on the road. actual photos this time.
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Sorry we had to cancel on you DC! The van broke down again. This time for good. Good riddance! We'll try again soon.
posted by dug @ 5:35 PM
0 comments
I keep finding myself talking to strangers about Pela, who played with us on the northeastern leg of this tour. We only did three shows with them, but they loom large in memory. We were all inspired by their attitude -- those guys never take a night off. When the band members outnumbered paying customers in Providence, they played in their underwear, just to keep themselves interested (we've had our share of such nights since then, but the clothes have stayed on). Amazing guys, amazing band. I hope we go out with them again soon.
posted by dug @ 8:29 PM
1 comments
So what happened was we left San Diego on Monday afternoon and played Chapel Hill on Friday, with two shows in Texas along the way. Nothing but hauling ass in our shitty, leaky old cop van. In North Carolina I was reunited with Annie, after far too long apart, along with a whole slew of other old friends. We played at the Local 506 with my good friend Lance's band, My Dear Ella, and the next night we all attended Lance's wedding. The reception was just the release we needed after all those thousand mile days on the interstate. Lotsa drinking, lotsa dancing, lotsa puking. Woo-hoo!
Now we're in the homestretch: back on the east coast with one week until we're home. It's been a good time, every single show has been a joy to perform, but we're all ready to get the hell out of the van and off the road for a little while.
posted by dug @ 2:00 AM
0 comments
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Chapel Hill show! Here are some great photos from Jesse Aaron Safir from the show. Check it out here!
posted by jinners @ 11:00 PM
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Jim and his family and partners in photography sent us some great photos from Street Scene! You can find more of their photos from Webmoment!
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Jim Twyford/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Rick Pool/Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
Photo Credit: Webmoment
posted by jinners @ 9:51 PM
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The first bad omen came outside Phoenix, when our van was suddenly engulfed in a dense cloud of grey smoke. Joe drove out of it and around a tractor trailer that was shooting flames out of both exhaust pipes. During the show that night, one of George's amps began making an odd clicking sound as the tubes gave off sparks and acrid-smelling smoke.
Two days later, the morning of the street scene festival in San Diego, we stopped into a guitar shop to replace the fried amplifier. I was using the toilet when George called me a few minutes later: "Hey I was moving the van a little bit so I could get my guitar out and now it won't turn off." I told him to let it run a few minutes. By the time I got outside it was making a horrid squealing sound and giving off smoke. The engine wasn't running but the starter wouldn't turn off. DJ ran for a fire extinguisher and we watched helplessly as the engine burned itself out. Thankfully, the Street Scene festival is a model of efficiency. They sent a van for us and our equipment. We had our old blue paddy wagon towed to a repair shop, and emptied all of our possessions out of it, sure that it had finally given up the ghost.
We played the festival that day and everything came off without a hitch, other than "accidentally" leaving DJ behind when we left. The kind folks at the festival put us up in a swanky hotel where we could figure out the next step. I got ahold of the repair shop, and he said we just needed to replace the starter and he'd have it for us first thing Monday. So we resigned ourselves to canceling that night's Tucson show, and spent a relaxing day by the pool and at the movies (Talladega Nights y'all). The Doubletree Hotel in San Diego: not such a bad place to get stranded.
The van wasn't ready Monday morning and we had to check out by noon, so we tramped down to the lobby of this very classy hotel, and filled it with our junk: dirty laundry, sleeping bags, band merch, not to mention guitars, amps and drums. After a couple hours we got the call that the van was ready and the shop was sending over one of their mechanics to give me a ride to the shop. So the guy pulls up in a pick-up truck and I hop right in, but he kills the engine and says he wants to grab a smoke. So I sit and mentally calculate the drive time from San Diego to Austin. He finally gets back in, turns the key and... nothing. His battery's dead. "FUCK!" I go and tell the poor bellhop who has been dealing with all our bags and crap for the last two hours and tell him we need a jump. He gets some cables and they pull over one of the hotel shuttles and get the truck started. As soon as we pull out on the Interstate, headed back to the shop, the whole truck starts bucking like a pissed-off donkey. So we pull over to the side of the highway and call the shop. They send out yet another tow truck to pick us up. At last I get back to the shop and pick up the van, which still reeks of smoke but is otherwise good as new. We leave San Diego at about 4:00 pm Monday afternoon: just enough time to get to Austin for our Tuesday night show if we drive straight through the night.
The van lives. Long live the van!
posted by dug @ 12:05 PM
0 comments
Fri Mar 2
Relative Theory Records
Norfolk, VA
Sat Mar 3
Local 506 (w/
Grizzly Bear, Papercuts)
Carrboro, NC
Mon Mar 5
Earl
Atlanta,
GA
Tue Mar 6
Village Tavern
Mt Pleasant, SC
Wed Mar 7
The Social
Orlando,
FL
Thu Mar 8
Respectable Street
West Palm Beach, FL
Fri Mar 9
New World Brewery
Tampa, FL
Sat Mar 10
Common Grounds
Gainesville, FL
Sun Mar 11
Cafe Eleven (w/ The Thermals, The Big Sleep)
St Augustine,
FL
Mon Mar 12
Beta Bar
Tallahassee, FL
Wed Mar 14
Beauty Bar (Gen Art party, 3:30pm set)
Austin, TX
Mon Mar 19
The Paper Heart
Phoenix, AZ
Tue Mar 20
Echo
Los Angeles, CA
Thu Mar 22
Detroit Bar
Costa Mesa, CA
Fri Mar 23
Rickshaw Stop
San Francisco, CA
Sun Mar 25
Kilby Court
Salt Lake City, UT
Mon Mar 26
High Dive
Denver, CO
Tue Mar 27
Jackpot
Lawrence, KS
Wed Mar 28
The Waiting Room
Omaha, NE
Thu Mar 29
Schuba's
Chicago, IL
Fri Mar 30
Nite Owl
Dayton, OH
Mon April 2
The Docksider
Erie, PA
Sat April 7
DC9
Washington, DC
Sat April 14
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY
