///after an epic end to tour in Nederland, CO on Saturday, we woke up Sunday morning and basked in our new found freedom and enjoyed the aftermath with our buddies Forrest + Anne + Tim + Carrie in Ned... at around 1pm, with snow beginning to flurry, we thought it best to hit the road... we had our sights set on home... 13hr and 777mile drive ahead of us... we made great time on clear roads -- best drive through Wyoming ever!! -- and rolled into The Helibase at an easy 2:30am to sleep in our own beds... we took Monday off to rake some leaves and get unpacked, then Lisa and i cruised to Boise yesterday so that my dad and i could go hunting overnight... back in Boise this afternoon and poised for a Thanksgiving Day feast... definitely got the feast rolling on Saturday up in Ned, so we're good and primed... but before we roll in to thnksgvng, i wanted to recap the final week of tour... which was one of the greatest weeks of tour... 11/14/08 Charlotte, NC
we were very excited to be back at Snug Harbor in Charlotte and it didn't disappoint. we played with Black Skies (chapel hill, nc) and Pride Parade (athens, ga) both of which were a little more metal than us, but we all got along great and the place stayed rockin through our closing set...
what a rad pirate bar 'ol Snug Harbor is... Daylon and crew have a special thing going. love playing there. they took great care of us and we once again had a great crowd... the place was pretty off the hook... lots of buddies around too... Marty! Corbie + Andy (where the buffalo roamed)! Leah! Josh!... and after the show we cruised about 80min to Spindale to meet up with a buddy from Hailey in the infamous Tyson Deal... she's from around those parts and hauled across the country to catch us before we left them parts... we stayed at her grandma's house that night in Spindale... and took cold showers in the morning since the hot water was non-operational.11/15/08 Athens, GA
so good to see Tyson... and we were lucky enough to have her cruise to Athens with us... she had gone to school at the University of Georgia in Athens... so she was especially stoked.
round 1 in Athens was a house party / festival that we had been invited to by friends called the Celebration of (Southern) Life Festival... held out in the country north of Athens and modeled after the Celebration of Life Festival that our friend Dylan Clark has hosted up in Massachussettes the last couple of years... he was who let us know about this southern version and it happened to coincide with
when we were already going to be there... his band The Points North were in town for it and our mutual friends Captain #1 (who we played with in Athens in the spring) were also a part of it. we showed up around 6pm to a tight-knit gathering and potluck. the festival was a no drugs no alcohol event, which was great since we had a late night show to play. the evening was packed full of living room entertainment from the likes of Bicycles & Gravel + Grey Milk + Gemini Cricket + I have read other books besides Catcher in the Rye + The South Will Rave Again... it was pretty wild. and homey. we had a great time. we played in the middle of it all. there was body moving. and life celebrating. it was fun. and by 11:30pm we were rolling in to Athens proper to begin round 2.... btw, our friends from Chattanooga -- Jeremy and Ben -- had met us at round 1... and headed in to town with us... oh my...
round 2. our friends from We VS The Shark had set us up to play an after party for the Black Lips show at the 40 Watt and the Grails / Silver Apples show at the
Caledonia that night in Athens... our set was at the Secret Squirrel and started around 2:45am. at about 2:15am all the post-shows crowd started to roll into this very well hidden little squirrel hole of a warehouse / house venue. Jeff had procured a keg to lure them in. we were shocked. the place packed out. and crowded the stage. and rocked out hard with us. the walls were shaking. lights were going out. spirits were hangin from the rafters. we slayed until about 3:45am. then local inhabitant of the squirrel -- Wyatt of Werewolves -- closed the night out. epic night in athens. at about 5:30am we went to sleep out in the country north of Athens once again with some of Tyson's friends who ruled -- Samantha + Michael. wow. Jeremy and Ben joined us as well. big sleep over. fantastic morning to follow... breakfast and back porch basking in the Georgia sun.11/16/08 Chattanooga, TN
after a nice and lazy morning in Athens, we said goodbye to Tyson and Sam and Michael, and Jeremy + Ben + and us straddled our steeds and headed for Chattanooga... we were pumped to be back at JJ's Bohemia in Chatt where we had a great sunday night show in the spring with locals Antebellum and had really hit it off. they weren't available to play this time around, but Stratton made it out and between him and Jeremy and Ben they helped rally a fun crowd. this time around, we'd combined forces with our old college buddy and former Moscow, ID music scene compatriot Justin Ringle and his new project Horse Feathers. it was fun to see Justin, and in all honesty, an honor to play with him again. i've always dug his projects, all the way back to
Two-Play Color and Echo Ave. and he's doing well for himself these days as Horse Feathers' latest album just came out on the highly respected Kill Rock Stars. much deserved. despite no locals on the bill, between the two of us, we drew really well for a Sunday night in Chattanooga and the show was a blast. really great to meet Justin's partners in crime: Heather + Nathan... and catch up in general... as well as rock it out with our Chatt friends and Rachael who trekked over from Asheville, NC for the night of festivities. Jeremy + Rachael + us hit up the historic and awesome Aretha Frankensteins in the morning for breakfast before hitting the road to Arkansas early monday morning...
