Wearing rags and feathers from Salvation army counters
10/24/07 – 10 AM – Hiram and Melissa's house
My apologies, dear readers, for not updating in the past few days. Believe it or not, sometimes there's no wireless internet. Let's recap:
We stayed with Beth and Megan in Eugene and ate delicious food and listened to good music. That night we played at the Black Forest, where the bill puzzlingly consisted of two touring bands and no locals on a Sunday night. However, the sound was quite good and the other band, Acute, were awesome. They did a cover of Chelsea Hotel No. 2 that made my night. Making connections with people on the road, especially other like-minded musicians, is one of the best parts of going on tour.
The next day we went to Dundee to stay with the Gildens, where we consumed more delicious food and drink and generally recuperated after playing six shows in six days. All the nights of strenuous rocking/drinking followed by awkward sleeping certainly take their toll. We also had an opportunity to do a short acoustic set for a group of psychology students/professors, who listened to us very politely. Once again, performing in a space with other people unmediated by microphones and amps and monitors is most enjoyable and reassures me that I can, in fact, sing. All that stuff between me and the sound and the audience can be such a pain.
Then yesterday, after taking another beautiful stroll through the vineyards of Dundee, we left for Portland. We hung out at Powell's for awhile, then we went to Corey's place and totally hung out some more. Then we headed over to Kelly's Olympian, where we were impressed to see our names on a big marquee. We were 2 hours early for the gig, though. Sometimes it's an awkward position to end up in when you're in a strange city with a few hours to kill, but you don't want to move your vehicle or spend any money. We ended up taking a walk back to Powell's and then back to the venue again, and by that time things were almost ready to get started.
The Harvey Girls, everyone's favorite metafilter supergroup, played first and impressed with their three-part harmonies and banjo-picking. We were up next. But playing our set was, contrary to my expectation, not much fun at all. The sound on stage was really bad, although I've decided to trust reports that the sound in the audience was good. It's hard, though, to get into playing when the mix you're hearing sounds lifeless and crappy. You have no choice but to trust the sound guy, although you've only just met him. Sometimes you'll think you sound great and then people tell you afterwards that the sound was bad. But sometimes it's the inverse. Anyway, Petrea and Corey were kind enough to come out, and the trumpet player from the Minor Thirds thankfully brought a little enthusiasm to the room during our set. Those same intervallically-named lads and lasses finished out the evening, and by the end not much was on our minds but bed. We headed back to the home of Hiram and Melissa (a.k.a. 2/3 The Harvey Girls) and claimed a couch, an air mattress, and some floorspace.
10/25/07 – 3 PM – On the road to Seattle
We said goodbye to M&H yesterday after a delicious breakfast at the Cup and Saucer. Then we hung out at Corey's place, drank some special beer, and watched The Mighty Boosh (I'm Old Greg!). Afterwards we had to split up to find the van (which we recently dubbed Van Halen), but find it we did, despite the gray Portland drizzle that had beset us. We hadn't yet secured a place to stay, but luckily for us we had not yet exhausted Eugene and Petrea's hospitality, so we headed back to their place in Dundee for another excellent meal and restful night. Of course we also wanted to see Simon and Bear again. Now we've hit the road once more, and after making a stop at Burgerville for lunch and at Corey's to pick up my again-forgotten capo (!), we're heading to Seattle for our 12th and northernmost performance.
Finally, take a look at this awesome take on February Third by a talented Jr. Arch Enemy.
My apologies, dear readers, for not updating in the past few days. Believe it or not, sometimes there's no wireless internet. Let's recap:
We stayed with Beth and Megan in Eugene and ate delicious food and listened to good music. That night we played at the Black Forest, where the bill puzzlingly consisted of two touring bands and no locals on a Sunday night. However, the sound was quite good and the other band, Acute, were awesome. They did a cover of Chelsea Hotel No. 2 that made my night. Making connections with people on the road, especially other like-minded musicians, is one of the best parts of going on tour.
The next day we went to Dundee to stay with the Gildens, where we consumed more delicious food and drink and generally recuperated after playing six shows in six days. All the nights of strenuous rocking/drinking followed by awkward sleeping certainly take their toll. We also had an opportunity to do a short acoustic set for a group of psychology students/professors, who listened to us very politely. Once again, performing in a space with other people unmediated by microphones and amps and monitors is most enjoyable and reassures me that I can, in fact, sing. All that stuff between me and the sound and the audience can be such a pain.
Then yesterday, after taking another beautiful stroll through the vineyards of Dundee, we left for Portland. We hung out at Powell's for awhile, then we went to Corey's place and totally hung out some more. Then we headed over to Kelly's Olympian, where we were impressed to see our names on a big marquee. We were 2 hours early for the gig, though. Sometimes it's an awkward position to end up in when you're in a strange city with a few hours to kill, but you don't want to move your vehicle or spend any money. We ended up taking a walk back to Powell's and then back to the venue again, and by that time things were almost ready to get started.
The Harvey Girls, everyone's favorite metafilter supergroup, played first and impressed with their three-part harmonies and banjo-picking. We were up next. But playing our set was, contrary to my expectation, not much fun at all. The sound on stage was really bad, although I've decided to trust reports that the sound in the audience was good. It's hard, though, to get into playing when the mix you're hearing sounds lifeless and crappy. You have no choice but to trust the sound guy, although you've only just met him. Sometimes you'll think you sound great and then people tell you afterwards that the sound was bad. But sometimes it's the inverse. Anyway, Petrea and Corey were kind enough to come out, and the trumpet player from the Minor Thirds thankfully brought a little enthusiasm to the room during our set. Those same intervallically-named lads and lasses finished out the evening, and by the end not much was on our minds but bed. We headed back to the home of Hiram and Melissa (a.k.a. 2/3 The Harvey Girls) and claimed a couch, an air mattress, and some floorspace.
10/25/07 – 3 PM – On the road to Seattle
We said goodbye to M&H yesterday after a delicious breakfast at the Cup and Saucer. Then we hung out at Corey's place, drank some special beer, and watched The Mighty Boosh (I'm Old Greg!). Afterwards we had to split up to find the van (which we recently dubbed Van Halen), but find it we did, despite the gray Portland drizzle that had beset us. We hadn't yet secured a place to stay, but luckily for us we had not yet exhausted Eugene and Petrea's hospitality, so we headed back to their place in Dundee for another excellent meal and restful night. Of course we also wanted to see Simon and Bear again. Now we've hit the road once more, and after making a stop at Burgerville for lunch and at Corey's to pick up my again-forgotten capo (!), we're heading to Seattle for our 12th and northernmost performance.
Finally, take a look at this awesome take on February Third by a talented Jr. Arch Enemy.
