One half of Peterborough-based fuzz-folk alt-country duo Mayhemingways, Josh and bandmate Benj Rowland have embarked on a cross-Canada tour from Peterborough to St. John’s to B.C. This is Josh’s second report from the road, read part one here.
Each of our four trips to Newfoundland as Mayhemingways have been special. But this trip featured all of the quintessential elements of a trip to The Rock and then some.
It’s a small world after all
After we left the unreal beauty of Gros Morne, we headed to the town of Gambo for a house concert.
The town is located on the east/central part of the island. It’s also the birthplace of Joey Smallwood, a controversial yet important former premier of the province.
The gig was at the accurately named Mike and Amy’s Living Room. I proceeded to learn that the new Newfoundland budget is making residents, especially young people, consider moving because of huge tax hikes, levees, and the closing of libraries and other community spaces.
When Mike, originally from Ontario, spoke about possibly moving to Peterborough, I gushed and bragged about it. Peterborough always seems a little sweeter when you’ve been away.
We hit “Town” the next day. “Town” is what those who live outside of St. John’s call the city. Everything else, at least on the water, is referred to as “The Bay” or “Around the Bay” (in a way, it’s parallel to “The Country”).
St. John’s is a really beautiful city filled with character … and bars. Hundreds and hundreds of bars. I thought Peterborough had lots of watering holes. We played an early show and then went out to one of them.
Since it is an incredibly small world, the bartender ended up being a good friend of Jimmy Bowskill. We chatted about our mutual friend and laughed about how tiny this big, big country can be.
Speaking of a small world, Peterborough musical talent Lindsay Barr had seen we were heading to Newfoundland and she let us know that her parents live there. She invited us to stay “Around the Bay” for a couple of days of great cooking and fresh air.
We gladly accepted and there we were, hanging out near St. Mary’s Bay on the Avalon Peninsula (about an hour from town) with Lindsay’s parents Rob and Olive. Great food, laughter, stories, and a nice visit.
Whales and icebergs and cold plates, oh my!
During the visit, we went to see if we could see the beluga whale that had apparently been in Admirals’ Beach since November.
The whale had lost its pod and was alone. Lindsay’s dad led us to the site where he had seen it. After a short search, we spotted it. He or she was swimming slowly amongst docked ships near the wharf.
I am certainly no whale expert, but this one seemed lonely. It was still a sight to see, but hopefully it can rejoin a group of belugas as they come through again this summer.
If you’ve never seen an iceberg in person, then you haven’t quite lived. A light yet deep blue shimmers as they float and wobble in the ocean.
We were lucky enough to see a big one in Grates Cove, a tiny windswept town on the very top of the Avalon Peninsula. A short walk on a charming path led right to it. The portion above the water looked like the size of a small home. Apparently the part you see is only a fraction of the whole thing. Just amazing. The one I saw looked like a sort of ice castle.
We played a show the next night in Port Rexton, a community on the way up to Bonavista. The town is right on the ocean and the venue is a lovely coffee shop / restaurant with a perfect view out of its windows.
Our show was sold out and we celebrated after by heading to a wedding party. Well, we crashed the wedding party … but in the most positive way. We were welcomed in and danced with folks we didn’t know. What a time! I can now say I’ve been to a “Bay” wedding reception.
We were too late for the cold plates — a wedding fixture on the island featuring cold cuts, various kinds of potato salad, and buns — but we were just in time to cut a rug.
We had several more shows on the island that were fun and full of good folks. Everytime on the Rock is a treat and this visit was no exception.
All photos by Josh Fewings.
