Hey there. This is the first entry of the 7 Year Bitch tour and we're about one month into it with another to go. Thanks for hooking in. This is Elizabeth. I'm the basser. Ever been to Vermont? It means "green hill" in French and is one of those very north very east obscure states known for what....college students and maple syrup? We liked Vermont but I was kind of walking around thinking "Windham Hell". You know, people sportin' the Bilbo Baggins look playing harpsichord in the cobblestone shopping zone between Baby Gap and The Body Shop. We almost didn't make it to the gig on time 'cause we were lounging around Valerie's dad's Conneticut farmhouse eating real food and relaxing.

Valerie, Lisa (our fabulous soundbitch) and I went with Val's little sister Molly to see her friends play their first gig at the elementary school gymnasium. I believe they're called Surge. They couldn't have been more than 15 years old. They looked to be pretty nervous but all the kids were so into it. 8 year olds pogo-ing and feeling cool. We were wishing Selene and Roisin had been there so we could play. Would that have been the shit or what? A hockey-hair classic rock cover band with keyboards came on and the parking lot filled up with Mercedes station wagons and the moms got the kids and we went and partied with some of the older kids in an abandoned house down the street.

Anyway, like I said it was hard to leave the next day. We were grooving on Mr. Agnew's pancakes, Molly's ponies and the WASHER AND DRYER and arrived very tardy to the Burlington gig. We didn't know what to expect from Vermont, this being our first time, but the club ("Club Toast") was really cool and so was the crowd. The local opener was an awesome punk rock band called The Fags. Their singer is a crazy six foot six Ukranian who sings in Russian. You know what's the best thing about those college township type places? Good coffee. (duh-we're spoiled in Seattle)

Boston next. This show was pretty crazy and a bit sad 'cause it was our last show with the band we've been with: Sixteen Deluxe. They're from Austin, TX. The FuckEmo's call 'em "Sixty Effects" since they have so many, many pedals. About a dozen each I think. It takes a lot of fancy footwork to play like that. I suggested to Carrie and Frenchie (les guitarites) that they strap their wah-wah pedals to their feet and dance around the stage while playing. If you're into the Flaming Lips, chances are you will dig Sixteen Deluxe. Selene gave Carrie a full makeover before they went on — haircut and makeup. She was looking extra foxy and they played a blazing set. Carrie and Frenchie got up onstage with us and sang and played guitar on our last tune ("Miss Understood"). Previously, they've done aerobics on the stage while we play sometimes inspiring drunkish people in the crowd to start doing jumping jacks.

They must have been suffering "van ass" like the rest of us. They are such cool people. We miss having 'em on the road with us. We were heading toward Canada next so you know what that means. The stupid border. The border sucks. We hate the stupid border. Unfortunately we were obliged to leave our goodies behind in the U.S. so some lucky drunk in Boston got a present from us that night: a nearly full bottle of Cuervo, half a bottle of Patron (the really good stuff) and some Bushmills. We smoked up the rest and Windexed the inside of the windows and all that and tried to make it all the way to Montreal. We ended up pulling over and sleeping at a rest area though since no one was in driving condition and were pleasantly surprised by a speedy and hassle-free border crossing early in the morning.

Montreal is a beautiful city. Especially in the snow. I don't really get the Euro-style island in between english speaking territories. It kind of baffles me. The way they speak French is so weird. Like French with a Texan twang. And why do they still speak French? It's not even normal French. It's as if they don't really speak it as a first language. They're just doing it to be obstinate and different. Like when you're a kid and you speak pig latin. But it's fun to pretend being in a farther away place than we really are and Montreal is so unique. I hope we get a day off there next time.

Our next show was in Toronto. It went better than I expected, since we were playing at kind of big place. The first band that went on fully rocked me. A band from Toronto called Shuttlecocks. They have a beautiful (like model-beautiful) singer who has a great voice. It's weird hearing a deep rich voice like hers coming out of her porcelain doll-like self. Too bad the sound sucked so bad for them (soundman looked like he thought of their band as just being stupid little girls. Unfortunately this is not uncommon) They were talented and had a lot of charisma I thought. They have a major Cramps influence. We also played with Vancouver B.C. band Another White Male. They are so professional at 20 it blows me away. They have a lot of expensive equipment and have put a lot of work into what they do. I bet they will go far.

They sound quite a lot like Jane's Addiction. Lots and lots of digital delay. They are very friendly and sweet. Chivalrous lads. And very fashion conscious. One of the band member's mom made them all "Another White Male" logo necklaces to wear for their tour. So Van Halen! They taught us a new expression. "That's pus". It means "that sucks" (as if you couldn't figure that out). They say it all the time. One of my strings broke during our set and their guitar player (Sean) just shook his head and said, "That's total pus, man."

In Canada, we noticed a serious decline in the quality of resaurant service however, the club hopitality is much better. We've gotten Brie and Camembert and really good Merlot and Cabernet instead of the usual cheap cheese and wine. I like the fact that the money here looks so fake. It's just so much easier to spend. For example, I bought some French butt lotion that cost like, $60 U.S., but it seemed free here. Here, have some stupid lotion. Okay, here's some funny paper in exchange for it. It's great. After the show lots of people came up and offered to smoke us out. They knew, wisely, we had to give it up before the border. This is greatly appreciated by 7 Year Bitch.

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