Henning: That's right, Brian, nice work. I added a few things here and there as well, just whatever memories I might have had. I don't keep a diary (because I'm not a troubled teenage girl like Brian) so I don't have many details.
H: The Steamtrain took a vacation in January. It had been years since any of us had a month with no gigs. None of us are fans of long winters so it was only fitting that we should venture to warmer worlds.
H: Oh, so much Brian, so much. But some things should remain unsaid, like that time you did that thing over in that place. I always like playing the Iron Horse. The sound is always great which means we can perform better and more relaxed. The crowd is always there to see a show rather than to just be somewhere with booze and people. Lucky for us, Bruce Tull came along and ran the soundboard for us, he did a great job. Highlights of the show for me: Russ and I acting out scenes from the VH-1 Original Movie "The Two Of Us", A nice version of "Now You Know" with Joe, and, of course, our duet with Amy, always been a sucker for Tom Petty.
H: Oh, that's right, you fell asleep before all the fun. Oh well, you're better off not knowing what you missed. The Livingroom is a lovely place to play. It's a little tough for us because we have to play so quietly but I still enjoy it quite a bit. It's a real listening environment usually. The sound guy, Morgan, is a fan of the same types of music that we love so that is nice. Some friends from the past came out to this show and Don came down with us. It turned into a late night but when we finally pulled into Northampton at around 4:30 we were treated to a glimpse of some Northern Lights. That's right, folks, a little Arora Borealis in your backyard, shifting silently above your sleeping heads. Observed only by The Aloha Steamtrain and a few tired truckers.
H: Well, Brian, it is CD release season in Northampton. Off the top of my head, the following bands have either just finished an album or are just about to: The Figments, King Radio, Humbert, The Maggies, Claudia Malibu, The Drunk Stuntmen and The Aloha Steamtrain. I am excited to hear each and ever one of them. As far as our gig at The Amherst Brewing Company, I had a good time. Some fans and friends were there, we played a long show which I always like. Some highlights include: While playing "Everybody's Talkin'" I glanced up and beheld three lovely young women doing a completely sychronized choreographed dance, seemed like a scene in a musical also, We managed to pull off a request for a Jefferson Airplane song though we hadn't played it for ages. I managed to speak to someone about changing their press releases so that they didn't describe us as groove rock anymore.
H: No beef, just an accidental collision. Hey, I'm tall, what am I gonna do if they hang rock star angels down from the ceiling? I'm gonna smash into them, that's what I'm gonna do. This was The Steamtrain's first show at Fire and Water. (Fitting since if you combine fire and water you get steam.) I loved it. I always enjoy shows where we have to mix things up a little. We played very quietly and I was complimented by a few folks afterwards on how nice it sounded. The crowd was quiet and attentive and perhaps, bemused. We played for some folks who were too young to come to our bar shows and some folks who were just passed the point of being able to tolerate the bar scenes. As well as a whole mix of people in between. I particularly enjoyed our version of "Listen" this evening. There was another excitement in the band that night as Russ and I had just come back from working with Steve Busch on the artwork design for the new record: "Now You Know The Aloha Steamtrain" and Brian had seen it and whole-heartedly approved. We were all feeling great about it and excited about the upsoming release of the new album.
H: Yep, sounds good, Brian, except you forgot to mention the guy who was passed out with his head on the bar. I feel these little details are important. After all he was there for a good 2 hours before he was removed from the bar, puking all the way out. These are the quaint niceties that we mustn't overlook.
H: Yeah, that was a good night. Ray borrowed my bass after breaking a string on his. I sat among many friends. We met some cute girls and had a late night breakfast with them later at Jake's. I had blueberry waffles.
H: The good old Lakeside. What a nice smiling crowd. Lots of familiar NY faces and some Northampton faces as well. I had a great evening and cajoled a couple of lovely young ladies into the famous photo booth with me for some souveneirs to take home. We hope to be back at this place soon.
H: The Knitting Factory is a strange place, there are four different shows going at once. We played down on the bottom floor in this great little room called The Old Office. The crowd was incredibly receptive and we played well. Hanging out in the green room with Jerod was enlightening, he has lots of energy and ideas about the music world. The ride home was fun, too, lots of jokes about teeth.
H: "How did we wind up here?" I kept asking myself as I strolled through the droves of well-dressed fancy folks. We hid in the dressing room eating incredible food and making set lists before cheching out the first band, The Big City Band, who were a large swingish group. I didn't see how our rock and roll would go over with the crowd, but I read them wrong. We were a huge hit. Tons of people dancing and singing along, even to our originals, and smiling and clapping and what have you. Amy Fairchild was enchanting on the stage with us and we even managed to get through the Greatful Dead covers that they requested. The rest of the evening after the show was distorted and obscene. We wound down watching some Beach Boys documentaries in our hotel suite.
H: Yeah, so is that so wrong? I don't know, though, I will probably give in and listen to the new XTC before the album is officially released. I Don't think I can wait a couple months. Our show at the Hot-L was pretty good. It was an interesting place. A very old salloon type feel to it, mixed with a Boston Rock decor. I wanted to play cowboys and indians and have fake shoot-outs and stuff but I forgot my cap gun. We all forgot our cap guns. We had a very friendly audience who seemed to enjoy the music. And like Brian said Bruce did a great job. It was a long and tiring show, physically exhausting. And outside, South Deerfield smelled like hot dogs.
H: First what's happening is you are going to stop calling my Henny. Now, as far as these dubious invitations go, I'm not sure why you think we are doing something wrong. Seems quite the opposite to me. I have to agree with you on Spouse's performance. Very enjoyable. Those guys are always impressing me. St. Patriot's Day is always an exciting time for me. Our theme song sticks with me all year. Partially because people come up and sing it to me year round. Unfortunately, this show had been inadvertently advertised as a CD-Release Show, so some folks were let down when they found out we don't yet have the cds. I hope that it doesn't effect the impact of our REAL CD-Release, whenever that is. Another highlight of the night was that Bruce did the sound for us and everything was very easy to hear, which is unusual for the Baystate. You can always count on Bruce.
H: Yes, well those of you familiar with Amherst at night are probably already aware of the phenomenon known as Antonio's Pizza. You won't believe me when I tell you that about 3 months before Antonio's moved in, I was trying to convince my friend to open up a pizza-by-the-slice place in that same exact spot. Well, I would have been a millionaire by now and The Steamtrain record would be out by now, but I won't dwell...the story is this: Every night when the bars close, 15 million drunk UMASS students go to Antonio's for a slice. The police barricade off sections of the road and stand guard as fight after fight after fight breaks out. It is a tiny riot every night. And so, that's what Brian and I watched while we stood by his car discussing the gig. Thanks for your time.
H: Poor Brian. Here's what really happened: Kevin Lamkins of WSAM was kind enough to invite us to play a show at The Hawk's Nest down at The University of Hartford. When we arrived on campus it was pretty clear that just about everyone had gone home for Easter Weekend. Everyone but the coyotes and tumbleweeds, that is. We met Matt Silberstein at the club and he was very friendly and apolgetic for the turn out. The Women's Center that set up this Benefit didn't even show up. Still we played a pretty fun show, there were no monitors, but I could see how it might be fun to play on a night when there were actually customers there. Anyway, they said they would love to have us back in the fall so that's cool. The phrase of the day was, "Chicken Flag". Wave it proudly, my friends, wave it proudly.
