Minneapolis, Minnesota

It is nice to be back in a major city. We played the 400 Bar, a legendary venue where the likes of Bob Dylan had once taken the stage. Unfortunately we were on a bill more suitable for Dylan with folk and blues artists performing all night. We didn’t nail the set for some technical reasons, but we tried hard to fit the bill.

Although playing a bill with artists unlike us doesn’t help us connect with potential fans, it does however allow us to watch some great music. We were lucky enough to open for a guy named Joe Price, a blues singer and guitarist who put most punk and hardcore bands to shame with his level of energy and musical expression. Stomping his foot and carrying the bass and lead on his own, he kept up the intensity for roughly two hours. A great guy that told us after our set he would have loved to play with us. I wish he would have said something during the set.

Joe wasn’t the only good guy at the 400 Bar, the sound guy, promoter, and staff were all very kind and made us feel welcome. We will chalk it up as a great opportunity, but we have some work to do in smoothing out some of the kinks in our performance.

Des Moines, Iowa

We headed North to Des Moines, Iowa after leaving Lawrence. Along the way we stopped at a service station where we were surprised to find hard alcohol being sold right there alongside the coffee and candy. Call me crazy, but this didn’t seem like the best idea, but I don’t make the laws in Kansas.

Once we arrived in Des Moines we quickly found our directions were off. Instead of finding the club we found ourselves pinned between the outskirts of Des Moines and the endless fields of wheat and corn that surround the city. After some exploring we found what appeared to be the only center for culture and nightlife in the city, a single block lined with Italian restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. We located the venue, which was a beautiful old building with pressed tin ceilings and enough wear on the bar to remind us that we were moving further east through older cities. It is always humbling to play these older venues, especially when the crowd is small; it forces you to be aware of time.

Thursday, September 29th, is a date that forces me to be aware of time more than I would like. It is this day that I was born 29 years ago. You could say I’m not a birthday person, but my girlfriend always seems to find a way for me to enjoy them. This year, with thousands of miles between us, she tracked down a restaurant and ordered me a steak dinner. It’s the thought that counts as they say and that was pretty damn thoughtful. It was a surprise that made being in this isolated lonely city a little nicer and had me missing my girlfriend quite a bit.

Lawrence, Kansas - Day 2

For our second day in Lawrence we spent the entire afternoon and night downtown exploring the coffee shops and restaurants and taking care of emails and Web sites at the library. This time only reaffirmed my opinion that Lawrence is a great town with good people and real culture. The music scene is vibrant and has hosted many of the influential bands from the last two decades. There are even rumors that Jello Biafra moved here for a brief time after leaving San Francisco. Although we couldn’t confirm this, we could certainly see why one of the liberal punk rock godfathers might have come here. I think we would all love to spend more time in Lawrence getting to know the town and the scene, but for now it is on to Des Moines, Iowa.

Lawrence, Kansas - Day 1

Entertaining drunken college students playing beer pong (look it up) is not my idea of a good time, or the political aim of Mike’s band, but it does make for good fun. A fellow named Lance, an excellent singer songwriter and a friend of a friend set up our show in Lawrence at The Crossing, a college bar only a stone’s throw away from the University of Kansas. Lance performed his brand of punk infused folk music with an energy and humor that was inspiring. Denell, Lance’s sister and our friend from the Northwest, has been out for a visit this week and joined Lance during the set singing some sweet harmonies and pushing air through her accordion. Their performance together was heartfelt without being sappy, a nice set that felt more like sitting around the campfire than sitting in a beer soaked college bar. Denell also played the accordion and sang during Colin’s set, bringing a full sound to the band that I haven’t heard from them yet. They keep getting better every night, it is nice to see them progress every evening.

The City of Lawrence is a beautiful, well-kept college town with no shortage of parks, coffee shops, and good food. It is a liberal town that feels worlds apart from the neighborhood we spent the most time at in Wichita. Lance labels it an oasis in the mid-west, and so far it really does feel that way. The look of the town today distances itself from the violent period of time in the 1850s known as Bleeding Kansas, when the people in this area struggled to sort out their status as a free or slave state. Kansas did eventually become a free State, but not without its share of bloodshed staining the minds of Americans.

As a visitor, it is difficult to determine how the sentiments that ripped Kansas apart 150 years ago have evolved. With the disaster in New Orleans reminding every American that racism and class are a matter of life and death, it is something worth thinking about. While pondering these things here in Lawrence, I keep going back to a bumper sticker I saw on a small foreign car on the streets of Wichita that read “Kansas, as bigoted as you think.” I hope it isn’t.

Wichita, Kansas

Kirby’s Beer Store in Wichita (which is actually a bar) was perhaps the smallest venue I’ve ever seen, it was also one of the most fun to play. The place was basically a 30-foot by 30-foot box with pinball machines and a bar. Flyers and stickers are plastered in every nook and cranny. Some great bands such as Superchunk and Pansy Division have been through Kirby’s doors since opening in the early 70’s. The place reeked of history and various other indescribable odors.

