20 October 2010

On the road again. Eastbound. (Elm Creek, Nebraska)

Greetings from the van. We’re driving Eastbound on I-80, headed for Lincoln, Nebraska. Duo acoustic show tonight (me and Anton) at 7pm at a coffee house called “Crescent Moon.” Sounds like a pretty cool little place, an active part of the burgeoning Lincoln music scene. It’s been a great drive so far, perfect weather, dry roads, and as usual, no traffic, with the exception of a few construction zones in Eastern Colorado. Other than that, the cruise control is set to 80mph and it’s non-stop except to get gas and grub. Anton drove the first leg to North Platte, then we played musical chairs and Beers is now at the helm. Fred and Anton are playing Foosball on the iPad in the back, and Jay’s in the way back, enjoying a nap.

I had an “oh, crap!” moment today in North Platte as I realized I’d left a bag full of gear at my house back in Colorado. The power cord and pedal for my piano, along with my guitar tuners, extra strings, picks, etc. are all in it. Called FedEx in Louisville (CO), and they’ll be able to overnight it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for our show tomorrow night – so hopefully that all works out well (and I owe my wife big time).

As we loaded up the van last night, we were all reflecting on the fact that touring feels so natural now; still exciting, but there’s a real “home” feeling to being on the road, too… I-76, I-80, I-90, I-35, I-70, I-95, 495, etc. all hold familiar sights for us. Like the Maranatha Bible Camp sign we just passed here in Nebraska, and the familiar “Des Moines 353 mi” signs, etc.

Beers is playing DJ at the moment, and we’re jammin’ out to some Tower of Power as the blurry cows, farmhouses, and semi trucks pass by the van windows.

So tonight we play duo in Lincoln, then we hit the road to Sioux Falls tomorrow (easy 3-hr drive) for a show with our friends, Harriet Tweed, at Latitude 44. We’re headlining the show, and the venue is supposed to be pretty sweet. The Ryan Montbleau Band guys and our friend from the road, Jason Spooner, played there a couple of weeks ago. On Friday morning, we drive north 6 hours to Grand Forks, North Dakota for a headlining show at the University of North Dakota. Friday night shows at colleges are tough to predict – sometimes they can be packed, other times the kids want to go out or to house parties or whatever… and they can be relatively dead. We’ll see; at the very least, the venue is supposed to be super nice, with full lights/fog, house sound, big stage, etc. Good times. On Saturday, we drive back down to the Lincoln, NE area for a return visit to Doane College in Crete. Anton and I played there last month (see Road Journal entry below this one)… and they’re having us back with the full band. Should be fun.

More later… here are some shots from the van: