Nils - The Farewell Tour

On Friday, I head out on the road for one final show.

I've been a touring performer for almost ten years now.  I've done hundreds of shows from coast to coast to coast in Canada (yes, we have three coasts) and toured extensively in the U.S. and in the U.K.  It has been immensely rewarding in every way, and I wouldn't trade the experiences I've had for anything.

But touring - especially the kind of solo touring I do - is hard.  That's not easy to explain to someone who works in an office or a factory and figures I have a pretty good deal, being paid a big chunk of money for two hours of "work", standing up and telling stories to a (usually) appreciative audience.

Most peoples' view of what a touring performer does is summed up in a conversation I once had with Erin, when she asked me to write out a cheque for her University tuition.  I groused and grumbled about having to go out and work my ass off and come home to be bled dry by kids who sit in the nest like birds with their beaks open (good-natured grousing, I must add - I never once believed my kids were a bad investment).

"Oh, right, work," she said.  "I've seen you work.  It goes like this:  "Blah-blah-blah, I'm Nils Ling, gimmee my money."

Well ... yeah.  But ... but ...

But it's not the blahblahblah that's the work, of course, and she knew that.  I never felt like I was being paid for the part where I stepped out on stage. 

What I got paid for is the hours, weeks, months of writing and re-writing that led to the bare bones of a show on paper.  I got paid for rehearsing for hour upon hour with two terrific Directors, polishing the shows up, making them into theatrical pieces that audiences would  enjoy.

I got paid for the work it took to contact theatres around the world, pitching the idea of bringing me into their venue and convincing them that audiences would turn up to see the shows.  (I had a lot of help with this from an amazing manager named Grady Poe.)  For doing everything I could to help them promote the show that they'd taken a risk on.

I got paid for showing up at a theatre near you at 3PM for a sound and technical rehearsal, and working with the local technicians (who varied from exceptionally professional to "which one is the button for your microphone thingy?") to make sure the audiences could see and hear me onstage.

I got paid for the crappy ham and cheese sandwiches, scarfed down in a hurry between the sound check and curtain time.  For the times I had to change into my stage clothes in a high school science lab or a teachers' staff lounge or a chilly basement room beside a clanky old furnace.

I got paid for the hotel rooms - some swanky and comfortable, others more the kind of a place you might rent by the hour, or where the sign on the wall clearly cautions that "No game is to be dressed or cleaned in the rooms".  For no internet connection, and for turning on the TV and finding four channels (one in French), and sitting alone in a room in Outer East Bumblefuck with a box of Ritz crackers, some cheese, a bottle of rye and two cans of Diet Coke.  For hideous carpeting and drapes, lumpy beds, sandpaper sheets, and remote controls that don't work.

I got paid for waking up at 8 and hitting the road, driving hundreds of miles in whatever the prevailing weather conditions (touring season in Canada is October - April, so ...) to arrive at the next town by 3 so you could go the theatre and start all over again.  For endless waits in airports to be crammed into an uncomfortable seat beside the guy who ate The Three Tenors and for having to watch more bad inflight movies and eat more crappy airline snacks than a human should be forced to endure.

The shows?  Nah, the shows I did for free.

And the thing is, I have loved it.  I've met amazing people, formed lifelong friendships, and had incredible experiences I could never have had with a "job".  I once sat on the hood of my rental car for a full hour, parked beside a lake on the road between Terrace, B.C. and Prince Rupert, watching bald eagles circle above the water, then fold their wings and dive, plucking giant fish (salmon? trout?  not sure) cleanly and effortlessly from the lake. 

I've driven along a prairie highway and watched the horizon as the Canadian Armed Forces aerobatic team, The Snowbirds, practiced in the distance - my own personal air show.  I've finished a show in a tiny theatre in Gimli, Manitoba ... and been able to introduce my Mom and Dad out in the audience.

I can't imagine anything more I can do with touring that wouldn't be more of the same, so it's as good a time as any to walk away.

I won't give up performing completely - I'll tour in England some more if I get the chance, just because it constitutes a working holiday in a place I've come to love.  But my days of solo touring in Canada have come down to one show.

