Tales From the Road by Rory Taillon
Rory Taillon is on tour celebrating the launch of his new album "Only Whispers". He is sharing his tales of life on the road.
There are some venues that as soon as you walk into them, you just know that you have to play there. The atmosphere, the room, the people, the beer selection, it can just be magic.
The Moustache Club in Oshawa was like that for me as is Bar Robo in Ottawa where I had my (new) home town release for Only Whispers. The room has a really chill vibe, the staff is awesome, they’ve always got Collective Arts beer on tap, and there’s an amazing, giant yellow old grocery store sign on the wall at the back of the stage. Due to the room having this vibe already, it allows an intimate and relaxed show to occur where you can easily take everyone in the room across an emotional spectrum with your music and stories. Some of the most enjoyable shows as a performer come from venues like this.
One of the best things about touring is finding and playing in these intimate spaces that host music.
The first time I played McCloskey’s in Chesterville ON I remember pulling up to the address and not being sure if I was even at the right place. This venue is a bar underneath an old hotel in a small town, and you have to park around back and walk in through an unmarked back door. The spot just oozes with character; you walk in and are hit with thoughts of the history and stories of this wonderful dive bar venue. There are pool tables as you walk in, an old wooden bar that spans most of one wall, matching little table and chair combos, and awesome staff pumping indie music over the speakers. These are the places that some of the best nights and the funniest stories come from.
I love hitting small towns on the road and not just sticking to the major cities. You find some of the best little spots filled with some of the most interesting and welcoming people at small town venues. Cities are great, but I just love an art cafe in a small town filled with people.
Thanks for reading and coming along on this tour with me. Next time I’ll be chatting about the week of the tour that I spent in the Canadian east coast.