We spent the day walking around Portland. It was rainy though, so we went back to Nire’s house, hung out with the dogs for a while, and had some hot chocolate. Later we went to Mississippi Pizza and had some really good pizza. Ray from Castanets and Scout Niblett came to the show. Also Randy from Junkface and Nire. Lots of friends in the house. And the nice girl who really likes Unbunny is back, and she bought some of my artwork. Tiger Saw played a good set. Dave on bass again. He played on all of our songs tonight. There were little kids in the audience, right up front. It made me feel good to see them at the show. Testface played with a totally different configuration again tonight. It was a more country rock vibe. They sounded good. It’s interesting to hear them night after night. The songs are unfolding for me. I like Dave’s songs, and the arrangements are really interesting. I don’t think they’re the kind of songs that grab me right away, but I do think that they are really good, and will stick with you once you’ve spent some time with them.

Unbunny, on the other hand, is the kind of band whose songs sound classic and perfect the first time you hear them. I’m such a fan.

The Hotel Alexis played a really rockin’ set tonight. I sat in on guitar, and both Chris’s played as well. There were lots of improvised bits, and noisy sections, but it all came together when it needed to. The Hotel Alexis is sounding good these days. I wish this part of the tour was longer. I feel like it’s all starting to get really good; we’re all having so much fun.

Tiger Saw, pizza, Portland

Unbunny. Twin drum thunder!!!

Nate and the Magic Vest

The next morning we went out to brunch with Ray, Scout, Erin and some other friends.

"take me to Alaska!"

A joke from Ray Raposa: “A termite walks into a bar, and asks ‘Is the bar tender here?”

Three of us all bought the same new Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy CD today. It sounds okay. Ray said it was supposed to be the best since ‘I See A Darkness’, and that may be true. Still- the songs are good enough, but it doesn’t excite me the way ‘Darkness’ did, or any of those old Palace records did. It came with a bonus CD with old 7”’s compiled, and that was pretty fun to listen to. I got the new Adrian Orange CD too. It sounds like Adrian. Some good turns of phrase, some weird guitar parts. Lots of songs about “the world”. Good stuff.

We drove to Eugene, and had dinner at Dave from Testface’s house. We cooked a big spaghetti dinner, and spent the early evening with his seven cats. It was relaxing and nice. We went to a bar before the show, and played this video music trivia game. It was really fun. After a few dollars, we got the high score. We cheered loudly when we did, and our friends outside thought that something exciting had happened with a sports game on TV. One question asked what Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band was called, and one of the multiple choice answers was ‘Feathers’. We thought that was funny because the makers of the game probably didn’t know that that is even a real band.

HIGH SCORE!!!

The show is at Luckey’s Cigar Bar (not misspelled and no cigars in sight). It’s a big club, good stage. Super LOUD show. Everyone was great again. Testface gets better every night. Sid and Dave sat in for Tiger Saw’s set. We played some songs we hadn’t done yet on tour. For the last song, everyone from all the bands came onstage to sing ‘Postcards’. It was great to have so many people singing with us. My friend Lesley was at the show. She moved here from Boston to go to school. It was nice seeing her.

Testface at Luckey's

I slept in a loft in a garage at Dave’s house. I was afraid I might roll off the edge, but I didn’t. It was a late night, and I slept real well. In the morning, we all went out for brunch, and I got another burger. We drove down the coast to California. We stopped in Crescent City, and saw seals on the rocks. There was all this driftwood on the beach, and we played it like xylophones. It was really fun! Chris Holt has never been to California before, but he really wanted to stop here. He has a desire to live in Crescent City. He just had a feeling like he should be here. I respect that.

Seals on the rocks, Crescent City, CA

Sid & Gregg

The debut of our supergroup: DRIFTWOOD!

