SO it has been several weeks since I've posted anything about this, which is funny because it was a "tour blog" and the "tour" has been over for a couple "weeks". I was distracted by things. Anyway, anyone who was reading this already knows that the tour ended successfully, and we made it home to NH safely. The show in Denver was good, the show in Pueblo was better (there was a police-involved fight AND an unrelated car accident within five minutes of each other), and the show in Durango was INSANELY better than any of us ever expected, none of us having actually heard of Durango before this. It was one of those totally jammed from the beginning, sweaty, dancy shows... and it was just a great way to end it.
So here's all the good pictures I haven't posted yet: Keg.
Keg and Heather, outside the HardRock.
Denver from a little ways away.
A Bunch of people hanging out on Zing's porch.
Red rock formations in the Garden of the Gods. Heather insisted we stop here on our way to Pueblo, so we did, and it was AWESOME. The next few pictures are all from there.
We picked up a hippy along the way. His name is Kid. We dropped him off in Durango.
Stunning.
Keg, sleeping.
So, we finally broke down, btu it wasn't until the ride home. It's okay, we (mostly Mike) fixed it. Thanks again to the girl who drove by and helped us. Maybe she'll read this someday. I think we at least gave her a CD.
It was a beautiful place that we broke down though. I really like this picture.
...aaaannnnd I'll leave it at this. I have a couple videos to edit up too. You can watch for them if you want. I'll probably keep this thing going when we play shows and stuff, so maybe check back.... sometime.
Colorado has been amazing so far. Our show at Hodi's Half note was off the hook, tons of people came out and threw down. The night was definately a success. Wednesday we dropped Brett off in Boulder, then went on an expedition to the Denver International Airport (in the bus...) to pick up Mike's lady, Heather. It was fun, though we though we may have entered an area that was too low for the bus (it wasn't... by about 6 inches). We successfully collected Heather, and drove back up to Boulder to have some dinner, hang out, and catch a show. Joseph Isreal was playing at the Fox Theater, so Brett made a phone call and got our crew on the guestlist. The show was fun, not too crouded. We were there early, got a good spot, and had a great time checking out a different band. Today we woke up at the very Un-rock and roll time of 6:30 AM (really). We had some breakfast, and got to Denver around 9:45 (not bad!), and played at a college located downtown, that seemed to be part of every college system in the state. Colorado University, Metro State, etc, but either way there were tons of people, and it was by far the best early afternoon college show we've ever played. Lots of people stopped and watched. Then we went to Denver, and some people took naps while Heather, Keg, and I went downtown and hung out at the Hard Rock Cafe for a while. It was sweet. We rode no less than 2 wrong trains. Here's some pics:
Rockies
Look how nice the seats on the commuter trains are in Denver. Plush, like a coach bus.
Heather en route to the Hard Rock.
Finally, Mike was affected by the thin air. He found a Hula Hoop and was occupied for hours. Here is a short snippet. PLEASE copy and paste it EVERYwhere!!!
Lots since the last post. We had an AWESOME show in Kalamazoo, with an awesome crowd. We stayed up late and hung out with some of our friends, but then headed out Sunday afternoon for Ft. Collins, CO. It was a LOOONNNGGG drive. I think it took us between 20 and 22 hours, and we went through 2 time zone changes. Chris drove for like 13 hours straight (the entire states of Iowa and Nebraska). It's weird how once you're outside the city limits of a city, it goes immediately back to desolate farmland out here. But damn, it is gorgeous in some places. We could see the Rocky Mountains on the horizon for like an hour. We had a little breakfast in Wyoming (just to say we have done it, naturally), and arrived in Fort Collins around 11 AM Monday. At least the clocks said it was 11.. we all had no idea what time it really felt like. Later, that's for sure. In Fort Collins, we went to our friend Jason Bean's house (Brett's friend from High School). We hung uut briefly, but he had a normal person's day to attend to, so we were left to hang out. Downtown was about a 10 minute walk away (we passed Hodi's Half Note on the way in, the place we are playing, and saw our name on the Marquee... that's always sweet). There are 3 breweries within 10 minutes of Jason's house. While some members were taking their first shower of the trip (seriously), Chris and decided to go have a driving victory beer. Or like... 3. We hung out for the afternoon, made some dinner at the house, and then headed out to check out the club we're playing at for a bit. It was cool. We all checked in pretty early, got a ton of sleep, and hit the town again today, flyering the local college and storming the radio station. When we were leaving the college, someone in the band who will remain unnamed, knocked the top part of a parking meter off it's pole with the Bus. We made a swift exit after that. Here's a ton of pictures: Brett on stage at Bell's. Mike raging after the show at Bell's. . Kame and Went. Somewhere in Iowa. Gas stations of Iowa love America. Brett just noticed the flag. Cat in the truck next to us just noticed Brett. Chris calls his Mom. Mike raging in the bus. Somewhere in Nebraska. Making sure this thing works. I have no explanation for this... This is Nebraska. Or Wyoming. Or Iowa. Or Colorado. Chris rockin. On his way to being delerious. Possible Keg sighting in Iowa. Rumor has it he shaved his beard. Our friend Jason. That would be the Rocky Mountains in the background. Mike calls his Mom. At the Odell Brewery, Tuesday afternoon. That's right, Tuesday afternoon. This is actually so the bands are able to find the place they are supposed to be playing. It's very helpful.
And finally, after driving for 13 hours on the way here, Chris was feeling a little funny. Here he is, singing to himself (not knowing the camera was still on... until he sees it), a tune which eventually reveals itself to be "Lovely Day". He's alright now.
We made it to Kalamazoo relatively on time. The show last night was good, the Ragbirds were a lot of fun. We drank some beer, but didn't stay up too late, and got to K-zoo around 3:30. I just finished enjoying a Bell's Amber Ale, their flagship beer. They have so many good beers here, it's overwhelming. Observe: I didn't know where to start, so I started with the basics. This is a list of all the beers currently on tap. This is Heaven. I know you can't really read this, but you get the idea. Here's the bus outside the brewery. Mmmm... beer. Enjoying a beer. Where's Keg?? Sweet fishtank. The stage where we are about to set out stuff up. View from the balcony. Once again, these are mirror images. I haven't messed around with inverting the image, but I bet it's not too hard, huh? Anyways, hold your computer up to a mirror, and you'll see that this sign has our band name on it. Kick Ass. This way. Sweet artwork on the outside of the building.
Anyways... I'll probably try to post another one tonight.
Day 2. We're in Saugatuck MI, at a place called the Boathouse. We were opening for a band called The Ragbirds, they are pretty good. Sort of a folky, worldly, jam band. And I know people who like jam bands! Getting here was interesting. After a bit of a late start (2PM), we got breakfast, and finally left Muncie around 4PM. Someone (Keg) bought a bottle of Patron, and it kept certain people (everyone else) up very late. The drive was okay. Mike had to shit in the woods (seriously) somewhere in the middle of nothing, and I was hit on in a serious way by another dude who was older and taller than me. All in a day's work, really. Last night's show was awsome, totally off the hook and totally unexpected for our first time in Indiana. There were over a hundred people in there dancing like it was possibly going out of style! Mike at the bar after our set. Brett at the merch table. Keg.
That's all. Tomorrow we'll try to get some pictures during the day. That way you can see stuff.
