Day 45: The Barley House. Concord, NH. 4-18-08

We were excited to be back in the capital of New Hampshire, one of the main hubs of the presidential primaries... only a couple of months ago it had been overrun with candidates and press and primary madness. We were playing at The Barley House once again... during the primaries they made a name for themselves as the home of the Hucka-burger. It's a funny little place. Right next door is an office that appears to be a tribute of some sort to Ronald Reagan.

Lisa was feeling horrible and was having a hard time getting herself together to play. As show time rolled around, Cam and I ended up starting the show by ourselves... wandering our way through a couple of pretty loose interpretations of some old tunes: MIC [ ] and Faroh. Luckily, Lisa was able to rally and joined us for a wild and wooly first set.

check out this blog about the show... i'll let her fill you in: www.18milesnh.com/2008/04/sailing-seas-with-finn-riggins.html

in general, pretty fun show. really great to see some New Hampshire friends. some new ones and some old ones. even Paul Mitchell (an old friend from Idaho) cruised down from Maine to hang out. so cool.

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gilbert

Day 44: day off. team splits up. 4-17-08

Cam and i woke up at our buddy Jamie's Vermont farmhouse to a clear and brisk april morning. It warmed up quickly though. Amazing day. We made some waffles with Jamie then stepped outside and met his goats before rolling in to Burlington, VT for the day. We caught up with Jamie later to check out his studio: A-9 Studio. good chance we'll do some recording there when we're back out East in the fall. He's got a great setup. and great taste.

We tracked down some monster burritos for dinner then cruised to the Higher Ground to catch a show... Surprise Me Mr. Davis was in town, and we're long time fans of The Slip (who play in SMMD) and thought it would be a fun way to spend our day off...
we ended up helping them with merch and chillin. it was fun. chatted a bunch about the state of the music biz and what the future holds for bands like us and them... lots of good things going on, but it's getting tougher and tougher to travel as extensively as we have been with fuel costs booming right now... curious to see where the next couple of years will take us... and the scene in general... we finally decided to roll as they began packing up... we drove for about 40min then crashed in a rest area... btw, had a good time with the fellas and girl from The Low Anthem too... good peeps, enjoyed their opening set... we had a good time behind the merch table together...

Lisa, on the other hand, had ridden back to New Hampshire with her friend Harmony the night before and spent the day hangin with their dog Samson while Harmony was at school (she teaches). They got to spend the afternoon together and lisa got a whole day off from us boys and some bonus time with her parents that evening. Seemed like a much needed rest for the Simps.

yow.
gilbert

Day 43: Langdon St. Cafe. Montpelier, VT. 4-16-08

hellooooooo!! shark.
we played at the Langdon Street Cafe for the first time since Sept. on a super beautiful April day in the humble little capital of Vermont. and played with our new buddies HELLO SHARK. oh my. still can't stop listening to 'em. some special stuff for sure. www.myspace.com/hellosharkvermont

had a handful of old VT friends come out to this show. so cool. Jamie W. and family, Andrew, laura, meg, steve lichti, harmony... it was a special little evening. thnks y'all!!

after the show, Lisa jumped ship and headed back to New Hampshire with Harmony, while Cam and i cruised up to the Weiner Compound out in the Vermont sticks... where there was lots of snow and mud to creep through... and a nice quiet nights sleep awaiting us... with a day off to follow...

reporting for all of us finn rigginses.
gilbert

Day 42: Railroad House. Johnson, VT. 4-15-08

lisa and i met in the tiny town of johnson, vermont. lisa got her undergrad at johnson state college there. i schooled there for one whole year. we were excited to be taking this project there for the first time. and it was a beautiful day to do so. we enjoyed a nostalgic drive through the vermont countryside and got to town early enough to romp around some old stomps. mainly campus. the tiny little JSC campus. then met our old friend Laura downtown at a new pizza shop. lisa commented on the little changes in the town and how time had made her a stranger in a town that she used to be so tight with. tis the nature of a college town though... always changing. always being reinvented by new faces and ideas.

the show was on Railroad St. at a house appropriately dubbed the Railroad House, home of Lincoln from Hello Shark -- the host for the evening. it was a tiny place. we spent the early evening getting to know the place and its inhabitants. it was good. real good. got us excited for the show.

right before music got rolling a big crew led by our friend Laura, which included some other old friends of Lisa's, showed up and turned the gathering into a party. oh my. Hello Shark played first. helloooo shark! they were rad. raucous and raw. inspired tunes. i've really grown to love the shark. and my button that says so.

we played next. we decided early on to play way stripped down and without vocal mics again. so we did. vocal mics probably woulda been nice, but we cut it loose anyhow. it was a rockin set with some great crowd interaction during most of it and an amped up dance party despite our low volume. it was exciting.

our new friends The Future of the Ghost (slc, ut) played last since they were running way behind time. as soon as we were done, we decided to setup our PA so that they could sing through mics. they were sweethearts. and they proceeded to blow the place up. their set was pure mayhem as the party had certainly reached that magical place at that point. check the video for a little tasty taste. their set featured a sweaty dance mess, a bloody nose, a noise complaint and a visit from the defenders of the peace. it was a blast.



reporting for all of us finn rigginses.
-gilbert


PS thanks Laura for the cozy place to crash!!

Day 41: Moultonborough Academy. Moultonborough, NH. 4-14-08

monday morning and we had a 10am show. yep, 10am. pretty much flipped our bodies on end, but we were able to rise and make it happen as we were pumped to be playing at another New Hampshire high school. we had been invited by Lisa's longtime friend Harmony to play for her music students and some other classes at the Moultonborough Academy. we played in their beautiful auditorium and answered questions from the students for an hour or so. we drank soda pop. and had the van packed before noon. pretty wild. the kids were great. helped haul gear. and had good questions. they made us laugh. and yeah, our day was done at noon. pretty much felt like a day off at that point.

we really would love to play high schools on a regular basis. nice way to connect with kids and share with them an approach to music that's not necessarily easy for them to find. and it's fun. and unique. and there's no cigarette smoke.

reporting for all of us finn rigginses.
-gilbert

Day 40: day off. new hampshire. 4-13-08

enjoyed a mellow day off with Lisa's family in New Hampshire as it was getting it's first real glimpses of spring. if nothing else, our tour is definitely succeeding in providing us with a nice long springtime. and for that, we're very grateful.


-gilbert