Day 32: Sparky & Clark's. York, PA. 4-5-08

woke up in Baltimore to a home-cooked breakfast by Bob's girlfriend Adrienne -- a culinary graduate -- it was amazing. fresh fruit: mangos, avocados, strawberries. apple sausage patties. bird's nests (egg cooked into a piece of toast). good strong coffee. orange juice. it was sunny out. then Bob played us several Small Sur tunes in his living room. wood floors. gorgeous and patient tunes. it was all pretty dern epic. as a reminder, go listen to Small Sur... they're finalizing the mixes on a new album that will be released on Tender Loving Empire sometime this year. all very very exciting. www.myspace.com/smallsur

we were originally supposed to play in Philly on this Saturday, but the kid working on the show sorta flaked out and it fell through... and we had been trying to scrounge something up for last several weeks to no avail. BUT, the day before, we decided to take a very nice offer from a band in York, PA called Sharks! With Knives!!! to jump on their bill at a coffee shop in York that night. so we did. and it was only an hour drive up there. and a beautiful one at that as we cruised along the rolling hills of southern Pennsylvania.

the place was called Sparky & Clark's and was nestled in the historic downtown area of York. very very cute town and a super mellow sunny saturday afternoon to enjoy it by. it was located right next to an Obama campaign office as well, so i took the opportunity to say hello, get a new button, and smile with them about our successes in Idaho for Obama. then holed up in Sparky & Clark's for the afternoon, as we hung out with our new friend Emily the barista.

show that night turned out to be a blast. due to some miscommunication with Rachel Leah -- the opener -- she was running late, so we volunteered to play first since we were just happy to be playing anyhow. it was a super tiny space, so we used the opportunity to try a very stripped down setup with me just using the organ and Cam stripping down his set. made for a fun and unique set and it seemed to translate well to the room.

Rachel Leah followed with her keyboard-driven pop tunes. she was super sweet and dug her tunes. fun and cute. she was super posi and pumped on life and it's infinite possibilities. word to that. www.myspace.com/rlcsounds

then our kind kind host, Sharks! With Knives!!!, polished the show off gloriously. featuring the mastermind Chris on acoustic guitar and vocals and his sidekick Martney on glockenspiel. they put up props all over the stage and when they started Cam and I tossed a couple bags of balloons around the room for everyone to frolic in. it was rad. created a great mood in the room. really liked their music too. had me thinking of early Mountain Goats stuff with some of his vocal delivery and lyrical content. he did a great job of involving the crowd... even passed out percussion instruments that several people played throughout the set. lots of clap-a-longs and a nice sing-a-long to finish the set up. coupled with everyone popping all the balloons. we might as well have been at a birthday party or some other festive family gathering. that's how it felt. very fun. www.myspace.com/sharkswithknivesband

thanks to Chris and Sharks! With Knives!!! for inviting us to jump on with them... what a blessing. and to Emily and Sparky & Clark's for being so nice and making us feel so welcome all day. York, PA is now on our radar. we're in love.

afterwards, we ate at a strange diner called the Majestic across the street... then drove off into the hills to find Wi-fi and crash out in our beloved home -- the Ghost Ghost. she's so cute. and comfy. and tinted. and warm. and cool when she needs to be. and full of power and safety features. we love her. dearly. oh so dearly.




blah blah blah for the whole Finn Riggins clan
sincerely,
uncle gilbert