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We stay overnight in a motel in Kingston and head on to Cornwall at 2 pm. This gig is being organized by a young, independent promoter named Thom. He's putting the show on at a banquet hall in Murphy's Inn. The room is very large, with a big stage, a high ceiling and its own movie screen. Thom and his girlfriend Meghan meet us at the gig and he shows us the PA he has rented. It is nowhere near big enough to fill the room, so it's lucky we arrived early. The speakers go back to the music store and Thom rents a larger system with Nash's approval. Cornwall is a small city and the residents don't have a lot of disposable income. There have been seven other concerts in town in the last six weeks, so Thom is not confident of a good turnout. Nash isn't too worried. Those other concerts were one-off performances by those bands, but Nash will return four times a year. The local newspaper is ready to help with future promotions. This whole bunch of gigs is being accomplished by keeping the overhead low, so one soft gig out of four isn't too bad. As we load into the banquet hall, Nash is informed that due to Health department rules, no dogs are allowed unless they are seeing-eye dogs. I point out to Nash that I am perfectly capable of assisting a blind person, if given the proper training, but as there aren't any blind people around, I shouldn't be penalized for having a latent skill that nobody present has any use for. The rule says that the canine must have this ability. There is no mention that the talented dog needs to be accompanied by a blind person at all times. Oh well, oblique strategies go nowhere in Cornwall so it's into the doghouse (van) for me. Nash and Ron come out frequently to take me to the open field across the road. At least there's plenty of room to romp. The gig is poorly attended but Cornwall takes on a new importance. Nash, Ron and I are staying at Thom's place for the next four days. Cornwall is a central location to both Ottawa and Montreal. We can get to these larger cities in one hour from here, and that saves a lot in hotel bills. Thom will also be joining us to sell merchandise, so that is another big addition to the team. For a person living in small-town "Cornball", Thom is very cultured,
intelligent, and into the same weird stuff Nash is. Everything from
The Residents
to The Young Ones to Italian splatter films. Thom is also an illustrator, with
a penchant for Tim Burton.
Thom connects to the outside world through his computer, and he has
many cyberpals in Ottawa and Montreal that he is looking forward to meeting
face to face.
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