Que Bello: New England
Tour rolls through MA, ME, NH
Hello from Woodstock, NY! It’s our day off and I’m writing to you from a shady spot on Oliver’s parents’ back porch. It’s currently a relatively cool 85° and I can hear the rattling AC window units in the rambling 2 story house beginning to ease off the gas a little bit. Oliver’s dad told us that they’ve had this house for 10 years and it’s generally temperate and that only in the last year or two did they ever feel the need to run AC units. It’s been 4 days in a row where the temperatures have touched 100° and while tour spirits are high, we’re definitely all in danger of overheating at any time. I am drinking untold amounts of water. Emily is giving everyone electrolyte packets. We’re doing our best to survive.
My mom bought a snowblower about 10 or 15 years ago. She loves gear and machines and I think she was really excited to both operate a powerful and large item and also to never shovel in the icy endless Boston winter again. Of course, her wish came true but only because the typical winters have become so much milder in recent years. It basically stopped snowing, this past winter notwithstanding. I think she eventually sold the snow blower. Things are changing whether we are ready for it or not.
I’m on this porch lying in a big green outdoor reclining chair. Above me there is a large white umbrella shielding me from the late afternoon sun. To my left, Frank is either napping or just deeply resting with eyes closed on a hammock, behind them rises a hill formed from mossy rocks. Directly In front of me is a large stone fire pit. Or maybe it’s just a raised seating area. I’m not going to get up and check, I am deeply parked in this chair. Oliver has recently emerged from the house with burgers and hot dogs in hand, I’d guess that he’s about to grill for us all this evening. I’ve got half a cup of my afternoon coffee left, sitting just out of reach on the Adirondack chair to my right. I can hear the aforementioned AC units, scattered birds, occasional wind in the trees. Very idyllic. Oliver’s folks‘ house is incredibly cool. He tells me it was designed by a guy who built a bunch of other houses in the neighborhood but that this one was his personal house and as such, he used it to try out all of the techniques that he would employ elsewhere. The Kalb house is very open concept and spacious but also something of a labyrinth. I could imagine that playing hide and seek there as a little kid would go very hard. Oliver’s mom Julie is an extraordinary painter and I get to see her studio in the back of the house, briefly. Emily notes that she seems to be in the middle of many large paintings at once as opposed to focusing on just one at a time, and I feel some kinship with that.
Earlier today, we went swimming for the second day in a row. The surest health indicator of a summer tour is whether we’re actually getting into bodies of water, and so far, we’re doing great on that front. This morning, I woke up and did my long 10 mile run for the week. I’m training for my first ever marathon in October (the Cape Cod Marathon!) and I’m doing my best to stick with my training plan regardless of heat or tour. The heat plus the sun plus the hilly Catskill route I picked really took it out of me and so when Emily and Oliver asked if I wanted to walked down the hill to the little creek swimming hole, I couldn’t say yes fast enough to a restorative swim. I popped my Crocs on (excellent idea to bring these) and we ambled down the hill and hopped in to the surprisingly warm water. I had a TERRIFIC soak and I’ve decided I need to be in water every day.
Last night, we played at the Word Barn in Exeter, NH, which was a brand new spot to me.
After spending the afternoon at Linc from Hello Shark’s house in Kittery, ME (and taking swim #1!), we headed for Exeter. Located off a quiet country road, Word Barn is an expansive compound run by some very nice folks who put on regular outdoor shows. There’s a big barn, a couple of houses, a full bar, and an outdoor stage. There’s no way I saw the whole place though because temps were once again nearing 100 degrees and I didn’t really feel like walking around more than absolutely necessary. Luckily, we were given an air conditioned green room with comfortable places to sit, snacks, drinks, and homemade dinner. Dinner! The bar is so low in the United States for what is considered “good treatment” of touring musicians, I joked to Jack that I’d take a bullet for the people running the show, just because they provided me with a meal. The Word Barn is good people.
The show itself was a blast. I can feel myself getting more comfortable with the Bellows set. Each time we play, I get a deeper appreciation for how first-rate these songs really are. They’re finally beginning to get fully under my fingers and I am able to spend less time focused on playing the right notes at the right time and more time considering energy, attitude, and dynamics. Basically I can avoid staring at my hands while I play and this allows me to feed a little bit more off my bandmates, the audience, and the venue. Also, I’m so used to the physicality of drumming that it’s a nice treat to play the decidedly less athletically demanding guitar. I’m a bit green in this respect and I feel like I don’t know what to do with my body with a guitar on. I am learning why guitarists love to do big exaggerated moves — just standing there and playing is pretty boring! I don’t have any good moves yet but I think by the end of tour I’ll get there.
The night before NH, we played at the Apohadion Theatre in Portland. Another beloved DIY spot that I played maybe 10 years ago. Apohadion reminds me a little bit of Goodbye Blue Monday (RIP) vibe-wise. The stage was a weird shape and I had trouble getting comfortable but we played well. This entire band is full of pros, it seems that it’ll take more than a bizarre stage to knock us off course. Not a ton of other interesting stuff to report here, the sound guy was a cool older guy who was playing incredible local techno. Jack and I kept bugging him to give us track IDs and he seemed to be okay with putting up with us. My aunt Janet and uncle Brendan came to the gig, Emily and I stayed at their house in town because they are very sweet and because they have good AC. I took no pics of this gig because I forgot.
The night before Portland, we played in Boston at O’Brien’s. Linc from Hello Shark described OBs as “just the room, no bullshit” and that is one way to describe it if you’re feeling charitable. I’ve played OBs many many times in my life, both before and after moving to Boston and I’m thankful it exists but I don’t typically go out of my way to play there. Sometimes though, “just the room no bullshit” is more than enough! We had an excellent turnout for the show and I was happy to see a lot of friends. I also played drums with PPPT and although we did not have a chance to fully rehearse before the gig, I had fun moonlighting as a drummer again, even for 25 minutes. Final special treat: after the show, we stayed at our own damn apartment. What a gift!
