Adventure #16: October 2010 Tour (Day 1)

Adventure #16: October 2010 Tour (Day 1)

The first show on my October 2010 solo tour was a DIY basement show in Willimantic, CT. I miss playing those sorts of shows so I was actually looking forward to it a lot. The show didn't start till 6, but I had a lot to do before I hit the road. Because I'm totally responsible, I put most of it off to the last possible minute. This is Pen Pen finishing printing up copies of my new EP.

I got in my car, fresh from a gratuitously expensive new tune-up, and started off towards the mythical land of Central Connecticut. Luckily about two minutes onto the BQE I hit some epic traffic. I spent the next hour and a half trying to navigate back roads and random “expressways” hoping to get out of New York. The only thing missing was Kurt Russell. I finally made it to the show just as the first band was finishing and found Roxanne, Ethan, Rich, Rose, Em, and JD hanging out in the kitchen around a bowl of quinoa. It was delicious. This is Pen Pen eating all the quinoa.

The other bands were awesome. Big Eyes especially. Apparently they're from around New York. So hopefully I'll catch them again. Nice people too. My set was sort of blah. I asked JD to sit in on drums for a bunch of songs he'd never heard before, and ditched the set that I had prepared in favor of trying to play my loudest / hardest / fastest songs. Some of which I haven't practiced in a year. I have a bad habit of trying to appease an audience that doesn't really seem to be in to my stuff by changing up my set. Sometimes it works, but usually I just end up playing poorly to people who probably wouldn't care if I played the best set of my life. This was that kind of set. Such is life. This is Pen Pen getting his penguin pimp on while Jesus chaperones.

After the show, we headed over to Willi Brew. I'm pretty sure that's an abbreviation, but I don't remember for what. We got food. Then karaoke started. Roxanne and Ethan sang “I Wanna Be Sedated.” I nearly sang Prince. We stuck around for a few hours before we all headed back to Rich and Rose's. I gave Em a ride back. Despite getting horribly lost on the back roads of Mansfield, we somehow ended up right behind Roxanne's car. Em suggested we found a shortcut. I'm pretty sure Roxanne just drives slowly. This is Pen Pen being molested by his original owner.

We hung out for a little while before Ethan, Roxanne, and Em headed out. Rich, Rose and I stayed up longer and watched Get Him To the Greek. I'm not sure why, but it put my lame set in perspective. I passed out on the couch, exhausted, but optimistic that tomorrow's show will go better. This is Pen Pen battling a giant cat.

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

A Bloody Game by nathanleigh