When we took the stage, or rather, the corner of the room, there were about seven people in the place including one man who pulled his shirt over his face and drank beer through the fabric. This man also danced like a freak for the hour we played. About a third of the way through the set four young Indian guys walked in, apparently from the college across the street. When I saw them I was thinking they would probably just turn around and walk out. Within minutes these guys placed pitchers in front of us and pointed at us and yelled in broken English that it was our gift. After our little exchange these guys proceeded to dance as crazily as the drunk with the shirt over his head. So at one point we had a drunk on one side and four rather conservative looking students on the other, dancing and acting nuts. This was indeed a great night.

Day Off - Nebraska

After our Omaha show and the party afterwards we were in need of rest and Mexican food. Good thing there were some local Latinos blaring their radio next to the van while I was sleeping. We asked them if there was any good Mexican food in the area and they graciously led us to a taco truck a few blocks away. We had some good food (some really excellent pico) and did some laundry across the street. Later that day we drove out of the city about 45 minutes and camped at a state park with our sights set on another good meal and some rest.

Omaha, Nebraska

After a long day waiting for our fuel pump to be replaced we hit the road rather late heading south to Omaha, a sprawling cow town, or really, mid-west metropolis. This city processes millions of cattle a year and is known for their steaks more so than their recently booming music scene. Made famous by mainstream favorite Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes, the Omaha music scene is fueled equally by quality bands such as Cursive.

The show we played was an intimate gathering, a collection of musicians, musical aficionados, and hardcore drunks. The man who arranged the show and greeted us was three-sheets to the wind and upon arrival informed us that if we weren’t any good he would kick our ass. Not a serious threat, but not the type of welcome we are used to either. Most of the folks that watched the show had some feedback for us about the set and our sound. I loved this. When you are playing music any response is good, and real thoughts about what you just did showed these folks were really listening, something any musician appreciates.

That evening we went to a party some kids from the show were having. Hipster haircuts were as thick as the attitudes, but underneath that surface layer people were friendly and fun to hang with. Highlights of the evening included Mike passing out on the sidewalk. Good thing a day off was to follow.

Aberdeen, South Dakota

En route to Aberdeen, approximately 30 or so miles north of the South Dakota border the van decided to stop functioning. When we pulled off Route 281, at the edge of a cornfield, we had no idea that we would be there for four and a half hours waiting for AAA to respond. We were in a fairly remote area with the nearest town reaching a population of 400, so the response was rather slow. Our van is too heavy for a conventional tow truck, so we needed a flat bed, which further complicated our rescue.

Although the logistics of towing the van and getting it repaired are costly and a detriment to our tour schedule, I still had a great time wandering through the corn fields, laying out on the grass and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When you are on an excursion such as this, changing your focus from the day-to-day of work to play music and take photos, even the lemons are sweet.

By the time the truck arrived to bring us into Aberdeen, we had just enough time to make it to the show. I rode in the van on top of the flat bed for about 80 miles into Aberdeen, not my first experience, but still interesting.

The show was a bit of a mismatch for At the Spine. A rather quiet coffee house which was perfect for Colin’s music, but not so fitting for us. We toned things down and didn’t scare anyone off, so we considered it a success. Tomorrow we get the van fixed.

Mandan, North Dakota

East of Bismarck across the Missouri River sits Mandan, a small town in central North Dakota. There we played a club called Joker’s that had excellent sound. This was a special occasion in itself as many of the shows we’ll play on this tour have poor sound equipment and no professional engineers to man the board.

The town itself feels worn and overworked. Railroad stations run along the edge of town and throughout the day and night one can hear the loud clash of the railway cars locking together. A reminder that there is life here in Mandan, although the empty storefronts and plentitude of bars raise the question as to exactly what kind of life that may be.

Wolf Point, Montana

Remote only begins to describe Wolf Point, a reservation town in far North Eastern Montana, which happens to have one of the coldest winter seasons in the continental United States. So when we told people in Bozeman we were going to Wolf Point the typical response was a look of surprise followed by comments about Native American humor and grueling two-lane highways. During the eight-hour drive to Wolf Point we all naturally voiced our questions and concerns about traveling so far off the path for such a small town. No one was sure what to expect.

After a long eight-hour drive, we pulled into the VFW post where the show was being held. We were surprised to see several groups of kids hanging outside waiting for the show to begin. When I jumped out of the van one of the first things the young promoter said to me was that he thought we were going to cancel on them like so many other bands had. I was instantly glad we made the trip.

Before our set I grabbed a beer in the front room where I was told some colorful jokes from one local gentleman. I won’t be repeating those here, but I won’t soon forget them so ask me another time. Our set went well, the people at the show were enthusiastic and stood right up front to support us. By the end of the show we felt lucky to have spread a good message and good music a little further than we were used to. After the set we hung around with the locals and bar owners and heard some more stories and learned about how cold it actually gets up there. A good experience and I hope we make it back in the future.

Bozeman, Montana

Although we are pretty happy with all the shows we have played so far, Bozeman has been the highlight. We met quite a few friendly people and played with some good bands, especially The Touchers, a local band.

That said, when we pulled up to the Filling Station, a dive on the edge of town where the show was booked, we didn’t know what to expect. The place had a worn interior with slots on one end of the room and a few shady characters on the other. It didn’t exactly feel welcoming at first. But that feeling soon faded as we got to talking with the bartenders and more locals started pouring in. By show time the place had a good crowd and when the music started the whole place shined like the neon sign above the stage. We performed well but ran into some technical difficulties which turned our set a bit sour. It had no affect on our moods though, and we continued to play and enjoy the show. Mostly it was a night to compare others against. We all left Bozeman the next morning feeling grateful to have played there.

Missoula, Montana

Missoula is a great town that is influenced by its blue-collar history and the University of Montana, a lot of pick-ups and students basically. Bicycles are surprisingly everywhere, and according to the locals, poor city planning makes getting across town quicker on a bike than in a car. The spot we played had a few bars in the vicinity and there were about 25 bikes lined up in front. I’m not sure if it was the simplicity of using a bike in a small town, or the environmentally friendly nature of the whole thing that made it so nice to see. Most likely it has something to do with the fact that we are guzzling fuel while carting a van full of equipment around the country. A bike sure seems simple in comparison.

The show was a small gathering of 15 or 20 people but we felt more than welcomed as quite a few people we met during our last visit in June showed up to support us on a Monday night, the most un-rock night of the week. They seemed to have fun, and so did we. A highlight of the evening was a band called Satan’s Slave (yes, really) playing some confusing music. A father and son lead, self proclaimed metal band, that sounded more like a broken washing machine than Iron Maiden, was both brilliant and frightening. My experience watching the band ranged from hope to despair for the human race. Collin informed the band after the band’s set, “you’re either the best, or worst band I’ve ever seen” which they were happy to hear. So, keep an eye out.

Day Off - Pullman

We couldn’t arrange a show for Sunday the 18th, but we made good use of the time off to put together some press kits and complete some other band related projects. I spent some personal time taking more photos of the wheat fields I’ve grown to like so much. If you want to see more of these photos visit my Flickr page. Sunday evening we drove north past Spokane and east towards Montana to camp out in Northern Idaho for the night.

Pullman, Washington

The scenery here in Pullman is beautiful, rolling wheat fields and blue skies are abundant and never quite out of sight. This is not always common in Eastern Washington, which often looks rather desolate where flat glacier marked landscapes dotted with sagebrush run rampant. The scenery here in Pullman compliments the good people we’ve been lucky to meet and stay with. Mark and Alicia, our kind hosts, threw a little house party complete with At the Spine banners hanging on the walls.

Soon we’ll leave Pullman and head towards Montana, most likely camping out tonight which will be fun, but hopefully not too cold.

La Grande, Oregon

We arrived at La Grande to find that the Fire Marshall had shut down the venue we were booked to play at. Bad news for the venue’s owner, but not so bad news for us as we were lucky enough to play down the street at a steak house with a little stage and friendly owners.

The show itself was good, but the best part of the day was the trip to the local University radio station, KEOL. The host was a friendly guy who asked At the Spine and Colin Spring a few questions on the air and played songs off the albums. Colin is also traveling with us and playing his material with Mike and Chris from At the Spine as his backup band. Colin has some great songs so go learn more about him and his music at www.murdersilence.com.

Saturday we’ll be back in Washington, playing in Pullman, home to Washington State University and the infamous Cougars who happen to be playing back in Seattle. This is a big football town so we’ll see if anyone checks the show out. Regardless we have some good friends of the band taking care of us there so we’ll at least have some fun.

Spokane, Washington

We played Mootsy’s in Spokane last night to a good-sized crowd. This was my second time playing this venue with At the Spine and both shows were excellent. The first time around we shared the bill with a great local band, Belt of Vapor, who was unfortunately out of town so we weren’t able to catch them again. However, this time around we played with Portland’s We’re From Japan, a great instrumental band with a lot of energy.

Although the show was great, I can’t say the same for Spokane. On our first visit we had our van window smashed out for no reason. This time around we had better luck but given the types of characters we ran into around the club it’s not hard to image things going worse. Spokane is a tough town that has seen better days and even though there are some great people here that have taken care of us, we all have the impression that a lot of people in this town are down on their luck. It puts places like Seattle into perspective, they are unique, and easy to live in, and I feel lucky to call it home right now.

Welcome

Tomorrow, in Spokane, Washington, At the Spine (www.atthespine.org) will be on the road playing our first show of a nine week tour around the U.S. Throughout the trip this site will be a place for me to post observations about the places we visit, the shows we play, and the people we meet. You will see a post for every date of the tour, although some posts may not actually be added to the site every day due to limited Web access. If you see that a post for the most recent day is missing, check back again later. You can always bookmark the XML Feed and view in your RSS reader (Huh?). The photos included in the posts are available for viewing at www.flickr.com/photos/mattdente.

If you don’t actually know me and just stumbled across this site, you can learn more about me at www.mattdente.com. Thanks for checking this out, I’ll try to keep it interesting and real.