Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Saturday September 10, 2022 - Windsor, ON

Road Blog
September 10, 2022
Windsor, Ontario

Saturday morning hit pretty hard after a late night In Montréal, and we were on the road by 10am with a daunting 9-10 hour drive in front of us. Gabriel took the first shift, though an OnRoute coffee stop that turned into a diet Coke stop as the line at Tim Horton’s was a mile long and there were no other coffee options. C’mon Canada. We filled up the tank and I took over somewhere between Kingston and Toronto. We listened to St. Vincent, The Porcelain Boys, Thundermother, Iron Maiden, IDLES, and more under our third day of beautiful blue Canadian skies and just a hint of autumn in the air.

We pulled into Windsor a little fried after the late night and long drive and stopped for a quick decompress down at the riverfront, facing the Detroit skyline. In April, there were river otters seen in the Detroit River (on the Windsor side) for the first time since the early 1900s, so I told the boys to keep their eyes out, but all we saw were three meatheads on jet-skis fish-tailing and man duding their way along the banks. Gabby wasn’t impressed.

After a few minutes of fresh air we drove back a couple blocks and parked next to the Phog Lounge and loaded in. Chuck, the bartender, helped us get settled, and we made short work of it. We meandered down to a nearby sports bar where I got a salad and a shitty poutine, had a drink, and took our time getting back to the Phog. I had been looking forward to a good poutine for so long and even held out all weekend for Windsor, but it wasn’t meant to be this time. I know I’ll survive, and next time I’ll make it happen.

The Phog Lounge sits on one of the main downtown drags in Windsor. It’s a square room with a short corner stage and small but adequate PA. There’s a side room with booths for a little relief from the noise if you need it, and a bar next to the stage. I’ve seen some friends play there (Mad Anthony , Dany Laj and The Looks) but never played there myself yet.

Before long our best and fav Windsor pals The Trudys showed up. We’ve played with them a couple times and I’m a big fan. I had a nice talk with Kay Tee and a quick chat with Casie, and Renee was awesome to provide the drum kit for the night. They went on around 10 and played a killer, fun, rockin’ set before Cassie, already in her tan scrubs, had to dart over the Hospital for an 11:30 shift. SOUTH RIVER SLIM took the stage shortly after and played a fun set of covers and originals. Dude puts on a great show with a raspy, rock and roll voice, and has top-notch guy behind him. They closed with a killer cover of The Rolling Stones via Slim Harpo’s “Shake Your Hips” that was a lot of fun.

We went on around midnight after some technical difficulties that can sometimes come with a gig like this to a good room of attentive and appreciative people. They didn’t seem to mind the volume or the fast stuff, or the breaks with the quieter, twangier stuff. We plowed through 12 songs in about 45 minutes and wrapped it up. It was a lot of fun – steamy, sweaty, and loud – just what a rock and roll show should be.

TrooperGirl22 made it over (under) the river for the show, with a couple of my best friends Chris & Jenni, passing through from North Carolina. It was the first time we’d seen each other since the before times, when The Tucos played Charlotte in 2016, I think. It was also great to see Nathalie and TJ, more Windsor friends from previous days.

We loaded out, did our best to collect ourselves and pulled into American customs right around 2am. Jacob fumbled around and temporarily lost Gabe’s passport at the most inopportune moment, but we got it together and easily passed the questions and pulled onto Jefferson avenue in downtown Detroit, USA. We dropped Gabe off at home in Dearborn around 2:30 and made it back to my place around 3. Jake grabbed his stuff and headed home. I took a quick shower, had a finger of rye whiskey to take the edge off of the long weekend, and laid down to crash out. Just as I was about to put my phone face-down on the night stand a text came through from Jake who was locked out of his apartment. I unlocked the back door, grabbed a pillow and a blanket, and set him up on the band-room couch. I was out by the time he got back and never heard him come back in, but it had to be after 4.

This morning TrooperGirl22 and I drank some coffee and visited with Chris and Jenni before they headed north for a wedding in Marquette. Jake meandered up, a little embarrassed, but with a plan to get back into his dwelling. TG22 and I grabbed some chicken down at the Plymouth Fall Festival and the rest of the afternoon will be naps, Detroit Lions debacle, unloading and putting away gear, and getting ready for the week ahead.

Windsor was awesome – a great night, Thanks Shawn, Trudys, & Slim! The whole weekend was just great – London and Montreal… our best Canadian run yet. THANKS and love to everyone who was involved. We’ve got quite a group of friends in each of these cities, and that’s what makes doing this so awesome. It was great to be back for the first time since 2019. We’ll see you all next fall, same weekend, if not sooner. Thanks for reading! And hey Detroit - See ya Saturday at The Magic Bag! xx