motherfucking Toronto.
Well. That was a bit of a wreck.
I suppose I should have seen it coming. There had been slight problems from the very beginning. Getting money up front to cover travel expenses was more of an ordeal than it needed to be, but it finally got done. I thought things were taking a turn for the better when I worked out a plan to catch a ride down with m3lang3... which enabled me to bring more records than usual - and have enough room to bring a cooler of Quebec microbrews so share and trade with friends who don't have quality deps where they can buy the stuff... as soon as we showed up at the venue however... there were issues.
First off, the promoters apparently didn't learn that I'd be using vinyl until just before I arrived - and there was uncertainty about whether they'd have cartridges for me to even be able to play. I got someone to ask where I could stash the beer - and was told that it would be safe in the booth - so we tucked it out of sight and waited for the needles to show up. Finally got the carts shortly before the doors opened, and I balanced the tonearms and did a quick soundcheck, during which I noticed feedback if the levels creeped up beyond a certain point. Oh well, I've dealt with worse.
Little did I know.
The first obstacle to arise was the fact that the mixer was picking up the second turntable in mono. The sound guy went to work on that a few records in, and knocked the ground-wire loose... mono+ground-wire hum... fun. It as frustrating to the point that I took off the headphones and was ready to say fuck it and pack things up... but the bad ground was cleared up and it became manageable, but still far from ideal. I perservered... got through it... can't say I really enjoyed myself. Whatever. People seemed to like it - although a few folks who have seen me play could tell there had been a lot of problems.
Whatever. Bad sets, good sets... they all end. I'm just glad no one recorded it.
Towards the end of the night I was talking to some old Winnipeg people outside the club. We had some mutual friends and it was pretty entertaining conversation. Suddenly some kid who was leaving the club turned and glared at me. I think he thought part of the conversation we were having was directed at him. He put his hand in his pocket and half-assedly tossed a penny at me. I was like "What the fuck is this shit!? You're throwing pennies at me?!" Suddenly he's in his pocket again and before I can react he's whipped a handful of change at me. I got hit in the mouth with a quarter, which took a nasty chip out of my front tooth. Everybody around seems a bit shocked by what's happening. I take a step towards him and he throws this pussy sort of open-palm slap/punch thing with his right. I side-stepped him, shot my left shoulder into his right armpit and grabbed his left arm with my right hand... then lifted him off the ground and slammed him on the concrete. He started to turtle up, and I stepped over him and took full-mount. Three or four people stepped in to break it up, and I distinctly remember calling him a "little ginger bitch" as he walked away.
No one quite seemed aware of what happened at first. I couple of people saw that he'd thrown something at me, but obviously no one saw that it had chipped my tooth until he was already taking off. I wasn't about to go running after him to start shit. It's one thing to take someone down when they're the aggressor, but I'm really not the type to be picking fights. It was around this time that I noticed the watch my dad sent me from Winnipeg - pretty much the only actual present I got this year - was destroyed. I guess it got smashed when I was taking the kid down. I hope his ribs hurt this morning... and I stand by my little ginger bitch comment. Apparently he's a crack head. Go figure.
The shenanigans continued when the beer that I'd brought down from Montreal suddenly became an issue the owner of the bar, after the night was over and we were all outside... then the altercation came into the conversation I was having with her - and the bouncer came over and suddenly I'm getting grilled by two people about bringing alcohol into the club without permission and not letting club security handle the conflict - that they hadn't even been around to see.
Everything was turning into a debacle. Thankfully we got out of there a few minutes later... shit... It's been three years since I've played in Toronto... It seemed like a long time last week - I don't think it was nearly long enough.
I've got some good friends here - but seriously - fuck this place.