Sing-alongs, Gypsy Punks, and Giant Squids

3 September 2006

In the morning, we drove out to this old abandoned train in the woods. It’s a dozen train cars, covered in vines, and they’re all burned out. It’s really spooky, and we were excited that our friends took us here. Dillsburg is full of great people, and it’s one of my favorite places to play now.

Spooky

Spookier...

Welcome to the Jungle

A joke from Tony Presley: “A skeleton walks into a bar, and orders a beer and a mop…”

4 September 2006

We drove to Pittsburgh, and as usual, stopped at every rest stop along the way. I like walking around the rest stops, and looking at all the personalized magnets and machines that will crush a penny into an oval charm. The show was at Kiva Han Coffeehouse. I didn’t expect too much from the show, as it’s a big, busy coffee shop, but it turned out to be really good. There was a big audience, and we played well. Tighter than Dillsburg, and we got the audience to do a great sing-along on ‘Postcards & Letters’. Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies played next, and did a nice chamber pop set. The even had some tuba…

After the set, we went over to PITT (that’s the name of a school, I think…) and the promoter of our show, Manny, got us into a big show with Balkan Beatbox and Golum. I had never heard of these bands, but they turned out to be fantastic. We arrived toward the end of Golum’s set. They play a sort of overdriven gypsy music. They call it “Eastern European Folk Punk”. They all wore red, and looked like ghetto cabaret entertainers. It sounded like traditional folks songs played loud and fast with a charismatic pair of singers. For their last song, they taught us a dance- an easy sort of box-step. Everyone danced, and loved it. I can understand the appeal of line dancing and stuff like that, where they teach you the easy steps, and everyone is doing it all together. What fun!

Golum Rocks!

They played a bar mitzvah the previous night. In Boston!

Balkan Beatbox played next, and they played what was one of the most exciting sets I’ve seen in some time. They were a couple drummers, a pair of saxes, some computers, a bass and guitar. Their opening song saw them march into the audience, everyone playing drums and saxes. It was charged and uplifting, and a really joyous moment. They took to the stage, and played for an hour. Their energy was amazing. It was a great hybrid of funk, traditional Jewish music, and hip-hop. They got everyone jumping and dancing and hollering. It was so celebratory and exciting.

After the show, we went to an afterparty at a bar, but it was just a smoky room with teenagers dancing to crunk, so we moved on to another afterparty, at a bar where Balkan Beatbox played another set. It was so cool to see them in a smaller room, with a really enthusiastic audience, It was sweaty and fun. We didn’t stay for the whole show, though, and we went back to Manny’s for the night. We saw online that the Crocodile Hunter has died. Stung by a stingray. Interesting. I have had a vision, or a secret wish, perhaps. I want to see a giant squid before I die. One of those legendary creatures that are hundreds of feet long, rarely seen by people. In my fantasy, I am on a ship, and the squid breaks the surface of the ocean. I get to see it in all it’s glory, then it drags me to the ocean floor, and that’s the end of me. A small price to pay to see what so few have seen. Maybe Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter felt that way when he met his match underwater this weekend…

Croc Hunter RIP

Destiny!

Pittsburgh was so fun. Best time I ever had there. We had a great time at our show, and at the Balkan Beatbox show, then at the afterparties. Tour is so fun, and it keeps getting better. Off to Oberlin tomorrow…