Reunion @ the Stampede? What?

Backstage: Renée, Kris, Moe and Brad. Photo courtesy Kris Abbott.

Yes, it's been awhile again, but this kind of snuck up on us and smacked us in back of the head. The Pursuit of Happiness played their first gig in about six years a couple days ago at a private corporate event associated with the Calgary Stampede. Part of the contract, evidently, was staying mum about it until it happened, but now it has happened, there's plenty to share. All of it so far comes from Kris, documenting a whirlwind 48 hours there and back (she had the furthest to travel from Kingston, while Renée had the least distance, still living in Alberta) in a Facebook photo album and a performance video of "Beautiful White" and "Ten Fingers".

But wait, there's more. Kris sent along three other live videos to share with you. You can rack up the YouTube playlist, but here's a sample. Enjoy! And a big thanks to Moe and Kris for getting us caught up.

Kris and Dee: onstage...and on the farm?

They've been dipping their toes in the live show pool for a little while, but Kris and Dee Abbott McNeil are jumping in with a gig Thursday at The Mansion in their home base of Kingston, Ontario. They're pretty excited to have Anna Rees on drums and playing a proper set on a bill of some great Kingston musicians. It also bodes well for more live shows in the area coming this summer. For more info, check out their Facebook Event page and share your well-wishes for them - or even better, if you're in the area, let them know you'll be at the show!

Meanwhile, Kris has become active in the cause to help save six Canadian "prison farms": farms run by inmates for rehabilitation, to develop skills and provide food not just for the prisons themselves, but surrounding organizations like food banks and shelters. Introduced to the issue at a local town meeting (the Frontenac farm is in her area), she became fascinated by the achievements of the prison farms program and disgusted by the Federal Government's decision to scrap it. On Facebook, she wrote: "The decision of the Fed Government is nothing more than another American style adaptation of a WALMxxx business plan and a very dehumanizing approach to the future of Corrections in Canada."

She recently wrote a letter to her local MP, which was passed on to the Minister for Public Safety, and took part in a recent picketing event (getting up very early to hang out with a cow in the cold outside the CORCAN offices). To find out more, take a look at Kris' Facebook Notes or her Myspace blog post.