What a tour it’s been so far. The first drive took a total of 20 hours from New Orleans to the Murphy’s Kids house in Richmond, VA. In that time we managed to spew coolant all over the engine, run out of gas, and get a ton of free Subway cookies from a gas station attendant in Alabama. Even though Cash and Chris got the heater fixed before we left, it definitely does not work. So our first taste of winter was wrapped up in a van, driving through the coldest night of the year thus far, watching our breath fill the air. Somewhere while being miserable, I realize that I still wouldn’t want to be anywhere else or in any other life situation than this one. Of course, we got to the promised land that is the Murphy’s Kids funhouse and all was well. We got to relax and even practice the set before the show in the space where they wrote and recorded The Anthemic Pandemic.
The first show of the tour was in Richmond at this really awesome Ethiopian restaurant/bar called The Nile. The soup of the day was Vegan Chili with quinoa and it definitely was the soup of the day. Great first chili for the winter season. The restaurant part closed at 10, they moved all the tables in their 100 capacity room and the first band loaded in. Doing anything in this cold weather sucks, so the idea of each band loading in right before they played was not appealing. Regardless, we speed walked through the process of unloading onto the sidewalk, loaded in and played on the floor to about 140 people. It ruled.
Having survived the gauntlet on the drive up, it’s been smooth sailing ever since. We left Murphy’s Kids in the afternoon and headed to the show at Vintage Theater in Scranton, PA. It was a really enjoyable drive because we took a route I’d never been on before. It’s usually up and down the same highways, year after year, but this time we came in from the west instead of through Philly. When 4:30 hits, we all make the transition to nighttime driving: the jackets go on and the sunglasses come off. Even Shinobi wakes up at the new smell in the air. His head hasn’t left my lap in about 2 hours.
The Vintage Theater is this awesome show space/coffee shop independently owned by this young dude, Connor. If you ever happen to be in Scranton searching for non-existing “Office”, stop in and say hello. It was our first show of five with the Stupid Stupid Henchmen and their first show in about 7 years. Having only practiced once since then, earlier in the same day, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they were absolutely insane! I really hope they keep playing live shows cause they were tight as hell and the crowd went bonkers.
Tonight we’re headed to Montclair, NJ to play at The Meatlocker. Should be awesome. Can’t wait to see Sammy Kay again! I’m gonna go help Chris’s mom rake some leaves now. SO. MANY. LEAVES.
Here are some camera phone pics:
1989 Dodge RamVan. Paul wasn’t even born yet.
We ran out of gas a block away from the station…
Shinobi keeps us warm, but somehow stays real cool.
Peace. D-Ray & MC