We got to Arcata, and hardly anyone was at the show. There was a party across the street, where it was suggested we move the show. We checked it out, but it wasn’t really our scene. Our bands did have some of their beer, though, then headed back to Das Gasthouse and played the show. Some people did turn up, and we ended up doing an acoustic show. They have had some noise complaints, so we had to make sure it was a quiet show. It turned out to be a really great show all around. Tiger Saw opened up, and Chris played an upright piano. We had lots of sing-alongs, and everything sounded good. I was happy that the other bands were able to see a Tiger Saw set like this. We had been playing so many good shows like this before we met up with the Hotel Alexis et al. Then when we met up with them, we started playing louder, rock sets. I was glad that they could be a part of this too. The Hotel Alexis played three songs , and they were understated and beautiful. Gregg Porter played a song, too. I always love to hear his songs. Unbunny played a full set, with James on the piano instead of bass. They played lots of songs that they hadn’t yet done on tour, and some that they hadn’t done before at all. It felt like a really special set. A great, intimate performance. I will remember it as a highlight of the tour.

Gregg "The Reporter" Porter hard at work

Jarid rocks us gently

Mo'bunny

After, we went back to the party across the street, and it was silly. I’m glad we played where we did, and didn’t try to play for a house full of people who didn’t want to listen.

We went in the morning to Powell’s City of Books, and browsed for a while. It’s an amazing bookstore. There is a new Haruki Murakami collection of stories that I really want to get. I’ve read all of his books, and he’s one of my favorite authors. Chuck Klosterman also has a new book out that looks interesting. Essays and such. His writing is good for reading on trains. Across the street at Jackpot Records, I got the new Magnolia Electric Co. CD, ‘Fading Trails’. It’s a collection of songs from four different recent session in different studios, and it sounds like a collection. There are some very good songs, on there. Jason Molina has been consistently putting out good music for so long now. It’s inspiring. There’s a new Tara Jane O’Neil record out now that I really want to get. Justin Timberlake, too.

So we went to Edmonds, WA to this new venue called Halcyon. The bill was only Hotel Alexis and Tiger Saw. With no locals, only a few of our friends came out to the show. The place is really nice, and the people running it are cool. Sid, Gregg, and I did a long spacey jam for sound check. Then Tiger Saw played. Chris Barrett joined us now on trumpet, and Sid sat in on guitar, too. We played a good set. Very dense. Hotel Alexis played, with Chris Holt guesting on keyboard, Chris Barrett on trumpet, and I sat in on guitar. It was so fun playing with Hotel Alexis again. It’s been a while. I easily remembered all the songs. It’s so fun being here, playing with all these friends. After the show, we went back to Sid’s for the night. I slept on the floor. He just moved into this house, so there’s no furniture yet.

We drove to Salem, OR. The birthplace or the Erector set, and allegedly the meth capital of the west coast. A girl at the café asked Jarid to sign her Unbunny CD and her typewriter ribbon. She said Unbunny was her third favorite band, after Tammy Wynette and another rotating, unspecified artist. Jarid was pleased an embarrassed. The show was really fun. Café Noir is a wine and coffee bar, but lots of people came out just for the show. Unbunny opened the show, and they played a tight set. Jarid is such a great songwriter. His songs are the classic hits of tomorrow. It’s so nice to be able to see them play this week. Testface was next, and they played the best set I have ever seen them play. Dave had a whole new crew tonight, and played a more subtle, nuanced set. They had weird keyboards, trombone, guitars, background singing. It was a real accomplishment. Everyone was really excited about Testface tonight. Just powerful, without being forceful. The Hotel Alexis played next, with both Chris’s, but not me. They also played a more subdued set, and it was really fun to watch. Everyone feels like they are on tonight. Tiger Saw played with Dave from Testface on bass. He didn’t know any of the songs, but we called out the chords and changes, and he was great. I think the show was a really good on. It was loose and fun, and people seemed to enjoy it. We had these great chocolate-dipped macaroons and Russian Tea cookies. Yum! After the show we all went back to Portland and stayed at various houses for the night.

Tuesday we went to Manhattan, KS. We drove through endless fields of sunflowers and sleeping cows, only to reach this tiny oasis of a town filled with college bookstores and bars. Our show was at Auntie Mae’s Parlor, a decent-sized bar with a tiny corner stage. Tiger Saw performed first. This was a late booking, and no one really knew who we were. We played to an attentive front of the room, and a chatty back of the room. I got a few people to sing along on our last song. We played with a fun no-wave dance rock band called The Olympics, who dedicated their cover of ‘I Would Die 4 U’ to me. They must have seen the Prince button on my jacket! A fellow who calls his one-man band Jonathan closed the evening. He played guitar along with backing tracks. It was very loud, and very mid-nineties college rock sounding. Nice dude. After the show, we stayed at the Ghost Parlor, a many-gabled house where the kids from the Olympics sometimes put on shows.

