Our first visit to Thailand (back in 2003) we made sure to get a bit off the beaten path. That led us to the northern province of Nan. There, after a great bus trip (great means - interesting and fun. OK, the bus almost didn’t make it) and a couple of connections by way of the back of a couple of trucks, we made it to Bamboo Hut.
You never know who you might meet at a place like that . In this case it was a nice couple from Manitoba. This was good because Bamboo Hut is a small, hard-to-get-to place. So you get to know the few people that are there. Thus you want them to be cool. We got to know Murray and Lei Anne around the fire. By summer, they run Poor Michael’s Bookshop in Onanole, Manitoba, just outside beautiful Riding National Park. We’ve been there since, and I’m here to say that if you find yourself ever in Onanole, do stop by as they run a great place (and make a decent cup of joe too!). It is filled with treasures from far away places because come winter, Murray and Lei Anne close up shop and travel the world, importing art they find along the way.
I was first aware of Murray from our hut; I heard him before I saw him. He was playing guitar! I was missing mine after being on the road with only a pack on my back so soon found myself following the notes through the hot northern Thai air until I found the two of them. Murray was happy to play songs that showed a special kind of wit - including the one we remember best, “Lonely Planet People”. It was a funny little ditty about meeting people on the backpacking circuit.
Turns out Murray had a band back in Canada called das match SHOW! They have since renamed themselves, and are now Dust Poets, and play witty songs with intelligent lyrics and catchy melodies.
We were lucky enough to see the Dust Poets last week at the penultimate show at the Ashcroft Opera House. Yes unfortunately the Opera House has closed. Fortunately, the Dust Poets were there before it did. We enjoyed the show immensely - this is talented band - and got a chance to catch up with Murray a bit too.
You can check out their music streamed on their website. The new album starts with the great lyric, “Out on the edge of town, everything’s on the edge of town”, and gets even better from there.
There are profiles on CBC Radio 2 Blog here and CBC Radio 3 here. Check it out. And if you ever get a chance to see these players live, don’t pass it up.
