What an unexpectedly wonderful start to my day! I had forced myself down to the dingy hotel fitness room, as I do every day, set the running machine to 6 mph, as I do every day – and bliss! I had finally achieved the promised land of “fitness”. We push ourselves every day in the belief that one day it will get easier – and here it was. I had taken the day off yesterday, so the ease with which I floated along the treadmill was evidently due to my perfectly rested body. I was in tune with the universe…
And then it slowly dawned on me. We are in Canada. Their road signs are not in miles but kilometres. Damn those French and their “systeme international d’unites”. The machine was, of course (‘Duh!’ As Punk Sanderson would say) measuring kilometres per hour. I pushed the lever to 10 kph (the equivalent of 6 mph), and the familiar pain returned. I was once again subject to the twin ravages of gravity and ageing, and swiftly descended from the heights of heaven to an all too familiar hell for the required half hour of suffering.
It was at least wonderful while it lasted.
Just as wonderful (and not subject to subsequent disillusion) was today’s Royal Package in Montreal. Each day, one of the band members joins me, and every time, there is an unexpected insight. Today Pat Mastelotto spoke about the drummer being “the emotional heartbeat of the band”. For him, the largest challenge of three drummers is therefore not the technical one of passing the notes between three people, but passing that baton in such a way that the three drummers match in intensity and emotion.
We are recording each of the events, so hopefully we may be able to share such moments with the wider world.
I have some photos of the show tonight, but need to review them – so will share these from Chicago. The one of the empty venue really needs to be a full size poster so that the artist one stage can be seen surveying the beautiful empty hall.
"The concern of the musician is music.
The concern of the professional musician is business."