H: Boy oh boy, Brian, before the shows you were a curmudgeon. But, like we knew it would, your enthusiasm kicked in just in time. The NMF May Day Party was a lot of fun. I got to see a bunch of great shows - most notably, The Figments, The Maggies, Ray Mason, and King Radio (Who pulled off a feat involving importing some previously recorded orchestral tracks, beautiful). I really really enjoyed playing our show. The crowd was great. The sound was great. Bruce even gave us a little light show. It was an intense, fast paced sweaty set. Lovely people were dancing, including a couple members of the Maggies. Very nice. Very good gig.
H: Oh, great now we are putting in unrelated facts?!?! As if this dang diary ain't convoluted enough. Here's my unrelated fact..which is entirely related: I advertised our show at Fire and Water on MASSLive's local music forum Soundboard. A number of people wrote in saying that they would not attend our show because they felt that Fire and Water exploited musicians by not paying them enough. I wrote a response standing up for the venue and started a big online argument. Just for the record The Steamtrain loves to play shows for people, and we loved playing at Fire and Water. The people are always very attentive and friendly. The girls are always cute, the gentlemen are always handsome. This particular evening was incredibly hot and stifling but the crowd stuck it out. Two disembodied heads applauded us (figure that one out)from a street level window. It was a great show all around.
H: Just for the record, this was not our last baystate show. That was an error. It was nice playing all night at The Baystate. We debutted that new song without a name and gave a way a whole bunch of protractors to those in the audience that were intersted in angles and curves. Dunkin Donuts was excellent. Unrelated Fact 2: I did enjoy the Travis show but once again cursed the terrible sound quality of Pearl Street.
H: Yes, The Lakeside, It's always a pleasure. Despite the long drive and the parking, we always leave feeling satisfied. This was my first show in my new orange sneakers, I almost hit my head on the ceiling a number of times, they're just that bouncy. Russ used the two guitar amp stereo tremelo effect and it was pretty spacey. Nice. We had some friends and fans in the crowd who we hung out with a bit afterwards, took some pictures in the famous photobooth and played some tunes on the juke-box. The ride home was fun, too, we saw the sunrise over lovely Chicopee.
H: Yeah, I'm feeling better. Thanks so much for asking. But that night was a dizzy haze. I recall losing my voice half way through the evening. And I seem to remember staggering around a lot. And drinking a whole mess of water. Besides that, there is no use in me pretending I know anything about this show.
H: Well, yes, despite a small turn out, the people at The Equator were so
nice and accomodating that this show was a lot of fun. And they make a good
grilled cheese sandwich. Al had told us that he normally isn't open on the July
4th weekend but he DID stay open so that the headliners could play. Turns out
they decided to blow him off after seeing that there weren't a lot of people
there. Nice.
I can't recall what Joe and Russ had either Brian. I think Joe had a hazelnut
roll or some such thing. I'm looking forward to coming back to The Equator,
hopefully this fall when school is back in session.
H: No, it's not all about role playing, Brian, some of it is, but not all of it. Don't forget that, my friend. The name of the waffle place was Bulgin' Waffles. This particular evening in NYC felt like autumn was kicking in. After Brian went into the club to get out of the cold, Russ and I sat outside on the lawn chairs they have on the sidewalk. We watched the people go by and absorbed a little bit of the city. We went in to catch the act before us, a very nice singer/songwriter (I'm an idiot so I can't remember his name.) I drew a picture of some ghost bunnies boxing. Eventually we went on. The crowd at The Livingroom is always so nice. We had a lot of familiar faces in the crowd and we made a new best friend or two. The show went very well. The vocals were very easy to hear. We did a perfect version of Here We Go and the new song worked out very well, it might be called "Over." After the show, Russ and I hung out for a while mingling. We got ourselves a Bagel and took off for Massachusetts, realizing as we shot out of the city, that Russ' famous green satchel was on the floor of The Livingroom. We were so confident in how nice the soundguy, Morgan, and the rest of the folks there are that we knew Russ could just call the next day and they would send it home with Brian who would be there playing a Figments show. It all worked out fine.
H: Well, Brian, I'm glad you asked me that. For the next couple of weeks,
I will be buried in my friend Chris' recording studio. Hopefully, I'll be finishing
up my long overdue solo record, "Henning's School For The Dead". It's been over
five years since my last album, and I am ashamed and embarrassed by how long
it is taking me to make this new one. It's all based on money, I tell you. Anyway,
that's what I will be doing on these lonely gigless nights.
The Baystate show was really nice. I was delighted to see how many people came
out early to see us and it was an honor to support The Stuntmen and their second
CD "More Bad News". They played an incredible show. They always do. And their
stage decorations were enjoyed by all. The heat and humidity inside the Baystate
that night was just above the intolerable level but playing was a lot of fun.
Bruce did the sound for us and it sounded great on stage, I have been told it
sounded very nice in front too. The crowd was excited and receptive, a few guys
were yelling out lines from The Upright Citizens Brigade which is always nice.
That is all.
Oh, nobody can possibly guess the answer of your little contest up there, Brian.
It's far too obscure, which is good because we don't have an CDs to give away.
Unles syou meant just any CD, I have a few I could live without.
H: Yeah, Russ and I were a little lost without Brian's tempo setting count-offs. We yelled into the other room a few times requesting him to count us in, but he didn't respond. Turns out he was too shy. What a little darling. The show was interesting, as bassist for the band I don't necessarily know all the proper chords to the Steamtrain songs so I had to try and sort of relearn some stuff which was a good exercize. I enjoyed playing guitar quite a bit. I don't remember too much else about that show. It was relaxing and Chaz was very good.
H: Tell your therapist to tell them, I'm busy. Little City Cafe was a strange venue. It is a good-sized room, with a nice bar and some pool tables. They even have a little stage and some cool lights. I saw some extra speakers lying around so I don't know if they normally have a better soundsystem or what, but the lack of monitors and the week P.A. definately left the band feeling flat. We were funny, and probably entertaining but I didn't feel very musical. Mostly because I couldn't hear a damn thing besides my bass and some cymbals. Maybe it was because the Republican National Convention was blazing from six TV Screens, maybe it was because I was starving and the Middletown Dunkin Donuts closes mysteriously at 7:30 PM! What's that all about?!?!? Anyway, we got to see a few songs by Siment before heading home. They sounded good. Funny Pop Music.
H: Big-ass month?!?! I don't know you anymore, Brian. The Brian I know doesn't use phrases like big-ass month. Yes, playing at The Huke Lau is an aural and viual pleasure. The sound on stage is SO good it feels like we are playing in a recording studio. And the lights are super cool. Too bad nobody was there to hear/see it. All the folks who work there are incredibly friendly. Even their sunsets are inspiring. Anyway, thankfully we had some good friends who came out and watched. At one point I had to tell some girl that we don't do any Matchbox 20 covers, she and her friends immediately left. Such is life, such is life.
H: I enjoy the Livingroom. It's a comforting place. The band before us, as Brian mentioned, was quite good, but our genres didn't quite gel together too well. Jesse Harris had a slight americana thing going on and I think that a lot of the folks that came out to see him were not ready for us. But we played well. Russ and I agreed later that we did not feel quite at ease on the stage and therefore weren't very funny or engaging in our between song banter. The show did have some other perks, as Brian mentioned, let's just say that the crowd was incredibly lovely and attentive. Also, we had quite a few folks sign our mailing list, so maybe next time we come to NYC we will bring in even more people. Our fan base is growing there quickly.
