Wild weekend with the Weirs

This was Weirzee Weekend. Planned a year in advance with much hype and anticipation. There were a couple of bumps but in the end we didn't let them slow us down and we managed to turn it around into another van Tol-Weir success story.

Saturday the van Tol clan hit the indoor pitch for 3 games of soccer while Sue's cousin Heather popped by for a visit. By noon it was obvious that Cassie was not going to be up for the planned festivities so Twig hung back while the rest of the gang headed to Dow's Lake for some Winterlude action.




After our tour de Winterlude I took the older kids to Bruce Pit for some toboggan races. Always fun. And this time nobody got hurt which is always a bonus. Click here for a short video.



Outdoor action wrapped up it was time to dig into the famous Twigman's mammoth lasagna. Tasty.

Later that night the "adults" managed to get a second wind before slapping on the axe and hammering out some classic tunes on Guitar Hero. Nice to see I still have it after my 2 year hiatus.


Twig (Feb 2010) and Tripper (Dec 2007)

Sunday was a short day as the Twig-Sue and crew had to leave by noon. That said the kids stayed indoors and did some electronic bonding.




Update... this flu bug is still knocking off attendees of the Weirzee Weekend one by one taking out an additional two last night (one from either side). Let's hope they feel better soon and more importantly let's hope that this is the end of the nasty virus. Fingers crossed.

moe. in TO.

It's not that often that moe. crosses over the border into Canada so when we saw the tour schedule announce a Toronto date over the Thanksgiving weekend we just had to jump on it. Well technically in my case I only bought Paula's ticket that day so it more comparable to a zero gravity hop hop while Twiggy and Sue literally leap at the online ticket purchase even before packing for our moe.down 10 weekend. It just goes to show that there is no such thing as too much moe.

So less than 24 hours after arriving in Peterborough for Thanksgiving weekend, my wife and I were zooming down the road with Twig and Sue in the Jetta to see moe. at the Opera House in Toronto. Sweet. The moe. tunes were blasting and we were pumped. Not even the DVP could throw us off our game tonight.




Surprisingly we were one of the first moe.rons in the building (I think the only others waiting in line in front of us were the tapers - including the infamous BradM from Ottawa). I'm not exactly sure why the security was waving the wands at a moe. show but hey we passed through unscathed (unlike the Sue's incident with the beer can pat down at moe.down).

While waiting for the music to get under way (there was no opening act) I strolled up to the stage and snapped a pic of the evening's setlist taped to the floor in front of each mic stand. Not as impressive a song line-up as that played the previous night in Buffalo but still enough to send us home smiling.

Thanks again moe. for another great evening. Oh and how about adding an Ottawa date to your tour sometime soon?


Absent from photo, but still a moe.ron, Paula
2009-10-10 - The Opera House, TO
Set I: She Sends Me>Wind it up, Queen of Everything, Bring It Back Home>Waiting For The Punchline>Buster
Set II: Big World>Ricky Marten>Time Ed, Shoot First>Brent Black
Encore: George
Click here to listen to a boot.

Caught up in a moe.down mosh

The weekend that Twiggy and I had been waiting for all summer long has officially come and gone and I'm at a loss for words. Now I realize that it is likely just the post-festival blues talking but moe.down 8 was the closest thing to a religious experience that I've ever done did had. I can't believe that I waited this long to get on the .down but now I'm definitely hooked. And half the reason we had such a great time was thanks to the new friends we made. Thanks, eh.




On the way to Snow Ridge (Turin, NY) Twig and I came across some interesting sights. First the foggy bridge crossing over into another dimension, then a quick stop at the Ogdensburg Wal-Mart for some "make friends" goodies and Halloween favourites, then the way cool US Marines helicopter in Lowville and then the weird Ali Baba chapel in the middle of nowhere only a couple of miles from Snow Ridge. Always something to see in the great U.S. of A.




