Highways and Gardens
July 21, 2008
Well.. in Birmingham, Alabama after a long couple of drives coming from Texas. The Old 97 shows have been great and they have been great to play with. The opening band for these first shows was a band from Dallas called ” The Crash That Took Me” which were also great.
The show in Helotes was at Floores. It was a bar and restaurant with a huge patio out back where they had outdoor shows. We played inside where it was super hot. But I think that all the shows are going to be that way since it is summer and we are in the south.
Got to hang out with my friend Valerie who I met back in the Siva days. Always a blast to see her. Her friend Nicole put us up for the night at her place. Thanks a bunch to Nicole, her sister(who’s name I already forgot. sorry!) and her mom Gracie, and a special thanks to Val for the help and the laughs that go with every one of our meetings. The kindness of strangers never ceases to amaze me. And i am grateful that playing music and traveling allows me to meet such cool people.
We left pretty early and started toward New Orleans. Gabe was the smart one last night and actually got some sleep so he drove most of the way there. Got into New Orleans a little later than we thought so we headed right to the venue and rushed to get everything in. The venue was the House of Blues and that fact didn’t really sink in till we got there. Awesome place and super pro and helpful folks that work there. Mostly hang out and chow down some food at the venue before we have to play. The sound is awesome up on stage and we play really well. I had a lot of fun playing. The Old 97’s crowd seem to get into us and are always giving us good feedback after the shows, which is greatly appreciated. We load out right after we play and wait for the end of the show. The Old 97’s play for about 2 plus hours! They are machines! They sound great and the crowd is always super hyped thru their whole set.
Afterwards we decide to split up with some of us finding showers at a friends hotel room and others heading out toward Bourbon street. I didn’t take a shower. Hit a few places and had a great time walking around and eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Every time i come to this town I have a different experience every time. Some bad…Some good. The city center is awesome with the french quarter being crowded and stinky, beautiful and exciting, all at the same time. didn’t really see any signs of damage from the floods but we didn’t really drive around that much. It happens that way some times when your on tour. Never really seeing or experiencing the city you are playing.
We get back to the van and head out of town toward Birmingham, Alabama. We don’t get very far before i have to pull over so we rest for a while at a rest stop. Sleeping in the van in the south in summer is never pleasant so we don’t stay put for long. we wake up and head north toward Tuscaloosa and find a hotel with the help of our long distance guide that I will call La Rana! Thanks Rana!
Day off today so we take it easy and chill in the hotel room. Gabe, Clint and me go and check out the new Batman movie that blows us away. Yet one more exciting night for a touring musician comes to a close.
We pop out of bed and eat the free hotel chow and then packout and head toward Birmingham. i am still reading the Joe Strummer bio that my friend Merv lent me so the drive goes quick. I love the book and i guess I am just taking my time reading it. I will get it back to you Merv, I promise!
We end up at the botanical gardens and walk around for a while. It’s hot today but there is a bunch of shade so its not to bad. They have some cool stuff growing there. i enjoyed sitting in the shade of a group of tall bamboo. I love doing this type of thing on tour. it adds another layer to the tour cake. Breaking the routine is always good.
Sitting in a cafe called Bottletree. just finished eating the best Vegan chili dog i have had in a long time. Thanks again go out to the Rana for the help finding this place.
Waiting for set time at the Workplay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. I have been here several times on previous tours but i have never played in this city. For one reason or another we would show up and the show would be canceled or the promoter would know nothing of who we were or some other crazy reason. So I am happy to finally be playing here. Their is another band on the bill from new york. Super cool and great music. Their gonna be playing shows with us all the way up to the north.
Had a good time in Birm today. From the gardens to hanging out at Bottletree. Except for the sound guy everyone we have met is super nice. And really, he is just grumpy. I understand that.
The last few days I have been in a great mood. just loving being out here and mixing it up! I am looking forward to the rest of the tour and the following one. I know things will be geat for us on this tour and i only hope I can take every opportunity to enjoy the experience and make more connections with the guys and all the people we meet and play with too. I am by nature kind of awkward around people and I am trying to change that, but it’s hard when your use to being one way and then the situation is new everyday and the circumstance is different day to day. you have to change your perspective and be flexible enough to roll with the punches and not get bogged down in attitude and fear.
