason, Tak and Myself) and a new girl from Italy, Barbara. We saw Mike from Albany off last night at 5am, he was a lot of fun to have around.

Last nights show in Calgary was pretty amazing. We had row 9 seats thanks to the Tenclub. When we picked up our tickets we got to hear the band sound check. They played Red Mosquito, Breathe and Present Tense. After hearing that I knew we were in for a good show.

After picking up our tickets we then went to the pre-show party, which we arrived to late again. There were still a bunch of fans there though so it wasn’t all for not. This is were we met Barbara, as well as another girl from Italy who flew in to see the first few shows. I think it is pretty amazing that people are flying in from all over the world to Canada to see Pearl Jam. It goes to show how dedicated the Pearl Jam fan base is.

After a few beers and some dinner we made our way back to the venue. Our van which was parked right at the entrance was starting to get noticed by all the people walking by. We got into the venue after making our way through the hideous lineup. They only had a few doors open out front, which was the cause for the long line. By the time we got in and got our merch the Supersuckers (the opening band) were just finishing their set.

We got down to our seats and were happily surprised with how good they were. Some of the better seats I have had for a show. Pearl Jam opened the show with Oceans, something I didn’t expect on the prairies, but was very happy to hear. After Oceans they kicked into Last Exit to start what turned into a very long and hard first set. I was ecstatic; had great seats, there was lots of energy in the crowd, and I was super pumped and rocking out really good. Stone was really on fire, and was ripping things up. Eddie Appeared a little drunk, and was connecting with a lot of fans.

Overall the Calgary show rocked me really hard. It had an amazing setlist with songs like Whipping, Red Mosquito, Alone, Hard to Imagine, and Sleight of Hand. The crowd was very loud and energetic, which added to it.

I am really looking forward now to the rest of the prairie shows; I think we are progressively going to get better seats all the way to Thunder Bay. Well Edmonton show tonight, should be a really good crowd, Edmontonians love to rock hard, and the band is so on right now.

September 4, 2005

Just driving through the last of the Rockie Mountains. We spent the night in Glacier Mountain park; all of us in sleeping in the van. Tak and Mike slept in the reclined bucket seats, Dirk and Me on the futon and Jason on the floor in the back. It was pretty crammed but the prospects of sleeping in a tent were not very inviting. It was probably 3am when we pulled into the park and the ground was partly frozen and covered in dew. Not the type of situation you want to setup a tent in.

Today we spent touring the Rockies before heading into Calgary. In Lake Louis we parked in the bus parking section. The bus driver parked beside us asked “You know this area is only for buses right?”, I told him we were a bus, he laughed and responded “that’s not a bus, this is a bus!” and pointed to his bus. Personally I think he watches too much Crocodile Dundee.

We should be in Calgary in a couple hours, going to pickup our seats then hit the pre-show party. I am looking forward to tonight, I think we will see a very different show from the last two nights, hopefully with some energy.

September 3, 2005

Just leaving the lower mainland after a stop in Chilliwack, the town that sports Vedder Road and Vedder Canal. We couldn’t resist stopping to take a few photos. We are finally on the road now and things are beginning to fell more real. We have been to two shows already but I think since after both shows we stopped at home in Vancouver it didn’t really feel like we had started this trip yet. Regardless both shows were really excellent, the band is so full of energy and playing really well. I really believe this is going to be that defining tour.

Yesterday before the Vancouver show we picked up a guy named Joe from the bus station who had come up to Vancouver from LA. He will be joining us in Thunder Bay, but also flew up to catch the Gorge and Vancouver shows. Joe seemed like a really cool guy and I am looking forward to Thunder Bay when he will be joining our crew. He is planning to bring a guitar and uke when he meets up with us which is pretty excellent.

While we have only just started this trip we have already lost someone who was suppose to do the full tour. After waiting 3 hours for him to show up we had to leave, as we needed to make it to Calgary. I hadn’t received any contact from him since the day before and it didn’t appear like he would be coming. He did say the day before that his mother was really sick, which may have been the reason he didn’t make it out. Regardless a phone call would have been nice to let us know and not make us wait around for hours in Vancouver.

However we do have 2 guys for this leg of the tour, Dirk and Mike. Dirk is from Winnipeg and will be doing the full tour with us, while Mike from Albany, NY will be coming just to Calgary.

Today we did some new decorations to the van, I added the Alive stickman, then Jason added a maple leaf behind him. It looks really excellent, the whole van does, I love the way it is turning out. I think by the time the van gets to St. Johns it is going tot look pretty wild.

Just driving into the mountains now, feels like we are finally going. The tour has officially started for me. We stopped in Revelstoke to change drivers at like 2am. Some stoned dude came by our van and asked “Any of you guys have any rolling papers?”. We told him no. He responded “You drive a van like that and don’t have any rolling papers?”. He then ran off into the woods. It was a pretty funny encounter to say the least.

Tomorrow we cross the Rockies and probably the hardest part of the trip for the van, not to mention one of the most scenic. After some sight seeing we will then rock Calgary. It the show is anything like the Gorge or Vancouver shows with the same levels of intensity it will be a really great show. Here is hoping.