Some people go around to see bands. I’m starting to think of what we do as going around to see audiences.
The Berkeley in Raleigh Saturday night was rocking. The crowd wasn’t
huge but it was top-quality, fun to play to in a way that makes a band
push the limits. Things got a little crazy. After the show we were
laughing at the bar with some friends and fans when the bartender
turned on the lights. Somebody said, “Well, the lights came up, and we
all still look pretty good.” Sometimes that’s enough.
(Photo by Angie Santiago)
Sunday afternoon we played the Pleasure Island Festival on Kure
Beach, near Wilmington, NC. The band got into a few things that had
happened spontaneously the night before and took them a little farther.
The audience, bless them, went right there with us. I snapped the
picture below early in the set when they were more sedate, probably
still digesting. This was, after all, a music and seafood festival.
After the show Mark and Darren had fish tacos. Franher and I had to go
for the seafood samplers with grilled shrimp, oysters and jambalaya.
Good people and good food make up for a lot of other things, like
spending 17 out of 38 hours on the highway. You learn to sort of
hypnotize yourself. It’s not sleep but it’s not staying awake either.
We got home to the studio and Darren said, “Wow, did we just leave here
yesterday?” No, because by then it was 1:00 Monday morning.