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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Day 13 (the last day)
w/ Christian Mistress & Spectral Tombs
Yesterday was a long day, but it was nice to wake up in the woods today, in a tent, and head out. Honestly, Silver Falls is not too far out of the way-- it's a convenient stop off of I-5, and for $16, five of us got our pick of sleeping arrangements, and access to showers (no one should underestimate the value of showers to a touring band).
Tyler slept on the wooden platform in the back of the van, which was hell on his sunburn... I still can't figure out why he chose to sleep there (or get a sunburn. I stay away from that stuff. Sun people start to look like leather, or crocodiles, by the time they're 50).Most of the day was spent in the park... I don't think we left until after 6:00 or so, and that was no problem-- my herculean feat of driving had gotten us so close to the next show, we had time to kill. The Sacramento -> Salem trip was intense, but I'd made up my mind that we're going home tonight after the show. I slept on the way to Plan B in Portland (which was such a quick ride, I put on The Minutemen Double Nickles on the Dime to sleep to, and we got there before the album was done) so that I'd be awake that night to get us back to Seattle.
Plan B is a nice bar, but it has a huge back patio. This is a bit of a problem when you're playing with a black metal band and an 80's-style power metal band... nothing against either group, but the audience knew exactly what to expect from both: the sound of their music was completely familiar to anyone who wanted to hear Power Metal or Black Metal. ubik.s a little stranger than that... and "strange" seemed to make people hang out on the patio and smoke.
We sold some CDs, though... a conversation or two revealed that a few members of the crowd really did want to hear something different. So we've got that going for us. Also, members of Order of the Gash and Anon Remora came to the show, and it was really good to see them there (and they gave us some sound notes from the crowd-- apparently, I needed to turn up. It's good to have other band people out in the crowd, because they're almost always the only ones that tell us mid-set if one instrument is too loud or too quiet. The sound guy [from Mongoloid Village-- how awesome is that?] didn't have anything to do with it, because Joel and I were just playing through our cabs. No mics on us.) We played well, though, and had a pretty good show.
(long parenthetical)
The setlists have been going more metal and screamier as the tour took its toll on Michelle's throat. Next time we do this, there is going to be more care taken with days off and rest, with no arbitrary Redding stops on scheduled days off.
The drive home was my idea-- after Plan B, I said we should just head north, do some night driving, and get home. The tour has gone well, and I can do more on the road, but if there are no more shows, I want to get to a real bed.
Seriously, I might have killed someone. All of us, maybe-- I nodded off somewhere near Tacoma, and it was scary enough that I caught some nap time on a freeway on-ramp before charging on. I'm a good night driver and I have excellent long-haul stamina, but that doesn't account for 13 hours of hiking, driving, and a show before hitting the road. It was scary.
That, and there was a lot of whiskey among some of the non-drivers. We had to stop a few times due to puke in the van. I'm not sure if this is the first time anyone's vomited in the van, but it's the first time since we've owned it.
...and for everything that we've done (I've been saving this until it was a confirmed fact) the van made it! Completely made the run. 32 years old, no idea how many times the odometer's rolled over, but she made it there and back again.
I didn't make it to my bed though: we got the van to Michelle's (our practice space), and I am crashing on the downstairs couch. Close enough.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Day 12
Well, we decided to make use of the tents: we trekked out to Silver Falls, just east of Salem, which means we're an hour outside of Portland... which means we drove from Sacramento to Salem today.
That's pretty much the whole day.
We left around 3:00, swung by the Java Lounge to say goodbye, and charged north.
The Speedy J truck stop is probably the most kickass gas station I've ever visited. I'll stop at those whenever I can, from now on. We found one just before Redding (no one wants to go back to Redding), got a little gas, hit the deli, bought a slushie... they have showers there, too. Nice place.
I should have filled the tank, but Oregon gas is cheaper than California gas, so I held back. The van doesn't have a working fuel gauge, but we've been careful. Up until today.