From Kansas, we drove to Denver, CO. We got to town early, so we walked around the neighborhood. There’s a nice park called Chessman Park, that has fountains and weird Greek architecture. Lots of nice red flowers as well. We went back to the house where we are playing, Le Crunk. It a pretty nice house, full of instruments and friendly kids. They cooked us some dinner, and we hung out for a while before the show. Berries opened the show. It was their fourth show ever. They are a three-piece who switch instruments, and play a sort of charming, sloppy, trippy folk music. Tiger Saw played, and we had a really good show. The audience was really into singing along, and mid-set, we decided that we’d come back here in two weeks, and everyone present would be in the band for the show. People can bring whatever instruments they can muster up, and everyone can sing. We’ll have an early practice, then we’ll have dinner together and do a show. Everyone’s really excited for our return! After the set, someone broke a piñata, and we all ate candy while listening to a Nedelle record. Great kids here in Denver. Can’t wait to come back.

TSaw Posse

The next day, we drove to Grand Junction. It was a beautiful drive. We got to town, and it was raining. Our friend Ryan took us downtown, and we had pizza at the cool place where he works. The show is at Coffee Muggers, where I had played with Casey this summer, and normally the shows are outside under a tree, but the rain moved the show inside. We played a short quiet, set, then a noise / dance act played super-loud through a bunch of amps and two P.A.’s. There was supposed to be another band from Portland, but they got stuck in Arizona. We’ve been lucky to be able to get where we need to be each day.

house show on the moon

Not New England...

After spending the night at Ryan’s, we drove to Provo, Utah, and got to Starry Night. We showed up, and no one was there. It looked closed, and there were no posters at the club for any shows since August. We worried that there was some sort of miscommunication, and that there was no show. It was raining still, too, and we didn’t know what to do. After a while, Matt, who is running the club showed up . He just took over Starry Night from another promoter, and things seem to be in a transition here. Matt is really nice though, his wife made us pasta, and he was really hospitable. Our friend Parker, The Grizzly Prospector opened the show. He has a timeless, crooner voice, but he plays stripped down folk songs with a classical guitar. It’s always nice to see him. We played second, and people were really receptive to our set. A trio called TaughtMe closed the show. I have heard about them for years, and it was cool to be able to finally see them. They play guitars, bass, and electronics, with are really expressive, emotive singer. The songs are dynamic and sexy, and they look good playing them. Everyone in the audience loves them, and I think they have a good show. All around, it was a lovely night. We stayed with Parker’s brother, and got up at 6am for our drive to Seattle.

Starry Night kids

Grizzly P's got the Shining!

like a Red Door show...

The sun coming up in the Utah mountains was breathtaking. We were tired, and spent all day in the car. It ended up being a thirteen hour drive to Seattle. We listened to some good songs, had some good talks, and drove though rain and hail, but we got there… And there was a blackout! The whole area where the Conor Byrne Pub is was dark. We met up with our drummer Gregg Porter and the guys from The Hotel Alexis and Unbunny, and we got some food. Everyone was trying to figure out what to do. We all decided that we’d play some sort of acoustic set, lit by candles. I think that sounds nice, and not that different than some of the shows of this tour already. So we set up to play- I borrowed an acoustic guitar, Gregg played his drums, and Chris played an upright piano that was onstage. We played three songs, and it sounded decent. Then, boom, the power came on! Everyone cheered, and it became a noisy bar again. We tried to play another song with this same setup, but somehow it didn’t work with the lights back on. People were emboldened and the room was too noisy to play sans amps. So we took a little break, and got some mics and amps set up, and finished our set. Now we played really loudly, and Chris’ piano was drowned out. We finished, as usual, with ‘Postcards & Letters’, and I sang the last part walking through the crowd and out the front door…

