Tour Diary – Westhampton Beach, NY (March 10, 2012)

When I woke up today we were parked just off the main street of Westhampton Beach way out on Long Island. Streaming past the bus were moms and dads with strollers and kids; small gangs of teenage girls and teenage boys; roving packs of college males; older moms and younger grandmums in their fur coats and older dads and granddads tagging along for the fun. There was a lot of green everywhere and on everyone. It was St Patrick’s Day in Westhampton Beach…one week early but who’s counting. And since it was St Patrick’s Day, there has to be a St Patrick’s Day parade. This was a great way to end this leg of the tour: a beautiful winter day, high blue sky, bright sunshine and a real chill in the air. I made the long trek to the beach, only to discover that I couldn’t get on the beach because I don’t own a piece of it. There was a sign that pointed somewhere down the road to public access but I walked a good 30 minutes and never came across it. Finally I saw a gate that someone hadn’t properly locked so I took it upon myself to do a little trespassing and bolted for the sand. Not one shot was fired. I can see why they are trying to keep people off of it…not a single soul in sight for miles. There is much to love about this country and much to not love so much. Back in town I watched the pipers pipe and the college kids get drunker and drunker .
It was a very nice venue tonight: a small sold-out theater with excellent sound both on stage and in the room. We had a great show, it was tight and focussed and had just the right amount of energy for the room. It was an excellent way to end an excellent run of dates. We head back home tomorrow. We have a live performance at the CBC on Wednesday (taped for airing at a later date); we’ll make time to pet our kids and kiss the dog; pay a few bills; plant a few bulbs and before you know it we’ll be out on the road again, heading West. Unfortunately it looks like Joby Baker who has been out with us on keys won’t be with us for that leg. He has studio commitments that he can’t wiggle out of, but we hope to entice him to come back out with us on some future runs. It has been a joy to play with him every night and we can tell that he is just beginning to settle in. Thanks to all of you who attended these shows, above all it has been a lot of fun. The Tour Diary will resume in a few weeks, in Ann Arbor, where Skippy is already prepping the meal.