We did run out of gas a little north of Medford, but it was a nice enough night for a walk, and Bruno probably needed the rest. Joel, Tyler, and I made the trek... but I'm not sure why people honk at people hiking the highway with a gas can. We don't want to be there, really, but will the honking horn snap us out of our freeway walking daze and send us scattering into the bushes? The trucks don't honk-- I assume they know why we're walking the freeway.
Somewhere around Grants Pass, I mentioned that this wasn't a very good day off... but that was around 2:00AM, and Michelle asked if I was doing okay. I was fine, and she'd asked "because you sound like you're one step away from batshit crazy." I'm still laughing about that.
I'm a devoted night driver... but I do get kind of loopy when I'm doing it long-term.
We pulled in around 4:00AM, and I'm spent.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Day 11
w/ Rabbits, Times of Desperation, Iguanadon, & Dissident Aggressor
A rest stop wake-up and not much to accomplish: we were already in Sacramento, and had nothing going on until the free in-store show at R5 Records (at 6:00). This led to plenty of splashing about in the Sacramento River... and that Michelle finally got to swim. (No one wanted to swim in the foggy cold of San Francisco)
The rest of the day, we were just back in Sacramento... which is not actually in California, but on the surface of the sun. I never thought you'd be able to drive there, but here we are. Walking the street, every time you step between shady spots, the beam of light that hits you can knock you sideways, like waking past the vent of a blast furnace.
I almost tagged the bathroom of the Java Lounge:
Seattle's cooler than Sacramento
(by about 25 degrees)
(by about 25 degrees)
But the Java Lounge is a nice place: the owners, who dug us when we passed through on our way south, asked us to come back on our northbound leg-- we played as part of a 5 band bill, had a good show, and a really strong crowd (especially seeing as we played last on a Monday night-- if we'd been at The Comet back home, we would have been playing a show for the bartender).
We've sold a lot of stuff at the Java both times-- I hate to focus too much on it, shilling our products or anything like that, but it keeps the van full of gas and on to the next show. This time, we sold a lot of CDs, and out of everything we sell, the CDs are probably the best. Shirts make more money, but CDs mean that there are people listening to ubik. in this town. Hell, make copies for your friends: we're not greedy. (Though we are running low on shirts)
The less said about the R5 show, the better: it was another setup where it was just ubik. in a town where nobody knows us. Until the name means something in a town, listing that ubik.s playing somewhere isn't going to bring in a crowd; we need to play with a band from this town, to get the local fans involved. That's the nature of being new to a city-- it's the same thing that happened in Stockton.
The Java show was a success for exactly that reason. We had four other really tasty bands with us, and the show really moved along (done around midnight). No one played too long and everyone set up with a quickness... other shows/venues/bands (*cough* Annie's *cough*) could learn from shows like this.
And we stenciled the door of the van while we were waiting for one of the bands to set up. So we got that going for us.It was a pretty brutal show, though: we had to bring our metalliest stuff to the table and play a slammin' set. I wanted to break out some of the more melodic songs, but this was really not the show for that.
We also get to camp out with the owners of the Java, which is amazing-- no one likes waking up in the van at a rest stop. Tomorrow, another day off (the last one before our final show: in Portland), we are going camping. I think we'll drive north and find a park in Oregon... we learned our lesson about taking "camping" exits off I-5: this time, we're going to find a real camp site, confirm it, find a map, and go specifically where we intend to camp. Period.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Day 10
The van really is a fairly comfy place to crash. It's not set up standard inside: there are two huge, plush captain's chairs on for the driver's and passenger's sides, and behind them (set sideways) is a
futon, which is the back seat bench, and a decent bed. It won't win any mobile lodging awards, but when I've got it to myself, it's just fine... until the sun hits it. The rest of the band was at Amber's.The day off got us food (at Mel's-- we we dine under the constant vigil of two huge pictures of George Lucas. It had more in common with the confessionals in THX-1138 than anything from American Graffiti), and a trip to the beach.
