Tour Diary – Kent, OH and Chicago, Ill (April 26 and 27, 2012)

Kent, OH (Kent Theater)
Horrible weather, rainy and cold; Ate an excellent pulled pork sandwich from the Franklin Square Deli; Did some used book browsing; Did some used guitar browsing; Cookie Bob and Crazy Ed showed up with tithes of beer (Southern Tier IPA and Dogfish Head 60 Minute….very tasty); Chuck emerged unscathed from the Cincinnati show; Drank an awesome cup of coffee from Tree City Coffee; A beautiful old theater that could use a little TLC but sounds amazing; The Rangers and Devils moved on; A really enthusiastic and excited audience….it all adds up to a very fun night and enjoyable day.

Chicago, Ill (Old Town School Of Folk)
The expressway leading in to Chicago could give the Cross-Bronx Expressway a run for its money as the country’s worst highway to fall asleep on…if you know what I mean. It was a very early morning, coming after a very late night. Margo and I went off at noon to do some TV (WGN). Later, Jim Powers dropped by the bus. We have known Jim for over twenty years, ever since he first contacted us about a cassette tape called The Trinity Session that we had sent to him…he is the one that signed us to RCA and to Geffen. We owe much of our good fortune to him and over the years he has become a good friend. It was great catching up. We had two shows tonight (both of them sold out), a tough way to end a tour. We are truly beat and beaten. Show number one was a bit careful and searching, but not bad. Show number two was sloppy but in a good natural way…I thought it felt great despite the many mistakes. The audiences for both shows were excellent: enthusiastic and engaged.

This has been a very strange tour. We have travelled a lot of miles in a very short period of time. Some excellent shows, some mediocre shows, lots of hockey, only one miserable experience with a promoter or venue, pretty good weather. The attendance was a little soft in places and downright miniscule in a couple, but for the most part the audiences have been exceptional in their enthusiasm and appreciation, which helps so much on those rainy days, or in those half-filled houses or when your team has just been eliminated, once again, from contention. We will never take that appreciation for granted. It’s time to go home and rest up and get ready for the cross Canada marathon that starts up in June. See you then.