The Hotel Alexis played next. Dave from Testface is filling in on bass for these dates. They played all older songs, and sounded really tight and heavy. It’s a good lineup, and Sid ripped some awesome guitar solos. I joked later that they played a grunge set because we were in Seattle. (We’ve heard Nirvana twice on the radio since we’ve been here.) Towards the end of their set, the power actually went out again, and Sid improvised on the piano in the dark. It seems appropriate, as he has a lyric in a song about playing a piano in the dark. It was cool to see the sort of unpredictable, weird side of the Hotel Alexis come out in the blackout, after such a solid, rock set that they played with the lights on.

Hotel Alexis grunge set

El Sid

"play piano in the dark / look away..."

Testface and Unbunny played afterwards. Testface was a more rockin’ version than I had seen before, but they sounded good. And Unbunny played a tight set as a power trio. All these bands that I have seen as spacey folk acts were in full-on pub rockin’ mode. Except for Tiger Saw- we were just confused and thrown off by the night. It’s still great to see everyone, and everyone did sound great. It’ll be interesting to see all the bands play in different kinds of rooms, see how they adapt to different situations. Hearing the Hotel Alexis play made me miss playing with them. (I played guitar and melodica on their first album, and played out with them for a while). After the show was over, we stayed at my friend Carlos’ apartment. We stayed up talking ‘til three, then it was time for much-needed sleep.

Unbunny in unfocus

Uh-oh, I missed breakfast with the guys at ten. I slept until 1pm. I never sleep that late! Yesterday really caught up with me. But it felt good. Carlos took us out for pho, which was delicious, then we hit the road for Portland. We met up with our friends Nire, who are perhaps the nicest people in Portland. We went to Amnesia, a cool barbecue bar for dinner, then headed off to the Green House, a green house where the show is held. Chris and I played as a duo tonight, as Gregg stayed behind to record with the Hotel Alexis. A nice fellow named Yonathan Gat played first. He’s from Tel-Aviv, Israel, and is on tour in the Northwest for a little while. Nire played a great set. They played some new songs that I hadn’t heard before, and this small, basement room was the perfect setting for their hushed, intimate music. Junkface (not to be confused with last night’s Testface) played a strange pop set, and Tiger Saw closed the evening to a pretty small crowd who seemed to enjoy it. There was a fellow who came to the show who makes his living by attending house shows in the Portland area and selling his micro brewed beer. He calls his business Captured by Porches, and is sometimes featured on show fliers as if he were a band. A funny idea, but a good one. We had intended to sell cookies at shows, but that’s only happened once so far. After the show, we went back to Nire’s house, and Erin made us popcorn and tea, and we hung out with their nice, big dogs.

Nire on Fire

12 September 06

After Annie, Tiger Saw and Kelly Jean Caldwell played. I have played with Kelly a few timed before. Her songs are drunken country torch songs, and she is a good performer. Lots of emotion. The show was nice and comfortable. Small room, nice people. Chris made vegan oatmeal cookies, and they were a hit.

Kelly Jean Caldwell

On Thursday, we went to Chicago to play Corduroy’s Espresso Spot. Annie Higgins, who was recommended by a friend, was supposed to play with us, but she never showed up. So Chris and Annie ended up both playing short sets instead. We all played short sets, and they made us some good sandwiches. After we met up with some friends and went out to a restaurant where I had some tasty calamari. We all crashed with a poet named Dan Solomon, who has just published a new book.

Chris in Chicago

In the morning, Annie and I met up with my friend Ariele, who is living here and is a circus performer. After breakfast, we went to the space where she practices. We saw some people walking tightrope, and jumping on a giant pogo stick. There was a dog there, too, that does tricks on a bike. It was fun, watching them work on their acts.

Ariele on the tightrope

We tried to get passes to the Shedd Aquarium, because we love aquariums, and there’s a new seahorse exhibit, but we the library didn’t have any passes left, so we opted to head to Milwaukee instead. We got to Milwaukee early, so we decided to go to a movie. We saw Little Miss Sunshine. What a great film. Really strong cast, from the little girl right up to the grandfather. For a movie that followed a predictable story arc, it still managed to throw in some surprises, with smart writing and strong performances. They used music well within the film, too.