H: I love playing at these outdoor festivals. All the smiling faces, the little kids dancing, the local freaks squinting in the sun. Although the stage sound was not so great, I knew that we sounded good out front, because I had seen The Maggies on the same stage earlier in the week, and they were terrific. "Eat Up America!" I kept saying to myself. At one point, in the beginnning of I Want You (She's So Heavy) I jumped off the stage in order to let a young child play my bass but my cord was tangled and I became unplugged. I sheepishly turned and stepped back on the stage. Oh well. The song was requested by the WRNX gang, we hadn't planned on playing it. After the show, I saw a few tunes by Drunk Stuntmen but I had to go home to bed. I could still hear them through my open window as I dozed into some much needed sleep.
H: You are doing fine, Brian, don't worry. This show was performed in a haze. My nap seemed to only make things worse. I was coming down with something and the lack of sleep and proper food wasn't helping. The night was fun though. And I think the crowd dug us. The evening was beautiful, the moon was full, some folks were even watching from atop of the Parking Garage like so many snipers. After the show the four of us sat for a bit until it became Lord Russ official birthday after midnight and we blessed him the best that we could.
H: Antonio's never lets you down. It was clear how dead Amherst was this evening when we didn't have to claw our way through the usual drunken madness of the sidewalk outside of this famous pizza establishment. But, the show was very nice. Bruce did do an excellent job. Joe played his new guitar. Russ was extra funny. Upon arrival at the club I was wished a happy birthday by many strangers which was puzzling but certainly delightful. The boy and the girl danced and were obsessed with their chests. Lots of friends came out for the show, these names come to mind: George, Andrea, Devilboy, Rhonda, and Ken.
H: I had an enjoyable dinner with my family in the restaurant right next to
the club, "Christopher's". There I was presented a number of gifts, including
a digital camera, which will turn out to not just be a gift to me but also to
the band and our fans, as we now intend on publishing photographs from each
gig to go along with these gig diary entries. We intend on having pictures of
audiences, audience members, the club, and us. Maybe there are already some
here now. I am working on it. Any suggestions? Email me.
Toad was a very nice venue. Tiny and with questionable sound, but warm and friendly
and appreciative. If felt like a real rock show tonight. Russ performed a stellar
guitar solo on I Want You (She's So Heavy). And 80 degrees was a huge
success. Thanks everyone for coming.
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H: I don't know who you are, Brian, speaking for the Steamtrain like that.
I for one am not saying goodbye to summer. We have plenty of summer weather
ahead of us. So you can just stop rushing the year by right this minute and
relax a little. Relax.
This venue was very cool. It felt like a post nuclear-armeggedon sanctuary.
I half expected a gand of leather clad, mutant, renegades to come smashing throught
the ceiling at any minute. Jose, of Spouse fame did a great job mixing our sound
at this ill-attended but dreamscape of a gig. The movie projector cast a beam
through the smoke directly into our faces and hipsters on sofas laughed half-heartedly
at our misguided attempts at being funny. Large paintings of distorted women
hung from the walls. A television was lit with poorly colored and re-edited
80's classics. Portland seems like a really cool little city, someday I hope
to see more of it, well, we will be back in September at Bowdin College. The
ride home was long and dark through squinting eyes.
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H: I love Transperformance it was an honor to participate and I thank everyone grandly.
Click On Image To Enlarge It
B: Henning, you and summer both fell for my trick. I was saying, "Bye, summer 2000. Nice knowing you. I understand, you were a little tired this year, it happens to all of us. Whatever, see you next year". And then summer read that, and said "Why, I'll show that little so and so...", and voila, it's 90 degrees and humid. Up in the Berkshires, on this night, it was a little cooler than in the Pioneer Valley, but still wet. This was a last-minute opening slot gig, which called for an acoustic duo. I came along anyway, to see the town, and the club. No, I'd never been to Great Barrington. It was quite nice. The Helsinki Club is inside a sort of mall--but a quaint, nice little mall, not a huge, everywhere-kind-of-mall. Once inside, through a fascinating maze of doors and secret chambers, mine eyes were treated to a decor, possibly reminicent of a real Helsinki tavern. No I've never been to Finland. The room had a long bar, a small stage, a couple big tables, a few small tables, art on the wall. Turn the corner, and the room has a sub-room, with a few more tables, and, most impressively, a long, velvet-covered couch, with lots of pillows, seeemingly meant for hashish and/or opium-fuelled make-out sessions. But there was none of that this evening. There was a performance by Lord Russ and Henning, which included all the usual Steamtrain favorites, including a finale of Nilsson's "Without You", which sent the two cute waitresses into mock hysterics. While they played, I sat at one of the small tables, with a Heinekin, sometimes listening, sometimes taking pictures, and sometimes making plans for our impending tour, which is now scheduled for the first week of November. They did a 40 minute set. The joke was that I misbehaved at our last show, so they made me sit this one out. I think the folks believed it, because no one talked to me all night. Well, that's not completely true. Anyway, Russ and Hen sounded great. I probably could have played drums, it turns out, but we'll rock next time. The character I was playing all night was that of a super fan, who knew everything about the Steamtrain, and I kept asking Russ and Hen trivial questions, and spouting out factoids all about the band.
H: The Helsinki Club is really cool. I almost felt like I was in Epcot Center or something, in the Helsinki section. That is a good thing for all of you Disney-Cynics out there. Russ and I played as a duo with bass and acoustic guitar. It worked out pretty well. On some of the songs, most notably "Beggars In Los Angeles", it was a little difficult to keep the same groove that I am used to without good-old Brian behind the drummy drums. Overall it was a pretty good show, though, and we have to thank Robbie Baier and his band for inviting us. Thank you. Hopefully we will be back at The Helsinki soon to headline a show. Those of you in the area keep your eyes peeled.
B: This was a three-settter, which we arrived at with a sense of adventure, seeing as 1)we hadn't had a chance to practice for a few weeks and b) we hadn't played w/ Joe in a while. Lo and behold, this was one of the best played and most enjoyable 3-setters in a while! Henning, Russ and I arrived at the club around 7:30, and were greeted by our fave bartender, the soon-to-be-married Martha. She supplied us w/ menues, and we ordered our dinners. Mexican chicken sandwiches for me and Russ, a tuna melt for Henning. Chips and waters all around. I set up my drums while waiting for the food. Later, as we ate, Joe arrived, and we all wondered where Dr. Bruce Tull, PHD and soundman, was. He arrived and informed us that he was having dinner with Stephen Delicious (Desaulniers), his former Scud Mt. brother. We started more or less on time, and from the first song, poor Henning could not stop sneezing, tearing, sniffling, basically, doing all he could to enjoy performing in front of an audience. I believe halfway through the second set he brgan to feel better, thus sparking the theory that maybe he was allergic to something in th food. By the end of the night, he was fine. Or maybe it was that 1 hour virus that's all the rage. Between sets, I played Raiders of the Lost Arc pinball. Did well. So, the show. We brushed up on some songs we've not done in a while. I took my drum solo in "Happiness Waits" to new heights. Apparently I did a "rock and roll scream" at the beginning of 80 degrees, but in my defense, I'll say that was my chair squeeking. I don't scream. Except when Henning's punching me. End of the night: those who stayed to the end (at the most, 40 people were there, all ages, dancing and stuff), gave us lots of praise. The sweetheart of Terry from NRBQ (she works there) said she once held up the phone to the stage while we were playing, when he was on the other end, on tour somewhere. Phaw! The owner of "Black Apple Tatoo Parlor" said he'd hype our next show there to his constomers. BTW, we will be playing there again, the day after Thanksgiving. We'r'e told that should be a big party. Henning, what am I forgetting?
