Madison, Wisconsin

I wish I could say that we had an "official" day off in Madison, a city we were all anxious to visit. The truth of the matter is not a single person came to the show and we were politely asked to not play. It is not so much embarrassing, or even depressing; it is just a heavy dose of reality. Playing with a small, virtually unknown band, and traveling around the country, is just tough.

For this band, at this time, on this tour, a successful show is dependent on a few things. First, the show should be promoted. Fliers and ads should be around town. Second, we should fit the venue; we probably won’t go over very well at a country music bar. Third, and this is the most important, we should be playing with a local band or a band that has a local draw. In Madison, we fit the venue, but promotion was light and the local band cancelled. In the end we were lucky to have arrived at a venue where the bartender and sound man we friendly and helpful. We found a place to stay regardless, and hung out in the wood paneled basement bar for a few hours before calling it a night.

The city of Madison is beautiful. The capital building towers above the surrounding city center, which is an ironic testament to democracy. Apparently, the building codes limit the height of the downtown core to remain lower than the capital building. Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin, a huge school where students are more likely to commute via bicycle than automobile. The pedestrian only strip next to the campus is wrought with euro style sensibilities. Outdoor café seating, bars, and eclectic eats had me wishing we could spend the day exploring, but time is limited and we are heading to Chicago.