Tour Diary – Berkeley, CA (June 21, 2014)

Jason Lent will be following us and the World Cup over the next 10 days. We'll be mixing things up by posting his diary as well as Michael's diary (whenever he can pull himself away from watching futbol).

by Jason Lent

The last day of the tour began in Grass Valley with one last trip to the record store to dig for vinyl after watching Messi create a miracle in stoppage time. Arriving in Berkeley later in the day, we were limited to exploring the streets around the venue. Downtown resembles most college with unlimited cheap eats from $1 ice cream scoops to countless Indian, Pakistani, Greek, and pizza spots. It didn't take much walking to figure out that Berkeley is adamant about establishing itself outside of the mainstream world. Counter culture is the culture. On the busiest corner, the religiously zealous performed music loudly as the panhandlers and homeless walked slowly by.

Freight & Salvage has an established history in this town and the staff could not have been more accommodating. There was a relaxed but organized attitude to the entire place that made for a peaceful final day on the road. As the Nomad set kicked off, the acoustics of the room sounded a little overwhelmed by the louder songs but "Fairytale" and "Renmin Park" were exquisite. The audience was polite and reserved which is a mixed bag on the last night of a tour. The insane energy of San Francisco was not to be found on this night but the band didn't let it hamper the second Trinity Session performance in three nights. After the show, Margo came out to say goodbye to the fans, more than a few who made multiple shows on this California run. The boys packed up the van as I headed for one last Holiday Inn Express near San Francisco airport.

The end of the tour seems so far away when you arrive for the first show and then suddenly, it's over. I've been through California often and I'm always blessed with great traveling companions, excellent weather, and beautiful concerts. I've never seen a day on the road with Cowboy Junkies where the band didn't take time out of their work to say hi to fans or work on a song request that holds special meaning to one fan. It's those actions that give the band special meaning to those of us who have followed their journey back and forth across North America. Thank you Mike, Margo, Pete, Al, Jeff, Jared, Ed, Farnes and everyone who came out to a show for another great tour. In the words of Vic, I will see you around.