Day 48: Never Say Never Ink. Beverly, MA 4-21-08 + best sleeping spot ever

After saying good-bye to my family we headed towards Beverly Mass via the NH seacoast (there’s only 18 miles of seacoast in NH). We stopped in Hampton Beach and had lunch at one of the restaurants along the beach. It was a little bit cold, and certainly still off season. Our waitress was nice enough to give the guys free coffee and Cam left with an extra bowl of chowder.

We got to Beverly and headed to Never Say Never Ink, an art store that we played at in the fall. The people who run it are super nice, and were excited to have us back. We had to hold the show off for a while due to a complaint from the business next door, but it gave the crowd a chance to fill out and in the end it was a good Monday night show. The opening band was an interesting instrumental (mostly) local high school band called And the Sea Was Ours. They’re creating some cool sounds as a young band.

The show ended fairly early, at least by our standards, and we decided to drive and find someplace to sleep. The guys wanted to head towards the ocean, and I was game for that. So, we headed to Newport RI. By the time we got there it was pretty late, and I as really tired. We did find a great spot right on the ocean to park and sleep, and since it was off season no one bothered us for parking there over night. It was beautiful to see the moonlight shining on the ocean, and hear the waves crashing all night. We were right next to an old fort/home/now park. It was once the summer home of a wealthy family, and then turned into a military point during the war, and then later returned to family who then allowed it to become a park area. It was amazing to think that it used to be the summer home of a family, and seemed like a very romantic place to spend the summers, between the ocean and a large acreage with paths through blackberry brambles and shrubs.

Here's what it looked like in the morning:















definitely the best place we slept & woke up all of tour. maybe best ever. it was unbelievable. we took our time in the morning for sure. collected tons of shells and breathed the ocean air deeply.

reporting for all of us finn rigginses:
the simps + gilbert

Day 47: day off. New Hampshire. 4-20-08

Our last day off with my family. We headed over to my brother and Sister-in-law’s house for lunchtime. After food we watched the new “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie with the kids. It was nice to just chill and do something very family centered like that, laughing with the kids and sitting on the couch with my family. I don’t get chances to see them as often as I wish I could, so I appreciate normal things like that a lot, especially in the middle of a crazy adventure. It keeps me grounded. It’s really a blessing to have a great family that supports me and my band mates in following our passion. It was a treat to be able to hang with them as much as I did (and we did) over the time we spent in the northeast.

-lisa

Day 46: The Q. Worcester, MA. 4-19-08

Worcester MA is a city with an often mispronounced name. Growing up in New England, I grew up knowing it was said “woostah” instead of a more phonetic version. Of course, you can say “wooster” and locals won’t look at you funny, but don't stray any further than that if you don’t want to stand out. There are some other interesting-to-pronounce places in Mass, but that’s not really the point of this story...

Anyway, the show was set up by our buddy Dylan Clark who we met when we played with Tiger Saw in Seattle almost a year ago. He plays drums with Tiger Saw, but had set up this show with a new project he's playing with as well now called The Points North. We were pumped to be hooking up with Dylan again and trusted it would be a sweet show.

We got there early to meet up with Dylan and some of his friends for dinner at a vegan Chinese restaurant up the road. After not feeling great the night before, I did my best to steer clear of too much soy (a slight challenge in a vegan Chinese food place) but enjoyed some veggie wonton soup. The place also makes some pretty killer coconut milk smoothies. The rest of the crew mowed down some tasty looking dishes and the entourage was stoked. Both of Dylan's friends were from Wisconsin. One was there to stay: Emily. The other, train jumpin Perry, was only in town for a few days before making his way back to cheese and beer country. They were good company. Spirits were high.

The show was at The Q, a locally owned coffee shop with a cool artsy vibe and decor. The space was fairly small. As was the stage. We picked up right away that it was going to be a quieter show. We unloaded our light setup, which we were excited about as these stripped down sets had been a blast as of late.

The first two bands were from Boston. The Woodrow Wilsons played first. They were fantastic. Loved every minute of it. Rad acoustic instrumentation. Great tunes. Smart lyrics. Good peeps. Check them out for suresy. www.myspace.com/thewoodrowwilsons

The Points North followed. Somewhat similar sound to the WWilsons. Made me all warm and fuzzy on the inside and all over. Wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. you can find them and their sweet tunes here: www.myspace.com/thepointsnorth Big thanks to Dylan and Chris for bringin us in under the wing for this show and for singing good stuff and for taking such great care of us.

Our set was super fun.

Nat Baldwin played last. He's from Portsmouth, NH. Brought just himself and his stand up bass for the show. Crazy amazing stuff. There's a video below of one of his tunes. He'll be playing in Boise this summer with Jared Mees and Hillfolk Noir. We're stoked to have him out and to be playing with family. He did some wild contrabass improv stuff in the midst of his eccentric pop tunes. Word is he used to play with The Dirty Projectors. Good guy. check it. www.myspace.com/natbaldwin

We drove home to New Hampshire that night. The next day would be our last day with the Simpson family. Then Monday would bring the beginning of our homeward movement.

(Lisa wrote the first half. we collaborated on the rest).

on behalf of all uf us finn rigginses...

love,
gilbert


Nat Baldwin playing "Lake Erie":