|
Friday, April 13, 2012
Day 2 (or... why am I in Ellensburg?)
in Ellensburg, WA
So... not being superstitious... Friday the 13th? What. The. Holy. Living. Fuck?
Long story short: we failed to make it to a show. First time ever, but ubik. didn't make showtime. We left town late due to myriad circumstances, but after getting Pam's 8x10, securing the trailer (more involved than it seems), we finally hit the road and headed east... Of all things that can go wrong with the Band Van, tires are probably the easiest to cope with: we handled a commando tire change with aplomb, but the spare was as worn as the tire that blew. We never made it to Spokane, and it cost us $250 to get the van and trailer hauled back to Ellensburg.
Our Friday was spent getting to a rest stop and waiting for a while. We did everything we could, and we're all kind of pissed that we have to abandon the “ubik. has never canceled a show” motto. We did our level best, but fell severely short. We're currently camped in a creepy, cheap motel, watching cable access.
Worse, our Boise show has fallen through; there's nothing out here for us until Monday, in Utah. We're on tour, after playing a kickoff on Thursday, and we're not playing shows on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday-- we pick back up on Monday (an awesome day for shows) in Utah (oh, goody). The Utah shows will actually be really good: we have great local bands, people we've played with in Seattle and always loved, but I'm grumpy about missing Spokane. The Spokane show was going to kick ass, had we made it, and we can deal with the money, but... there was a rad show there, and we missed it. We are pissed.
There are very few perks to a Friday stranded in Ellensburg. Cowboy hats abound, and last call usually happens around midnight. When we hit the road, I mentioned that one of the great things about Seattle is being able to find good beer at 7-11s and gas stations (“it costs $10.50 a six-pack, but it's still Hoegaarden,” I say. “You're spoiled,” they reply), but our choice of bars in Ellensburg was a bit sad.
A guy in funny glasses showed us his spider. He was the guy in giant comedy glasses, affixed with asymmetrical googly eyes. He, and his two friends (Big Girl and Slayer Shirt Guy), were the highlights of the bar... I am certain that “walking distance of the freeway exit” is not the definition of this small town, having lived in small towns myself, but we're not within reach of the homes, schools, jobs, and lives of Ellensburg: we're part of freeway culture. We get what we can while waiting for new tires.
Comments
