i remember april

Hey hey! Thanks to everyone who rallied the 'on the road to skafest' shows with us, The Furios Soundsystem and One Drop... it's nice to see area groups hit the ska hard! Big ups to Dane of Enigmatica and the V.I.S.A. crew for all of their hard work. (PS. - If the Saltspring mafia reads this, send us your email -- we lost it! fark!)

With the university semester coming to a close, it must mean a few Kiltlifter gigs to celebrate the closing of the textbooks and the raising of the beer mugs... we'll be at the Velvet Underground (Malaspina) on Thursday, April 7th, and at the big University of Victoria grad party on Saturday, April 9th. At the grad party, we'll be playing in a big outdoor area from 9-11, then we throw on some tuxes and pretend to be grads and get deals on beer and spout stories about that time in Quantatative Methods class where Dave got his nuts caught in the pencil sharpener to colourfully-dressed girls. Yes!

Victor Rice at Skafest this year? That's pretty rad.

St. Paddy's Day Gig - Malaspina

Well, at this point, it looks like the strike action by Malaspina U-C faculty is on hold.. which means we Kiltlifters will be able to play a St. Patrick's Day show at the campus pub, the Velvet Underground! Thursday the 17th, of course. As far as I know, there isn't enough time to sell tickets, so there will be a cover charge at the door. Probably around 10 bucks or so...?? I think Sleeman's (sadly, not Guinness) is sponsoring the event, so expect a buncha prizes to go with the usual tomfoolery. And Tom Delamerey.

So yeah...see you at the VU, 9PM, this Thursday! Wear green and warm up yer liver!

next shows

Last night at the Mal Pub was cancelled...double-booking. It's ok, I can't even blow up a balloon right now, much less play and sing, so it's for the better. Save me some beer.

We are booked for St. Paddy's Day at the Mal Pub - though it looks like the Malaspina Faculty Association is going on strike. Will the pub be closed? Hard to say, as it's run by the Students Union, so it may be seperate enough to open... time will tell!

After that, we're rallying two amazing shows:

Friday March 18th - Pandora Project - Victoria - all ages w/ Los Furios, One Drop
Saturday March 19th - Sugar Nightclub - Victoria - 19+ w/ Los Furios, One Drop

We'll also be at the Queen's in Nanaimo and at a UVIC Grad Party in the second weekend of April... more info to come!

post-coma!

arrarrarr...finally, awakened from the haze... now, to comment!

Thursday: Calgary. 15 degrees!

Brew Brothers is an excellent place - some of the best food and beer from any pub! I recommend the Black Pilsner and the Steamer. (Of course I recommend the Steamer!)

My informant Matthew warned me that Calgary was not a town that supported ska... unfortunately, he was right. Our crowd, he said, was bigger than the Toasters and Chris Murray combined from last year... eek. However, a lot of old friends showed up and danced, so we salute you, and hope you liked the private concert (aka. the 'second set.') Big ups to the Plaid Tongued Devils, who rocked and were very cool guys! Best version of Miserlou!

(also, credit to the two girls who joined the entire band in the elevator and proclaimed it a 'sausage party.')

Friday: Vernon

Enjoyable drive through the Rockies. Doogie wouldn't stop taking pictures, so we beat him with a stuffed monkey.

When we got to Vernon, we did what any self-respecting band does: went shopping at Winners. Ah, fresh clothes!

Sneakers Pub was a lot of fun. After an awesome dinner at the connecting restaurant, we rallied three sets to a very appreciate audience. The (hot) waitresses wore plaid skirts and drank harder than we did! Thanks to head chef Dave for not beating up Scot.

Saturday: Sun Peaks resort.

We got there in just enough time for the band to get a few runs in. Doogie was in pain for a while until we found out his wrist-guards were on upside-down! Afterwards, we downed pitchers of Black Bear Ale and ate ribs n' pasta at the foot of the slopes under blue skies. Awesome stuff.

This show rallied hard as well -- the lifties and partiers and usual resort rabble-rousers were thirstin' for some ska, and went hard from the second set on. (Finally, my first taste of tequila this week!) A rowdy waitress kissed Doogie and tried to kidnap T-Bone; he responded by saying "fuck-a-pizza" over and over again, and refused to smile. We celebrated the last show with a bunch of 'za and Heinies in our chalet-loft-style rooms, though Tyson didn't show. In fact, I have no proof he's alive. Ah, rock 'n roll!