Podcasts, Parades, and Pubs

Had a busy past few days.

Wednesday: Headed up to Seattle to meet an old friend (Joe Motor, former owner of Club Motor) and play an open mic at a new place – the Blue Moon in the University District. From the looks of it, I think this is the bar where Lewis and Clark stopped off on their expedition. Old place, old wood, band stickers everywhere, friendly hometown crowd, nice stage. We were dressed for a show, so we got a few funny looks from patrons at first. But we played it, rocked it, scored a gig, maybe two from it, and made some new friends. Success.

Thursday: Our show at Doyle’s Pub in Tacoma. This place has always been a great spot for us because it’s always full of smiling faces, attentive ears, open hearts, and Jameson. Upon learning that we were a trio and not a full band, the owner was trepidatious at best. Upon learning that we were not even a trio, he was almost ready to back out. Our man Jesse (who booked us) assured him that, given the chance, we would not disappoint. The night started slowly, and we were told to expect a fairly empty room. We had the opposite of a dead night. Our wonderful fans brought their wonderful friends, and we ended up having a wonderful night. Even as a duo, Jessi still somehow ended up on a table belting out Minnie the Moocher and shotgunning a Rainier to a room full of crazed Champagne Sunday enthusiasts.

Friday: We oozed out of bed bright and early to pound some wake-up juice and get to Seattle in time for Marty Riemer’s podcast. After being welcomed back like old friends, we learned that our last performance was such a success that people were buzzing about it for quite sometime afterward. Always nice to hear. We got to meet comedian Tom Papa (formerly of the TV show “The Marriage Ref”) and laugh our asses off, then we got on and performed “Love” and “Dostoevsky”. Fun!

You can watch and listen to the full show here:
http://www.martyriemer.com/341-tom-papa-champagne-sunday/

After the show, we headed up to Port Townsend to play at the Undertown, an awesome little joint built below street level. Despite the town being somewhat preoccupied by the Rhododendron Festival that was going on, we had a great show, met some new fans, and are ready to come back for a return engagement and hopefully, also book at other venues. At the end of the night, having nowhere to park, we drove around the town until we found a nice, quiet, out of the way place where we felt we were unlikely to attract the attention of Johnny Law or make the local residents nervous.

Saturday: We woke up at the crack of 9:00, rested and refreshed, and found that our secret parking spot was actually right behind the police station. Luckily, (1) it’s a cool, laid back town, and (2) with the Rhododendron Festival in town, our RV didn’t seem quite so out of place. No trouble. Also, we turned out to be within walking distance of the parade route, so we grabbed the dog and the guitars, and headed down to do some busking, and cheer for the local Shriners and what-have-you. Nothing really came of it, but we had a great time.

Sunday: We were privileged to go see a movie of great social relevance. It illustrated the importance of concerted individual efforts within the group setting, and how people coming together can really be a positive force for the betterment of humanity. It also went to great lengths to point out the dangers involved in multidimensional warfare, and show that the unintentional ramifications of unchecked authority can be as dangerous and unpredictable as unchecked emotion. It’s a little independent movie that I’m sure most people haven’t heard of yet, called The Avengers, and I HIGHLY recommend it.