HORSE FEATHERS @ JJ'S BOHEMIA in CHATTANOOGA, TN 11-16-08
11/17/08 Atkins, AR
long drive through Tennessee that day was pretty glorious... we almost stocked up HUGE on fireworks but at the last minute, purchase nearing completion, we thought better of it... we'll delve into the black market of fireworks on some other trip... the temptation was magnificent... they don't mess around in on TN.... pretty much every gas station is gigantic and looks like this:
and that's a pretty modest one... show was originally supposed to be in nearby Russellville where we played in the spring, but had to be moved to The Godbey in Atkins, AR... which turned out to be a really sweet spot in a pretty abandoned warehouse... word is is that Atkins used to be a pickle manufacturing mecca until the pickle plant relocated overseas in 2002 so that their pickles could be packaged by cheap sweat labor... and it's wake... awesomeness like The Godbey... and not-so-awesomeness like no jobs for anyone... it's also a dry county, and everyone drives 10miles to giant liquor stores for their medicine... it's all pretty strange... but back to the show... great show for a Monday night. locals Love, Baby Blue and Fashion Show got the night rolling. then we rocked some love songs. then our two-day tour partners who are some of the specialest Arkansasans we may ever know, The Counterlife ruled to close the night out.
seems only fair that they warn you upon entering "the natural state" to buckle up... it's a great place... but it's special, and deserves fair warning...
11/18/08 Little Rock, AR
we made the mistake of passing up on offers to crash and instead went hunting for our second hotel room of tour... and settled for a stanky and nasty Motel 6 north of Little Rock... we might still be scratching from whatever nastiness that place left with us... don't get any wrong ideas, we're clean... but damn, that place was nasty and a waste of $$$$
we rolled in to Little Rock early and cruised the town... the downtown area was struggling to stay alive... Cam and I stumbled upon a men's clothing store going out of business in downtown -- surrounded by boarded up storefronts -- and talked with the clerk of 39 years about the end of an era while we shopped for some fancy man clothes... no scores, but enjoyed the company and the Little Rock history lesson.
show that night was at the White Water Tavern and part of their long running Tuesday night Arkansas Rocker Review series. our buddies in The Counterlife had set it up and recruited locals The Moving Front -- whom we played with in Fayetteville back in March -- to play as well.
ended up being an awesome night. The White Water is ran by some high quality folks and we were well taken care of and it was a fantastic crowd for a Tuesday night... maybe the best Tuesday night show ever. really really fun. and on top of it all, at the end of the night our buddy John Duncan -- friend from the Moscow days -- strolls in and surprises the hell out of us... hadn't seen him in like 3+ years... and he just happened to be in Little Rock visiting his grandma and got wind of the show just in time to catch us as we were packing up... we were in shock. we treated it by going to a nearby Waffle House with Duncs and The Counterlife. what a crew! crashed at Roger + Ryan + Joe + Chris's friend Ann's pad. another epic late night adventure and slumber party!THE COUNTERLIFE @ WHITE WATER TAVERN in LITTLE ROCK, AR 11-18-08
11/19/08 Tulsa, OK
so Lisa's amp had decided not to work at the show the night before... Mark from The Moving Front had loaned her his amp... but we were playing alone at the Tulsa show so we ran around town trying to find someone to work on it before our scheduled
dinner date with my cousin Scott and his family... we didn't have any luck, so we went to the Soundpony where the show would be at and tested it out... sure enough, not working still... and then it started smoking... so i quickly unplugged it and called a number i'd gathered earlier for a guy in the area that specialized in tube amps: Rick Potter. he took my call and invited me out to his place immediately. Rick is pretty much my new hero. he stopped his dinner and took me into his garage / shop where he custom builds tube amps and does repairs. he's a longtime guitar player and could relate to our predicament and hooked us up under the emergency at hand. within the hour, he had Lisa's amp fixed and me on my way to catch up with my relatives only about 45min late... awesome catching up with Scott + Tonya + Ali + McKinzie! wish they didn't live so far away, but psyched our line of "work" brought us through Tulsa again so i can catch up with them... i have a feeling we'll be back... Tulsa is fun. and the Soundpony rules.show that night was at the bicycle bar the Soundpony Lounge again. loved it in March. loved it in November. bartender Eric was a riot, and Brad from Cain's Ballroom next door ripped it up with us late night again and celebrated our mutual love for IDAHO. nice little crowd of quality and goodness. the Soundpony is a place that needs to be experienced, not talked about. so i stop now.