Finally arriving at moe.down at aboot 2pm, Twiggy and I scored a great patch of grass for our tent next to what turned out to be friendliest dawg gone bunch of Americans we ever did done meet. And as if that wasn't enough they just happened to LOVE Canadians. Or at least our accents and our sense of humour, eh. (yep, our "humour" has a "u" eh)

As for the music, Twig and I hit nearly every single band that passed through Snow Ridge (photos to prove it). And even though it was all about moe. I was equally as pumped to see Strangefolk and John Scofield with Medeski, Martin, and Wood. And like a good little moe.ron I did my homework and checked out most of the other bands on the venue well in advance.


Al & the Transamericans rocked live. But then again what would you expect when you combine Al with a solid like Glock (and Vinny on drums).



Ha Ha the Moose was a blast. Great music, hilarious costumes, and wonderful vibe with the audience. And yeah, that's Chuck and Rob from moe. in the photo.





Strangefolk did not let me down. I only wish that I'd found the time to check out some of their Garden of Eden festivals over the last 10 years in Burlington, VT.

The folk show was extra amazing thanks to our new friend Erik Glockler (bassist for Strangefolk) who we'd met at the top of Snow Ridge the day before. He too loved our Canadian accents and we ended up hanging out and aboot with him and his friends Ashley and Ryan for what must have bin a better part of the day. His campsite was conveniently located near one of the Main Stage gates so we stored some beer in his ice filled cooler. As a thank you Twig gave him his Toronto Maples touque -- and this bad boy is not just "any" old touque either, it's fleece and made to look just like a hockey helmet, eh. Well needless to say, Glock LOVED it and immediately decided that he was going to wear it on stage. And he did (check out the photos).



The Meat Puppets were crazy and Curt Kirkwood's guest appearance with moe. on Big World was incredible and strange all rolled into one.





Perry Farrell's Satellite Party rocked old school. Perry (formerly of Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros) really knew how to get the crowd going and his sexy sidekick certainly didn't hurt the mood any either. Sweet. Superhero, the tune from HBO's Entourage, smoked and really got the crowd rocking.



The girls from Uncle Earl nailed a hoe.down at moe.down and their version of The Weight (by the Band, another great Canadian band eh) with moe. and Zach Djanikian of The Brakes was stupendous.





MSMW were solid. A little more structured than I'd hoped for but still it was great to finally see them - and to see them on stage together was definitely a bonus.



Lotus was pure psychedelic. I've listened to a lot of Lotus boots over the years and I'd definitely love to see more of this band.

moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.
moe. What moe. can I say? 3 days, 6 sets, and 10 1/2 hours of mind blowing, face melting jamfests! Sweet. (and the 10 1/2 hours doesn't even include the 2 moe. side project bands - Al & the Transamericans and Ha Ha the Moose)

Twig and I soaked it all in from the mosh. Aboot 20 feet out, center stage. You just can't beat the energy and the vibe from this spot. The 2nd set on Saturday we scored a huge cement block to stand on just to the right of the stage (actually it was one of the anchors that held the stage up). Great for photo ops.







moe. was solid. Definitely on their game. They threw down like no other band today can. The light show was smoking and the disco ball was a trippy show as the millions of lights bounced off the crowd and the surrounding trees. The ski hill is a perfect location too. The slope assures that everybody can see the show, even over the tallest heads and the Easter Island faces and Duff beer cans.

'Nuff said. Check it all out for yourselves folks...

Slideshow of the photos here...
moe.down 8 slideshow

Download the bootlegs here...
moe. - Friday, August 31, 2007
moe. - Saturday, September 1, 2007
moe. - Sunday, September 2, 2007

Al & the Transamericans
Strangefolk
Perry Farrell's Satellite Party
The Roots
Amos Lee
State Radio
Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood
and plenty moe. to come, eh...

And if any of you fellow Canadians are thinking of coming to moe.down 9 the only advice I have to offer is to steer clear of Sketchieville and bring your Canadian flag, eh!!






Here's hoping we don't have to wait a whole year before seeing our new friends again, eh.

moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.moe.