The Stills Day 13, Austin TX, Pt. 3
Today is a long one. 2 shows, one in the afternoon, then another at 1am. Fearing parking yet again, we left a little early, which again was a good idea, and for more than one reason. On our way to the Beauty Bar (for the Rachel Ray party), we were told that our set time was moved up one hour, so our buffer zone evaporated. It was pretty hectic once we got there, but we seemed to have found a back alley where we could leave the RV, so we didn't have to worry about parking. Or so we thought.
After pulling up and starting to unload, we were told that our set time changed again, back to it's original time. Amazing. Now we at least had time to grab some food. So, we ate, had a coffee, waited around for 2 hours enjoying the sun and the fantastic temperature. I even had the chance to go see another friend from Europe a couple blocks away. At 3pm, we start unloading and setting up again for our show at 4pm. At 3:15, a cop comes by on a golf cart and kindly informs us that if we don't move our vehicle within 20 minutes, he's having us towed. We had a brief chat and he left, so we kept on doing our thing. We were willing to take a chance and get a ticket, figuring you can't really tow a 49' RV and trailer combo. How wrong we were. 20 mins before we have to start the show, he comes back with a tow truck waiting around the corner. We begged and pleaded our case, but to no avail. Apparently, they didn't think it was a big deal for the first 2 hours we were sitting around doing nothing, with plenty of time to move around, but now with no time left on the clock, they were ready to tow us. So after trying to compromise and figure out some sort of solution, I had to jump behind the wheel 10 mins before show time and try to find parking. Not easy at the best of times. I drove for about 7 minutes, parked illegally at some bagged meters 10 blocks away, and ran back in the Texas heat to try and make the show on time. I got to the tent right when they were about to hit the first note and got their manager to get me a bottle of water and a Mojito. I'd really rather not run back to a show like that ever again, especially when it's 94°F outside. Not fun!
I made it through the 30 min set, it went really well, and I slowly took my time walking back to the RV, no ticket or tow, and came back to get the gear. We took our time loading out, and figured as long as we're down here, we may as well drop off our stuff for the late show at the other club, which we got done fairly painlessly. I was able to take my time parking the RV a few blocks away, and walked back to the club to get some dinner. We had a bit of time before the show at The Parish, so after eating I tried to hook up with a couple other friends, and then eventually went back to the club.
The Parish is a nice room and it sounds great. Even at 1am there was still a full house to see the show and the guys put on their best show of the festival. Thankfully there were loaders to help get our gear down the stairs and back outside, and I got some help from some sympathetic police officers who actually opened blocked roads for me to drive out. The saw the size of the vehicle and had a bit of pity for us.
We went straight back to the hotel, thoroughly exhausted and hoping 12pm would wait a little longer before showing up the next day...
After pulling up and starting to unload, we were told that our set time changed again, back to it's original time. Amazing. Now we at least had time to grab some food. So, we ate, had a coffee, waited around for 2 hours enjoying the sun and the fantastic temperature. I even had the chance to go see another friend from Europe a couple blocks away. At 3pm, we start unloading and setting up again for our show at 4pm. At 3:15, a cop comes by on a golf cart and kindly informs us that if we don't move our vehicle within 20 minutes, he's having us towed. We had a brief chat and he left, so we kept on doing our thing. We were willing to take a chance and get a ticket, figuring you can't really tow a 49' RV and trailer combo. How wrong we were. 20 mins before we have to start the show, he comes back with a tow truck waiting around the corner. We begged and pleaded our case, but to no avail. Apparently, they didn't think it was a big deal for the first 2 hours we were sitting around doing nothing, with plenty of time to move around, but now with no time left on the clock, they were ready to tow us. So after trying to compromise and figure out some sort of solution, I had to jump behind the wheel 10 mins before show time and try to find parking. Not easy at the best of times. I drove for about 7 minutes, parked illegally at some bagged meters 10 blocks away, and ran back in the Texas heat to try and make the show on time. I got to the tent right when they were about to hit the first note and got their manager to get me a bottle of water and a Mojito. I'd really rather not run back to a show like that ever again, especially when it's 94°F outside. Not fun!
I made it through the 30 min set, it went really well, and I slowly took my time walking back to the RV, no ticket or tow, and came back to get the gear. We took our time loading out, and figured as long as we're down here, we may as well drop off our stuff for the late show at the other club, which we got done fairly painlessly. I was able to take my time parking the RV a few blocks away, and walked back to the club to get some dinner. We had a bit of time before the show at The Parish, so after eating I tried to hook up with a couple other friends, and then eventually went back to the club.
The Parish is a nice room and it sounds great. Even at 1am there was still a full house to see the show and the guys put on their best show of the festival. Thankfully there were loaders to help get our gear down the stairs and back outside, and I got some help from some sympathetic police officers who actually opened blocked roads for me to drive out. The saw the size of the vehicle and had a bit of pity for us.
We went straight back to the hotel, thoroughly exhausted and hoping 12pm would wait a little longer before showing up the next day...
posted by t. at 6:01 PM
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