H: I'll tell you what you are forgetting, you're forgetting the twenty five bucks you owe me. Pay up, Cisco. The Mole's Eye is a very friendly basement room in a town settled in the shadow of a wall-like mountain. I don't think the clientele there knew quite what to expect from us, it seems that their general entertainment line-up is more traditional rock / blues, but once again we managed somehow to bridge that gap. There was dancing and smiling. I did have some problems there what with the sneezing, but Russ kept telling the folks that I was crying so everyone felt a little bit better. It was nice to play Rite For The Innocent You and Burnout again and we did a hellova crazy version of My Life. It was a fun show, hopefully we can get some of the same folks to come back for the Thanksgiving Show there. See ya.
B: There was concern on the way to this show that I had faulty directions, but I, with fingers crossed, assured the boys that the directions I had were perfect. Y'know, it was raining, foggy, we're heading into foreign territory, there's cause for concern. In total, it was about a 3 1/2 or 4 hour ride, and the directions were perfect. Some students told us which building to enter through, and we were greeted by an ENORMOUS stuffed Polar Bear in a glass case, apparently shot by one of the founders of the school? Something like that?? We found the pub, found Adam, the everything-guy, and geared up for two 75 minute sets. There were posters for us all over the Student Union, and a photo/story on us in the daily campus papaer. Those who came to the show were very enthusiatic, dancing on tables, on the balcony, and the vast majority signed the mailing list. There were computers set up outside the pub, so i could check my e-mail during Russ' boring acoustic parts (aww.....just kidding). They let us have free food from the grill area, and they also had Sierra Nevada on tap for $3. The person dispensing the drinks was one Julie, who kept us company into the wee hours, in our deluxe guest suites. Good times. She wondered if Russ, Henning and I were just putting on a show for her, or if we always interact like this. Of course, it's the latter. Anyone can talk politics and literature, not everyone can be funny. Who am I, Carl Reiner? The next morning we ate at the Brunswick diner. All a diner can offer, and more! We all got the #1 breakfast, w/ various changes in the style of eggs and breakfast meat choices. . Upon arriving home, I was exhausted, but heard music in the distance. HEY! The Riverfest 2000 was happening at the Fairgrounds, less than a mile from my apartment! And, HEY!! I hear Sonic Youth playing "Kool Thing"!!! I hopped on my bicycle, and rode through the meadows, on the country back roads, while Kim's voice was getting louder and louder. I heard the song end, and they launched into what ended up being 10 minutes of guitar noise. I was half hoping I'd see a well-connected friend around the gates, who'd let me in, but all I saw were kids getting high in the parking lot. I couldn't see anything, and the sound from the closest spot I could get was still horrible, and bouncing off all the barns and stuff. So I turned around, headed home and took a nap, not too interested in the next act. And Henning, I'm not gonna describe the Dukes of Hazzard-crossed with-Keanu Reeves-crossed with-Brad Pitt stunt that we pulled on 95 on the way home. You feel like it?
H: Well, Brian, I'll get to it in a little bit, first my take on the weekend. Bowdoin is a lovely school, or at least the Student Union is. It used to be an enormous gymnasium, and has since been transformed into a cool hang-out. Unbelievably high ceilings and fancy light fixtures and furniture, sculptured walls with twists and turns, it put MY old student union at UMASS to shame. The pub we played in was nice, too. Although the vaulted ceilings created an overbearing reverberation at times. The show was fun, I enjoy playing college shows, I always feel a connection to the crowd, I guess. They seem to be there to have fun instead of a lot of the places we play where people are there to drown their loneliness (which can be nice, too.) Adam was very friendly and the suites they put us up in were great. I met a girl with orange sneakers. We all hung out and acted like idiots into the wee hours. The next morning had Maine written all over it - grey and cool. On the way home we passed a lovely girl in a Ford Taurus. The two cars hit it off and after several drive by smilings we snapped photos of each other. That's right, she surprised us all by firing back at Russ with a camera of her own. Eventually we all got cocky and without the use of stunt doubles, Russ managed to pass a note to her with our website on it. Hopefully, she'll check it out and find her picture below, perhaps we'll never know.
B: Our trimphant return to
Toad. The 12 hours before the gig found us in an intermittent state of scrambling
for various things--namely an opening act, and mic stands. Not to mention, we
were finally assured that our new CDs would be arriving the next day--after
a very unfun scare. All problems were solved. The opening slot went to one of
the strangest cats you'll ever meet, Tony Westcott.
Tony was a founding member of HUMBERT, and these days spends his time as a married dude in Haverhill, MA, occasionally writing slightly twisted masterpieces--and he's written a bushel of 'em. And he treated Toad to acoustic versions of some. The folks dug it, yes they did. I dug the free burger/fries we got from Christopher's next door. And Tony to boot. "I Like 'em Dead" is the necropheliac's "Desolation Row"; you just don't want it to end, even if it is 12 minutes long. Ironically, during Tony's set, I sat next to a woman who's boyfriend was playing in Haverhill that very night. Well, i guess now there's no hope for getting Haverhill kicked out of the Commonwealth.
So, yeah. Then the 3 of us began the first of our 2 sets. The crowd was very responsive, and we ended the set with "She's So Heavy"--during most of which, the floor tom was resting on my knee, after one of the legs collapsed. But, we got through it, and no one noticed my tears of pain. After the set, a person came up to me and said "I can't remember your name, but you like to drink red wine in order to get over a cold". Well, I thought; I used to do that in college, not anymore. Then it dawned on me---this was my old Sophomore year roomate Carter!! Looking totally different--i.e. grown up--whereas I still look like an unresponsible college slob. But, the dude still can party, and we had to pass on his invitation to hang out after the show, due to sheer exaustion.The BUTTERFIELD dorm at UMass, famous for music art and experimentation, has been coming back to haunt us. Carter, and the bartender at Toad, plus 3 or 4 other folks from Henning and Russ' days there, were all at this show.
Speaking of the show, back to it: The second set was just as groovy. Once again, Boston loves our tune 80 Degrees. It's that modern rock thing, I guess. The place erupted after it. Sweet Caroline went over very well, with a couple of women helping Henning sing his backing vocals, from their barstools.
After the show, we drove to my parents' place in North Andover, to help house sit while they were away. Henning gravitated towards the piano in the family room, and we sat around singing old standards in 3 part harmony, like three drunk old Shriners.
H: I noticed your floor tom debaucle, Brian, what a shame. You handled it like a real professional, (until you brought it up here, wining like a tiny baby)
This show was great. Toad is a really nice little club, if the sound system worked better on the stage the place would be perfect. The crowd really seemed to dig us and they were all very friendly.
My brother, Norbert, showed up with his teeny, digital spy camera (he provided the picture below of us on the stage.) And my old friend Matt was there, too. It was nice of both of them to come considering how busy they must be with their new families at home.
I hope we can be back at Toad soon, it's so nice to find a welcoming venue in the Boston area.
B: Expectation: that all the press and radio and advertising we did would not pay off, that it'd be sparsely attended, etc. Reality: everything was absolutely beautiful. I arrived at this show with Lord Russ and Joni Devine; one of my best and oldest friends, visiting from California. I went to my prom with her, 10 years ago.
