This is a working tour. I mean, they’re all working tours, REALLY, but there’s been a little less tourism on this one, a little more bam bam bam! And I ain’t talkin’ groupies! It’s very short (just under three weeks) and very compact and pretty lucrative. Ideally this is the way the traveling ought to be – but I sometimes judge my wanderings by the photographs, and other than the Halloween decorations, I’ve got little of anything new. Just ANOTHER shot of the Arch. ANOTHER cat. ANOTHER shot of ilyAIMY performing at this place, that place, the other place… hey, that’s that shirt rob always wears… the one with the squid!
Mmm. A shot by Jeff Wheeler of Heather and I enjoying ourselves at one of my favourite venues – Saint Charles Coffeehouse in Saint Peters, MO. Previously mentioned Jeff Wheeler.
Not that I’m complaining. I Love the fact that sometimes I feel just as familiar with Saint Louis, MO – or Columbus, OH – or Pittsburgh, PA as with my hometown – I just worry about how to keep things fresh for people! I guess that’s one of the reasons I’ve been writing so many political thoughts recently. A lot of the touring side of things has, over the past seven years (!!) become somewhat routine. My brain is turning to other things.
Last night we played the Saint Charles Coffeehouse. I still think it’s one of the best rooms in the country. I hope to someday be performing at a level more akin to Ellis Paul or Richard Shindell… I’d be okay never hitting Ani Level… but the solid packed-small-room with a decent ticket price and steady CD sales would suit me just fine. We’d be making a decent Living and we wouldn’t be nervous before EVERY GIG wondering if anyone was going to show up. But I hope we never have to leave venues like Coffee Amici and Saint Charles. Incredible rooms with devoted and excited owners. People that actually care that you’re there.
Thom Duggan presentin’ the evening. Thanks Chris. You’re awesome too! Our friend Megan showing off how she can whistle while playing guitar. This is admirable. She can also write Loves songs that have palm-muting in them. No mean feat.
I’ll be happy to add Club Café and Tin Angel and Eddie’s Attic and other “circuit” rooms – but I wonder if they can ever find a place in my heart the way the coffeehouse circuit does.
Today we went to check out a new spot. We saw the “Live music” sign out front and it’s our favourite genre: small-town main street. We walk inside, beautiful floors, exquisite light. Nice artwork on the walls, a decent menu… homey and with free wifi – but there’s no light in the eyes of the woman behind the counter. She seems uninterested and uninteresting. There’s no passion.
A wonderful Belleville, IL artist’s mural once stood upon the building that was once here… completely swept away by a possible-arson, there’s nothing left of this landmark but a pit in the ground surrounded by caution tape. The woman who painted the mural was one our first crushes in the area – an exquisitely beautiful and talented woman whose name I no longer remember with dreadlocks and a powerful stride. A glance through a window in an antique shop brings two dramatically different reactions. Heather sees a beautiful clock, mid-century modern and golden – still-working and reasonably-priced – she’s excited about an exciting find. I see a remarkably familiar little-red stool, the exact twin to one I had while growing up that I’d always thought my Dad had made for me. It doesn’t have the handwritten inscription on the bottom and I know now that my Dad didn’t build it for me afterall. Mew.
Not that people have to be passionate about coffee to work at a coffeehouse – but they should be passionate about people! My favourite spots have always been where the person behind the counter is interested and interesting. People work in coffeeshops because they like PEOPLE. I went to another coffeehouse a couple of days ago – eclectic, artsy – but the guy behind the counter was an utter asshole! Why work in the job if you don’t seem to like people? I don’t understand the point.
It’s what makes Saint Charles stand out. Even if it was a hole in the wall instead of a castle, Jack and Chris and the rest of the people there make the place friendly and beautiful. The people who run Coffee Amici and Victoria Station and the Space and Java Mammas make these places homey and friendly. I WANT to be there. I go there even when we’re not playing. I want to see these places prosper and we do our best to bring them the audiences and patrons they deserve. I hope we can continue to do that even if / when we ever become big… or even just a little bit bigger.
I sound entirely too optimistic and chipper. I surely must be sickening for something.
Hrm.