I only now remember that this is standard for San Francisco... but over by the venue, it was pretty hot and sunny: Michelle's really gung ho to go swimming (even now), but as we got closer to the water, it got cooler and foggier. When we got to the beach, it was jacket weather, and grey. We took off our shoes and walked on the sand, and headed back.
We spent our night off going to a rock show at the Hemlock... to see a Seattle band. Lee from Same Sex Dictator is the new bassist for Emeralds, and this was their last stop on the tour. San Francisco locals Flood closed out the night, and those guys were amazing.
The unmetered parking was going to abandon us, so I figured we'd hit a rest area on our way to Sacramento. Unfortunately, there aren't any. We headed out at about 2:00AM, and I drove 80 through Sacramento, got onto 5, went north, saw a Rest Area on the southbound side, turned around, and crashed. It was a long night.Notes from the road:
- • The Hemlock is kind of like the Blue Moon... though I'd like to play there sometime.
- • Did I mention Flood were awesome?
- • A decent sound guy makes all the difference in the world... Our Annie's gig was all but unplayable. A rough night like that really breaks morale-- there was a lot of hurt feelings, grumpiness, and general discord after the Annie's show.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Day 9
w/ 2 Frail, Savi0r,& The Hallowed Din
Aside from driving around Berkley and Oakland, today was mostly spent problem-solving. Before our show at Annie's (doors at 9:00, show at 10:00) we had to do a grand total of two things: fix the blinkers on the trailer, and replace a headlight.
Apparently, when the van signals left, the trailer signaled right... and has been since the start. We needed to fix that, but driving when you know everything's wrong, and that you need to signal backwards for anyone behind you (but normally for oncoming traffic) is amazingly stressful.
We had to look up where we were, where we needed to be, and an auto parts store, so we found a coffee shop with free wifi and terrible coffee. For the record, Oakland has a bad rep, but hanging out downtown was very nice. From there, we headed to Berkeley, walked the tourist trap that is Telegraph, and split up and lost each other.
I teamed up with Joe, our merch guy, who's been ubik.member #5 for the entirety of the tour: we passed by "1/2 off rolls" happy hour at a sushi place in Sacramento, and we've both been talking about getting sushi for a few days now: sadly, the first week of the trip had been almost nothing but Mexican food, and sushi was the order of the day. Joel spent time with an old flame, and Michelle and Tyler (vegan and vegetarian, respectively) struck out on their own.(the Joe picture, by the way, was taken in Pine Grove, where we were homesteading with Michelle's family... so we didn't spend the whole time in the hot, flat, central valley. The mountains are a much nicer side of california)
That, and after yesterday's show, we noticed we were short one headlight. The van's lights have always been kind of dim, and both brights work... so that was a workaround. Last night, that headlight was just plain done. Today, we had to try and find an auto parts store in a strange town (just so you know, the Kragens in Berkeley on MLK & University isn't there anymore. It was fun to find that out in the now). Eventually we found one in San Fransisco, not too far from the show.
We now have working blinkers and two headlights (though the new one is much brighter than the other).
We also got to crash with Amber, who lives two blocks from Annie's. There was no reason to move the van because of the Sat night/Sunday lack of parking enforcement, but I'm sleeping in the van again for defense against smash-and-grabs. Just playing it smart... and, hey, I get my own room.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Day 8
w/ Floating Goat, Sodomy Wizard, & The Devil's Own
Joel: "I'm naked in public!"
Me: "At 3:00AM. In Oakland."
Yup. Sleeping curbside in Oakland. That's new.
We were driving towards the Bay after a couple days homesteading-- it was great to be on the road and have access to showers and pets, but eventually it just made me anxious to not be on someone else's couch, watching TV. We wanted to get to San Francisco, anyway, because of the Saturday show, and we could take our time and explore the area.
Around 6:00, we got the call that a Friday show had come through: we were playing Thee Parkside, and load-in was at 9:00. After getting to Stockton (and getting ready to head west), it suddenly dawned on us: Bruno doesn't want to climb the Altamont Pass. So, up to Sacramento, down 80, and into the city. We made the venue with a half hour to spare.
