Mutual Admiration Spawns Weakerthans Lowest Of The Low Tour

04/23/01 2:30pm

Right now the hottest ticket sweeping the West Coast has to be the miraculous Lowest Of The Low with the Weakerthans shows this spring. With just three weeks to go till its kickoff fans of both bands are ringing their sweaty hands, and pacing around like mad with anticipation. But what flash of the wand has brought these decade-apart university darlings together?Over the phone from Winnipeg, Weakerthans vocalist John K. Samson, says he was a huge LOTL fan who never had the opportunity to see the band in the early '90s. He explains that his first chance run-in with Ron Hawkins dates back about two years to one of those North by something-or-other weekends in Toronto. "Ron played the night before we arrived and he'd been really influential in the way I write, and just in my development as a songwriter," says Samson. Feeling kinda bummed about missing Hawkins set the previous night he wandered around downtown T.O. 'til he heard something that made his day a little brighter. "I talked to someone who said that he (Hawkins) had played a couple of our songs acoustically that night," he recalls. For Samson, the next order of the day was to head to the Horseshoe Tavern to think this one over and who might he run into? "I met Ron there later that day and we had kind of a mutual admiration thing for a few minutes," he says, "He came to our show, and we started corresponding, and have become really good friends." So how did it feel to find out that someone you've respected for a long time plays your songs just because they love them? "It felt really great. It was just one of those times when you go... Wow! ... All of this crap that you go through is worthwhile."So for all of you LOTL and Weakerthans fans who are wondering which God to thank for this tour — just address the envelope to the God Of Mutual Admiration.— Tim MeltonLowest Of The Low w/Weakerthans Tour Dates:
May 3 Winnipeg, MB @ Rendezvous (all ages)May 4 Regina, SK @ State (19+)May 5 Calgary, AB @ Mount Royal College (19+)May 6 Calgary, AB @ Multicultural Centre (NO LOTL)May 6 Banff, AB @ Wild BillsMay 7 Edmonton, AB @ Suburbs (All Ages)May 8 Kelowna, BC @ The Laurel (NO LOTL)May 10 Victoria, BC @ Vertigo (19+)May 11 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom (19+)