Lubbock, TX

The green of East Texas gives way to the massive urban sprawl of Dallas. And then, as the frontage roads filled with chain stores and gas stations fade away, the world seems to open up. There is no place I've ever been that seems so vast and beautiful. No matter how many times we've driven through it, the easy banter always gives way to a profound quiet, each of us in our own world under the epic sky. Between the storms of yesterday and the landscape today, we are constantly reminded how small we are compared to nature – and how in the face of that we struggle and strive to somehow create something larger than ourselves.

The joy of having low expectations:

-finding out that what you thought was the stage is actually not…and that there's a nice backroom with a good stage/system/lights.
-finding out that the local opener is actually really good.
-playing with the band Warpaint…who are fantastic.
-having a great show of our own, despite having never been to Lubbock before.

Shreveport, LA - 10/29/09

We're in Shreveport, LA. Its raining. In fact, its been raining all day, ever since we got there. We limped the van in the night before with a bad wheel bearing, and we're sitting, waiting, watching the rain. Despite it pouring the entire day – massive thunderstorms and downpours, the promoter is still excited about the show.

Finally, the van is fixed, we load in in the pouring rain. And then, calmly, the door person says "is everything of value out of your van?". "Is this a bad neighborhood?" we ask. "No", he says…"there's a tornado about a mile away, headed this way."

We immediately spring into action, taking everything of value out (for me: copy of Don Quixote and my GPS). Then we realize that maybe we should move the van. We stash it in an alley, and then head in to wait out the storm.

The tornados eventually pass by (none near enough to do any damage to us). But the storms never stop – hours go by, and we're still waiting to see if we're going to play. The venue is an old department store, so the giant empty spaces dripping water just seem creepy.

After an eternity of waiting, we realize that we might be the only people dumb enough to venture out in the midst of tornados. So…we play. We take our gear off the stage, and set up for an acoustic set near the bar for the 10 people or so there. Amidst the puddles and the thunder, we play.

We load out in the drenching rain, and head back, and off to sleep.