Austin is always a welcome sight. It is particularly welcome in mid-February, when the temperature is hovering around 84 degrees, which it was on Thursday. A spectacularly beautiful day, even the locals were impressed. Unfortunately we were visited by a “Blue Norther’” just after showtime and the temperature dropped forty degrees within a few hours. Friday was grey, damp and miserable: it made us feel at home. But enough about the weather….lets talk hockey.

Our biggest concern about this tour was that we wouldn’t be able to watch any of the Olympic hockey tournament (Margo was particularly bummed out by the prospect). We knew that our stars were in a good place when we woke up on Thursday morning: it was sunny and warm and we discovered that MSNBC was carrying practically every Male and Female hockey game being played in Torino. It has been an interesting tournament so far. On the women’s side the Canadian team has been completely dominating. Their traditional rival, the USA, has just not been up to the task this time out. A showdown for gold with the Swedish team will take place on Monday. On the Men’s side the tournament has been completely unpredictable. Canada, who are the favourites and reigning gold medal champs, has got off to a quick start, but really hasn’t played any of the top teams. It is still anybodies tournament to win….ok, enough about hockey….let’s talk music.

Four shows in two nights is always a bit of a stretch, but it helps when the shows take place in a location like the One World Theater, which is small, intimate and comfortable for the band. It also helps that it is run by some very nice and accommodating people. It is a gig that allows the band and crew to focus at the job at hand and not have to deal with all of the energy sapping distractions that surround most gigs. It also helps to play in front of a good audience. Austin audiences are always very willing to give back. All four shows were very good. There were a few hic-ups scattered throughout, but for the most part the music was focused and intense. Randall is really beginning to find his place, which is exciting for us all.

After the late show on Friday our bus showed up. It’s time to start to move through the Southwest, in search of better weather and positive hockey results.