In the Bhigg House

Friday, we finally got a rehearsal in -- good thing, as that was the first concert date of our tour, and we hadn't had a chance to play together in over a week!  We are nothing if not last-minute...

Sam and Susan got home from work just as we were packing up and leaving, so we were able to sneak in a bit more of a visit before we left their beautiful home and company.  Of course, they were our guests at the house concert later, so it wasn't too teary, but... still too soon to leave. :-( 

But leave we must, and we headed over to The Bhigg House, home of Dave Clement and several others! Dave and his wife Elizabeth have turned their home into a community abode, currently sharing the house with five others, as well as friends passing through and travelling musicians like ourselves. 

We unloaded our carful of gear and set up our performance space, then sat down for dinner with Dave and house-mate Dar, with Don and Dave catching up (they met several years ago on one of Don's solo tours) and the rest of us getting to know each other. 

Folks started arriving, so we got ready to play!  Dave set up a recorder in the back of the room, and will be sending us the files via DropBox when he has the chance -- so we'll try to upload some of them onto our ReverbNation site (linked to our website) when we're in high-speed land.  We played the first set, finishing with Don's classic, "Yum" -- perhaps not the best choice before the refreshment break, although it did leave us extra cake for after the show! :-)

Sam and Susan and Dave were the only people there we already knew, so we spent the break meeting and talking with new folks -- all tremendously supportive and enthusiastic, thanks so much, everyone!  The second set went quickly, with encores demanded -- actually, Sam demanded several, but we left them wanting more with just one. :-)  After the show, we learned that one of our new friends, Alan, has just started hosting house concerts himself, and invited us to come play for him the next time we're coming through.  Such a great network of people in Winnipeg!

After the audience trickled out, a handful stayed behind in the living room for a song circle / jam session. I was, surprisingly, too tired to join in, but enjoyed listening from the couch!  Dave's voice is so deep and rich, it's lovely to hear.  Sam and Susan, of course, stayed and treated us to some of their numbers, plus two visitors, Anya and her Mom -- whose name I never did catch, but who was obviously a regular at these gatherings, with a love of singing. 

Maybe it was the dark circles under my eyes or the vacant look on my face, but the party faded with one last sing-along from Dave.  Great big good-night and good-bye hugs from Susan and Sam, plus a promise we'd visit again on our return home.  We padded up to the top floor for yet another deep sleep.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning, thought "oh, come on!", and the next thing you know, Don was waking me, telling me it was after 9:00 and we'd better get going. 

More from the road shortly!

Musically, 

Alyssa