Anyway, we got lost on the way to the Huke Lau, because I'm totally dumb. But once there, we saw our opening acts, SPOUSE and CHRIS COLLINGWOOD from FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE and PHILLIP PRICE all getting ready. Bruce Tull was setting up the sage for sound. Already, 100 people were there. CONNOLLY RYAN, our MC for the night, was holding court in the upstairs dressing room. Instantly, I was a bundle of nerves. I spotted, and talked to members of the team that made all this possible: ERIC MARCIANO, guy who did our "MISTY PARADISE" video, THOM MONAHAN, who produced the record, and STEVE BUSCH and GABE LINDEN who did all the ingenius computer work. Boy, do they all deserve a thousand kisses.
I kept bouncing between my seat with Joni, the dressing room, and trying to be a good host. Upstairs, Russ was being painted green, and training his "stunt double". Henning had become stage manager. Joe was fixing his troubled guitar equipment. The first (and third) act of the night was CHRIS COLLINGWOOD of FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE, who played much of his act with PHILLIP PRICE of THE MAGGIES. They did a mix of FOW songs, GAY POTATOES songs and miscellania. They looked and sounded great. Hearing some of the Fountains songs gave me chills. Chris played acoustic and wore his glasses. Phillip played electric and also wore glasses.
Next was SPOUSE, one of my favorite "local" bands, even though they hail from Maine, Boston, NYC, etc. They had JJ O'Connell filling in on drums, and he gets an A+. They rocked the house with their upbeat, indie new wave party pop. Jose and I are gonna get married on the Tonight Show some day. So, yeah. Then us.
Henning, do you wanna describe the show?? All I will say is, I don't think anything sounded bad. I think there was some indecent exposure? I think I played a pretty good solo on "Happiness Waits", and lastly, our cover of "If I Can Dream" by Elvis Presley was dead on--even if it was sung by a guy painted 100% green, wearing nothing but panties. PS--I lost my nervousness as soon as I hit the stage. Take it, Ning Nning.
H: Brian calls me Ning Nning now. I couldn't have been happier with this show. We had some serious concerns about bringing people down to Chicopee, our home base is Northampton. It's not very far but northampton is one of those towns where people don't have much need or desire to leave. but we did it and we can't thank people enough for coming down. What a great way to celebrate our much delayed album.
The night was incredibly hectic for me as I became a sort of a stage manager, as Brian mentioned. Chris, Philip, and Spouse played wonderfully and the evening really was a rock and roll circus. Connolly Ryan had his first out-of-the-Pioneer-Valley performance and he helped us out more than any one can guess. He stretched when we needed him to and he rushed when called for. And he was funny and weird and we thank him for it.
Elizabeth McDuffy did a lovely little belly dance while our CD girls sauntered around selling our goods.
Our show was really fun. The smoke machine made me laugh. Bill Winslow came on for the first tune dressed as Russ, which fooled a few people and got a hearty chuckle out of many. The stage mix was perfect, I was really relaxed, felt like the crowd was really there for us.
We gave away some shirts to some pretty girls and took some pictures. Thanks everyone for coming.
B: Most of us in the Steamtrain went to bed quite late after the Huke Lau show. However,we had to be up and atom by noon, prepared to drive 90 minutes SouthWest, to Torrington, CT. It was the last day of Bike Week--a biker ralley, which attracts lots o folks from all walks of life. But mainly, long time bikers. The ride down there was a difinitive New England, peak-fall-foliage treat!! Between the colorful leaves, and the insane cloud formations, our senses were hightened, suitably to deal with this gig. Lots of those bikers had been there all weekend, partying, and since we'd had quite a crazy weekend ourselves, we almost felt like one of them.
We were introduced to a 75 year old biker who keeps a toilet in the back of his bike, because "when you're my age, you need it". We also ate some food, and watched junky cars crash into each other, and jump over other cars. This whole experience was new to me, and I totally enjoyed it. The only thing that kept us from staying to see the TUNNEL OF FIRE was the RAPIDLY dropping temperature. The show? Um, well, we were watched by a few folks, and we all admitted to strange out of body experiences, possibly brought on by the array of fall foliage in front of us, mixed with fatigue and motorcycle fumes.
H: We play some out-there shows, man. 45 degrees and windy and a teeny crowd of dazed bikers. But we had fun as always. Our view from the "stage" was of an old worn out movie screen half hidden in foliage and vines. My favorite part of the performance was when I yelled into the mic, "Hey! You in the leather jacket!!" and nobody looked.
We saw some helmetless-no-seatbelt-wearing-geniuses smashing cars into each other and ate some questionable cheese burgers. I talked to a tiny biker child about the tunnel of fire that we never saw alight.
It was a funny gig and we made $49.00.
B: On this day, we in the Steamtrain had all sorts of difficulties to overcome, and we passed with flying colors. The NMF (4 days,120 bands, 6 venues) , organized by our manager Don, began with an opening party on Thursday. Free beer and Mexican food made for a lovely happening. I was quoted in the paper as saying that i felt like Kevin Spacey--which I do every other day anyway, so big deal. Friday, I played at the Baystate with the Figments, and Russ joined in on lead vocals for "Heaven's Take", which is a usual happening--he and Thane from the Figments wrote that one together. But old Russy wasn't feeling so well. That night, he awoke with what turned out to be an ear infection, and had to ride his motorcycle to the hospital at 4am. Obstacle #1. But, he was hooked up with the best in modern medicine, and the following day, he became gradually 100%. A modern miracle for a modern guy.
Obstacles # 2-5 came compliments of me and Henning, for we had to play with other bands the same day--The Greenbergs in the afternoon, the Gay Potatoes in the early evening. Plus, Henning played a set of his solo stuff somewhere in there. NMF, baby. And we made it all the way through. Aloha Steamtrain gig # 1 had nothing to do with the NMF. Let's go there now.
October 14: 8-10pm - Northampton Center For the Arts - Private Wedding Reception for Dana, the owner of Pleasant St. Video. We were forewarned that this was going to be a wacky party, where there'd be more costumes than tuxes/gowns. So, we were forearmed, with spastic clothes. Turns out, it was about half and half, as far as the traditional/outrageous ratio goes. Many familiar faces at this wedding party. The cream of the Noho arts community. The food and drink (all top notch) were flowing, and the folks were ready to rock. We did 2 sets, and a 65/35 ratio of covers to originals. The backdrop was a psychedelic blue. The first set for me was a drag, because my anti-slippage rug had been misplaced, so my drum set had to be readjusted at least once per song. Luckily, Henning spotted it during the break, being used by the kitchen staff. I explained, they explained, we had a laugh, I had some food and we began the second set. I absolutely loved this set, as did the guests, and a heavenly mood overcame me, which lasted the rest of the night--just seeing so many happy people dancing to our music. I was due for a reminder of why I do all this. And this was a huge reminder. Everything was perfect. BEST DANCER AWARD--JOE O'ROURKE.
10:20--After a mini-set of 70's soul tunes by Check Please! (featuring the groom Dana, plus local radio personalities Johnny Memphis and Joe O'Rourke), we packed up our stuff IN RECORD TIME
10:40-Depart the Center for the Arts. We're in crazy moods. A mixture of (for me at least) alcohol, anticipation, the greatness the wedding gig, and the triumph of having made it 90% through this endless day.
