It was a rainy night in Indianapolis, but a good time was had by all. Our friends Steepwater Band sounded great opening the evening. Good trio for sure. Good players, good guys. There was this older couple that I thought maybe were the parents of one of those guys. Turns out they lived in the area and had passed that club many times, but finally went in to see what it was all about. They stuck around front and center for our entire set. This couple was in their 70’s and kicking ass. Awesome. Proof you don’t have to stop having fun when you’re older.
We headed to Cincinnati the next night to play the Southgate house. Cool venue, brutal load in. I’m still sore. Long haul with lots of stairs. We played this small parlor room that felt like an old living room. The house itself that the parlor was in was built in the early 1800’s. The fucking Tommy gun was invented on the premises. Anyway, we sold out the room and they turned away a bunch of folks as well. So we’ll headline the big room next time. Earlier that day we played a short live set on WNKU. This is a station that has actually been playing us on a daily basis. The staff over there voted Places as the best record of 2008! So they dig the Tire Fire and I think had a good bit to do with us selling that room out. The power of radio. Thanks NKU!
Knoxville, TN with our good friends Bloodkin. This is the second time we’ve played down there, the first time opening for Squirrel Nut Zippers about 5 or 6 months ago. A slow night at Barleys, but both bands brought it and we all had fun. We’ll be doing more shows with those guys in a couple of weeks. I’ve had a certain guitar melody of theirs in my head since this night. Can’t get it out. I dig Bloodkin. And you should too!
So we got up early in Knoxville and did the 5 hour drive to Charleston, WV to make our debut on the legendary nationally syndicated radio program Mountain Stage. It was everything we wanted it to be. I’ve been a fan of that show since living down in NC and was ecstatic when I found out we got the gig. You have be invited to Mountain Stage. First class operation from the second we showed up. The staff was helpful and extremely complimentary. The sound crew were pro. The Mountain Stage house band was on fire. In fact they do a finale song at the end of the program and Scott and I got to get out there and play with the house band and members of the Gourds and others on the song Six Days on the Road. I was a blast! Larry Groce himself sang the first verse. He’s the host and man behind 20+ years of Mountain Stage. Kevin from the gourds sang the second verse and did the third. Our set went well and we got a tremendous response from the audience. You can listen for yourself. I think it airs nationally during the second week of June.
After we loaded out we went to hear Michael’s band the Carpenter Ants at the Empty Glass down the street. Michael is the guitar player in the house band and a badass player/writer. Tim met a guy that had seen us before after the show who volunteered to cover all of our beers at the bar. Old Blue let him know that he didn’t realize what he was signing up for and our friend pulled a couple bills out of his wallet and assured tim it wasn’t a problem. So for the remainder of the evening we were double fisting Buds and listening to one of the best bands I have ever heard, especially in a small bar. This band was on fire! A good honky tonk band had the tough task of following those cats. They were called Wayword Drifters I think. They did a fine job as well. Stumbled to the hotel and after an 8 hour drive and Cub victory the following day, we were home. Fun little run. And by the end of it the 5 piece was starting to feel pretty damn good. Get out and see some of these upcoming shows. This is a nasty line up we’ve got going right now.
Cheers. And go CUBS!!!!!
Ed
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