The best thing about driving into New York was driving out of it. What happened inside was kind of a blur for me. I had never driven in Manhattan before. I had always driven in the outer boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens….) because I feared the overall congestion of the monster that they call Manhattan. I think I was really scared about switching into my old bike messenger ways and trying to squeeze between cars and run red lights… but luckily that didn’t happen… for Katy’s sake (and her car’s [Big Black Betty]).

Now, my plan was simple: drive in, unload, park, play, re-load and get the fuck out. The plan worked pretty well, with a couple of quite delightful hick-ups. When we got to the Living Room we were greeted by two old school friends (more Katy's than mine) Zach and Sydney. We proceeded to take a quick stroll around the block to find some sweet sweet burgers and fries (I'm not the biggest fan of Manhattan food... but when you're hungry, your hungry). We returned to the venue soon after to be greeted by our good Austin friend (I'd say Katy's soul-mate and my nemesis) Miss Catherine Grooms and to my surprise she had finished a shirt I had asked her to make when we was in Austin for the holidays! It is the most well fitting shirt that I have... and it has embroidered pterodactyls on it (I'll have a picture up soon). And the final surprise came minutes later when fellow Mainers (yeah, they're everywhere) Jamie and Andrew (who I was band mates with way back when in the band "the Anit-Fascist Protection Wall" [which, I strangely found the master of our 8th grade demo in the back of Katy's car the other day and we listened to a classic version of "Fight for your Right" that we had recorded where I have a monumental FAIL of a voice crack in the middle of {Katy almost drove off the road when we listened to it the first time and had me rewind it a couple of times for re-listens (when she laughs randomly now I know that's what she's thinking of)}]). Apparently, I was so distracted about getting in and out of the city that I forgot to take any pictures... except this one.

Awwww... friends (Catherine and Kathryn).

After the show, unfortunately, we had to head right out of the city to get to our place of sleep in Ansonia, CT. We said our goodbyes and assured each other that we would see each other soon (which, unlike most times, I'm sure will happen very soon). With that Katy and I drove the hour and a half drive into Connecticut to her friend Tim's house where we busted in at 2:30 am and crashed on their living room (how appropriate) floor and fought for control of the sleeping bag and worked together to keep their cat, Doc, at bay from attacking our feet.

The next morning we were Providence bound! The night was to be one of the most exciting we have had for the entire tour! This was our first day that had changed venues... originally, it was supposed to be at a place called "Jake's" in Providence but the venue had been closed for city zoning. Our friend Jeff (excellent sound guy, by the by) then helped us jump on a bill at a place called Cat's (mostly known for its metal shows... this is what got me so excited! [technically, it's called K.C.'s lounge... a sports bar) in Pawtucket, RI. T Upon arrival we met up with my GREAT friend Dan and his roommate Tony so that we could go out and get some dinner at a fine mexican restaurant... or what I thought it was a fine establishment until I saw this...

Bimbo (which I'm now assured is a bear)!

I now had my reservations about this place... apparently, they are starting to expand into the unit that is next door to their establishment. And guess what used to be in that store? I pornographic video store. A straight up den of inequity. This just concretes my thoughts/accusations that Bimbo is really more like its name-sake than it is a delicious pastries/bread company. More on this later...

The show was pretty awesome! We had a fair amount of people out and we had a lot of fun playing! We were both surprised at how nice the club was. When we heard that it was usually host to metal bands we were thinking that it would be all torn up on the inside... just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover (or title). It was actually really posh on the inside.


We also had local celebrity Liam McCormack (of Fly Upright Kite) in the crowd giving us our support for the entire night. We had plans for him to come up on stage and bust out a phat (notice the PH) bass solo in the middle or our sets but it didn't quite happen (he forgot his rig at home). None-the-less... it was awesome seeing him.... along with a bunch of other people I hadn't seen in a while:

Dan, Tony, Kiera (and boyfriend) and Brian (washed-out on purpose)

Best of all we had photographer extraordinaire Dan Hanafin in the crowd taking some amazing (and artsy) pictures. Here's what he captured from this wonderful night!

Katy and I preparing for our set (Photo by Dan Hanafin)
Dan was starting to get into his groove. me picking my nose (Photo by Dan Hanafin)

This is Dan's specialty. Its kind of like magic eye but with photography. Cross your eyes and you might see me mooning the crowd. (Photo by Dan Hanafin)

And the final installation of Dan's photography of the show. He says it was an interpretation of his feelings about the show... but I'm pretty sure its just a blurry picture of the carpet that he took while confused on how to work the flash. (Photo by Dan Hanafin)

Thanks again to the Whippits (great washboard player) and the Propellors for letting us jump on the show! It was a great time!

Alright. We're in Boston right now waiting to load in to the show... I'd leave you with a video Jeff's daughter June (the most energetic child I've ever met) crushing ice with a hockey stick in the driveway (to probably ward off excess energy) as we left for dinner but... blogger is being a bitch... I'll try later!

Cheers,
Luke