10:45 - Arrive at Harry's for our NMF spot.
10:55 - setting up stuff on stage. The room is rapidly approaching full capacity (250 people?) 11:00-begin our set with "Come On Over", our newest song, first heard on Russ' recent solo CD, I'M FLYING. The crowd at Harry's is so happy and enthusiastic. Almost like the entire NMF was leading up to this show. In the crowd I see so many lovely faces. I see past and present band mates cheering us on. The sound is monstrous, and I could feel my bass drum pushing the dancers on. BEST DANCER AWARD; TRACE MEEK. Joe Boyle kept giving me these LONG stares with his Scorpio eyes as he played, which i think was a good thing. Either that or he wanted to kill me. This show also included our biggest ever on stage fuck up of a song--like I haven't been involved in a fuck-up like this since 9th grade. If anyone remembers it, I'm sorry. Hopefully Russ' Captain America spandex outfit was distracting enough. But, we got through it all, the crowd loved it, and for the second time in a year, after an NMF/Harry's show (see May 2000) I abandoned the rest of the group while I chased after some good times, leaving them without a car to throw their equipment in at the end of the night. Sorry R+H. Sometimes the real responsible guy in the band has to give it up, right?
H: Sorry that it took me so long to add my two cents in here..I just finished laughing at your last sentence...most responsible guy...wooeee!...you're killin' me!
This was perhaps my most musically busy day ever, playing in 5 different shows, but I will concentrate on The Steamtrain performances only. The wedding reception was lovely. Generally, I am not a fan of weddings. I enjoy playing at them but not the whole concept, the rituals, but Dana and Carolyn really managed to pull of an elegant and hip affair. The costumes and decor were surpassed only by the incredible enthusiasm of everyone there. The crowd had a lust for life that propelled our sets into new zones. Never before has an audience danced so well to the free-form breakdown in Misty Paradise. Frozen figures and spinning ladies, I felt like we were in a modern Warhol movie. I was proud of everybody there.
The NMF show was another amazing gig. (the two actually have blurred together into one crazy event) Dan Richardson actually managed to get a great sound at Harry's, a notoriously tough room for acoustics, and all the jumping boys and girls made it even better. The place was packed and we were still hopped up from the wedding show. My bass strap broke on the first song, I jumped too high I guess. Philip Price came up to try and fix it and after that didn't work Adam Greenberg lent me his. I have since bough a new one, it's green. Very green. The rest of the show went by so fast I hardly remember a thing. Just a lot of cheering, smiling, happy people. I remember we gave away a T-Shirt to a friend of Siment and we sold a bunch of CD's.
Wedding:
Northampton Music Festival 2000
B: WHAT? NO PICTURES?? Shush, and listen for a second. You're lucky I'm here at all. I'll recount it as I remember. It was an average night for the Steamtrain, sans Joe, as we made our way to Manchester, CT. Some were a bit groggy from the previous night's Smith College party, and having to work that morning. But, we were excited to drink some gormet coffee and rap with Big Al--and dig the other bands. Folk duo Michael Grande w/ Lisa Martin were finishing their set when we arrived, to be followed by The Preachers, and their brand of jam-a-thon rock. I played 2 games of Twilight Zone Pinball, which was an omen of things to come. Soon it was our turn to rock. We took the stage and began our first song, and I'll be damned if I know what happened next. Al handing us something he was calling "Liquid Crack", in small paper cups. Suddenly there were flashing lights, heavy smoke concealing everything beyond 6 inches of me, and our music became not of this world, but telepathically sent to us from the brain of Al, causing our limbs to play the music he and his superior were dictating to us. Next thing I knew, we were on the street, our gear all packed up, Al thanking us for a fine show. The ride home, none of us really felt like discussing what had just happened to us. We couldn't have if we tried anyway--our memories, AS WELL AS HENNING'S DIGITAL CAMERA had been wiped clean of any memory of the past 90 minutes. Henning has taken it upon himself, however, to submit to regression therapy, where his doctor triggers memories, and he semiconciously draws them as they come back to him. The only other clues we may get are from the folks who bought our CD and signed the mailing list. Do these people know what happened that evening? Do you, Henning??
H: I don't recall much. I seem to remember Al's booming voice coming from the smoke, a clown painted on an enormous towering bass drum, and something about somebody hearing the animals speaking. The mystery is amplified by my missing digital camera memory (Was it the camera's memory card that failed? Or had I simply forgotten to take any pictures?) The Devil says that the road to hell is paved with missing memories, or at least that's what he/she would have said that night, if I were me. I was saddened by the lack of photographs, but today I went on a lovely ride in the foliage and came across a hot air balloon sinking dangerously close to the Connecticut river right here in Northampton. I snapped a shot whilst precariously sticking out of the sunroof and created this lovely post card for you all to download and print out. Consider it a token of our appreciation for everything that's ever happened.
B: This was another acoustic set, associated with The River, WRSI 95.3 - who, that day, added "Here We Go" to their regular rotation. Quite an honor. Anyway, this was the first in a series of a competition/showcase sponsered by the River, called "The Skiffle Sessions" or something. Local bands are chosen to play 30 minute acoustic sets, and at the end of the 8 weeks (once a week, two bands each week), one band wins studio time and cd pressing, courtesy of Signature Sounds in Whately. We'll see about that, but in the meantime, it was fun to play in this small space, very softly. It seemed to be over very quickly. Henwheel, help me.
H: All right, yes, Bishop's Lounge is a very cozy little venue. The other band playing that evening was The Hart Cranes, a very nice brand new gentle pop band. The crowd was friendly and interested but, the sound system was wretched, like something you would find in the closet of an elementary school. We all managed to get passed it, however, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a nice relaxing gig, and it was over so fast that we still had some of the evening free.
B: Ok, then. Much of this day for me was spent trying to numb my thumb. Huh? Well, that morning I'd had a painful mishap at work which left part of my left thumb bruised and swollen. Could have been worse, I know, but still it left me not 100% for this show. Oh well, I was still pretty darn excited, and NYC was extremely accomodating, if perhaps in a post-World Series collective hangover. Damn Yankees. As soon as we parked our car, we were greeted by a parade of, oh, 150 folks on bikes, in costumes, with police escort, riding down Ave C. They were shouting pro-bike, anti-auto slogans. Some had babies, some had dogs. All were very happy, which made us happy.
We were 2 hours early, so we took our time making the set list and drawing up a day by day agenda for the coming tour. Soon, friends like Matt Fanuele and Lori from Galvanized were arriving, so I thankfully didn't have to keep talking to Nning and Russ (that's a joke, kids). This show was being webcast on www.dcn.com so we were all trying to look our best. Trying. Just before we started, a total surprise; super fans Beret and Sam showed up with HOMEMADE ALOHA STEAMTRAIN T-SHIRTS!! In fact, Sam also had 1)Russ-like glasses 2)Henning-like orange t-shirt and 3)Brian-like jacket (I guess). Beret was wearing Toni Basil-like pigtails, and danced half the set (which is now illegal in some clubs? Do I have that right?) Speaking of t-shirts, we've made one t-shirt for each show on this tour, to give away at each show. Tonight's winner was Lori, so it can also double as a wedding gift. Congrats! Y'know, who's a complete dumbass? I've wanted to meet the other Galvanized folk, and noted to myself, "Those women sitting next to Lori look vaguely familiar". But, duh, didn't realize until Henning told me, on the way home, that they were the band. Let's blame it on my thumb--it was taking the oxygen away from my brain.
