“It’s nights like these that make it all worthwhile”. These were my parting words to a special character we met in Duncan named Longevity John, as we thanked him and went on our way. Our first interaction came a few days earlier when I called the Duncan Garage Showroom (the venue that John owns and manages) to get details about the hotel (actually, motel) we’d be staying at when we arrived. At that point, I was contemplating spending an extra night in Victoria where we had just played the night before at the Solstice Café. Long John wasn’t having any of it and by the end of our conversation, he convinced me to come to Duncan a night early, “hang out and listen to some heavy blues players” at the Duncan Garage. And I’m glad we did.

The venue itself was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A virtual hidden treasure tucked away in the back of a two-storey complex that was also home to an organic food café, a bookstore and a beauty salon. Filled with theatre-style soft seats and a vast array of trinkets and rare novelty items that Long John had collected over the years, the Duncan Garage Showroom had an essence that was instantly tangible and I knew as soon as I set foot it in the door, that we were going to have a great night there.

Long John himself was no ordinary fellow either. A tall man in his early sixties (though you’d never guess it by looking at him…the age part, that is), long gray hair kept in place by his trademark head band, always wearing a grin and sharing a story or a joke of some kind to the delight of his listeners. And then of course, there was his strange obsession with the nose flute, an item which every artist who came through would receive before leaving (still working on getting a good sound out of mine). Most apparent of all though, was his love of music; in the way he spoke about it and listened to it; in the care he took in creating and maintaining the Duncan Garage; and in all the sacrifices he has continued to make to keep the venue going and host artists from all over the world. All of it: out of his love for music.

With all that in the background, the stage was set for a special show. The plot thickened after a quick listen to the other artist on the bill, Ruth Moody. Her sultry voice and beautiful songwriting melted me instantly and by the time her set was complete, I was very inspired. In a casual exchange as Ruth and her band were coming off the stage, I invited her, Gilles (stand-up bass) and Adrian (keys) to join us for an impromptu song or two during our set. As I described at length in my last post, this experimental, spontaneous musical mindset was something that Kevin and I agreed to take on during this tour and on this night, it would be no different.

Never having heard any of the songs before, Gilles and Adrian joined us about four songs in and despite having only agreed to play one or two songs, they would stay on stage and play the rest of our set with us. Ruth also joined us at the end of our set for a new song called “Tomorrow” that we’ve been sharing with different artists we’ve met throughout the tour. As for the crowd that night, it was modest in size, but they were all ours, listening intently and contributing generously to the beautiful energy in the room from start to finish. One member of the audience even remarked after the show that “it was like witnessing a miracle” to see us playing that way, creating spontaneously and reacting to one another with no preconception of how it was going to go.

Here’s are some of the highlights of the night, including “Tomorrow” with Ruth, Gilles and Adrian, who you can hear better than you can see due to the camera angle (listening with headphones recommended).

For me, it was a magical night and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I was admittedly frustrated and a little down after a disappointing turnout at the Victoria show (yup, it happens). I was in need of a lift and perhaps a little love too. And I got even more than I could have asked for. Everything; from the hospitality of our host; to the incredible venue, to the attentive audience; to Ruth’s soothing music; to Gilles’ and Dan’s contributions to our songs; to the undeniable musical connection that was developing between Kevin and I, to the surprise visit I got from a family friend who drove an hour to see us play; all of it was like love in motion and it filled me right up.

And so, with a full heart and a smile on my face, I thanked Longevity John for having us and encouraged him to keep going and keep doing what he’s doing, much like our experience at the Duncan Garage Showroom did for me. Thanks LJ.

CA