Friday morning started out rough for the bandmates of Scenic Route to Alaska, but they didn’t let that stop them from playing a great show at the Flying Steamshovel in Rossland.
The band started Friday by wrapping up a set in Nanaimo a little before 2 a.m. and then headed to their hotel to try and sleep for a few hours before waking up at 5:15 a.m. and heading to the ferry.
“None of us really slept too much and then we made it to the ferry terminal and we were all settled ready to go and right as we parked our van they came over the loudspeaker saying the next two ferries have been cancelled due to wind,” said Trevor Mann, frontman for the band.
The band wasn’t able to board a ferry until around 10:40 a.m.
“Fortunately, it was my birthday this week and my mother had sent me some money and she said, ‘Spend it on the road, like for yourself, for things that you need to make you more comfortable.’ So I got a new pair of shoes … and I bought myself a fancy sleeping bag,” said Mann. “So for those four hours waiting at the ferry terminal, I got tucked into my new sleeping bag, which was nice. I almost caught some sleep.”
But in the course of the morning, Mann also had coffee spilled on his new white shoes, which he pointed out to the crowd a the Shovel while explaining some of the bands early morning tribulations.
Mann also explained to the Rossland News that it can be really difficult to sleep right after a show.
“Every time we get up on stage there’s definitely… We’ve played over 1,000 shows and I still get a rush of adrenaline, no matter where we’re playing, no matter how big the audience is,” he said.
The band arrived on the mainland around 1 p.m. and drove straight to Rossland, arriving around 9 p.m. when they were meant to arrive closer to 3 p.m.
Because they were late, they didn’t have time for a sound check — but they sounded great anyway.
Mann gave a shout out to Chris the sound guy for his hard work. He also gave a shout out to Daniel D’Amour, the manager at the Flying Steamshovel.
“It really was amazing. We showed up and Dan had a bunch of nice drinks and food ready for us and he’s so accommodating,” said Mann. “I feel like our experience with Rossland, in general, has just been kind people who are looking to have a good time without any fuss and without any trouble.”
The Rosslanders who packed the dance floor for Scenic Route to Alaska certainly seemed to have a good time, calling for endless encores after the band finished their initial set and asking, loudly, for the band to sing their favourite songs.
At one point, when Mann announced the next song would be “Finding My Footing” one fan called out, “It’s our favourite song.”
The song is off the new album, Tough Luck, and Mann wrote it about the 13 European shows the band played in 14 days in four different countries.
“The whole album is kind of about being on the road so much in the last year — which is what I love to do and is what we’ve been working towards for such a long time — but it’s kind of like an introspective look at that and I guess what comes along with doing that,” said Mann.
Scenic Route to Alaska played not only songs from the new album but some old fan favourites on Friday, like “Coming Back” and “Again, Again.”
Local band Giant Water Bug opened for the night with a set that started slow and sultry and eventually built into a profanity-filled frenzy.
Afterwards, frontman Brad Mackay said it was the best set Giant Water Bug had ever played.
No mean feat, but it was definitely a very clean set with strong energy behind it and a great way to open things up for Scenic Route to Alaska, who — despite their early morning woes — also played a fantastic show.
