Year Two - Day 118 – August 8th 2010
Minneapolis Minnesota
We drove through the night from Indy, probably a bad idea. Rest is so important when you're doing this job and frankly it's tough to get it in a conversion van.
As I say good morning I realize my voice sounds and feels like I smoked a bag of cigarettes. Lizards was full of smoke last night even the pregnant ladies were smoking. Of course I'm concerned about my voice tonight. My throat is killing me and my chest is muccusy (probably not even a word) and as I scratch my face I realize that I probably need a shave as well so when we touch town I need meds and a razor. Sounding and looking good is essential tonight.
We pull into town around 1PM, I can't get over how hot it is here. I walked to the Walgreens and was baking in the Minneapolis sun. I hadn't showered so I was smelling awesome. I got in, got what I needed, and got out. I arrived back at the hotel and was pretty much ready to crash. Luckily the room had an awesome shower and an Law and Order SVU marathon on TV. As I drifted off to sleep I heard a knock on the door. Jake and Brian are dressed to kill and they're ready to go out. I'm glad these guys are here to balance me out, if they weren't here I'd probably stay at the hotel all day till the show and never see any of these places.
There was a storm threatening to bust open and soak the twin cities so we opted to hit Cause (Formerly Sauce) for an early dinner instead of roaming downtown Minneapolis. I remember the gig in October like it was yesterday; the filled room, the cheering crowds, the lines at the merch table. It was the first time I felt like a legitimate artist and I knew that making a life for myself out here was possible. We were so well received that playing in Minneapolis again was at the top of my wish list of things to do. Would it be like it was before? Who knows, it's a Sunday night, there's no cover, and people have seen us before. But I know we've got a crowd coming and if Grey Matador delivers (which they always do) this house will be packed.
My voice is loosening up as I walk down Lyndale street looking for gum (Dinner although delicious, made my breath quite scummy and disgusting) and a button down shirt (which I didn't find) I get a call from My good friend Katherine Mundy called. She has a respiratory condition that is going to force her to pull out of the CD Release show on September 4th. This is unfortunate because not only is she an awesome singer/songwriter, she's featured on Animated. She'll be missed but I'd rather her sit this one out than do permanent damage to her voice. The sky is getting even darker so I head back. Nerves are starting to set in, is anyone coming? Will they enjoy it? Is anything strange going to happen?
When I saw Roe and Brue of Grey Matador I felt a lot better. Brue's running the show so I feel better with him here. As the rest of the band walks in I get pretty stoked, it's nice to see some friendly faces. Working through booking agencies and clubs directly for all of the previous dates I missed the camaraderie the comes with doing shows with fellow musicians. It adds a certain touch and flare to the proceedings because the bands have a stake in people showing up.
As the night progresses Kibra, Lori, and Kristin among others walk in. The Twin Cities are awesome because we have real fans here. Kibra saw us in Chicago on Wednesday, Lori came the last time out and brought people with her this time and Kristin came all the way from Fargo to check it out, Rob had some buddies show up, and I recognize a lot of the people who came to the show before. We were missing some soldiers but I couldn't be anything but happy that we have such a strong contingent of people so far away from home.
Matador hits the stage first, and they play one helluva set, I've always been intrigued by how Brue can hit the drums like a tank but not be earsplittingly loud. They get better and better every time I see them. I enjoy watching them, they seem to have such an easy chemistry. After about 40 minutes of pure unadulterated post punk power we were up. It was time to play the show that I'd built this tour around. I take a deep breath and I count it off.
Set List
Ex- Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
Encore
Baby One More Time
We tore into this set with a sheer ferocity unmatched by the rest of the dates on this tour. We didn't have to focus on winning the crowd over because 90% of them were already there to see us and were expecting a good show. They were in it with us and it raised our game to another level. I was floating on air which made it difficult to be in the moment. I flubbed a couple of pedal switches, but even I didn't notice till later.
I got the idea in my head to use Roque (Grey Matador's guitarist)'s Amp in conjunction with mine to create a bigger more stereo guitar sound, it's something I've seen people do but I've never done myself. It rounded out my sound and I think I'll probably use two amps from here on out.
It was truly an amazing experience. We played a great show, hung out with some awesome people, and saw some great bands. The John Snell Xplosion was pretty awesome and Grey Matador...I mean what else can be said. I can't wait to do stuff with them in the future.
The last note played marked the end of this tour. Possibly the best tour yet. We worked like a well oiled machine and these three guys were a perfect example of professionalism and basic kick-assness. We played for hundreds this time but I'm more determined to play to thousands next time around. As we've done before, all of us will take the lessons we learned and apply it to future endeavors
I could stay out here forever but I know it's time to come home...we got big things ahead. Brace yourselves Philadelphia, we'll be back in a few days
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