Fall 2003: Billy Talent tour with FreezePeach

Aug 12 Toronto - Billy Talent show at the Horseshoe. After the Warped tour wrapped in Boston, I made my way back up to Toronto with my travel buddy Drew and went to this show on my own as he wanted to go straight home. 

This is where they announced their tour with Alexisonfire in a month. I got the bright idea to come out with another edition of FreezePeach and go follow the tour via greyhound to peddle it. The singer for BT and manager for AOF were kind and/or foolish enough to let me do it.

Certain members of other bands were not so kind to a lone, nerdy and naive teenaged zine girl such as myself. I was pretty awkward and an easy target so I got walloped with some foul treatment for much of the trip. To be fair I had mostly no idea what I was doing. 

The Warped tour had a way of making me feel welcome as it was a much bigger thing with all kinds of people to interact with, also I was never fully on my own as I was on this tour.

However, the Billy Talent guys were absolutely wonderful, encouraged my ambition and even kept an eye out for me to make sure I was eating properly and carried my gear on their trailer for most of the tour. 

Even as recently as last year when they played at a festival in Brisbane, they invited me to kick around their Melbourne visit and, especially the singer, drummer and tour manager remain some of the kindest people I've encountered on the road.

Billy Talent & Alexisonfire w/Death From Above (Fall 2003):

I just dug this up from very old emails. This was a rough plan I emailed myself, I'm assuming after the first few shows (Toronto, St Catharines, Montreal, Ottawa and Sudbury). This pretty accurately describes how loose my planning was at the time. I slept on the overnight busses, in a few hostels, one women's shelter in sudbury that had no hostels and with friends, friends of friends and a few jerks, it turned out. 

When you're 18 you're invincible, right? As long as you get to the bus on time...

Tuesday, September 23rd - off

-Go back to Toronto; Bus @12:50am

-In @ 5:50am (stay with Matt/Julie/Brad/Rayna/Steve/Steph)

-Day in Toronto

-Leave for Thunder Bay; Bus @ 5pm

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Wednesday, September 24th -Thunder Bay - Show @ "Warp 9"

-Bus in @ 12:50pm

-Leave for Winnipeg; Bus @ 11:30pm

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Thursday, September 25th - Winnipeg - Show @ The "Pyramid"

-Arrive at 7:20am.

-Take 21, 22, or 11 (local bus) 

-Stay with Josh

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Friday, September 26th - off

-Day in Winnipeg

-Leave for Saskatoon; Bus @ 8pm

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Saturday, September 27th - Saskatoon - Show @ 'U of S'

-Arrive @ 5:20am

-Overnight Bus to Regina ** Catch a Ride?

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Sunday, September 28th - Regina - Show @ The "State"

-Catch a ride or leave in morning. (stay in hostel?)

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Monday, September 29th - Edmonton - Show @ 'Red's' in W. Edmonton Mall

-Leave for Edmonton; Bus @ 8am

-Arrive @ 6:20pm. Doors @ 7pm

-Stay with Greg and Jake

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Tuesday, September 30th - Calgary - Show @ 'MacEwan Hall Ballroom'

-Leave for Calgary @ 1pm or 2pm

-Leave for Kelowna @ 11:15pm (arrives @ 8:05am) or stay in hostel and leave next day @ 7:15am (arrives @ 4:25pm)

-OR, Leave for Vancouver @ 11:15pm or stay in a hostel next day

-Stay with Anna

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Oct 1 there was an AOF show in Kelowna. I remember goingt o Kelowna but I don't remember being at the show. I do remember meeting up with someone named Ryan and going to the mall for dinner.

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Thursday, October 2nd - Vancouver - Show @ 'Croation Cultural Centre'

- Leave Kelowna from hostel for bus @ 8am/8:45am (arrive @ 1:20pm/2:25pm) if not already in Van

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Friday, October 3rd - Whistler - Show @ 'Garfinkels'

- Leave Vancouver for Whistler @ 12:30pm (arrive @ 3pm)

-Stay in Hostel.

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Saturday October 4th - Leave for Ottawa next day @ 10:30pm or 1:30pm (3 days, 3 bus changes)

OR Go back to Vancouver @ 10:30 (arrive @ 1:10), 1:30 (arrive @ 4:15) or 4:30 (arrive @ 7:15) & use up pass until the 6th @ get american pass back home (to montreal) --stop in

[Note: I ended up extending my bus pass in vancouver from 21 days to 30--spent a few more days with some neat characters in Vancouver and headed home at a more leisurely pace.]