Ames, IA

The audience at Ames's historic M-Shop is the polar opposite of the St. Paul crowd.  Everyone sits and is dead silent, until we stop playing.  I like playing small, receptive listening rooms – there's something about people being able to hear the unamplified guitar strings ringing out, or the click of a pedal that takes the mystery out of a live show – in a good way.  Seeing people play up close takes away your ability to hide behind smoke and mirrors (and sheer volume) – it just becomes a matter of trying to connect, on a one-to-one basis.

 

Minneapolis

Its great to play a show again, especially at the Turf Club.  Early on, we decided that we wouldn't take nights off, if possible – even if we only make a few bucks on a Monday night in a small town…we at least made a few bucks, played a show, and then maybe next time it'll be better.  Or – as has been the case a few times, the Monday night might be the best show of the tour.  We're so used to playing, I was worried about being rusty – even though it was only a few days.  I do realize that we're a little different than most bands in that regard, though.

The Turf Club in St. Paul is one of my favorite venues in the country – great sound, great staff, fun green room.  Miles ends his set with the Replacements "Here Comes A Regular" and I jump up on steel and Robby on harp and drums.

We Made It!

We made it.  We made it!

It seems anticlimactic to pull into a Days Inn and stop moving.  And then we get a phone call from the Miles crew.  They didn't make it.  In the same snow and ice, they crashed. 

They're ok (as ok as you can be crashing your van).  And Miles finds a plane ticket to Minneapolis.   So his band is going back to NYC, and Miles will ride in the van with them.

For all the miles we drive, I think we take our safety for granted.  And now and then I'm reminded exactly how fragile this all is.

Vancouver to Minneapolis

We have a few days off so we can get from Vancouver to…Minneapolis.  Almost 2000 miles.  Overnight stops in Butte, MT and Fargo, ND.

We hit snow – first of the tour.  Few things are as terrifying to me as guiding our big rear-wheel drive van through snowy mountain passes, in the dark.  And every time the snow briefly lets up…it gets foggy. 

Finally, we reach my cousin's arts complex in Butte.  It’s a huge, 6 story building for artists, build into an old YMCA.  Complete with basketball arena.  It is just another surreal part of an already surreal day.

We again cross endless plains of snow, trees covered.  Aside from the stray truck, we seem to be the only car on the road.  Vague shapes appear in the blinding white haze -farms and boxcars, or the ghosts of farms and boxcars.  We could be the only people left in the world, for all we know.  

Vancouver

We've got Miles in the van with us today – his band is staying in Seattle with their broken van, so he'll play solo.  Also, we decide not to risk getting Colin across the border today (long story for after the Toronto shows), so we leave him with a friend in Bellingham.

And then, paperwork all printed, passports in order, we head to the border.   Even with everything in order and no reason to worry, its hard not to worry when you're sitting in a huge building with fluorescent lights beaming down and you and the armed border crossing officers.

The show in Vancouver turns out to be the best show of the tour.  Justin and I switch off on bass, and we dig out some older songs and arrangements.  The Media Club reminds me so much of playing in the UK – a small, intimate club with lots of candles and an incredibly attentive audience.  We end the show by playing "End" completely acoustic in the middle of the room.  And our host Ingrid makes us an incredible meal.  For a place we've never played a show, it’s a total success.

As a result of all of this success, I am also incredibly hung over.  And in the middle of the night, someone scrawls "CANADA RULES" on our American-flag-bedecked spare tire cover.

Seattle

Just as we're pulling up to the venue, we get a call from the Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson crew.  Their van is broken down, about 10 blocks from the venue.  We go into full problem-solving mode.

1)      All of the bands are going to share our backline, including amps.

2)      We start our soundcheck while Jesse goes to get the MBAR crew and as much gear they can toss into the van.

3)      Jesse gets onstage, checks vocals.  Our soundcheck is done.

4)      We make sure the MBAR crew have enough time to get set up and familiar with our amps before their set.

And all goes well, and as on time as ever.  It might not be as extreme every time, but this is the kind of stuff we deal with every day.  Always an interesting job, for certain.  Big old vans and so much gear and so many miles to go in such a short time.

Portland, OR

Mississippi Street, Portland, OR