All new touring-related posts are at matthewbarnhart.com

Really, you should check out matthewbarnhart.com if you wanna read about my travels.

SW tour photo stragglers

Found a few more camera-phone shots while going through my phone today:

Jonathan and Howrad discussing exactly what Philadelphia can shove up it's ass:



Thor enjoying downtown Philadelphia:



Daphne and Blondie, Sterling, VA:





Thor's in-laws' dog, Charlotte, NC:

Filling in the blanks...

(If any of this sounds boring, you're only teetering on the cusp of understanding!)

5 July: Headed into Cambridge early after doing laudry and sleeping comfortably for the first time this tour, again thanks to the wonderful Sheffs. Arrived at TT's around 4, and the extremely friendly cleaning fellow let us load in so that we might dick off around Boston and not worry about our equipment. I took the opportunity to show Howrad a wee bit of Boston, skipping through Boston Common, waltzing down Newbury St., then stopping by the MIT Press Bookstore for a good, old-fashioned mind-blowing. The show itself went quite well, with a friendly and appreciative crowd. Opening the show was Elisha Weisner's band, Kahoots, who are opening for The New Year next month in NY and Boston. Chris Brokaw showed up with his lovely, new-ish girlfriend and had his obligatory TT's sit-in, playing drums on a Kahoots song. After the show, Will Schaff and his lady entertained us all with drawings and stories, and then we again headed for Worcester and snoozed even more.

6 July: The show tonight was originally scheduled for Magnetic Field in Red Hook, Brooklyn, but through a series of miscommunications we ended up at a junk shop in Bushwick instead. Maybe 12 people showed up, but three of those were NY Times writers, and a nice story ended up in the Arts section the next day.

7 July: A great day in the city: first lunch with my aunt Susanna, then dinner with my pal Jamie. Show @ Mercury was fabulous, including a good version of "Baby's On Fire".

8 July: In-store @ Sound Fix in Williamsburg, or How mb Went To Williamsburg and, by Miracle of God Himself, Actually Had A Nice Time. Great record store, the show was in a café called Fix behind it. Really appreciative crowd, awesome staff. Afterward, we headed to Philly and had about as shitty an experience as can be had playing rock music. I don't want to even think about it any more, so I won't!

9 July: Private party. What happens in Sterling, VA stays in Sterling, VA. Thanks to the Loves.

10 July: Our hosts took us kayaking down the Potomac. I suck at this, and nearly broke my thumb. Show in DC @ Warehouse Next Door was pretty great, a nice All Ages/DIY place.

11 July: Charlotte, NC. Hung out a bit w/ Austin ex-pat Lee & his bike messenger pals, and had our minds blown by Carla Bozulich & band. Venue was a complete ass-whip, staffed by meatheads and shitheels and total cocks. Spent the first half of the night stabbing my thumb with a sewing needle to drain the blood and fluid, which was far more enjoyable than "working" with the house sound guy. Warrant was scheduled to play the next week, which is fitting. Stayed w/ Thor's in-laws, who were sweet as can be.

At this point, Jonathan flew to NY to play a show with Okkervil River, and the rest of us drove to Denton, then Austin for a show at Emo's (and our last with Court and Spark), then back to Denton for a great show at Secret Headquarter's w/ Chris Flemmons. I remember a good breakfast taco and a bunch of kolaches, and not much else.

The wrap-up: pretty good time. Can't wait for the Mag Elec shows in Sep.

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of updates. We've been doing some hellish drives the past few days, and not a ton has been happening anyway. We played a show with Carla Bozulich in Charlotte, NC, which was, ummmm, interesting. She was very congeninial and her set was captivating. The promoter was nice, if a little overwhelmed, but the venue was an awful barn of a place that typically hosts cover bands ("Pink Floydian Slip") and washed-up hair metal. I'll try and do a write up of everything I've missed, if only for posterity.

10 July 2006: Photo update

Do not allow me near a body of water larger than a bath tub. More updates when I'm not drenched in water from the Potomac.

Jamie, drinking @ the Mercury Lounge, Manhattan:



Venue cat @ Goodbye Blue Monday, Bushwick, Brooklyn:



Susanna Margolis, a gem of a lady:



Nina, Park Slope, Brooklyn:



Daphne, Sterling, VA:



Death by Peanut Butter, Manhattan:



Kim Burke, a lady of Southern distinction:



Williamsburg, Brooklyn:



Blondie, Sterling, VA:



Halibut, caught in Alaska 20 hours previously:

4 July 2006: Celebrating the Birth of Our Nation By Sitting in the Van

Been unable to find the time to write the past few days, what with all of the drinking, driving, skinny-dipping, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show watching.

We're currently holed up at the Sheff's compound in Worcester, MA, playing in Cambridge tonight. We had the 4th off, which we spent driving straight from Cleveland, about a 12 hour trip in total. Our route took us on I-84 through southern New York, which I don't believe anyone had ever bothered with before on previous trips. The scenery was gorgeous, though the aftermath of the recent storms there left a lot of places still flooded. Stopped at a Quizno's/Starbuck's in Binghampton, NY for lunch, then traveled on. The sun had dropped by the time we reached Schenectady, and we saw bits and pieces of maybe 5 different town's July 4th fireworks displays exploding over the Catskills.

There was another bit of drama during the van ride, but that will have to wait for another post.

3 July 2006: Hello Cleveland!

People in Cleveland are really sick of both "Hello Cleveland!" and "Cleveland Rocks" by Ian Hunter.

3 July we were in Cleveland, playing the Beachland Ballroom, in the "tavern" area. Had a surprisingly good black bean burrito and a few pints of a local brew by Great Lakes Brewery. Dessert was a deep-fried PB&J, which was out-of-this-world. The venue itself was interesting, feeling more like a VFW hall than a bar, but this is Cleveland, after all. Staff were nice as could be, and the local openers, the Expecting Rain did a fine job. Their trumpet player ended up sitting in with Shearwater for a couple of tunes after learning the songs in her car right before the show.

While the rest of Shearwater loaded out, I bro'ed out w/ the guys in the Court and Spark about 1990's hardcore. Turns out Mike and Scott were in a band on Ebullition called Ex-Ignota, who I never actually heard. Dre and I are going to burn them a copy of the Blacksmiths EP.

Also did a little Pere Ubu/RFFT snooping. Turns out they not only practice down the street from the Beachland, they're working on a new record. Hopefully they'll be making another US run and stopping in Texas so Katey can see them.

The show turned out to be the high-point of attendance for the tour so far, with 44 people paid. This beat the best estimate in the band pool by 23 people. Considering my sordid history with the city, I'm just glad no food was thrown at me and I didn't have to piss in a hole in a basement.

The 4th is a driving day, where we'll crash in the palatial Sheff compound outside of Worcester, and Howrad and I will finally get some amazing food in our bellies.