It's this coming Saturday night, May 26th, at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver).  I'm part  of their Tenth Anniversary Celebrations, along with two legendary Canadian folk artists, Valdy and Gary Fjellgard , musica intima, and Ballet British Columbia.   It's a crowded show, with an amazingly talented and diverse group of performers, and I'm humbled to be sharing the stage with these other pros.

When it's done, I'll take whatever bows I'm due and move on to whatever comes next.  Not sure what that might be just yet ... but somehow I know that will become clear in its own time.

Comments

[whfropera]

The fact that I know what "No game is to be dressed or cleaned in the rooms" actually means disturbs me greatly.
Even more is your farewell - obviously you have a greener pasture in mind.

vonKranki, you'd better give us a review!

Hey, I thought you couldn't perform in the US???

[Wayne]

Wow. You must have played REALLY WELL today. New tour thoughts abound.....?

[Nils]

Wtf: I have been known to occasionally slip across the border to visit my Uncle Ray in ... wherever. Of course I've never toured in the US without proper documentation. That would be illegal.

Wayne: I've only gotten in one full round this season. It was a good round (83, thank you), but the new tour thoughts are all about the shows.

[shari]

You know, people cleaning game in a hotel room is a concept that never before crossed my mind. Now you've got me frightened of what else they may be doing that I never considered. Gah! I may never leave home again!! ;) Good luck on your farewell show -- I wish I could be in the audience.

[William]

Cleaning Game in a hotel room makes me think of Dwight from the office telling the waitress how to kill a goose.

Break a leg with the last show and Break a leg with what comes next.

[Stephen Pate]

The Road is both friend and foe. You do it for the money and ego but in the end it can seem lifeless.

Robbie Robertson said the road was a killer. Levon Helm disagreed with him. He loves the Road.

Bob Dylan has been on the road for 40 years, the last 18 in what has been called the Never Ending Tour. He has a few more helpers than Nils and makes a few million more.

He has a truck to that turns into a swag store - that's organized.

In the end, he is still one lonely guy going from town to town performing his stuff.

[Ortizzle]

The freedom of working freelance... nothing like it! I feel certain you will come up with something original and entertaining to fill your time with. Part time teaching? How about screenplays? You could start with the one for a certain love story we all know and love.
Heh, heh, heh.

Anyway, enjoy your last tour. 'Good Voyage' and all that...

[platypus]

I'm glad you won't give up touring in England. That would upset me greatly - and you know that's not a good idea. No, folks, if you want to see Nils in person you'll have to come over here. It could be quite a party! :)

Break a leg, Nils. I'm sure you'll go out on a high.

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

Now you can finally devote yourself to your life's passion, the churning out of bodice-ripping romance novels. (FYI - I can pose like Fabio for half the money he demands...just something to keep in mind when it comes time for the cover art).

[The Kept Woman]

Congrats on a long and distinguished career.

Now gimme my money.

(bwahahahaha...that's funny)

[The Kept Woman]

Congrats on a long and distinguished career.

Now gimme my money.

(bwahahahaha...that's funny)

Wait...I just reread that...I don't mean that the career is funny b/c in fact that's pretty dang cool...but the gimme my money thing...that was funny.

[The Kept Woman]

Crap. Sorry about that.

[CircusKelli]

Congrats, Nils. It's so important to be doing something you love. You've done well for yourself is this arena, time to move on to the next. Whatever it is, you'll be great at it.

[Susie]

You don't really have to concern yourself toooo much with what comes next, because as I recall, eclectic, ck and I are planning to pay you a little, um, visit. We may need one of those hotel rooms that DOES allow game-cleaning.

[Jim Fogg]

Change is aways good, I've done the career shift thing a couple of times and will likely do it again. My partner just did it as well. At our "age" priorities start to change. Paretnal health issues and death pushes us to the front of the queue so to speak....a time of reflection for sure....what's cool is the possibilities will only be limited by fear

I know quite a few performers and exec types who do the road a lot, not nearly as glamorous at it appears.......

Peace

[Squirl]

When Bucky talks about your writing bodice-rippers does she have inside information???

[marybishop]

You've accomplished so much and it's exciting to think of where you will direct your talents and energy now. Let us know!!