“The Four Hosers of The Apocalypse”

The sun was already on the rise, as we rolled into Edmonton at 5AM.

My brother, Chris, was behind the wheel.
I was riding shotgun.
Everyone else was asleep.

It was almost like the olden days.

Five hours earlier, Dave, Derek, Ernie and I finished our first full show in Alberta in almost 20 years.

It was the first time we were all in the same room since we’d recorded “8:30 Newfoundland”, back in May of 2008.

But it felt like a meal ago.

Earlier that day, as we drove to Calgary, true to form, we drove straight into a storm cell.
It was almost Biblical.
It seemed like “End Times” were upon us.

We laughed.

“The Four Hosers of the Apocalypse” ride again!

We hit the stage at 10PM.
Two hours later, we finished the show with a song I wrote back in 1990, called “The Rebound”.

We visited with friends for a couple hours before we started rolling north towards Edmonton.

I finally got home at 6AM.

Jenny was already up, drinking her morning coffee.

I crawled into bed.
My ears were ringing.

I didn’t fall asleep, I plummeted.

I woke up at 1PM.

Ernie stayed at our place, and when I woke up, he was already sitting in the backyard enjoying the day.

We had a coffee and talked about the show the night before.
Then we had another coffee.
Then another.

At 5PM, we made our way downtown to set up for the show at the Starlite Room.

By 6PM, people were lined up down the block.

We had a long soundcheck.
Probably 90 minutes.
Ran through some songs.
Went over some rough spots.
Nothing drastic.

It was like we’d never stopped playing.
It was like we never got off the road.

More than anything, we laughed.

Some things never change.

After soundcheck, I went out on the street and said “Hello” to everyone in line.
You’ll never know how much that means to me.

We hit the stage at 9:15PM.
Two hours and fifty-seven minutes later, we walked off the stage as the last chord from “The Rebound” rumbled on.

It was a great show.
Of the 3000 shows (give or take) that I’ve played, it was right up near or at the top.

We hung around after for a couple hours, then we packed up and went home.

Ernie and I sat up, had a couple pints of beer and talked about the show.

At 11 o’clock, Saturday morning, everyone met at my place and convoyed to St Paul for the last stop of the three show mini-tour.

The show was fun, it was nice to play on a big festival stage.

Jenny and Ruby joined us for a couple songs, and Ruby even made her debut singing lead on Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers”.

I couldn’t have been more proud.

We closed the show with “8:30 Newfoundland”.

And just like that, it was over.
We stood around and smiled at what had just happened over the previous 48 hours.

Again, we all laughed.

Life is funny, how it unfolds, isn’t it?

Crazy how time flies.
20 years.

It really felt like the ol’ Flux Capacitor was in fine working order.

Handshakes and hugs all around.

By 7PM, we were on the road, rolling towards Edmonton.

At 9:30 PM, I sat down on my couch and turned on the TV.
The Eagles documentary was on.
But by 10PM, I didn’t fall asleep…
I plummeted.

Mike Plume
June 19, 2019

p.s. Massive thanks to my brother Chris Plume for looking after everything off the stage and to Scott Franchuk for making us sound good out front.