The show was in an attic space. There were a lot of acts. Tiger Saw played a really good set. We are starting to gel as a band, the four of us. Erin Day closed the night with a set of bedroom jams performed with only her voice and percussion. In each song, she taught the audience a simple part, whether it was clapping, or making our voices sound like violins, or stomping on the floor. She sang and danced and twirled around, and this was one of the most fun performances of the tour so far. Afterwards, we went to stay at Erin’s house. I got to sleep in a bunk bed! (Bottom, of course- I ain’t rollin’ out…) In the morning, Erin’s mom, Eileen gave me a copy of The Time Traveler’s Wife to read. That was really nice of her.

Erin Day in the Attic

Saturday, we got up early for the drive to Minneapolis. We still underestimated the time it would take, though, and arrived just before our 2:45pm set time. We’re playing a back-to-school festival called The Ruckus. We’re first of six bands, playing a huge outdoor stage in a parking lot next to a club.

I have only been to Minneapolis once before, when I was sixteen. My mom took me here because I was (and still am) a big Prince fan, and I wanted to see it. We went around to First Ave., the just-opened Glam Slam nightclub, the Uptown shopping district, record stores- anywhere remotely associated with Prince. We talked with people who knew him as a child. Everyone seemed to have stories about him. It was really fun for me, but my mom likes warm vacation spots, and it Minneapolis in February certainly wouldn’t have been her first choice.

So here we are, on this giant stage, bigger than most venues that we’ve played in so far on this tour. This really nice Rasta poet guy introduces us, and we played along set, of almost all the songs we learned for the tour. We played so loud. It was funny having all these little practice amps mic’d through the PA, and our drum set consists of just a snare and a ride cymbal. Annie and I both took to stomping on the wooden stage, and that let out a big boom. The set was pretty good, but it was hard to gauge the response, as the people who were there were pretty spread out, and we seemed so far a way from them.

After our set we snacked on vegetables backstage, and hung out for a while. Tony hasn’t been feeling good about the tour for the last couple days, and we all talked about it. Basically, we’re not getting along, and he decided to quit the tour. It was a really sad, stressful night for everyone. Tony is going to stay in Minneapolis tonight, and take a bus back to Texas tomorrow. He wandered back into the Ruckus, and the three of us drove an hour towards Iowa and stayed at a Super-8 hotel.

Oh, the Ruckus!

We made it to Davenport, IA. Our friends Bambi and Johnnie have a cool band called Quiet Bears, and they put on our show in their basement. We had a great time hanging out with all out Davenport friends. They have a video game hooked up to their TV, to play Dig-Dug, Pac-Man, or several other old games. Bambi made us pizza, and she gave me a Prince cassingle for Gett off / Horny Pony. Nice!

Dig-Dug!

Marc Hans played a duo set, then we went upstairs into this tiny room filled with amps to watch Johnnie’s stoner metal band Holy Smoke play. They were SO loud, you could feel your bones rattling. It was so fun. Half the audience listened from downstairs. I brought earplugs, though. Tiger Saw played in the basement, and I think we did a really nice set. Annie played a little more percussion / drums to make up for Tony’s absence. We played well, people sang along, and there was a nice feeling. Davenport is always one of my favorite places to play on tour. Chris and Annie both played tonight as well. Chris sounded very good, especially his song about going to California. Annie has a little bit of a cold, so she’s not feeling that well, but she still sounded lovely, as always.

Holy Smoke

In the morning, we watched Mean Girls (on VHS!). What a funny movie. Then Annie has to get back to Michigan to return to her job. So now we’re down to two for the next week.

Annie and Ella

Chris and I drove to Omaha, and the show was in the Magic Theater- an old hotel lobby that has been converted to a performance space and art gallery. It’s a really nice venue. Everyone here is friendly and great. I especially enjoyed listening to Justin from Midwest Dilemma. Chris and I played late- after midnight on a Monday. We did a short, really laid-back set. I think it sounded good. Afterwards we drove to our friend Braden’s apartment for the night.

