Twenty years after a global ban, the International Whaling Commission has voted 33-32 to resume commercial whaling. While a three-quarters majority is required to overturn the ban, the vote is seen as a victory for Japan and its allies - mostly small, poor countries offering their vote in exchange for financial support.

Japan, Iceland and Norway together kill about 2,000 whales each year - despite the ban - using a loophole that allows the killing of whales for scientific purposes. Yet most of the minke whales slaughtered in Japan are destined for restaurants.

Learn more about the whales and the threats they face from commercial whaling.

We're all back in Vancouver now, pretty exhausted but in one piece (well, actually, three pieces). I feel like I've been on another planet for the past week and a half...

This blog will sit quietly here waiting for the next tour, whether it's Marcus Martin solo or with the full band. If you'd like to find out when that is, you can join the mailing list and we'll let you know every time there's more show dates and cool things happening. And oh there will be.

Here's a few more photos from the trip back. Stay tuned to the gallery for more pictures and video from ARCTIC's NXNE and London shows, and photos from Marcus as well.

Thanks for visiting.

Kirsten

I think we put a little weight on along the way... must be all the fast food.

Sunset outside of Calgary, Alberta

Glacier National Park, BC

In transit. We stayed in Thunder Bay, Ontario last night, and we're in Brandon, Manitoba tonight. Oddly enough, on the way here this afternoon, one of the songs that came up on shuffle on my iPod was "Brandon" by the artist formerly known as Manitoba. Spooky.

One drawback of playing those other two shows was that we didn't get to see any of the NXNE showcases besides the other ones at Clinton's on our night. We got a chance to at least catch up on some live music over the past few days.

NXNE may be over, but the music keeps going. There was a NXNE wrapup party at El Mocambo, mostly bands and volunteers. I stopped by for a little while. Stinkmitt, a Vancouver rap act, was playing at the time, and there was supposedly another band after them but nobody seemed to know who it was going to be.

I met up with Marcus and Max at the Horseshoe Tavern. Pink Mountaintops, another Vancouver band, were the headliners for the night. The sound system at the Horseshoe is fantastic - it's loud but crystal clear, and even when there were fourteen (fourteen!!) people up on stage you could actually get by without earplugs. Some Vancouver venues could learn a lesson or two.

I find it funny that we traveled from Vancouver to Toronto, and saw more Vancouver bands on this trip than anything else.

Monday night we went to see Kevin Breit and the Sisters Euclid, Toronto staples who've been playing the Orbit Room for about the past ten years. Kevin is an absolutely incredible guitarist, and the band plays together as easily as breathing. At one point two people requested two different songs, and Kevin decided that in order to fit both requests they'd play both songs at the same time. He and the drummer played one song, and keyboards and bass took the other, and somehow they made it all work for a little while. Terrific show...

Yesterday we headed back in to Toronto and got stalled by an unexpected Portugese Day parade blocking the path. Finally made it back to NXNE in time to catch part of a panel and attend the mentor sessions, where you get fifteen minutes to talk to an industry person about what you're doing and where you're going. Max headed over to a barbecue to network for S/N Ratio, too; we all got something out of the conference. At a panel on Friday, Moe Berg had a good quote about how there's no "white knight" who's going to come along and make your band famous, no manager or agent or label who can make it all happen at once. Meeting people at NXNE isn't about finding someone who'll come in and do the work; it's more about raising awareness, getting ideas, and continuing to find ways to do it better yourself.

The show last night in Cambridge, Ontario was a bit of a surprise. Cambridge itself is actually surprisingly lovely - like its namesake, it's filled with beautiful old stone buildings and cathedrals. Our first impression of Stephanie's was confusion - by day it's a Caribbean restaurant, with a slightly rough feel. Apart from the PA system, it didn't look like a band venue at all. Plus, we were absolutely exhausted already, weren't supposed to go on for another five hours, and had a potentially long drive ahead of us - we were on the shortlist for a festival show if there was a cancellation. We also discovered that the small wedge monitor, which Max needs to hear the loops properly, was missing and probably still in London.

But Matt (from Persona), who organized the bill, said we could go on first instead if we liked. And as we loaded the gear, the restaurant began to transform. The restaurant tables moved off to the side, the gritty older clientele were replaced with a young, hip crowd, and by the time we were set up and ready to go, it was a very different picture.

And it may have been the best show of the week. The room filled up and people crowded closer to us and sat on the floor and watched us with bright eyes, and the vibe was warm and friendly. It was relaxed, fun, and felt great. We sold out of the CDs we had in the merch box and had to go back to the car to find whatever we had left. The mailing list signup sheet filled up.

People were so nice and so enthusiastic, I was a bit sad to leave. I wish we could've stayed around to hear the other bands - I hate to play and run. We caught some of You, Me and the Machine, an intense five-piece - they sounded great, really dynamic players. Plado Plant and The Ancestors were set to follow.

As it turns out, that was indeed the last show of the trip; there's nothing tonight. Which meant that we got to get a LOT of sleep last night. And now we get to relax today, and the next day. We've got some plans in the Ontario area before the long drive back - people to see, and a jam session with some friends in a few days - but nothing formal. Time to decompress...