Portland, ME (Put a little change in my bucket…)
July 13 1:49 am
(somebody at the house we’re staying at just asked to borrow one of our backpacks for a hot second; we think we heard him say he found a lobster….)
It was P.S.’s and my first time performing in Maine tonight, and aside from a few man-eating bugs taking a particular liking to my ankles, it was a truly great first time for us—-also I think the first instance so far in which kids moshed to one of our sets (P.S.’s, not mine…)
I’ve been the worst at updating this thing; we usually don’t tend to get to where we’re staying till around 2 in the morning every night, at which time we crap out and go to sleep—HOWEVER there have been a few after-show adventures on this trip, including, but not limited to:
Atlanta & Athens—Sleeping at two different houses in Georgia that both had manx cats for pets. I woke up one morning to one staring at me. It had a folded ear and a little white mustache, and I laughed out loud as soon as I saw it, while everyone kept sleeping. That’s not really an adventure I guess, just something I’d particularly like to remember…
Wilmington, NC—Watching 4th of July fireworks on an upper-level parking lot in —we were really close, black shit kept falling on us. Some got in Jackie Sullivan’s eye—
about a half-hour later we played in the Soapbox Laundro-Lounge, and it remains one of our favorite shows so far; lots of really friendly kids, free pizza (thanks Chason), and an amazing street performance by a man with the stage name of Pot Head—his work will hopefully find its way onto Youtube soon—later that night we went swimming in a pool in an apartment complex (again, thanks Chason), and I spent my first night in the van. It was hot. I also discovered that the honey dijon potato chip is my new favorite chip.
Richmond—Drinking Sangria from a wine-skin pouch, and enjoying one of the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches of my life. Thanks Pam. Also one of the most comfortable nights of sleep I’ve had so far (thanks Louis). Also, watching Independance Day (thanks Will Smith). And M.I.B II (no thanks, Will Smith).
Baltimore—We went cliff jumping with the Frisby House kids at Pretty Boy Lake after the show (there are some pictures floating around somewhere on the internet)—15 people were crammed into one van, which had the back benches removed and a wooden bed built in it’s place—four people laid on the bed, and three of us laid underneath it, which was sort of terrifying, especially every time it creaked. I kept poking Katie and Allison Crutchfield (members of P.S. Eliot) in the ankles until they figured out it was me—we had to walk about a mile in the dark woods before we got to the water, and then Ramsey mentioned there were snakes here and there, and sharp rocks—The height of the cliff I jumped off tends to change every night I relay the events. Tonight I’m going to say it was 15 feet. I got a lot of water in my nose. Could only manage to do it once. Katherine (P.S.) and Jackie S. (our bassist) also jumped.
Philadelphia—Late night at the Oregon Diner in Philly, and another triumph for the claw arcade game. Came home to the rest of the band watching Mallrats…
New Brunswick & Brooklyn—On the Brooklyn night we enjoyed the company and amazing sets of the Diamond Sea, who toured with us from Baltimore until then—We hope we get to see them on their home turf in Australia soon..also, lots of Andre.
Albany—-Going to bed at 5 in the morning (I’m still not sure how that happened),eating some of the best French toast I’ve ever had the next day (thanks Alex and Tim), and later finding a puke-like pile of something on our van. It looked like potatoes. And cheese. We imagined it to possibly be the work of some bros we had encountered the night before, who lived across the street. A dollar was stuck to our window with some sort of brown substance. Had to use three different rags to clean it off. Considered whether or not to keep the dollar. For a good 10 minutes. The possibility of the brown substance being poop was too great. What a waste.
Also, lots of Andre.
A CRAZY show in Boston. 5 good friends drove all the way from Philadelphia and I can’t begin to describe how happy I was to see them. And a bunch of sweet kids came to this show too (some even brought cupcakes—thanks Joseph)—and one person drove all the way from Canada—it was an epic audience, and I’m really glad I got to meet so many kind people—-and to sing along to Celine Dion songs in my friend Danny’s van. Very loudly.
Which brings us to Portland. Saw a good friend from school before the show, and ate amazing sushi. Also ate a lot of Cheez itz party mix on the way to the show. Wish I hadn’t done that. After the show we played our first game of Texas Holdem. We were hoping to play it pretty much every night but haven’t even come close to that. Will Granger (P.S. lead guitar) also cooked delicious fried eggs for everybody and some people from the house made french fries for us. Thank you 176 Coyle Street.
There’s so many more people to thank than this— I plan to try and get them all down in here soon—I so far can’t believe how good people have been to us on the road—I hope we are as fortunate as we head west this coming Thursday…
And for the record, I am capable of swimming the regular way. I just prefer to dog paddle.
