We have now played 11 shows in 12 days since the beginning of this tour. Our last three were at an all female school, a christian university, and at the home and birthplace of the buffalo wing in Buffalo NY. Discovered by Frederick von Wingenstein, a german poultry breeder and closet sewing enthusiast, the buffalo wing has proved to be a staple of the american diet, and a favorite in the world of take-out and delivery. Here, I hung out with Stephanie and Susan, two rather large but totally friendly and genial stage managers studying in the theatre arts department of the University. The highlight of the evening was a small whodunnit involving the wife of the Decemberists' truck driver and a stolen digital camera, but no charges or arrests were made. It made for a funny little bit of drama in the backstage, but no arrests were made, and no charges filed. Buffalo was the middle stop in this last trifecta, and it took us a total of 8 hours to get there from Wellsley College in Massachusetts. The Wellsley show was a lot of fun, although somewhat uneventful. It's not that often that you get to play to an entire room full of hormonal females, so we cherished our 30 minutes on stage and relished the vibe as best we could. It felt a little weird, though; I think you could smell the pheromones in the air. The only time I've been in a room with that much pent up hormonal energy swirling around is when I went to see "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on its opening night.
The Wellsley show was business as usual, except for Brian and my awesome frisbee session in front of the Lulu Wang student center. Since we've hit our stride and gotten into the rhythm of things, our days have fallen into a rather mundane pattern: wake up, drive, drive, drive, load-in, kill time, soundcheck, kill time, play gig, load-out, watch some of the Decemberists, go home, go to sleep. The in-between things tend to stand out a bit because of the cyclical nature of our events. That's why frisbee has all of a sudden become the COOLEST. Watching James play frisbee is incredible because he's 6'4'' and takes these immense strides, handling himself like a big bearded antelope prancing around the grasslands. Frisbee really brings out the kid in people, I think. It also works for curing the boredom and accumulated restlessness that accompanies sitting in a van for 8 hours. I myself got a little stir-crazy in the backseat yesterday, but have otherwise managed to maintain some semblance of sanity in this string of shows.
Saturday's show brought us to Grantham, PA, to a Christian University called "Messiah." We played in their auditorium, which made the whole thing feel a little bit like prom. By the time the Diamond started our set, the entire thing was packed to the brim with young God-loving collegiates. Ironically, I chose this night to play my sloppiest set of the tour. The big man upstairs could not have been very happy with that. Lucky for me, god doesn't have the sharpest of musical ears (have you ever heard christian rock? how about christian RAP?)
No offense, god.
Today's show will be in Norfolk Virginia, and it's warm enough down here that we are beginning to see signs of spring along the interstate. Little flashes of purple and white and green are popping up everywhere, replacing the ugly brownish month-old snow of New England. The change in foliage has become symbolic for me of the mileage we've convered. As we travel further and further south, I find that the landscape is becoming less and less familiar. I've never really spent much time int he south at all, so this is all new to me, and I'm finding that the south has begun to feel like another country. We just ate a "Cracker Barrel", and I noticed traces of the drawl for the first time. Brian is from West Virginia, and both James and Shara logged most of their childhood hours in Texas, so it shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did. Perhaps the reason for that is that their accents have been buried by years of listening to Manhattanite talk.
Tomorrow will be a day-off, finally. My plan is to perhaps see that new Will Ferrell flick "Blades of Glory," and perhaps drink a bit. These university shows have been quite tame in the booze department, so i will be looking to let my hair down a bit. Hopefully play some frisbee, too.
2 comments:
I've been told that there is a shuttle bus between Wellsley and Harvard that is commonly referred to as the "fuck truck".
I found your blog randomly and, being about MBD, bookmarked it. I was there last night and you all were beyond amazing. I don't know if it had something to do with Shara having family at the show, but whatever the reason--maybe you all are always that good?--it was the best set I've seen in a long time. Make sure to visit Virginia again soon... headlining!
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