Emma Ditchburn Tour Diary, Part 3

How important is tour food, anyway? The adventurous goldfish pens her final entry

By Emma Ditchburn
Published: September 27th, 2009 | 10:30pm

Read Emma Ditchburn Tour Diary, Part 1 & Part 2

Emma Ditchburn is a vocalist-guitarist for the Ontario-based septet, the Most Serene Republic. The group, known for its well-orchestrated sound, has recently released its third full-length. …And the Ever Expanding Universe (Arts & Crafts) was produced by Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Super Furry Animals) and offers delicate layers of pop mixed with electronics, strings, harmonica, and an understated appreciation of past generations.

The Most Serene Republic will be touring for six weeks in support of the album. Throughout September, Ditchburn will be updating Venus Zine on the group’s adventures around the U.S. and Canada, a burning love of sci-fi, and her escapist tendencies.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

So San Diego was amazing. Went swimming in the ocean and got knocked around by some really huge waves. I had a great day — one of the best I can remember! I felt a certain cosmic connection and huge appreciation for the travel and experience we get as we drove along the coast and breathed in the fresh sea air. Then we went out for Mexican food before the show, and I got a seriously large enchilada.

The venue we played at had a local comedian who does a set every Sunday night. He was pretty amazing and right up our alley of pun humor. Here are a couple I can remember: "What do you call a confident brother?" "Brochure," and "What do you call an underwater prostitute?" "Substitute." He took a lot of pauses between jokes and afterward asked Sean to play a game of pool. I also met a guy who writes comics, and he was kind enough to give me a copy of each of them: Bear & Fox and Kleeman & Mike. Very funny stuff, with great nerdy references and self-deprecating humor.

Yesterday we had a couple of radio performances back in L.A., which went well, and today we're in San Francisco. I'm hoping we'll have some time to walk around and explore, as it is one of my favorite cities.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

During the day yesterday we took a nice stroll along Haight in San Francisco and did a little shopping. Ryan found an awesome leather jacket. So awesome that for a moment we were worried it had transported us to an alternate universe, because when we returned to find the van, there was a crazy Mad Max car in its place.

We also met a rapper who called himself Malibu out front of Amoeba Music; he did an awesome freestyle rap with Adrian beat-boxing. In Golden Gate Park, we met a bunch of hippie kids who offered us various drugs and all seemed to have amazing dogs. There were two Timber Wolves and another one named Graham that looked like a fox. There was also one guy who had a pet rat on a string hanging out in his open guitar case.

We had an amazing show with the Lonely Forest and Grand Archives. A lovely fellow named Chris came to watch our sound check, and later on he was kind enough to bring us a bottle of California Pinot Noir. I played mama nurse to John from the Lonely Forest. He cut his finger, I bandaged him all up, and we talked about how it made both of us feel better — energy transfer!

We had to wake up super early this morning to make the drive to Portland and had an unfortunate breakfast of McDonald's (tip: Sprite with orange juice makes for a nice mimosa flavor).

Friday, September 25, 2009

Yesterday we had a great day in Seattle; went down to Pike Place Market and got some samples of chocolate pasta and really amazing apples. I was hoping to find a fresh fish sandwich, but with only four dollars in my pocket, I was limited. Ryan and I shared this crazy indulgent pastry with cream cheese custardy topping and blueberries. We also went to the first ever Starbucks, and Adrian and I got a couple shots of espresso.

Everywhere I looked, there were men carrying bouquets of flowers, and the people seemed to have a warm, welcoming look in their eyes. I was quite taken by this city, as well.

The show was a good one; we had a nice turnout, and we even had some members of Fleet Foxes in the audience, which was pretty exciting (I don't usually get fan-boyish but I found myself getting all hair-twirly just standing near Robin; he's one male voice I would cheat on Adrian's to sing with, but I was too shy to say hello).

Today we took the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia, where we're playing the Rifflandia Festival. That ferry ride is so gorgeous, like gliding through Never Never Land. It should be a great show tonight. The whole festival is sold out, and we're running into old friends from bands we've toured with. The weather is fine, and I'm finally doing laundry, so it's a good day!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Victoria was beautiful: awesome, barricaded, crazy crowd show. It was also the Day Of Great Hair Removal. I put on some Neil Young, hung my bright tights to dry, had some Okanagan Riesling, and trimmed my bangs while Nick did some huge beard trimming.

Today we're in the beautiful Van City, a.k.a. the ‘Coov, where we just indulged in an amazing sushi dinner. Wow. Warm sake, ahi tuna, tempura — as Adam put it between closed-eye, slow munching: "You can tell we are right beside a body of water." It was food-gasms all around, and under $10 each! (Sushiyama on Broadway). I tried raw female shrimp for the first time, which was shockingly delicious and creamy. I've just noticed that I've done a lot of food description in this entry, but it's safe to say that food is one of the most important things on tour. Most of the time, due to time/finances, we are limited to fast food. We are lucky to get subs, as they can at least be topped with vegetables, but it is truly a treat to enjoy regional, good food while on the road.

Seeing as this will be my last tour entry, I should probably make some closing remarks. After being on the road for nearly five years on and off, I finally feel as though I am at home in the van. Of course, there are moments of back pain, headaches, and general irritability when you barely get any alone time and are in constant barrage of strong personalities; but I feel like I've finally found that "tour chill" that the great man Charles Spearin embodies and inspired us with years ago on our first tour. It's really been the best tour we've ever had as far as band chemistry and overall positivity. It's mind-blowing that we show up in cities we've never been to, or only been to once, and there are welcoming people offering us food and beer and really appreciating our music. We are modern-day gypsies and loving every minute of it.

I know when I get home and the whirlwind is over and it's back to serving tables, this might all feel like a distant dream. But for now I am living life like a goldfish — for today.

P.S. Check out this great performance by the Grass Roots — “Live For Today”

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