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Freedom isn't Free
"Sometimes it takes waking up at a seemingly ridiculous hour (by way of your banjo player) with an OTR-induced headache only to drive 5 hours in the rain to Chicago to put freedom into perspective." —Margaret
On our way out of Cincinnati, this particular Birthday of Freedom was christened by the visceral image a guy sleeping on the front lawn of a house nearby Seedy Central. We were driving through a relatively nice, old-timey part of Cincinnati, and it struck us that it is more likely that this guy was somebody's dad visiting on holiday that got drunk and locked himself out accidentally, and just happened to be sleeping on the front lawn, not necessarily a full-on bum. We picked up a SleepyTroy and set out on the way to Freedomland on this day of freedom.
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, you're emberassing me!
SleepyTroy! I Choose You!!
Further up the road in the great state of Indiana ("The Crossroads of America"), we did what any law-abiding, freedom-loving free citizen of the free country of These United States would do; we earnestly endeavored to destroy a piece of it with explosives.
FreedomMobile!! I Choose You!
SRSLY.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN TWO FOR ONE?
Back into Bavannarama we piled, all holding our enormous caches of perfectly legal munitions. Shortly before the show Bribot ate so many peanut butter pretzels that he began to turn into one.
POSSIBLY THE CREEPIEST PICTURE EVER TAKEN
we rolled into the great City of Chicago, loaded our gear into the club, and headed down to the Chicago Diner for extremely awesome vegan reubens, raw nachos, and vegan milkshakes.
Best Friends Forever!
The show was opened by the exuberant, guitar-wailing hotness of The Victory Gins. We followed them with a freedom-laden set of Seedy hits, including a spontaneous rendition of "Proud to Be An American." Loyal Divide closed things out with a majestic set of awesomeness.
After the show, we retired to the alley out back an undisclosed location and began to celebrate American Freedom, Chinese style, with fireworks. Margaret fired her first-ever Roman Candle. A mortar misfired and exploded 6ft off of the ground directly in the center of a busy intersection. Blessedly, no fingers were harmed in the making of this revelry.
I had to remark, during it all, that being in downtown Chicago on the evening of the 4th, it was incredible, it was like a (very festive) warzone. Everywhere, all night long, and constantly, you heard explosions, machine-gun blasts, bigger explosions, and the night sky was constantly aglow with reds, whites and blues, each one brighter than the previous. It was pretty spectactular.
Margaret loves pinball, especially inappropriate pinball.
Hey you!
The Victory Gins.
The Loyal Divide.
MARGARET CASTS MAGIC MISSLE! SUCCESS!
—Mike
We will play for anybody. Anybody.
Chris Schadler charges his genius beam all year, then lets it go and pulls together one of the best music festivals in the city; annually held over the 3rd and 4th of July. He calls it the Northside Rock 'N' Roll Carnival. The giant party, which takes place in Hoffner Park in Northside, had us sharing the stage with great bands like Wussy, Culture Queer, The Chauncers and (dare I say the now-legendary?) Man Halen, among others.
Mike and I met Brian for load-in around 7 P.M.ish behind the main stage. The weather was really mild and folks were already spread all over the park in lawn chairs, on blankets, and by the beer stands. Approaching the stage from behind, the guitars and vocals of local alt-country indie-rockers The Turkeys bounced off of all the buildings around the park, and the echoes coming back made the band's material sound like the theme song to Pete and Pete (not a bad thing if you ask me!).
We started our set at 8 P.M. and a pretty wild dance party orchestrated by a group of five-year-olds ignited almost immediately. An occasional adult would find their way to the front to join in, but the pressure of having to constantly bust sweet moves proved too much for many. As our set went on I'd spot a familiar face here and there among the Carnival-goers—one particular friend, who has an impressive (and very easy to spot) mane of hair reminiscent of a medieval knight, stuck out in a way that makes him a good player for a "Where's Waldo in Hoffner Park?" book.
We love to talk to fans after our sets. For me, a particularly special moment in the evening occurred when, on my way back from the beer stand, a mom approached me and thanked me and The Seedy Seeds for playing an entire set of kid-friendly music. I'm really glad that her kids could enjoy our music right alongside my friend sir knight and all the other Rock 'N' Roll Carnival-goers.
The whole event kept going with amazing vigor throughout the evening, culminating in an indescribably fantastic set from Man Halen, my new favorite band. And while at the end I definitely found myself having had more OTR than I'd anticipated, I'd say this was, hands-down, one of my favorite nights out with the band.
—Margaret
I want to ride my bicycle
Ah, Louisville. Land of the Sluggers, home of the nitrogen-pushed microbrews and best french toast I've ever had. Oh, and Skull Alley, a completely awesome venue that happens to be 1 Year Old! Congratulations, guys.
Skull Alley is a venue / artspace / screen printing facility that has all-ages shows, sells local crafts and art, and is run by two seriously sweet people.
Congratulations, guys, you are 1! And you are also very photogenic!
Margaret and I rolled into town and were immediately struck by our familiar pangs of trying to find delicious food. Jamie told us about a new place right near the venue called Swan Dive, so off we biked. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with their beer selection and tasty vegan food.
Tonight we shared the stage with Poetic Jay, C+, Two Hand Fools, and Ooh Da Lally. Poetic Jay started the show off with a short set of rhymes. C+ and Two Hand Fools made the rock that makes the folks sweat, and Ooh Da Lally played their set using folk instruments and no microphones at all, which was pretty interesting I must stay.
Poetic Jay
C+
Two Hand Fools
Ooh Lah Lally, unplugged.
Enjoying a refreshing beverage with friends!
Brittanie Canon made us a friend. This is Frankie! Do you need a friend? Because you probably do. Clicky clicky!
—Mike