The show? We played louder and faster than normal (especially for the Lakeside) Will have to watch the webcast to see if it was any good. The folks seemed to dig it. We sold some CDs, took some pictures, got some names on the list. Ran into Jeff Halpin, my predecessor, in the bathroom. He had no idea we were playing, but said he dug the sounds from the other room. Said it was like early Who, which I take as a compliment. Good to see him. The ride home was absolutely kind of funny. French guys, donkeys, and a guy who just wants a pies. Oh, how poorly it all translates in print. NEXT GOAL FOR THE WEBSITE: sound bytes of various characters.
H: Hmm...sound bytes of the characters sounds good. I'll look into that. Some of you may not be aware that we have a number of characters in the band, they develope mostly during late night long car rides. It's like a damn improv show sometimes. Whilst Brian slept like a baby in the back seat Russ and I spent at least an hour as Wethersfield and Glastonbury, two old time british explorers recounting their adventures in the Dark Continent and their exploits with their lovely houseboy, Patay. On second thought, maybe soundbytes would be a bad idea.
B: Halloween Party sponsered by WRSI, 95.3, The River. Hey, now this was a fun-ass party. Thanks for coming and being in the spooky spirit. I've never been so scared in my life. No, actually, though we didn't have almost-nude dancers this year (see 1999 Halloween gig diary) we did have a great group of folks, who were treated to a (in my opinion) damn well-played 2 1/2 hour show. We did 60% original, 40% covers. Henning pogoed through most of "I Think I Love You". I felt very in control of the drums--it was one of those good nights where it's all an extention of my body. Dr. Bruce Tull PhD, had the ABC sounding A OK!! WRSI and The Amherst Brewing Company had given us many, many prizes to give away; CDs, frisbees, gift certificates, t-shirts, etc. We gave away 2 Aloha Steamtrain tour 2000 shirts; 1) a Henning orange pocket T 2)a fashionable and sensible white turtleneck. It's getting cold, kids--and it's only gonna git colder....... So, what did we wear??? We were goddamn DOCTORS!!! I dropped about 5 sticks throughout the show, because the arms were too long, and it was making things weird. Well, I also had some tape on my injured thumb, and so I was favoring it. But, what fun! See the photos, so I don't have to describe the good costumes of the fans. After the show, Russ and I hosted a small afterhours at our apartment, which included Joe Boyle, Henning, a newcomer from Japan named Junko, Dr. Bruce Tull, PhD, and Steve and Trudy Busch. Steve had made 2 Lord Russ masks, and Trudy was a fire fighter, with soot and the whole 9 yards. We turned the clocks back one hour, and enjoyed ourselves until 3 or so.
H: I love Halloween. I always have. I also love ABC shows. We had a very attentive audience, festive, and in the mood for weirdness. The costumes were scattered but added a wonderful surreal atmosphere. Cute boys and girls danced. Skeletons and bugs and fairies, and zombie brides, and autumnal princesses, and dominatrixes and glam-boys, hoboes and cowboys, firefighters, and lord russes. Just lovely. The friendly staff at ABC were dressed to the nines as well. Russ was not only a doctor but he also donned his famous super hero costume. I was stabbed in the heart as was a cuddly teddy bear. I love to give out prizes. A girl did a cart wheel for one of our cds. I realize we'd never pay off our debts if that was the asking price..but it would be nice.
B: A traveling day. We bid goodbye to the few who cared, rented the car, tied-up any Noho-related loose ends, and by 1:30 pm were on the road. With Henning at the wheel, things went very smoothly like. Our plan was to make it only to Philly, perhaps try to find an Open Mic and/or do the town, stay over and resume the trip to Charlottesville the next day. Fate had other plans, as, before we knew it, we'd overshot Philly, and were over an hour ahead of schedule anyway. We hadn't yet stopped, so we opted for a Bob's Big Boy somewhere in Delaware. Russ and I got burgers, Henning a turkey club. All came with sad, sad fries, served by a very downbeat waitress. At 7pm, we were the only customers. We decided to stay in Baltimore, and I took the wheel and drove the rest. My Big Boy Burger was not sitting too well, and by the time we reached Baltimore, I was drained of all energy. The Best Inn, which was quite nice, was situated right next to a converted strip mall, which was now a Bible School. Got that? We watched the Last Hour of "Big Daddy" on HBO, and I was dragging, thinking of not exploring Baltimore w/ the guys. But something amazing happened. I started dancing. Oh, did I ever. Just a 2 minute explosion of dance, right there in the hotel room, while Russ and Hen clapped along, and Iwas a new man, ready to take in Baltimore, looking for fun. We passed on the Strip Bars, opting for sight seeing, walking aimlessly, and an end of the night Scotch Ale at Capitol City Brewing for me and Russ. We drove back, listening to a funny epiode of Loveline. Nighty Night
H: I had never spent any time in Baltimore before. It was pretty nice, we only saw a tiny portion of it, of course. Pretty funny that we managed to actually miss the entire city of Philadelphia, but I'm telling you for some reason the signs on 295 say 95. I swear they do. Anyway, it worked out fine. Let me say this here right now, Bob's Big Boy is ALWAYS a mistake.
B: This morning began with a continental breakfast (pure sustinance), but we were fresh as daisies and ready to hit the road. It was a PERFECT day; not a cloud, and 70 degrees. We drove 1 hour to Washington DC, and explored for 2 hours. On the steps of the Capitol Building, a life-like Christ was the centerpiece of an anti-democrat rally. 8 or 9 people showed up to voice their support. We got a hot dog, and soon were heading south. The drive to C-ville was nice enough. Mostly a 2-way rural highway (if that's correct terminology), which took us though farmlands and rolling hills. In the distance, we noticed a crazy haze surrounding the mountains. We soon realized the sky getting darker, and that we were heading straight towards this darkness and doom. Frighteningly enough, REM's "It's the End of the World" came on the radio twice in 15 minutes. We were scared. We stopped at a general store for some drinks and unwise purchases, and C-ville was less than an hour away. We learned from the boy at the store that a fire had been raging in the mountains for four days--thus the haze and dim orange sun. Soon, it was all behind us, after a 20 minute period of feeling like everyone in the car was smoking. C-ville by day was a charming college town, and we found Tokyo Rose in a strip mall, next to a Red Dragon Tattoo parlor. We loaded in at 5pm, and were greeted by 3 stunning employees, who were sweet and helpful to us all evening, even offering to put us up for the night, and telling us which afterhours parties to go to. Russ, Hen and I ordered a couple of big Japanese dishes, and shared amongst ourselves. Afterwards, we were pointed in the direction of "Historic Charlottesville", and we took a "constitutional" (walk) in search of coffee (me and Russ) and ice cream (Ning). We also briefly checked our e-mails. Soon it was showtime.
B: Total Ass Bummer that the Lilys cancelled !!!! So, opening the show was a guy named James, who relaxed us with his guitar/keyboard and voice stylings. Next were The Phobes, from DC--a mod/punk/pop band. Their singer played a Rickenbacker through a Vox amp, and the resulting sound was crystal clear. His look was Paul Weller/Liam Gallagher. His playing was Paul Weller/Pete Townsend/Jon Squire (Stone Roses). The songs were strong, the rhythm section very tight. I talked a bit to the bass player--tour stories--and he filled me in on why a certain Boston club had been so elusive. The Phobes ended their set with the Kinks' "Wicked Annabella". COOL!!!! We exchanged CDs and info. Hopefully, soon, a show.