Parkside has excellent bar food, and accommodating staff (we were incredibly late additions to the bill, so the band's drinks and comps were done on the fly) and a reputation for being a great place to see free shows.
It was a great show (we skewed towards the heavy and the fast for this one), and the fog machine met its paces. Michelle talked to someone who would even give us a place to stay for the night.
The only problem was... our hostess was so drunk, she kept passing out in the middle of directions. She'd wake up and tell us to turn right. This could put us back on the freeway, or into a mall parkinglot.
Eventually, after struggling with Joel's GPS app in his phone, we found this girl's address, got her there, woke her up, and got her inside. Because we're in this neighborhood, though, Joel and I are crashing in the van.
Honestly, the van's futon and wooden platform are nicer than the concrete floor the rest of them are sleeping on.
Notes from the show:
Our sound man congratulated us for having "No Marshall stacks and no Jackson guitars."
The headliner, Floating Goat, was awesome: heavy as hell, sometimes heavy groove, sometimes super thrashy fast, and with a lot of odd time (they groove in 5/4 a lot). Nice guys, too-- but a hell of a show.
Not eating all day and then devouring bar food at the venue makes me want to go into a food coma right when we go on stage. Especially after driving all day
Friday, September 18, 2009
Day 7
While it is good to have time to recuperate, I'm pretty sure I never need to see another commercial again. Even if we get to see the season premier of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the godawful commercials that pop up every few minutes are so frustrating, it's barely worth the time. That, and I'm just not keen on camping in front of a TV. None of us are, really, but if someone turns the damned thing on... it tends to stay on.
...until we head off for the creek to swim. Well, most of these guys swim. Me, I'm not a swimmer. It was a nice day out, we took the dog, rode in the back of the truck, stopped by a local tavern. I took the netbook and added horns to my stock "boonch boonch boonch" techno tune. Now it sounds like a really messed up theme song from a 70's cop show.
I got started on a new string quartet, too. But string quartets are like sudoku for me: I like puzzling out new key changes and modulations and the weird math of how the four voices go.
Then we came back and watched TV. Honestly, nobody stopped on crappy programming... but TV is just annoying. I need to not see any more of it.
Eventually, we went out to drink, play pool, darts, and that odd table version of shuffleboard with an old high school friend of Michelle's. The grand swing of the night was trying to find good music on the digital jukebox that didn't take a dollar per song.
All in all, a successful day off: we did almost nothing but relax.
The other perk was that we never even started the van today. Bruno had a complete day off.
Tomorrow, we probably won't stay in the hills. If we can find a place to stay, we'll head to the Bay Area early, try and do some promoting, and camp out somewhere near the venue.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Day 6
w/ Flower Violence
The Sacramento show was pretty kick-ass. We did well at the Java Lounge... so well, in fact, that we've been asked back on our way north. On our way back up to Seattle, we're passing back through Sacramento and playing an in-store at R5 Records; we're now playing R5 Records and then heading over to the Java and playing another set. We even get to use the projector and fog machine there.
The day was spent doing our best to promote the show, walking through Sacramento with fliers and a staple gun. Late summer/early fall is pretty hot in north central California, and it can be tough on a bunch of Seattlites. By the time we got back to the venue, we were all kind of beat. I fell asleep on the orange couch for a bit.
and then we found out that Sacramento has a poster ban.
The other pre-show obstacle yesterday was getting some cough syrup for Michelle. If you count practice on Thursday, this was her 7th day singing, and there's a deep cough and there's some hoarseness in her speaking voice. After walking and doing some illegal postering, we got some terrible burritos, because no one wants to down that stuff on an empty stomach.
Apparently, she drank half the bottle. It didn't do anything for her throat, really, but when I was asleep on the orange couch, she was lying face down on the bench in the van, fighting the spins. She was okay by showtime, but it's a good thing Day 7 is a day off. Everyone needs a rest.
