Canada Looks Good To Me (as told by Amy, w/ pictures)
Some of you are bound to ask me over the next few weeks as we run into each other how the tour went. I will most likely say, "It was awesome!" and leave it at that. For those of you who this is not enough for, here's a recap. For those of you who want more info than "It was awesome!" but don't want to read this whole thing, I'll just say: I laughed a lot, ate a lot of good food, and played some sweet shows.
(Also, the wonderful Kaylan wrote her own marvelous take on the whole trip, which you can read by clicking HERE).
TUESDAY NIGHT:
SLGTM at the Pig. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Steven and I felt like proud parents watching our boys up there. Furthermore, I got very drunk, talked too much (Steve was giving me "the look" at one point), and wound up with the phone number of a very pretty girl. She wrote it in a matchbook, of all places.
WEDNESDAY:
Kaylan arrived with free pizza. (There was also a dead squirrel in front ofthe Canada house that apparently fell out of a tree. It was sad. Steven was worried about this omen.) We hit the road and drove for what seemed like a long time. We thanked Kaylan very much for coming. We were worried for what might've happened to Eileen if we hadn't found a replacement. Saul said, "Joe would've crawled inside her and busted his way back out." I wrote it down. It was just the first of many funny things Saul said. We were worried about being late, but got there in time. The bar was great. They gave us free food and free drinks and Saul continued his tradition of eating nothing but mussels while on the road. These mussels were cajun. The bartender was probably the nicest bartender I've ever met. We played well. There were some people there. Some of them bought things. During SLGTMs set, one of those kind of people came up and yelled at us because we weren't dancing. Hey, I was dancing. Apparently not enough. At the end of the night, she came up to us and said, "Next time, dance! Music is supposed to be fun!" There were a hundred things I wanted to say in response to that.
Saul purchased a velvet Elvis drapery from this store downstairs from the bar. It is gorgeous. Some drunk guy approached us in the parking lot. I drove away. We drove for a while. We stayed somewhere in western Pennsylvania at a Quality Inn. I slept like a baby, but not for a very long time. Actually, I guess that is sleeping like a baby.
THURSDAY:
Got up, drove to NYC. It was a long, hilarious, and at times wonderful drive. We arrived nice and early. The Northsix is large and lovely, and had an amazing SLGTM/Canada poster that had a tree made out of deer on it. We ate at a ridiculous restaurant called Sea. They had TVs in the bathroom stalls that showed you what was going on in the restaurant, a large pond, and a Buddha statue, among other things. I had maybe the best pad thai Ive ever had, though, and it only cost $7. Also, it's a lot of fun to have dinner with a bunch of Canadians.
The show was, well, amazing. One of our best shows. I had more fun than I've probably ever had in front of that many people. My dear friend Erik came with his wife. He said it was an awesome set, and this time I believed him. He saw us last time we played in NYC, and said it was great, but without too much enthusiasm. SLGTM also played an amazing set. I got to watch it with my dear friend Laura Tisdel. We laughed at some people showing off up front. Mostly I stared at the drummer. We stayed at Justin's. Justin is a very nice man. I like him a lot. Aaron received a sweet haircut from our friend Song, part of which took place on the sidewalk outside the Northsix. Steven became greatly jealous. I got a running start and smacked him right across his face. He cried, so I hit him again.
FRIDAY:
Slept late. Hooray! Drove to Maryland. Some notes: 1. It took a really long time. 2. We had no idea where we were going once we got there. 3. It's a little anticlimactic to play a show inside a small radiator after a kick-ass show in Brooklyn. (I don't want to become one of those people, though. I think it was mostly that the room was uncomfortably small and uncomfortably hot.) We played at the radio station of the University of Maryland. The crowd was very, very kind. We ate at a diner afterward. It was delicious. Saul left with Sarah, which was sad. When Saul and Ryan hugged, all you could hear was bones clacking together. This still makes me laugh. Had some trouble finding a room, but eventually found one. After I parked the car, Steven almost succeeded in killing me. Death by seat belt. It hurt so bad that instead of crying I laughed. (Note: never drop his cell phone out of a car window, no matter what.) We got into bed, and I was giddy, and couldn't stop giggling.
SATURDAY:
The drive back to NYC took a long time, and it was my fault. We got there late; we had trouble finding parking. The amphitheater was gorgeous. It was right on the water in Manhattan, and the acoustics were so perfect I could hear every little thing. The drums have never sounded so good. It was a great SLGTM show. Someone had to be dragged off stage. Apparently he wanted to hear some reggae. We went back to Williamsburg, had a good meal, and started to drink much whiskey. It was a long and crazy night, and that's all I'll say. Wait, I'll say this too: I have a large scab on my elbow where Joe pushed me into a wall (I think. I mean, I think I got pushed into a wall. I know it was Joe.). He is a belligerent drunk. That's a joke. I just want to illustrate that life on the road can be painful, what with the seatbelts and the brick walls and all. Oh yeah, and all the hotel rooms we trashed. But doing coke off a supermodel's ass makes up for it, I'll tell you that for sure.
SUNDAY:
The drive home happened mostly in silence. I slept with my mouth open for part of it. Also, I finished a Suduko puzzle for the first time. When we got back into Detroit, the sky was a dark mass of storm clouds which made the fact that our tour was at its end all the sadder.
Other things of note: My new favorite Canadian is Aaron Shaul. That kid flies under the radar, but he's something else. My new favorite honorary Canadian is Kaylan Mitchell. She's pretty great.
And there you have it. More details than you wanted about stuff you don't so much care about, and not enough details about most of the hilarious adventures we had. Alas. I've done the best I can.
