And Then The Tour Began

We left Livingston on Sunday. We left late.

The car started the day broken. A flat tire and laundry that just wouldn’t get dry made the drive from Livingston to Missoula start around 5 p.m.

Mom and Dad put us up Sunday night and fed us. Steaks, onions, peppers, mellon, and potatoes lined our stomaches for the day. Ben had me take him out in Missoula on a Sunday. I went straight for the Union Club, which I figured would be a nice hang out bar for us, but apparently they close at 11 p.m. on Sundays, so we had to move on to the Top Hat and a bartender that bought me drinks. A decent night, and maybe Ben’s other band is a bit closer to playing in Missoula.

Monday morning it was on to Olympia, WA and the Black Lake Grange and Baptist Church. The drive was long and uneventful. Time passed, I didn’t sleep as much as I would have liked, and nobody is fighting…yet.

We got to Olympia (really Rochester and Tumwater, but suburbs are suburbs) and stopped by GGTS (Go Get The Scissors) guitarist’s house for a few hours before the show. Nice place and really nice guys and it was great to be out of the car.

The show (as I mentioned) was in a church/bar. It was actually a pretty decent space, but it was so echo-y that the sound quality was difficult to perfect.

Three other bands played with us: Think I Am (a rather middle of the road pop-punk band that had some potential but was still young), Dying Days (I think that was their name - they were, again, a pop-punk band. But these guys had been playing longer. Not bad, but nothing incredible), us (Big Quinn and the Broken Hearts Band), and GGTS (who was a good solid punk band that I would see again).

The crowd was small but suprisingly enthusiastic. People who didn’t know the songs were still trying to sing along, there was far more dancing than I’ve seen at one of our shows, and the overall vibe was simply great. I would play a gig there again in a second.

Today it’s on to Portland and a cobbled together slot at midnight at a bar. Fortunately, a girl named Heather is putting us up with food and drink. It’s a short drive (which is fantastic) and right now I’m simply tickled about the Chinese food we’re about to consume. Apparently, the Peking House is wonderful, and I’ve been itching for Chinese food for a long fucking time now.We left Livingston on Sunday. We left late.

The car started the day broken. A flat tire and laundry that just wouldn’t get dry made the drive from Livingston to Missoula start around 5 p.m.

Mom and Dad put us up Sunday night and fed us. Steaks, onions, peppers, mellon, and potatoes lined our stomaches for the day. Ben had me take him out in Missoula on a Sunday. I went straight for the Union Club, which I figured would be a nice hang out bar for us, but apparently they close at 11 p.m. on Sundays, so we had to move on to the Top Hat and a bartender that bought me drinks. A decent night, and maybe Ben’s other band is a bit closer to playing in Missoula.

Monday morning it was on to Olympia, WA and the Black Lake Grange and Baptist Church. The drive was long and uneventful. Time passed, I didn’t sleep as much as I would have liked, and nobody is fighting…yet.

We got to Olympia (really Rochester and Tumwater, but suburbs are suburbs) and stopped by GGTS (Go Get The Scissors) guitarist’s house for a few hours before the show. Nice place and really nice guys and it was great to be out of the car.

The show (as I mentioned) was in a church/bar. It was actually a pretty decent space, but it was so echo-y that the sound quality was difficult to perfect.

Three other bands played with us: Think I Am (a rather middle of the road pop-punk band that had some potential but was still young), Dying Days (I think that was their name - they were, again, a pop-punk band. But these guys had been playing longer. Not bad, but nothing incredible), us (Big Quinn and the Broken Hearts Band), and GGTS (who was a good solid punk band that I would see again).

The crowd was small but suprisingly enthusiastic. People who didn’t know the songs were still trying to sing along, there was far more dancing than I’ve seen at one of our shows, and the overall vibe was simply great. I would play a gig there again in a second.

Today it’s on to Portland and a cobbled together slot at midnight at a bar. Fortunately, a girl named Heather is putting us up with food and drink. It’s a short drive (which is fantastic) and right now I’m simply tickled about the Chinese food we’re about to consume. Apparently, the Peking House is wonderful, and I’ve been itching for Chinese food for a long fucking time now.