B: Then, it was our turn to close the night. Most of the audience sat on the comfy couches or at the bar. Towards the end of the show, some were standing up front. We played a strong 45 minutes, sold some CDs, made some friends. Afterwards we drove over to the party that El and Katherine invited us to. Upon arriving, we realized that these folks were just at the start of a crazy night at 2am, whereas we were just not getting our much needed second wind. Who knows what kind of debauchery would have ensued if we weren't such old men? Naw. There were other reasons why we were too pooped to pop, but not worth going into here. We are usually more than willing to party. There was definitely fun and games in the air. But instead, we hit the road, in search of a hotel. Red Roof. The worst value we encountered on the trip. Oh well. Thanks, C-ville, for being so groovy!
H: Kathryn, Anne, and El were very nice to us, and it was great meeting them. There are people everywhere in the world and for the most part they are friendly. The forest fire we drove through (or the smoke from it anyway) was a nice introduction in to a blurry evening. Tokyo Rose is a cool little club and Charlottesville was a precious little city. I love a college town. Next time hopefully we will be able to enjoy the people a little bit more. Red Roof Inn should be ashamed of their Charlottesville hotel
.
B: We had a bagel breakfast at the Chesapeke Bagel next door to the Red Roof. Then we departed to parts south. We had this day off. Another warm, sunny day. I fell asleep in the back seat and awoke to the news that we were GOING TO VIRGINIA BEACH!! Deeper into VA, cotton and peanuts are all the rage. Postcards are not. We stayed at the Viking Inn, 50 yards from the mighty sea. HBO showed me Eyes Wide Shut and the Chris Rock show for the first time. We spent time on the beach, by day, by night, and by day again. Though beautiful, it was not quite swimming weather. Like that matters to me. At night, we went to a Haunted House amusement thing, and left genuinely frightened, convinced that the guy inside truly could have killed us. I sold a CD to a 20 year old miltary guy who was staying next door, and who was going to Yemen via Korea the next day. Russ could hear fornication in the room down the hall.
H: Very strange. I had been on this exact portion of Virginia beach several years ago. I took a nice walk on the beach at night while Russ slept and Brian watched TV. There were hoards of kids, my guess is that they were from a religious camp, riding bikes and skates up and down the boardwalk. Yelling like donkeys. There were spatterings of young couples and older folks walking their dogs. I passed one hotel that was obviously the place to go if you had a dog, and from the balcony canines of all shapes and sizes welcomed me to Virginia by night. I sat for a while in the sand in the dark. There were some lone boats out in the darkness.
B: We continued our tour morning tradition of video taping Henning playing a diffferent Paul Simon song, while Russ and I danced spastically around the hotel room. Different song, different room, each day. We drove down to Raleigh and checked into the Sleep Inn. Possibly my fave of the tour. We had dinner in Chapel Hill, at Good Fellows. A burger for Henning, veggie burgers for me and Russ. The waitress was named Ursula--how could we not flirt? I called the UNC Chapel Hill radio station to ask them to hype our show a bit. There were a few other very hip shows going on that night, so I felt threatened. Chapel Hill is a damn cool town, true to the hype. Back in Raleigh, we had coffee and bided time until the show. Oddly, the streets were very quiet all around the city. At the lakeside, there was a private party/blues jam happening, so we waited and drank beers while we waited. Those who stuck around were treated to a pretty energetic show. We did 3 covers, for when it felt like we were losing the audience. It always worked. I told Henning he should call Manager Don during one of the songs. He did. Whereas the NYC Lakesside has that beautiful East Villiage rock and roll charm, this one has an outdoor patiom and upstairs pool table and couches. Very cozy. Ashly was the bartender.
H: It was kind of a bummer evening at first. The private party went too long puching our show back, which meant a few of the people that had come for us had to leave before mosy of our set was done. Also, anyone from the outside world who wasn't part of the party was pretty much chased a way until close to our start time. nobody was really around to help us with the stage so Russ and I just had to guess which amps belongewd to the club and which ones belonged to the million guitarists who had just been playing. But once we got started things got better, as they always do. I enjoyed a cymbal signed by Stuart Copeland on the wall next to me. After the show we met the crowd and they were very cool. See the picture.
B: YES, YES, I KNOW. THE "GIG" DIARY IS NOW 5% SHOW, 95% EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITY. WE CANNOT HALT THE NATURAL COURSE OF NATURE, SO WE WILL GO WITH THE FLOW. JUST YOU WAIT.
B: Slept pretty well in Raleigh, and had breakfast at a New York Bagel place. Ironically, it seems the majority of he places we chose to ate had either "New York" or "Manhattan" in the title. How ironical. Sunday morning was beautiful, and we had over 3 hours of driving north to Richmond, VA. I had no preconceived notions of Richmond. I I I knew a) that our old pals Ari and Tony from HUMBERT used to live there and b) the word "hippie" is not seen as an insult. Arriving, we were ASTonished at how unchanged parts of it were, PARTICULARLY the Cary St. area where we were playing. Yet another inviting college town. We were even more ASTonished to see OUR PICTURE taking up 1/3 page in STYLE WEEKLY, to promote the show. At the Cary St. Cafe, Jerry is God. And the food is good. After checking into our last hotel, The Days Inn, we went to the Cary St. Cafe to get our free meal. Russ and I both got chicken parm, Henning waited to eat, and later got something.
B: We met the band we were playing with, RED LADY 21, who told us not to fear, they were doing all the sound, and we could share their equipment. So, we just sat and hung around, drinking the free Budweiser, talking to the staff. I also had a nice conversation with Howard from Red Lady, about touring and lost 70's pop hits. An odd thing. TAMMY from ULTRABAIT, who couldn't be there, but had booked the show, had done a great job putting up our posters. Curiously, HENNING'S HEAD was ripped off a few of them. We found that it was because Cleo, one of the waitstaff, found a disturbing resemblance between him and one of her close friends. After a bit of a delay, while Red Lady 21 worked out the bugs in the sound, we began our set. The sound issues continued for a couple songs, but we eventually hit our stride; until Russ broke a string. And then another. And then I broke a stick. And Henning lost an eye. And then a shoe. No, Henning didn't lose anything. But we made the Richmond folks very happy. A woman from the crowd offered to take our picture for this site.
B: After the show, we mingled, and watched half of Red Lady 21's show--great stuff, guys. Back at the Days Inn. Screaming and spazzing, like we do, in the car as we pulled up, we aroused the attention of a security guard, but he turned away when he saw we weren't trouble. Breakfast was pathetic and insulting, and so we got bagels at the (what else) New York Delicatesin on Cary St. Then, the 10 hour ride home. Russ took his first tour turn at the wheel, and got us over half way home. I kept dozing off, when I wasn't screaming and spazzing, with a cold landing ever so slightly on my head. Henning drove the next 3 hours, while we listened to Chris Rock and David Sedaris. During the latter, I fell asleep, and awoke with a plan for the Steamtrain's world domination. I drove the last 2 hours, and at 9:00 pm, we were back safely, without a scrape, in Northampton.
H: It's good to be home, but I am ready and willing to head out again right a way. Pack your things, next time you are coming along for the ride.
B: A sort of homecoming (if i may quote Jon Bon Jovi) We hadn't played on our home turf for nigh on 5 months.
