We all know the tour is getting closer to the end, and when we awoke in our
home state, I got a little giddy. San Diego is pretty damn far from Oakland,
but hell, it's at least in the same time zone. I actually lived in san Diego
for a couple of years after college, so post-college pre-responsibility
nostalgia briefly set in. memories of cheap (but quality) Mexican food, long
board surfing, beach cruiser biking, and swimsuit culture flooded my mind
for a little while. Then I got off the bus.
Dammit.
We were parked in the middle of San Diego State campus. For those of you
that don't know, that is pretty far away from most of everything in San Diego. Not that I wanted to complain, but ah, it is sometimes difficult when
you are on a tour bus because you are somewhat trapped in the area where the
bus stops. What in the hell is there to do when it is close to 100 degrees
out and you are in the middle of nowhere?
We found our way off campus and grabbed some lunch. After sound check, our
friend jimmy from the album leaf came out to see us. Currently, his band is
preparing to play some shows where they will improvise to a silent film.
Sounds cool to me. Wish I could see/hear it.
I would like to tell you the show was a sweet California homecoming where
men shrieked with delight and women swooned. But no. the entirely seated
crowd seemed unmoved by our performance. Perhaps they were worried about
climbing fuel prices or next year's tax season or Iran’s nuclear
ambitions. Hmm. What could it be? What could it be?
Whatever the case, we still had a good time playing the show. and despite
the crowd's apparent indifference, I do not recall any plump fruits or
vegetables getting thrown at us. Which is nice.
When the show was over, we left in jimmy's car in search of some good cheap
Mexican food. At least there are some experiences in life that are
predictable and repeatable... Here's to the chicken torta and the
made-only-that-special-San-Diego-way bean and cheese burrito....time to
relax.....
After a day off, I touched down on the Dallas/ft. worth airport with a few
hours to spare before sound check. I hopped in the car that was to take me
to the nokia theatre in grand Prarie, Texas. As we drove down the exit lanes
of the airport, the sky seemed to grow darker and darker as we left. Soon
enough, the wind began to pick up and our car began whipping across the
freeway as heavy winds knocked dirt and debris all over the road. Welcome to
Texas......
the wind continued until we made it (somehow) safely to the venue. I walked
in and was struck at how massive it was. I don't know how many people the
nokia theatre holds, but it seemed wildly cavernous and endless. The cheap
seats in the 3rd upper deck seemed impossible far away. Without my glasses,
they seemed like distant constellations I would never visit. I went back
behind the stage to look at the murals of artists that have visited in the
past. Rem, Willy Nelson, Dolly Parton, The Eagles. I think I saw Nickelback
too. hmm. Then I saw the rendering for death cab. I had to laugh out loud a
bit, because the artist made them look a bit like their in-bred cousins. They
looked like star trek characters on their way to a Klingon family bbq. Ok,
not really. But it did look funny.
When you're the opening band, you never know how the audience will receive
you, and many times you can predict how the show will go before you even
begin playing. When we walked quickly out onto the stage at the nokia
theatre, we knew it would be a good show because the crowd was clapping
quite a bit and already calling out for some songs of ours. That’s all we
needed. Even though it was difficult to see much of the audience (stage
lights were strong, I can' see far away anyway), we could feel their
presence throughout the set and felt grateful to have such a receptive group
of people to play to. I knew they would get absolutely mad when death cab
started.
We had another day off after the show in grand Prarie. We decided to split
the long drive to Arizona and took a day off in Las Cruces, NM. True, there
is not much to do when it is 109 degrees out and you are 2 miles from town.
But we made the best of it, and fortunately there was a pool at the hotel. I
tried playing catch with Dominic. But when I tried to run in the heat, I
felt like I was running underwater. Plus, my flip-flops are pretty worn-in,
so I could feel the heat of the concrete making its way to my feet with
every heavy step.
I had heard it had been 118 degrees in phoenix the day before we got there,
but hey, it is dry heat, right? As the PA and lights were getting set up at
the mesa amphitheatre, me, Dom, and Pat played catch at the floor of the
grassy base of the amphitheatre. We lasted about 20 minutes, I think. How do
other human beings exist successfully in these conditions? How long can I
survive without air conditioning? Will my gear simply overheat and break
before or during our set? Will anyone be interested in listening to our
music in this heat? When I am very old and wrinkly, will I prefer these
conditions?
