I’m currently in Toronto, Canada, courtesy of my generous and far-seeing management, to oversee the organisation of next year’s proposed national tour of the moose and maple leaf loving, ice-hockey-obsessed, America’s own Kiwis commonwealth.
It’s a lovely elegant city, as relaxed and convivial as Melbourne, with a stack of great ilttle bars and pubs, many of which seem to be small-scale venues.

I’m travelling in the wake of great Australian acts who have done well over here, the likes of Weddings Parties Anything, The Waifs, John Butler and more recently the Kill Devil Hills, Carolyna Loveless, Dale Willis et al.

There seems to be a fairly well recognised adage that Australian’s are similar in character to Canadians, as opposed to United States Americans, and although the latest breed of Howard-voting ockers, who slavishly adopt US customs and politics, appear to give the lie to this convenient fiction, Canadians do seem to be a lot more brash, open and honest than their overly polite, demonstrative and brazenly patriotic second cousins, once removed.

In its brief, yet reputedly glorious summer, Canada hosts a festival season that is the envy of the world for its multitudinious styles, ethnicities and gorgeous locations all the way across the geographically diverse terrain.

Last night we went to see Madviolet, the female duo who we recently supported along the Australian East coast at a venue called the Rivoli. It was decidedly a more polite kind of establishment, aimed at highbrow, gentle folksy types.

Next door at the Horseshoe Tavern, a country rock act was ripping it up in decidedly more abandoned fashion, so here we perched at the bar and soaked in the democratic, swearin’ and cussin’, beer swillin’ tattooed and multiply-pierced rock vibe.

It seemed much more our speed.

And I’m told that like our domestic cattle, which delight in flinging themselves into the path of oncoming vehicles, the native moose is equally fond of grazing on lethal roadside areas and dreamily wandering across the tarmac to nibble at elegant random morsels of green.

And being possessed of gigantic bodies on top of long spindly legs, they can, if struck by a reckless vehicle, then at such an inconvenient height be precipitated directly through your windscreen and into the vehicle with catastrophic results.

Makes cow-catching in the Territory seem a harmless occupation.