Just when I thought I was out...

O'Riley's Bar in Lethbridge is an ass-kicking bar. Not in the sense that there are a lot of fights -- the fight count here is actually pretty low for Lethbridge -- but because you go in and are amazed at how much this place KICKS ASS. The people are fun, the staff is friendly, and the clientele are looking for a good time. Everybody knows everybody.

Also, the kitchen staff are pirates. Amidst all their swashbuckling and sea chanteys, they heard us rocking the bar's face off last Thursday ( July 24) and came down to see. We swore heartily and drank some rum; everyone was declared to be an awesome dude. It turns out that these landlocked pirates live on the top floor of O'Riley's, and it being known that we and they are all awesome dudes (and one chick), Peter, Patrick, and Kalin asked us to stay with them. More was drunk to celebrate our acceptance. In fact, we kept celebrating until dawn. Every night.

So, we kicked Lethbridge's behind and made our way out. Up to Canmore, to play at Zona. That show was fun, tired as we were. It ended as a tattooed patron jokingly asked for some Tool. So we played some Tool. Everyone was astounded at an Irish band playing Sober, and drinks were bought liberally.

When we came back south through Lethbridge, on our way to Eastern Canada (via the US and their cheap gas), we went to a mechanic here for some quick repairs. No problem, right?

So then we re-embarked from Lethbridge, confident in our newly repaired VW van. Mistakenly. 45 minutes our of town, the thing crapped out. One call to CAA later, we are back in this city, with our pirate friends, waiting on rapairs.

In the meantime, we're going to rock O'Riley's again tonight. Then we head out eastwards, hopefully to make our final escape. Peter tells me that there's a curse which doesn't allow people to leave Lethbridge. With friends like these and a bar like this, it's hard to want to go. But, well, like the Visigoths, Damanta cannot be stopped for long. Soon we'll ravage eastern (central) Canada and the Maritimes.