adrienne's Tour Diary

I met Mark on the corner of Market and Davis at 5:10 to get some more boxes of CDs since we'd run out. I planned to get on a 5:18 train out of the city to Oakland but I missed it. I found Mark via his shiny shoes and packed the CDs into my backpack.

Dan and I thought it a good idea to get slices of pizza before the show but when we got to Portofino there was only one slice. We decided to split it, but then the pizza chef took a new pie out of the oven. Another guy put 2 slices on paper plates and then slipped them into these paper pizza gloves they have there, which are a great invention. With the pizza glove, even if you drop your slice face down on the way home it can be rescued and enjoyed.

Chris G. drove us into the city after we loaded everything into the van. CW went to eat clam chowder at the place down the street that seems like it's from a 1983 movie set in the Midwest or a town that once relied on the shipping industry but ever since the airplane boomed in the 50's has been made sleepy. The rest of us stayed at the Bottom with Genevieve and Ted, sipping drinks during the Arcade Fire's soundcheck. The Arcade Fire have their own sound person and The Heavenly States do too. At this show, we also had our own sound professional: Donny of Film School, who can shotgun a beer like it's nothing.

The Arcade Fire had sold out the show long before, and it was very fun to play to the packed house. Some friendly people asked to buy a recording of our newest song, "in the dark," but we don't have it ready just yet, except on the new demo. I wondered to myself, why is it so fun to play a new song? The conclusion I came to was that after the new song is over, it's a rush to think: "why, I know how to play that song after all."

The Heavenly States were total energy through their entire set. Then The Arcade Fire came on and everyone jumped on their first song. I counted seven people on stage, I think. I lost count of the songs in the set--it was very exciting to see what I'd heard so many times on a stereo happen right before us. I wish I was taller though. When I went to get a beer I ended up near the back, behind a forest of tall men, but while standing on my toes I caught some of the Arcade Fire members' faces, a guitar neck, some mallets hitting the ceiling. Then I moved to the front and took some pictures which I'll add here this weekend I think.

I'll never again make fun of Chris G. liking that weird black gum that makes people sober.