The cold couldn't stop us. Well, it's entirely possible I suppose that it could've—if we were left out in it long enough without heat… I vaguely remember some Jack London short story I was made to read in the 8th grade that discussed the bitter cold and its effects on a traveler… but that was set in Alaska! Anyhow, we packed our van and set out on the road yesterday afternoon for Athens with nothing more for the ears than a greatest hits tape of CCR music. 3-hours down and 7 and a half to go…
Mike looks frozen solid! It's the eyes that say so much without saying anything at all.
We arrived at the Union, let our hands thaw for a minute, and loaded our gear into the club—though not without injury! Brian, in an apparent attempt to remind us that he believes himself to be indestructible / a robot, decided to pull our heaviest bit of gear out of the van all by his lonesome and then dropped it on his toes. As it turns out, Brian is not indestructible or a robot ("Whatever! I'm fine!" —Brian). We hurried to get all our stuff inside—by this time temperature outside was reported to be below 0°. Despite the cold air, we all had quite a good time playing in front of the blacklight-lit mural that runs along one side of the club.
At this point in the night, impressed by how totally awesome my shoes look under the blacklights, and clearly already suffering some sort of loss of brain function due to the cold, I've decided that without a doubt when I return to Cincinnati, I'm going to replace all the bulbs in my bedroom with blacklight bulbs and write myself totally sweet secret messages in highlighter all over the walls.
She Bears opened the show up with a relatively short set of their angular goodness. We followed. I had a really great time! Of course, I didn't have a broken instrument to worry about… Mike, on the other hand, rocked his banjo so hard, he broke it! This, in addition to his glasses (which he broke the day before tour and currently has taped together!!!) forced us to forgo a couple of songs we had planned to play which are particularly banjo-dominated. When we arrive in Kent today, Brian and I will high-five each other and tell jokes while Mike solemnly tackles his banjo ahead of our video shoot.
She Bears playing their set.
Brian warming up ahead of our set.
Kaslo, with whom we have played in Athens before, closed out the night. They were terrific! They are also all terrific guys (+ 1 gal—well, girl really… woman. Not a gallon). Big thanks especially to Teddy for putting us up twice in a row. We just learned we might be playing an upcoming Louisville date with Luke's other band, Flotation Walls, which is really exciting.
Teddy and Kaslo busting out the jams.
We all said our goodbyes and ran next door to Goodfella's Pizza which, Brian informed us, is open until four in the morning (and which Brian had been thinking about / desperately yearning for since probably two or three days ago). Brian and Mike were both swayed from their original intentions of picking up 2-slices apiece into the 3-slices for $5.50 mega-deal (these slices, as the gentleman behind the counter informed us, are "fat"). Had it not been three in the morning by the time we reached our sleeping destination, I think the food coma alone would have knocked them out. Honorable mention to the serving staff at Goodfella's, who, upon discovering we are a touring band and, as if they have a lever that they pull for just such an occasion, immediately cued up "Travellin' Band" by CCR. AWESOME. I cannot get enough CCR in my day!
Besides playing the show, for me the highlight of the evening came just before bed, when Mike found a hairpiece lying around that made my biggest dream come true (see picture).
HECK YES! Now all The Seedy Seeds have beautiful, beautiful, bushy beards.
In a few minutes, I'll wake Mike and Brian up and we'll head to Casa Nueva for breakfast, and then we'll start our journey towards even colder temperatures and possible lake effect snow… and two shows in one day!
—Margaret
Toilet humor at The Union. We played here! Well not exactly here, but still I couldn't resist snapping this photo.
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