we drove into the night and crashed in the Ghost Ghost for only the second time of the whole tour...11/20/08 Lincoln, NE
we were hoping to see our buddy Liz Hitt, but we rolled in late after a long blustery drive through Kansas and she worked late, so we instead settled for epic Indian food in Nebraska... yeah, weird, but truth, at a place called The Oven very
close to Box Awesome -- the home of the show that night.Box Awesome also holds a special place in our heart. ran by quality people (thanks Jeremiah + Doug + Nick + co.!) and a really cool space. once again a pretty small turnout, but atleast the locals we played with were rad. both utilizing loops and doing it well. check out Barometric as well as Dean Armband when you get a chance. dig.
despite Liz's offer of coziness at her place, we opted to get a head start on the big drive to Denver and hit the road after the show and crashed at a rest area on the frozen tundra of Nebraska for one of the coldest nights we've ever spent in the van... we survived, but it was gnar.
we thawed. then hit the road for Denver.
11/21/08 Denver, CO
we had a goal of getting in to town early so that we could catch up with our Pajamma Jamma Beach Bash and Hermosa House buddy Susy and meet her new son Penn... goal was accomplished just after 4pm. so good to see her! doing very very well. nice to meet the young and valiant Penn... all 3 weeks of him. while we visited, we also took the opportunity to take showers for the first time since Little Rock. stanky stank.
show that night was at the Larimer Lounge in Denver and had long been a beacon of
awesomeness calling us through tour... it was setup for glory... but then two weeks before the show the headliner Apollo Sunshine jumped ship for the following night at the Larimer and the local behemoth CAT-A-TAC that we'd teamed up with broke up, leaving frontman Jim McTurnan to hold up the fort on his own. so the show had become a promotional debacle, and it showed with the turnout. last minute local additions to the bill The Pseudo Dates were a pleasant surprise as openers, but them and their handful of peeps checked out before The Ocean Bed -- another new local -- took the stage. all in all, we enjoyed the opportunity to hook up with Jim and to play at the Larimer Lounge. they treated us nicely and we got to rip it up with our pals Tim + Carrie + Brian... who thankfully stuck around for our "headlining" set.
so Denver was a slight disappointment in the midst of a really amazing final week of tour... but the following day and night would make up for it 7-fold.
we stayed with some of our bestest friends in the world that night -- at Mariah and Mike's -- in Boulder despite the full on bark assault from their "guard" dogs when we showed up in the middle of the night... it was intense, and unfortunate cuz it woke up them up...
11/22/08 Nederland, CO final show of our FALL US TOUR
enjoyed a lazy morning as Mariah made us strong black coffee and some eggs and potatoes... then, while Lisa took a nap, Mariah + Cam + I went on an incredible little hike up in the foothills outside Boulder. the weather was pristine. 65 degrees. sunny. no wind. we sat on rocks in the sunlight and talked past, present and future. very grounding moment as the end of tour can sometimes be tumultuous.
not sure we deserve such an incredible day and overall end to tour, but we are very grateful for it and have some of our best friends in the world to thank for it. show that night was at the First Street Pub up in the tiny town of Nederland --
about 30min up a canyon and into the mountains outside of Boulder. no cell phone reception. it had been nearly a year since we last played up there. our friends Forrest and Anne live right down the street from the bar and had taken it upon themselves to host a Thanksgiving potluck before the show with the help of Tim and Carrie and a bunch of other awesome awesome folks. Mariah and Mike and their freind Adi made it up as well. Forrest and Anne procured a giant turkey and cooked it up as the main course and so many people brought so many amazing things. and afterwards, we celebrated over at the First Street, which on top of our potluck crowd and the "Neddys" on hand, there was a great crowd. lots of dancing and overall enthusiasm. it was incredible. THANK YOU Forrest + Anne + Tim + Carrie + Mariah + Mike + Adi + Jamie + Tory + Jim + Jackson + the rest of the First Street staff + everyone else that made the night an absolutely perfect end to a long and amazing tour and for that matter, year of touring. our busiest yet.
we're still reflecting on it all... CMJ + Obama + DC celebrations + low gas prices (as low as $1.59!!!) + family portion of tour with Jared Mees & The Grown Children + 12,000 miles! + so much more... still processing... more to come... several shows around Idaho in the coming weeks... and NYE at the Crawlspace in La Grande, OR on the horizon...
stay tuned...
///gilbert
No comments:
Post a Comment