5 September 2006

Tiger Saw closed the evening, and we played a little sloppier than the previous few shows, but it had a good energy. We had a sing-along at the end, for ‘Postcards & Letters’, and it was emotional, as so many students here were away from home for the first time.

After the show, Chris got a game of Uno going, which was followed by a midnight walk and a Nintendo Super Smash Brothers tournament. We all slept on the floor of a tiny dorm room, and I woke up sore.

Today we drove a couple hours to Toledo, and went to the movies. We saw The Illusionist, with Edward Norton. I love magic and films about magic, and I think Edward Norton is great. It was a little predictable, but overall it was enjoyable. Norton’s performance was a little more nuanced than usual. No real super-emotional stuff. He spent much of the movie still and quiet, enchanting and contemplating. We saw a preview for another magician movie, The Prestige, which looked really good. I’m writing a play now, about a magician, so it’s exciting to see all this magician stuff happening in the movies. It’s in the air…

We played at a coffee shop called Brewed Awakenings to almost no-one. Annie Palmer joins us today, for a week of shows, so this was a good practice for the rest of the shows with her. She is singing with Tiger Saw, playing various instruments, and will play her own set in Ann Arbor tomorrow. Real Live Tigers played a Viking Moses cover, which was fun to hear. Annie and I headed off to Ypsilanti, where we’ll meet the boys for the show tomorrow…

3 September 2006

In the morning, we drove out to this old abandoned train in the woods. It’s a dozen train cars, covered in vines, and they’re all burned out. It’s really spooky, and we were excited that our friends took us here. Dillsburg is full of great people, and it’s one of my favorite places to play now.

Spooky

Spookier...

Welcome to the Jungle

A joke from Tony Presley: “A skeleton walks into a bar, and orders a beer and a mop…”

4 September 2006

We drove to Pittsburgh, and as usual, stopped at every rest stop along the way. I like walking around the rest stops, and looking at all the personalized magnets and machines that will crush a penny into an oval charm. The show was at Kiva Han Coffeehouse. I didn’t expect too much from the show, as it’s a big, busy coffee shop, but it turned out to be really good. There was a big audience, and we played well. Tighter than Dillsburg, and we got the audience to do a great sing-along on ‘Postcards & Letters’. Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies played next, and did a nice chamber pop set. The even had some tuba…

After the set, we went over to PITT (that’s the name of a school, I think…) and the promoter of our show, Manny, got us into a big show with Balkan Beatbox and Golum. I had never heard of these bands, but they turned out to be fantastic. We arrived toward the end of Golum’s set. They play a sort of overdriven gypsy music. They call it “Eastern European Folk Punk”. They all wore red, and looked like ghetto cabaret entertainers. It sounded like traditional folks songs played loud and fast with a charismatic pair of singers. For their last song, they taught us a dance- an easy sort of box-step. Everyone danced, and loved it. I can understand the appeal of line dancing and stuff like that, where they teach you the easy steps, and everyone is doing it all together. What fun!

Golum Rocks!

They played a bar mitzvah the previous night. In Boston!

Balkan Beatbox played next, and they played what was one of the most exciting sets I’ve seen in some time. They were a couple drummers, a pair of saxes, some computers, a bass and guitar. Their opening song saw them march into the audience, everyone playing drums and saxes. It was charged and uplifting, and a really joyous moment. They took to the stage, and played for an hour. Their energy was amazing. It was a great hybrid of funk, traditional Jewish music, and hip-hop. They got everyone jumping and dancing and hollering. It was so celebratory and exciting.

After the show, we went to an afterparty at a bar, but it was just a smoky room with teenagers dancing to crunk, so we moved on to another afterparty, at a bar where Balkan Beatbox played another set. It was so cool to see them in a smaller room, with a really enthusiastic audience, It was sweaty and fun. We didn’t stay for the whole show, though, and we went back to Manny’s for the night. We saw online that the Crocodile Hunter has died. Stung by a stingray. Interesting. I have had a vision, or a secret wish, perhaps. I want to see a giant squid before I die. One of those legendary creatures that are hundreds of feet long, rarely seen by people. In my fantasy, I am on a ship, and the squid breaks the surface of the ocean. I get to see it in all it’s glory, then it drags me to the ocean floor, and that’s the end of me. A small price to pay to see what so few have seen. Maybe Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter felt that way when he met his match underwater this weekend…

Croc Hunter RIP

Destiny!