The ride to Sacramento was spent rolling and marking shirts: we got a new stack of ubik.shirts in the morning, and it's a really, really good thing, too: we sold an amazing amount of merch at the show, and we've been able to put gas into the van with show money, so far.
Tomorrow and possibly friday are days off: with the canceled Oakland show, we might just have a weekend... though we really shouldn't have played Redding, two days off might do us all some good. Joel doesn't want to be anywhere near an instrument for a bit, and Michelle's recuperating. I'm a little sore in my fingertips. No complaints from Tyler, though... which is strange, especially since we've been playing The Planet's Kerploding! pretty regularly. Planets is mostly instrumental, so it rests Michelle's voice, but it's an endurance test on the drums: nearly constant 16th notes on the high hat.
Notes from the road:
We're not really on the road right now. This is our second night at Michelle's mom's house, with showers, towels, fluffy cats, and happy dogs. We came here after sleeping at the rest stop, took showers, played Stockton, came back for the night, tackled Sacramento, and then back here.
There's a tv in the room we're crashing in. For the record, I really dislike television-- even if the programming is decent, commercials make me want to punch a wall. If I watch tv shows, I prefer to watch them on DVD.
Tomorrow will be cake. I think there may be swimming, and probably an oil change for the van.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Day 5
Day 5 at Plea For Peace Center in Stocktonor... An Evening With ubik.
Everyone crinkles their nose when we tell them we're playing Stockton. I've got to admit, there used to be a time when I passed through Stockton every time I headed to the bay area, and from the one stoplight and right hand turn, it seemed like an alright place. I'm not sure I ever realized it was so... um... unpleasant. There are wrought iron fences around everything, and it's all topped off with (your choice of!) razor wire or barbed wire. Not particularly inviting.
On top of that, it was just us... and no one in Stockton had ever heard of ubik. and we didn't have any local bands backing us up. You can imagine how that worked out... we tried to walk the streets and find people to build some support, but there weren't many people around. We talked a few girls from around the main theater/mall into coming, but no one else was around, and no place else was open.
Truth be told, there were more people at the show than I expected, not counting the two people smoking crack by the front door of the venue. (no kidding) We played a short set, sold a bit of merch (and we sold that amazingly spraypainted "u." shirt! someone saw it and said: That's the one), saw some old friends from the area, and headed out for a place to stay.
Lucky for us, Michelle and Joel both have family in the area (and we all lived in Sonora at one time)-- tonight, we're at Michelle's mom's place, with both the world's fluffiest cat and world's happiest dog. This place also comes with flat, non-van sleeping space, a stove, and-- best of all-- showers.
All in all, it was an easy day. The show was sparse, but it wasn't a disaster (like the Redding show), and we landed in a comfortable place, and can slow down for a second. Tomorrow, we hit Sacramento early and start papering the town with fliers for both tomorrow's show, and for our return trip next Monday, when we play an in-store at R5 Records.
Notes from the road:- Today was essentially Driving In California day, and though everyone who hasn't been here associates Cali with LA's palm treed beaches or San Fransisco's street culture, the California I lived in (and saw all day today) is a much browner, much less impressive kind of place.
- Californians are amazed that Washington sales tax is so high, but I'm amazed that California gas is so much more expensive than it is up north. Are they getting different gas than we are?
- Going from Redding to Sacramento to Stockton to Pine Grove really makes me happy we didn't book LA. That's a really long drive: I'm okay with circling back north after San Fransisco
- We've been going for seven days straight now (counting practice on thursday), and it's starting to make fingertips and throats sore. We play tomorrow, but after that there is a real day off. We're not messing with this one: that day off is some downtime. No more Redding-like impromptu shows.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Day 4 (or... what the hell are we doing in Redding?)
w/ a football game and a cover band
We're the smartest band in the world! We brought tents! If we ever need a place to stay, we'll just camp!
It was a great theory... but as it turns out, when a highway roadsign says "camping," it actually means "RV parking, no tents." And when you're heading out of Redding after playing a sports bar, you just want to turn in for the night. After two long excursions off the highway, down winding, back-woods roads at 2:00AM, only to find another park that closed at 11:00 and no overnight camping, we all just slept in the van at a rest stop. The van was a cozy bed when it was just me. It was less comfortable with five of us.
