American Tour 2024 [Columbus]
The road from Chicago to Columbus was pretty joyful. All sorts of conversations defied the cold and rainy day we had to deal with. Marcus, the band’s merch savant, was sharing creepy army stories to the great horror of Ben and Kerim, who were peacefully talking about gear, studios, and video games. Real-life stories are much more impactful than any virtual games, that’s for sure. Felix was quietly reading while listening to music and letting us know what he liked discovering about America. Miss Isabel was doing accounting (which in many ways is scarier than Marcus’ stories), Stephanie was editing pictures and taking scenes from the road, Moose was looking at the scenery trying to survive Sef’s unsolicited non-stop conversational babbling about all and nothing, and Jeff was following up on business emails while making sure YB doesn’t drive us all back to the west coast for some odd reasons. As for me, I was slowly starting to muse about the concert’s spirit for the evening ahead. Another city is never just another city for me; it always brings me back to what we can specifically commune with the people rather than try to determine how I could potentially make a favorable impression to a brand new audience. I couldn’t care less about self-loathed type of promotion if it’s to provide a sterile and soulless display of forgettable entertainment. What’s the point of even touring in the first place anyway, right?
Furthermore, we were all eager to meet some friends we hadn’t seen in ages, almost 10 years ago for some of them. Man, do I feel like “uncle Alex” all of a sudden! Even though it’s touching when fans, who became friends, tell us that they met their loved one at one of our concerts, through one of our online communities, or via our fan club and now have kids of their own. Yes, it looks like time passed me by a long time ago, after all! It’s quite beautiful when you think about it, though: from half decent musicians misfits who started making noise in the outskirts of Montreal to the — still half decent — noisy band touring the world one community at the time. It’s nothing short of a major accomplishment for us (or a miracle, some might say). One thing for sure is that we are proud that our resilient friendship and cultivated love for each other inspired so many others to give life to dreams and visions of their own. It was the whole point from the get-go.
We were all pretty quiet in the green room after our soundcheck, which usually means we’re highly focused and getting locked in. Jeff talked about the city of Columbus and how dynamically alive and creative it was. Little did we know that we were about to experience that inspiring passion. The second we set foot on stage, we could feel an uplifting level of energy being expressed by the people who were not only disposed and willing but engaged and determined. It defined that immediate connection into a contagious display of shouts, dancing, and loud expressive spontaneity. We were a real congregation of one. It was particularly touching to witness so much life, color, and light brightly glowing before us throughout the whole evening. Truly moving.
That being said, what’s even more moving for me remains the enthusiastic expression of mutual affection we offered each other once we gathered at the merch table after the incredible musical and emotional event we had shared for a moment that felt suspended in time. Those communal happenings are priceless, and tonight was especially significant. We hugged and laughed and felt at peace and comfortable. It was beautiful to see old friends meeting new ones. What a blessing it was for me to see everyone welcoming each other and sharing stories of life. I even met another Foster, with whom I’ll look into our ancestry records to find out possible common heritage roots. I received a “good health protection” bracelet by a super sweet lady who, along with her husband, was so generously supportive and empowering with us all. The guys had plenty of additional heartfelt conversations with people while they were handing out flyers after the show, all of which we were happy to convey with the others in the van on our way to the hotel. What an evening!!!
Furthermore, we were all eager to meet some friends we hadn’t seen in ages, almost 10 years ago for some of them. Man, do I feel like “uncle Alex” all of a sudden! Even though it’s touching when fans, who became friends, tell us that they met their loved one at one of our concerts, through one of our online communities, or via our fan club and now have kids of their own. Yes, it looks like time passed me by a long time ago, after all! It’s quite beautiful when you think about it, though: from half decent musicians misfits who started making noise in the outskirts of Montreal to the — still half decent — noisy band touring the world one community at the time. It’s nothing short of a major accomplishment for us (or a miracle, some might say). One thing for sure is that we are proud that our resilient friendship and cultivated love for each other inspired so many others to give life to dreams and visions of their own. It was the whole point from the get-go.
We were all pretty quiet in the green room after our soundcheck, which usually means we’re highly focused and getting locked in. Jeff talked about the city of Columbus and how dynamically alive and creative it was. Little did we know that we were about to experience that inspiring passion. The second we set foot on stage, we could feel an uplifting level of energy being expressed by the people who were not only disposed and willing but engaged and determined. It defined that immediate connection into a contagious display of shouts, dancing, and loud expressive spontaneity. We were a real congregation of one. It was particularly touching to witness so much life, color, and light brightly glowing before us throughout the whole evening. Truly moving.
That being said, what’s even more moving for me remains the enthusiastic expression of mutual affection we offered each other once we gathered at the merch table after the incredible musical and emotional event we had shared for a moment that felt suspended in time. Those communal happenings are priceless, and tonight was especially significant. We hugged and laughed and felt at peace and comfortable. It was beautiful to see old friends meeting new ones. What a blessing it was for me to see everyone welcoming each other and sharing stories of life. I even met another Foster, with whom I’ll look into our ancestry records to find out possible common heritage roots. I received a “good health protection” bracelet by a super sweet lady who, along with her husband, was so generously supportive and empowering with us all. The guys had plenty of additional heartfelt conversations with people while they were handing out flyers after the show, all of which we were happy to convey with the others in the van on our way to the hotel. What an evening!!!
Van call at 8am. In other words, a potential 5 hours of sleep before breakfast… Ouch! Direction: Washington, D.C.!!!
Funny anecdote: living in a van can be interestingly entertaining, and most of the funniest moments of nonsense usually feature Sef. But this time, after lecturing me about being careful when I distribute food plates around, Miss Isabel dropped a big sandwich with mayo and mustard all over Ben and Kerim, who are sitting in front of us. Nobody wanted to laugh too loud, but it was hilarious, considering that the guys didn’t see it coming at all! Poor guys, there’s nothing worse than having food dropped on you with so much generosity… I think Ben is still trying to clean his clothes and seat 24 hours later! In many ways, Miss Isabel was right when she told me to be careful; a sandwich can start flying around freely pretty quickly!
Funny anecdote: living in a van can be interestingly entertaining, and most of the funniest moments of nonsense usually feature Sef. But this time, after lecturing me about being careful when I distribute food plates around, Miss Isabel dropped a big sandwich with mayo and mustard all over Ben and Kerim, who are sitting in front of us. Nobody wanted to laugh too loud, but it was hilarious, considering that the guys didn’t see it coming at all! Poor guys, there’s nothing worse than having food dropped on you with so much generosity… I think Ben is still trying to clean his clothes and seat 24 hours later! In many ways, Miss Isabel was right when she told me to be careful; a sandwich can start flying around freely pretty quickly!
