Day 225 - October 23rd 2009
There are a few habits I’ve developed since becoming a musician that goes out on the road.
1) Get up early so that you can get that first shower
2) Go to sleep in the van shortly after it pulls off
I woke up in the knights in in Indianapolis with these things in mind but as I got dressed and opened the door I saw that it was raining cats and dogs….great. It’s 6 am and I’m trying to call Brian and Jake to get them up so that we can get to Minneapolis in a decent amount of time. I wanted to avoid traffic and all that, get to the hotel, and lay back before having to get to the gig which wasn’t too far away from the venue itself. We left in the rain about an hour later than I wanted to. I try not to be a drill sergeant about it, but I know that we need to leave at a certain time to get there at a certain time.
There aren’t many more beautiful sights than the sun rising over the Midwestern landscape, it’s the America from the movies. The drive would be nine hours. Movies like Zach and Miri and Dazed and Confused would help pass the time, oh not to mention all the rian that fell from the sky as we passed through Illinois, which would quickly turn into snow once we hit Wisconsin. My sinuses are acting up when I spit out the post nasal drip it’s half thick green/yellow mucus, half blood, I’ve had sinus infections before but it always seems like I get them worse than other people. My throat’s mad ore which doesn’t bode well for tonight. We marveled at the fact that it was snowing now as we scream outside “It’s October!” Tom Tom steered us wrong somewhere in the middle of Chicago but once we got back on track we got there at a reasonable time.
We pull into the Bloomington Microtel and I go into the room and everything is where I remember it from Iowa including the mattress in the window seal. We had a little while in the hotel before we needed to go over. We piled int eh car and stopped at a walmart so that Rob could get a rug for his drums, Brue (Grey Matador) had already allowed us the use of his but I guess we don’t know what’s going to happen in Detroit. After that we hustle to get over there.
We roll up on Sauce, Spirits and Soundbar at around 8, 8:30. As I enter the venue I can’t help but see a Bong Hits for Jesus poster in the Window, they were here at this very bar last night. Seems like a lot of Philly bands are migrating towards that area of the country. Probably cause it’s awesome. I can say one thing about Minneapolis right off the bat…the women here are mad sexy. Not sure what it is but they know how to work what they have. A single man would have a wide array of beautiful women to choose from…if he could stand the cold weather.
As we finish loading in I can’t help but feel nervous, because for me this is THE GIG. The other two shows on this mini tour were basically built around me and the guys playing in Minneapolis. Ever since I was here with Camaro and met some of my great friends/fans at the show I wanted to come back and show them what I really can do. Thanks to my good man Brue we were able to make it happen. I see Lori and Traci and Kibra and all the people they brought. This might be the first time I’ve gone somewhere with the band we had a decent draw, something hat we may be able to build off of. We’re sharing the bill with some great Twin Cities talent so I want to make sure that we can play well here and generate some buzz.
They showed us the green room and the steps that lead to nowhere in the basement of the club, it was good to be able to show Jake and Rob what my actual touring experience was like and what it should be like, Indy although it was an awesome show it wasn’t a great example of that. The place had water, PBR, and other stuff waiting for us in there. I was glad I had someplace to put my change of clothes.
Obergaramu, the opening bands drummer were late, and I was concerned what was actually gonna happen with the show. Thankfully they and Grey Matador offered to cut their sets short so that we can play a full set. Again these Minnesota folks are going above and beyond for us, something we really appreciate. I feel better about the fact that we actually had quite a few people there and were bringing something to the table. Once Obergaramu was done we set up. They key was to move fast so that we didn’t cut into anyone’s time. I threw my white jacket on after a quick line check and we were ready to go. We’d be tuning to e flat to help out my voice.
Set List
Superhero
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
The Way You Make Me Feel
How Can This Be Love
Feels So Good
Wasted
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin
After we were done with (Oh) I Wish I Loves You I was feeling super comfortable. I took my jacket off and the guys and I really dug into the songs. The people loved us it seemed. We had a very receptive, enthusiastic crowd, who’s energy I fed off of and tried my best to give back to them. I saw people lining up to buy CD’s I mean it was truly an amazing thing. As we moved to Feels So Good I was fearless, jumping down to the floor so that I could be closer to the crowd when I played my big solo. People were cheering extremely loudly as I played the last bit with my teeth. I’m talking to the crowd, playing around with them, taking them where I want them to go. We sealed the deal with Leavin and that my friends was it. E the best show. I was especially proud of the way Jake and Rob played they’ve been with me long enough that they can give me exactly what I need when I’m playing and singing. They throw enough new stuff in there to keep me on my toes.
Grey Matador is an amazing band, them along with Minneapolis should write a book about how to treat a band when they come to your hometown. Like I said above and beyond. Outside of Philly this may be the best overall show we’ve ever played. All the starts lined up pretty perfectly and gave us a really kick ass show. Some of the matador fans voiced their displeasure about us not playing any Prince Songs, but I promised them next time when my voice is in better shape we’d do at least one. Is this the peak of our tour? Maybe. Then again Detroit could be even better, we’ll just have to see.
I hit the bed as early as possible, knowing we have a looooong drive tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment