13 May 2007
Wonder Ballroom, Portand
Seattle, Vancouver, Portland? You're thinking, 'what kind of crazy route is that?'
There is something inherently funny about the word 'ballroom'.
The truth is that as I write this, I am flying high high like a bird in the sky, on my way home. I've got time to kill, and you've got nowhere to be.
The tour is over now. Reckon it was my tenth tour of the USA. I feel like I'm getting to know it pretty well now.
Portland was a nice way to end. It was an early show, to give us time to drive back to Canada in time to get our flight. The Wonder Ballroom was originally a church hall, so the gig had a School Disco feel, especially as you can see daylight peeping through the edges of the curtains.
It was another one of those shows which went a bit stupid. When I left school, the headmaster's comment on my report card was "A sense of humour is a valuable thing, but should only be used at the appropriate time".
I like to think that when a roomful of people have paid to see you, you have a right to entertain them in any way you see fit. Sometimes the songs do all the work; sometimes it's very intense. Other times it's the pretend fights and spontaneous shitfunk jams that seem like a good idea. It's an amazing feeling to pick an audience up and take them with you somewhere, whether that's laughing or crying or hair-prickling. But they have to want to go. It's always half you and half them. That's why it's different every time.
So thankyou, Portland, and thanks to everyone who came out to see us. It would have been much less interesting without you.
Jim: In summation:
Overall an exquisite seductive appeal on the nose transformed into a glossy
complex brute in the glass. The undeniable pedigree of terroir always
dominated the experience though on occasion ripeness levels overcame the
elegance of breeding and led to an almost outlandish, crude fruitiness.
Pure theatre, bravo! My expectation is that this will continue to mature
over the next decade and could rival '82 as the outstanding vintage of our
generation.