Part Time Lion Tamer
That's precisely how I feel these days. I spend weeks at home as the most well-adjusted young man I've ever heard of, but occasionally I dip out for a week or two at a time and temp wild animals for rent money. I'll laugh it up while I can. It has been a few weeks, maybe, since I've had the time, patience and worthy internet connection to write on here. This last jaunt was mostly a couple weeks in Canada. It was the start of Interpol (curse you Google for bringing the unwashed masses here by name recognition alone), the start of something new and big according to most people. It was back to this sort of thing for me only on a much smaller scale, which is sometimes a good thing. It's like starting over.
We started this all off in some really small rooms. It was a method for seemingly easing a band back into playing live after a nearly two year break. The build up was all for Coachella where they were to play for close to 30,000 people. We began in places that looked not unlike my living room.
One of them was even jovially called The Cowboy's Ranch. The night before saw a decent turnout for a Keith Urban cover band. I believe they were called 'Keith Urban Experience.' I could be wrong.
This was me getting into the spirit of the rodeo. No one thought it was funny.
I couldn't resist filling one of these out and stating that the mechanical bull had touched me in an entirely inappropriate manner as the Keith Urban look-a-like watched.
I have toured with lots of bands and lots of crews, some good, some not so good. This time out it has been the dream team. From top to bottom I think this is the best bunch out there. It would kind of be like the A-Team only if that Face guy were replaced by Macguyver. Here they are at the very beginning and the very end of the tour; relatively unfazed, totally unfuckwithable.
We started in NY with a handful of rehearsals before heading off to Canada. The new songs are beasts, more delicate at moments, and overflowing with drums and electronics in others. So far the band has worked out 3 or 4 new ones for these early shows. They are well-placed in the set and seem to be just enough of a departure for people to be interested, but not so much that they can't dig in on the first listen.
Our first show was in Ottawa. The temperature dropped as we drove North from NY. The rain began to fall, and quickly turned to snow.
It was mid-April.
Unacceptable.
It seemed that we had lots of time to ourselves on this one. The band was caught up doing lots of press-related nonsense so when we weren't driving across Canada for days at a time we were left on our own with a day or two off. A few of us took to skateboarding around town (when it wasn't raining and/or snowing) or just taking in the local culture. We found Bobby's exact wig model in this store.
We also found these in an art supply store and proceeded to scare the absolute shit out of one-another for the next hour or so. There is something very daft punk/futuristic rapist about them.
Many a late night traversing the country with little respite but a truck stop here or there.
It's rough when CB radios start looking like the sort of thing you should own, or when you get really excited by products that you share the same name with. Small pleasures.
The weather remained cold and snowy.
The sun peered out from the clouds in Calgary (for long enough to witness hoards of angry hockey fans beating eachother in the streets after the flames lost) and Winnipeg.
Blurry recollections from too many shows with no idea where or when. It was bright and loud, I know that much.
And then things got interesting...and by interesting I mean like Canada interesting....sorry.
We started this all off in some really small rooms. It was a method for seemingly easing a band back into playing live after a nearly two year break. The build up was all for Coachella where they were to play for close to 30,000 people. We began in places that looked not unlike my living room.
One of them was even jovially called The Cowboy's Ranch. The night before saw a decent turnout for a Keith Urban cover band. I believe they were called 'Keith Urban Experience.' I could be wrong.
This was me getting into the spirit of the rodeo. No one thought it was funny.
I couldn't resist filling one of these out and stating that the mechanical bull had touched me in an entirely inappropriate manner as the Keith Urban look-a-like watched.
I have toured with lots of bands and lots of crews, some good, some not so good. This time out it has been the dream team. From top to bottom I think this is the best bunch out there. It would kind of be like the A-Team only if that Face guy were replaced by Macguyver. Here they are at the very beginning and the very end of the tour; relatively unfazed, totally unfuckwithable.
We started in NY with a handful of rehearsals before heading off to Canada. The new songs are beasts, more delicate at moments, and overflowing with drums and electronics in others. So far the band has worked out 3 or 4 new ones for these early shows. They are well-placed in the set and seem to be just enough of a departure for people to be interested, but not so much that they can't dig in on the first listen.
Our first show was in Ottawa. The temperature dropped as we drove North from NY. The rain began to fall, and quickly turned to snow.
It was mid-April.
Unacceptable.
It seemed that we had lots of time to ourselves on this one. The band was caught up doing lots of press-related nonsense so when we weren't driving across Canada for days at a time we were left on our own with a day or two off. A few of us took to skateboarding around town (when it wasn't raining and/or snowing) or just taking in the local culture. We found Bobby's exact wig model in this store.
We also found these in an art supply store and proceeded to scare the absolute shit out of one-another for the next hour or so. There is something very daft punk/futuristic rapist about them.
Many a late night traversing the country with little respite but a truck stop here or there.
It's rough when CB radios start looking like the sort of thing you should own, or when you get really excited by products that you share the same name with. Small pleasures.
The weather remained cold and snowy.
The sun peered out from the clouds in Calgary (for long enough to witness hoards of angry hockey fans beating eachother in the streets after the flames lost) and Winnipeg.
Blurry recollections from too many shows with no idea where or when. It was bright and loud, I know that much.
And then things got interesting...and by interesting I mean like Canada interesting....sorry.
posted by L at Wednesday, May 02, 2007
1 Comments:
Oh how I would have paid thousands of dollars for a picture of the Keith Urban sign. London is no Texas.
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