On the Road with Ross Nielsen and the Sufferin' Bastards - What You Need Tour Blog #2.

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Matt Carter

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It's time for another update from the road. This week: long drives, family visits, and bassist Shawn Worden learns the meaning of the phrase, "You should have thought of that before we left."

After their second week out, Ross and his band have comfortably slipped into tour-mode and are starting to settle into what will be their routine for the next six weeks. The past week saw the band continue their westward push with the following dates now just a memory.

Oct. 11 "" Thunder Bay, Ontario

Oct. 14 & 15 "" Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Oct. 16 "" Weyburn, Saskatchewan

Oct. 17 "" Medicine Hat, Alberta

"After our show in Thunder Bay, we got up and put in long-ass-drive number three of this tour," said Nielsen, adding that driving isn't the most enjoyable part of touring but can be exciting at times. "Shawn had to pee real bad at one spot and decided to speed up so he could find a place to pull over but ended up making friends with an OPP to the tune of a speeding fine instead.

"I was very confused to wake out of my back seat slumber to a police officer in the window. Shawn was not happy, but we were very impressed at how nice he was to the cop. This was a potential nightmare situation that turned out for the best."

The band had three days to get to Saskatoon and decided to divide the 1,500 km drive with a few stops along the way.

"We ended up in Winnipeg just in time to enjoy a most divine dinner at cousin Dan and Kristin's home," said Nielsen. "Every time we stop here we get one of the best meals on the tour, not to mention the fact that there is no substitute for family on the road, especially at Thanksgiving."

The following day, they made it as far as Regina and stopped for the night before finally reaching the booming metropolis of Saskatoon. The club Bubs on Broadway is the regular home base for the Saskatoon Blues Festival, but this particular week in October, it was the two night home of Ross and his bastards.

"Bud's has a long historical love affair with the blues in Canada," said Nielsen. "Many of my favourite guitarists have cut their teeth here and I was stoked to play the room. We couldn't help but liken it to a little baby version of Blues On Whyte in Edmonton. A real old school blues room full of characters (crazy people) and a band room that would make a normal person's skin crawl into their pocket."

After Saskatoon, it was on to Wheyburn and finally Medicine Hat where the band treated their host to some good old Maritime hospitality of their own.

"One of the deals we offer to folks who put us up is that we happily cook for them," said Nielsen. "Sean Davis, the manager of The Ottoman Lounge in Medicine Hat was aware of this and had loaded up the fridge with breakfast goodies for us to whip up. We nailed a classic bacon and egg Bastard breakfast complete with Mimosas. Yeah that's right, Mimosas. That's how we roll.

"After breakfast we hit the club to load out, get back on the road, and make our way to Edmonton. It was another long-ass drive but we made it safe and sound."

This week the band has the luxury of playing six straight nights at the famous Blues On Whyte in downtown Edmonton. After traveling 4,400 km from home, they're looking forward to a week's lodging in one location with no driving, no fuelling, and hopefully, no hassles. Stay tuned for more bastard action next week and remember to check out the band's Fredericton homecoming gig at the Picaroons Brewery, in Fredericton on November 28th.

For more information on Ross, check out his website at www.rossneilsen.com