Memphis, TN to St. Louis, MO
@ CBGB's.
Gloomy skies greeted us when we awoke in Memphis. Windy's roommate has a young son (4ish?) who kept spying on us through curtains as we got packed up. He was dressed in a superhero outfit and occasionally a mask. We never formally met him, but all the same we left him a paratrooper toy we picked up at a convenience store recently.
Last night I made the error of leaving Valerie's camera at the Buccaneer Lounge, so the 2 of us had to drive back to the venue and retrieve it before bed. Afterward, as we drove around semi-aimlessly looking for food, we watched sky shift and tumble with sooty black clouds and flickers of lightning. Val explained to me, twice, at my request, that it was the result of an ionized atmosphere; extra electrons need to discharge from those ionized particles, and they do so in the form of lightning. (How'd I do Val? That was from memory!)
When we got up this morning, there was a giant, soaking, crackling storm awaiting us on the drive north through Arkansas. We literally drove right through the middle of it all, pelting rain and lighting reaching directly over our heads for about an hour.
After that, the sky cleared and I can't be sure, but that storm either shook all the humidity out, or just being back in the Midwest has rescued us from the soggy air.
Meghan's brother and grandmother and aunt all live here in St. Louis, along with various and sundry other uncles and cousins. Our first stop was to pick up John, Meghan's brother, and get some lunch. We had semi-fancy Italian food, and I discovered my new favorite drink: Fitz's Cream Soda. My new second-favorite: Fitz's Root Beer. I got one of each. They are made here in St. Louis, and they are farking yummy.
We headed to Meghan's grandmother's home, and discovered that someone has chosen to completely rebuild an entire stretch of freeway through the city. It looks like mounds of freeway-shaped mud. There was a mild fiasco navigating around this, but soon we arrived at the large, well-appointed home. According to Meghan the house is used as a refuge for people from around the country whose family members are battling cancer and need a space to rejuvenate. It's basically a bed and breakfast, with lots of rooms and beds and really clean bathrooms, plus kitchen areas and a deck and the like. It is easily the nicest place we've stayed so far, and we've stayed in some nice places. We got a nap in before the show, plus had the pleasure of unloading all of our personal belongings, which meant we didn't have to shift that stuff around the 'Burban outside the venue, which just makes for an easier night. Plus drums were backlined! Score.
CBGB's is apparently somehow NOT a direct reference to the legendary NYC punk venue, but I don't know. We discovered it sits on a block whose cross street is, no joke, Connecticut. Seemed like a good omen to us. The venue itself is being renovated, and it looked it with the large pieces of particle board filling both bay windows that face the patio. Just figuring out which door takes you inside the venue was a challenge.
We got more Italian food, rubbed elbows with Meghan's relatives, and watched the opening act set up. Two women, called Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine, played a spare set of folk songs that reminded me of Mazzy Star or Madeline. Very pretty. Cassie is local to St. Louis, and totally worth checking out.
CT4 moved in next. Relatives crowded around the band as they played yet another solid set of aggressive pop. We sold a fair amount of EPs, too.
Amo Joy, from Indianapolis, played next. I sorta missed their brief set, but everyone else in CT4 really seemed to like them. I know that they play a kind of quirky, orchestral pop, and I know that they have extensive and interesting merchandise: an activity book, for one thing.
Bunnygrunt, the local pop band who set up the show, played last. Unfortunately for them, it was only about 3 songs in before the cops arrived on foot. The bartender told everyone the bar was about to close, and then it closed. Abruptly. People streamed out, and within 15 minutes that place was empty except for musicians. I'm not sure, but I think a noise complaint was lodged. I want to believe it was CT4 that inspired it.
We shook hands with and hugged our new friends and returned to our stuff and beds and sleepy dreams. The room the band slept in literally had 3 lil' twin beds for them, like the 3 bears or something. As Goldilocks, I slept in a room on my own with my porridge.
Speaking strictly for myself, I'm starting to feel restless. I love these people I am traveling with, but it is approaching a saturation point. I worry that I'm becoming annoying to them, as well. There's a lot of hugging going on between the band members, and from my observation we're getting along fairly well. But I'm getting grumpy sometimes and just want, like, more time to myself. A vacation from my vacation, as it were. Just a night. Or, as Cristina just pointed out, maybe I just need more hugs.
On a different note: we've decided, I think, to shave this thing off my face together, right at the end of the tour. I don't like it, but I've committed too much time to this thing to shave it now, so it is kind of a symbol of the tour. We're thinking Richland or Nampa, and they'll take razors to my skin, ever so gently. I hope.