The story is this: we'd gotten as far south of Eugene as Redding, CA, when we stopped to find some wifi connections and see if we had any new tour info (mostly working out our cancelled Friday gig, and our lineup at Plea For Peace). After some time at a Starbucks (ubik. does not endorse Starbucks: we just needed some internet), we thought "There has got to be a place to play in this town. We don't need a rest! Let us descend upon Redding and rock!" This seemed like an even better idea when a place we found had a "jam night" on Mondays (which were, according to some, pretty popular) where the guy in charge not only said we could set up and play a ubik.set, he'd give us an hour if we wanted it.
We loaded in to this place: a big, open sports bar, where the music starts at 9:00, we go on at 10:00, more jamming after we're done (and, hey-- South of Heaven is on the playlist. I think I remember how to play South of Heaven!) The stage wasn't bad, but we've never fit with sports bars... didn't fit in Seattle, really don't fit in northern California. For example: the music didn't start until a really, really important footballgame ended. The first coverband (though not bad players... but, you know: rock cover band) drove out the crowd. ubik. played to a smattering of drunks (there may have been some meth in the mix), but mostly an empty bar, where we did a half hour, packed up, and got the fuck out of there.
...and after that fateful Monday night, ubik. never returned to Redding again.
So much for South of Heaven.
Notes from the road:
Apparently, southern Oregon is all uphill. We did have a lot of fun thinking up responses to the checkpoint where they ask you if you're smuggling fruits and vegetables into California. My favorite was "iS marijuana a fruit or vegetable? Then: no."
We followed that up by taking a rest stop in Weed... a town where everything is named for maximum giggle factor.
I find myself eating, drinking, and showering less out here. That's just the breaks (as evidenced by the two PBR in my backpack since Epic Space)
Eugene was surreal. We walked past so many cartoon characters, it went from funny to disconcerting pretty quickly. The grizzled hippies in the bus watching Hendrix at Woodstock, the mook that leaned out of his car at a stop light to sing us the Peanut Butter and Jelly song, the Yelling Guy... everything was a bit exaggerated. The journey between the venue and food (in Downtown Eugene) was pretty strange.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Day 3
w/ Big Bike Ride & Shgora
Ah, Bruno. Bruno is the unofficial name of the Big Blue Van: vehicles generally gender-define as "she," but Bruno's pretty damn butch. We've never asked this much of her before: pulling a trailer of gear and loaded with five people plus supplies. I like to think that Bruno's got great karma: she always demurs when someone else wants the right of way, always nice to everyone on the road. Not spry, but very accommodating. Also, this was my bed last night.
We were treated very well, since our host set us up with a show, a place to crash, beers, and eventually breakfast (massive thanks to Eric(k?) on that front), but I'm usually up late... so everyone fell asleep before me... and then, the snoring. When there's no mp3 player and you can't find earplugs, you turn to the van (which was actually pretty comfortable).
Pre-show yesterday was actually spent playing with spraypaint. ubik. ordered shirts a week ago... but things went kind of wrong, there were no shirts at the kickoff show, and there's no way shirts will be anywhere near us until Tuesday. So we went to a thrift store, bought a bunch of t-shirts, cut up some cardboard, and stenciled ourselves some DIY shirts.Fear our awesome merch!
(many of the shirts do look better than this one)
In contrast, today was spent trying to post fliers. Since we're going back to Portland next wednesday, we wanted to put up some posters while we were in town. Michelle stayed in the van to design the fliers as the rest of us struck out in search of a copy shop: we both failed. Last night ate our sharpie, so Michelle destroyed every spare piece of paper we had trying to make a flier with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles marker... while the rest of us wandered around an empty corner of Portland looking for a copy shop, ending up at a goddamned mall, and finding nothing. So it balanced out: with no flier, we didn't need to make copies.
