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.

2 July 2006: The Awesomeness of Kalamazoo, MI

(At left: Kim, Thor, and Val experiencing Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Live! for the first time.)

Shearwater played in Kalamazoo, MI last May with the Mountain Goats, and it was one of the highlights of the tour thanks to Val Nelson, the awesomest promoter on earth. Friendly, accommodating, sweet, and chock-full of good taste and brain-power, she gives promoters a good name. Even better than that, she does it for the love of it. I wish Val could promote shows everywhere in America.

The venue in Kzoo is the Kraftbrau, a brew-pub with a small but nice-sounding stage, a small but nice-sounding PA, friendly staff, and excellent brewed-on-site beer. They don't sell anything they don't make themselves, and I have yet to have a bad brew out of the (embarassingly high number of) pints I've tried. Even the ginger ale was mind-blowing.

The show itself was nice. Nice people. Nice sets by both bands. Ike Turner was in Chicago seeing the Cubs and White Sox, so I wrote something horrible about him in the bathroom. Sorry, Ike! Thor sat in w/ the Court and Spark for a few songs. They might buy him a pair of white cut-offs if this keeps up. We were noshing while local opener Frank Fuzz blew some minds on the porch, so after the show he gave us a private show upstairs. The highlight was the video Frank & live Frank duet of "Tonight You Belong To Me". Much merriment ensued, which later resulted in Val and I having to tempt the Court and Spark off of the roof with promises of burritos and Grateful Dead bootlegs. As punishment, they did not get to go skinny dipping in Woods lake with us at 3AM.

Crashed with Val and her lovely roommate, Heather. Allowed the unwashed to experience Dr. Hook for the first time, which I dare say is more special than your first baby steps or your awkward teenage deflowering. The Moka Easy seems to have shit itself, which is causing me no end of distress. Had a great (great!) breakfast at the Crow's Nest: a tofu/provelone/onion/sourdough sandwich called the Percha. Yes, it sounds like some hippy bullshit, but 'twas satisfying as all get out. Much better than you'd expect from a hippy-sounding place in the middle of Western Michigan. After my second visit, I'm learning that Kzoo is a special place, and you should expect greatness to be the baseline.

Revelry in Kzoo:

1 July 2006: Chicago, IL

Another 8 hour hellride, culminating in a low-key set @ the Beat Kitchen. Not a very large crowd, but those who were there were very appreciative. Ate dinner at the club, which is the second night in a row I regretted my food decision. Howrad and Thor both had pizza with roasted garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, while I had fresh tomatoes and buffalo mozzerella. 'twas fine, but the sun-dried tomato/garlic combo was tastier by far.

Post-show, Howrad and I took off with friends Dave and Tiffany, and drank a few beers with some nice people in Logan Square. Ended up snoozing at 2:30, and woke at 8:00 to shower and catch up on the books. Tim Midgett called around 10:30, and we jetted over to meet him, his wife Vicki and his daughter, Lila for breakfast at a place on the north side. Was so great to catch up with them, and the food was great. Howard and Vick had the baked egg, wrapped in bacon and served on polenta. I had the vegan something or other, which had scrambled tofu, spinach (great spinach!) and potatoes. Tim had a rhubarb something or other.

Afterward, we said our goodbyes and scooted over to Millenium Park and walked around a bit, before heading back over to Wicker Park to split for Kzoo. I dropped into the American Apparel store while the rest of the bitches packed their bags.

Now we're in Kalamazoo, having a great time eating pizza and brewed-on-site beer. I hope I can stay sober enough to enjoy the show.

Photos from the past couple of days:

30 June 2006: Kansas City

The tour started with a dull drive, ~8 hours straight on I-35 to Kansas City. Lunch was at a Taco Mayo somewhere in Oklahoma, but thanks to Howard's USB-capable cell phone and the power of dorks with laptops, we were able to find the Whole Foods outside of KC and stop there for supplies. I also ducked in to the nearby liquor store for a bottle of Bulleit, as we'll have the 4th off en route to Boston and will need something to entertain us besides all of these books, DVDs, magazines, and conversation.

Show in KC was at the Record Bar, which is what, I dunno, Chili's would be like if it were run by indie rockers from Kansas City. The place was in a strip mall next to a Half-Price Books, but the staff were nice and the food there totally fine. I had penne w/ Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta, along with too much Fat Tire. Kinda wished I gotten the salad instead. Most everybody else got The Moby, a sandwich w/ marinated portabella & veggies.

Friends The Minus Story came in from Lawrence. Very nice people, and they brought us some Oaxacan coffee from the café they work at. Though we have the Moka Easy and the Turkish mill, We have yet to actually brew for ourselves so far this trip due to logistics. To rub salt in the wound, I just had the shittiest cup of coffee I've ever had, an "espresso" from a rest stop in Iowa. Should I really be that surprised?

The Court and Spark had some van trouble in western Kansas, but managed to tough it out and heroically arrive minutes before the end of Shearwater's set. Chatted with them for a bit before heading off to the previously-Pricelined hotel north of town, which turned out to be a cramped single. Ended up crashing around 3:30 after taking care of some organizational stuff, and was up by 8:30. Thankfully Thor is driving now, giving me time to write this and relax a little bit. DeMoines is coming up soon, and we will hopefully find coffee there.

Our time in Chicago will be short, but I hope to find some good eats worth talking about.