Their trip started in Montreal with relatively warm weather.
On Nov. 26, the Odds — including frontman Craig Northey, a Port Moody secondary graduate — hopped on the CP Rail Holiday Train with Juno-award winning country singer Dallas Smith.
They passed through Beaconsfield, Quebec, and a dozen more municipalities in eastern Ontario — stopping each time to play a show and to raise awareness and donations for the local food banks — before the chilly climate hit.
By the time they got to communities close to Lake Superior, the cold snap settled in.
And then came the Prairies: Five gigs in Manitoba, nine in Saskatchewan and 20 more in Alberta took their toll on the freezing performers.
“Last night, in Edmonton, it was minus 25,” Northey said near Canmore last Friday morning. “You think, ‘Who is even going to come out?’”
It’s not the first time time the Odds have been on board the CP Rail Holiday Train.
Last year, the band (without Northey) played backup to Blue Rodeo singer Jim Cuddy and his son, Devin, on their cross-country journey. In 2009, Northey was with his band along with Shaun Verrault of Wide Mouth Mason.
For this year’s voyage, “there’s not a lot of surprises of how it’s going to go with how we survive in subzero temperatures,” Northey said. “We’ve learned how to do that.”
They’re also used to sleeping on the train and seeing the spectacular views of the country whiz by.
By the end of their adventure on Saturday, they’ll have played 81 concerts with Smith — some a bit longer than others, depending on the weather.
If it’s somewhat warm and at the end of their day, they’ll throw another tune in for good measure as a way to say thanks to the crowd that’s gathered at the station. But if it’s cold and the train is behind schedule, they’ll have to chop a song off their set list, Northey said.
For their final two concerts in Port Moody — Northey’s hometown — and Port Coquitlam, the musicians will be looking forward to being reunited with their friends and family before the winter break — and to a nice warm bed and home-cooked meal.
Northey promises the band will bring on the excitement for the last gigs in the Tri-Cities.
“We’ll all be a little punch-drunk by then so we’ll be pretty funny,” he said. “We are shameless children and we love to do some shtick to get the kids involved.”
Northey said he’s also looking forward to meeting the officials from the Share Family and Community Services Society, who will receive a large cheque on stage.
At previous performances across Canada, food bank reps have posed for photo ops with CP Rail staff and the band.
“It’s really great to see the effect. Sometimes, it’s quite an emotional response to such a significant amount.”
• The 18th annual CP Rail Holiday Train arrives behind the Port Moody recreation complex at around 4:20 p.m., and around 6:15 p.m. at the Port Coquitlam West Coast Express station on Dec. 17. In Port Moody, there’s a free family skate at the arena from 2 to 4 p.m. and, at city hall, in the rec complex and at Trasolini Field, plenty of activities will be happening from 3 to 6 p.m. As well, from 3:45 to 4 p.m., there will be a tree lighting ceremony with carolling by the Caulfield School of Dance at Pioneer Park. In PoCo, the festivities start with a free skate at the PoCo rec complex from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
@jcleughTC
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Help the drive
Last year, donations brought for the CP Rail Holiday Train in Port Moody totalled more than 1,410 pounds of food and $1,362 for Share Family and Community Services — a non-profit group based in Coquitlam that provides leadership and social wellness programs to Tri-City and New Westminster residents. At the final Port Coquitlam stop, Share picked up 3,185 pounds of food and $1,539 in 2015.