But with that, all the bands for the Portland show at Plan B are out and about and probably not able to put up fliers. If you're in Portland: we are playing the 23rd.
Now, on to Stockton. Everyone groans when we say we're doing that (apparently no one plays shows in Stockton), but... doesn't that mean that when someone shows up, there will be a bunch of kids dying to see a show? Here's hoping.
But that's Tuesday. Monday's a day off. It's a long drive and all, but I don't think any of us need a day off yet. We've been playing since Thursday, and we're not tired. I'm sure we'll need a break soon, but we haven't even begun to burn out.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 2
w/ Stag Bitten & Blicky
Sitting on the street in Portland reminds me of Austin. At least the Austin of Linklater's Slacker.
Hmm... shows at The Know end at 11:00. We've played here before, and that must have slipped my mind somehow: pretty early for a show to be over with a few hours to last call. Last night there was massive incoherence by the time we wrapped up... It was a smaller crowd, but (maybe due to sobriety) the people who were there tended to be attentive and very into what was going on.
That, and there's a bouncy stage. A small, bouncy stage. So it's difficult to fit us all in there, and every time Tyler hits a drum, he goes a little Super Mario (boing!). Joel and I had never actually set up side by side before... it felt a little arena rock. Synchronized headbanging! Cyclocosmia may never be the same.
Stag Bitten deferred their money from the show tonight, too: the door money was split between us and Blicky (also from Seattle, so they need gas money, too). I go into any given night assuming an even split... but people seem to be very courteous about other folks' road expenses.
Portland's close enough that we know people (Portland bands come up to Seattle all the time), so we have a place to sleep... but it just occurred to me that there's no way five of us can take showers at a borrowed house. I hadn't thought of that before.
That braces up tight against the tragedy of Road Funk: I don't know what it is about car travel that makes you greasy while you sit still, but something about freeway travel is inherently gross.
Quote of the day: "That cat looks like a pop tart."
A few stray road observations:
- you laugh these things off when you hear about them, but the Tacoma Aroma is no myth-- if you can see the dome, you're probably smelling the smell.
- the carpool lane is a pretty neat invention... except for the one spot that leads you to a stop sign, an overpass, a roundabout, and back onto the same express lane you left. Does that make any sense?
- I sometimes forget how pretty this part of the country is.
- After two days, we have lost the key to the trailer's deadbolt and a piccolo snare. If we continue at this rate, we'll be hitchhiking home.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Day 1
w/ The Ever Changing Sky, More Bells, Then Whistles, & Armed With Legs
"So... you going to blog the tour?"
"Sure. I always like reading tour diaries. May as well write one."
...which is kind of funny, because I'm still at home. Still counts, though: by my reckoning, we just played the first show of the tour, and so it begins.
That said, we played on a great bill with thoroughly awesome bands: More Bells Then Whistles, Armed With Legs, and (of course!) The Ever Changing Sky all played fantastic sets... and actually all waived their cut of the door money: the lump sum went to us, for tour expenses. Nice guys: seriously helpful and considerate gentlemen all around.
ubik. went last: it was a four band bill, we started late, and played a looooong set... and it was an excellent crowd. A lot of people don't realize how common it is for people to start wandering home when the clock strikes midnight; if a band doesn't start until 12:30, they can often end up playing to an empty room (sad but true).
It was the kind of night where we got a huge response from !!!!!! and Bloody Indecision (first time that's been in the setlist in quite a while)-- melodic stuff, with lots of swirly, squishy bits-- which always makes us wonder why the metal crowds like us so much. And then, when we go into No Such Thing As An Open-Ended Equation, the pit nearly tears the Josephine apart. (Michelle came out of that song with a fat lip.)
It's also funny how the perception of ubik. changes depending on the lineup: today, we played with a lot of atmospheric bands (not a Marshall stack in sight), and we were positively brutal in comparison. Conversely, on a metal bill, we're always the least heavy band of the night...
But it's late, and we have to drive to Portland tomorrow.
--stray observation: it is really nice to not have to load back into the practice space after the show.
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