Pittsburgh was so fun. Best time I ever had there. We had a great time at our show, and at the Balkan Beatbox show, then at the afterparties. Tour is so fun, and it keeps getting better. Off to Oberlin tomorrow…

1 September 2006

"This is how we do it."

It feels like summer is over. The cat is rolling around in the driveway. I will miss him. I grab a bunch of magazines and a Fela Kuti biography, and we set out for tour. It will be some time before I am home again. Each tour is different. Different Tigers, and a somewhat different sound. This trip will feature a lineup that has never played together before, and people playing instruments that aren’t their main instruments. Chris has been practicing bass parts he learned from our records, but I’ve asked him to play a synthesizer instead. We’ll be picking up Tony in Philadelphia. He’s going to play drums (just a snare and a ride cymbal, actually). He says he doesn’t really play drums. Somehow, I think this is the right configuration. I will play electric guitar. Everyone sings. You never know what you’re gonna get at a Tiger Saw show.

Matt, Chris, and I at the Lucky Cat

Our first show is at the Lucky Cat Café in Brooklyn. The place is really nice. A woman named Amelia plays first. I like the way she plays guitar, and her voice is interesting. The Homophones are next. Very New York. Handsome. My friend Matt Bauer shows up. He has come to our last few shows in New York, so last time I told him he should bring his banjo when he comes to a Tiger Saw show. He tells me that he’s learned three songs, so Matt joins us on those at the end of the set. It’s a nice crowd, but a little noisy. It’s a decent first show. We often start our tours in New York, and sometimes I wish we would end them there instead, so our New York friends would see a more polished performance. But everyone had fun. I met a nice man who told me that when he takes his family on vacation, they record cover albums of songs they like, and that they had recorded our song ‘Postcards & Letters’. I am flattered, and happy that we closed with that song tonight. After the show, we went to Barcade with our friends Jason and Nikole. Jason gets 170,000 points on Ms. Pac-Man- his personal best. I played some Dig-Dug, but didn’t get too far. I saw a man fall down drunk, and helped him up. Then he immediately fell down again. His friend would ask me later if I thought his friend had style while he was falling. That, apparently, is important in Williamsburg.

The next day we have off, and MTV is hosting their Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall. We naively think that we can go down there and charm our way into the show somehow. Several thousand other people have the same idea, and we spend a few hours trying to get behind barricades and eight-foot tall security guards. I managed to get past a barrier at one point, following a group of people with laminates . I just walked in right behind them, like I was supposed to be there. But when I realized my friends hadn’t made it in, I went back . Jason got in at one point, too, but couldn’t get any where good. We saw Fergie and some other Black Eyed Peas, walking from their hotel to the show, entourage in tow. They’re cool as cucumbers, but I also saw some ‘London Bridge’ Fergie backup dancers running through their routine, and looking very nervous. I wanted to see JT, but that wasn’t meant to be. Not tonight, at least. We went back to Nikole’s, and played a few rounds of Taboo before bed.

Scary Rapper Attack!

There are two Black Eyed Peas in this picture.

My guys.

Sexyback, etc...

Today we drove to Philadelphia, and played an in-store at Marvelous Records. Only a few people there, but it ended up being a good practice. We spent much of the day at my friend Dominic’s new house, which he is renovating. Very Scary Mansion. Tony flew in from Seattle, and we picked him up at the train. He told a few good jokes, then disappeared into the night. We’ll meet him for breakfast. I have only met Tony once before. He was a good host to Casey and I in Austin this summer. He took us swimming, and told me that if I ever wanted someone to play in the band, he’d be interested. So here he is now. His band (just him) Real Live Tigers is playing many of the dates with us as well. There will be other Tigers who will come and go on this tour, but this is our basic lineup for most of the shows. Tomorrow: Dillsburg and its awesome vegan folk punks!