chrisg's Tour Diary

Our well-intentioned plans of visiting the Grand Canyon yesterday were dashed by our inability to get out of bed. Instead, we got a late start, and perused downtown historic Flagstaff.

The drive from Flagstaff to Albuquerque is absolutely gorgeous. Weird red mountains jut out of nowhere. Little replicas of what I imagine look like the Grand Canyon remind me that we're driving in what was probably a ginormous lake bed a few million years ago. The drive from Flagstaff to Albuquerque is about the same distance as San Francisco to LA. But even though this road is straighter and flatter than the I-5, I enjoy the drive more. I'll reevaluate once I've driven it as often as I have the 5.

We arrive into Albuquerque ahead of schedule, and are quick to find the club where we'll be playing. It's located on a strip of downtown that's been turned into an 'Arts and Entertainment District', probably in an effort to reinvigorate the area. We saw something similar when we played in Pomona, where music venues and art galleries would be given significant tax benefits and other perqs for moving into the area. We kill time doing a little souvenir shopping, eating, etc., then head back to the Launchpad.

We're the first to arrive, so we finish watching Auntie Mame in the car. On the longer drives, we've been watching DVDs on Chris W's laptop. Having something with a narrative arc helps pass the time. The Decemberists arrive, unload and soundcheck. I recognize Rachel from when Dealership played a show with her old band Boy Crazy. Small world. She reminds me how beautifully odd that show was ' an evening which involved a random yoda impersonator, stand-up comedy, and chaps. Everyone else we meet in the band is really nice as well. Adrienne and I are going to try and catch them when we're in Austin.

We're first on, so we pile onto the stage and get ready to go. The club is kind of big, and it's early, all of which adds up to an empty-looking room. But our friends from Film School, who are playing down the street, show up and are quick to make the floor look occupied. Right as we're about to start, someone pushes the fog machine button and all of this steam starts billowing onto the stage. Hot. And while we're playing, some really fancy lights are being bounced all over the place. How can you have a bad time when stuff like that is happening? Afterward, we end up selling a lot of CDs and chatting with some nice people, so I guess there were more people than I thought. We meet the nice folks from Foma, a local band who played after us. Turns out the singer went to Berkeley too, and recognizes me and chris w from dealership shows. Small, small world.

Tomorrow we're off to Dallas. I think it's the longest drive we'll have had so far. Sleep tight.