Noah and the Whale, Oct. 17-Nov. 6, 2009

Noah and the Whale, US/Canada, Oct 17-Nov 6

Day 1 LA

Today is a schelp. I finished a Chromeo show in NYC at 4am, and I have a 7:30am flight to LA to start a new tour with Noah and the Whale, a British band I've met a couple times. Usually it's a friend of mine that looks after them, but he's out with Pete Yorn right now, so I'm stepping in. And so far it hurts just a little bit.

After about 90mins of sleep I find myself in the familiar confines of LaGuardia airport, waiting for the fun to unfold. The flight through Denver to LA was alright, all things considered, and I got to our hotel fairly easily. Turns out that my friend who I'm covering on this run is actually in LA today, so after dropping my bags, I hooked up with him and we made a drive out to Silver Lake for coffee and food. It was great. Love the Intelligentsia cafes. After a couple hours of good times, I was back at the hotel to work for a bit while I waiting for the Brits to arrive on their late flight from London.

They were suitably jet-lagged when they got in, but I thought they should go for dinner to a classic Mexican joint called El Compadre. I told them a friend of mine would give them a lift, but neglected to mention that friend was their former ™. They loved it, great surprise to start the trip. We had a great meal to kick things off.

After it was all done, I was actually able to meet up with someone who I had been meaning to meet for some time. A few months ago, a common close friend passed away. We had always heard stories of each other through this friend but only met for the first time at the funeral, sadly. Anyways, this guy lives in LA and we were able to make it work so we could finally hook up and have a couple drinks at the end of the night. Had a great time at the classic Barney's Beanery, shared stories, drinks, games of pool, etc... Felt good.

Day 2 LA

Today is a full day off, and as such, will be treated leisurely. We started with an amazing breakfast down the street at the Urth Cafe, which has incredible coffee, thank god. Way to ease into it.

They guys all went out guitar shopping for the day, and I sort of stuck around the hotel to do some work. Somehow over the course of the day, I found out that a friend of mine was in town with Snow Patrol. We always try and meet up but it never quite works out, so we made plans to hook up for drinks after dinner.

We found ourselves at some little courtyard jazz gig in Hollywood, but before long we were at a house party. Their tour had just ended, so the buses all pulled up in front of one of the crew members' places and emptied all the extra booze in to the fridge. 2 buses with 20+ people carry lots of booze, and makes for a large party. It ended up being a really good time. When that started dying down, we made our way back to the hotel (we were staying in the same one!) and hung out on a balcony for a bit before calling it a night.

Day 3 LA

Another start at the Urth Cafe. Don't fix what isn't broken after all... Again after food, the guys went out guitar shopping for a while. It's important to note that all their gear had recently been stolen in the UK, right before they came over, so they were replacing a fair amount of gear. They came back early afternoon for press at the hotel, a photo shoot, and then we had to go to a movie screening.

When they released their latest record, they also made a film to accompany it, i.e., the music is the soundtrack that runs the course of the film. As part of the promo, the record label has set up a couple screenings in LA and NY, so here we are at the LA one. The guys were kind of dreading it, but it turns out that it's in a really cool little open air courtyard area. And there's a good restaurant attached so we can sit and have dinner while we watch. At the end of it all there was a quick Q&A with a couple of the guys.

After we were done work, the label took us out to the El Rey to see La Roux (who I've seen at festivals almost every 3 days for the last 3 months!) and then we went out to Barney's for a couple drinks to kill the night.

Day 4 LA

Well, it was bound to happen. After 3 days in LA there had to be a show, and tonight it's at the Roxy, an absolutely classic venue. We got everything together, spent some time on the rooftop patio at the hotel where we ran into Dog the Bounty Hunter. Weird. He has a rather large bald spot I think you should know about. I didn't try and get a picture. He could kill me.

So we head to the venue, set up, soundcheck, etc... back in the groove. We had some dinner next door at the Rainbow, also legendary. Unfortunately Lemmy wasn't hanging out tonight. Pizza was ok though.

Next up is show time, and the place is packed. It actually went really well for the first time with a new band playing on all new gear. We considered it a pretty serious success, and a large monkey off the back. After the show everyone scattered to meet friends. I met up with my new friend from the first night. He came to the show and we ended up back at the Rainbow. We only had time for a couple before our bus showed up to pick us up.

We've done a show, we have gear, crew, a bus... it's official: we're on tour.

Day 5 San Diego

I woke up this morning in the scenic Greyhound parking lot in downtown San Diego. Amazing. I've got a good cafe nearby, so that saved my morale. After a quick trip over there, I met up with a couple of the others and went for a weak lunch at the Hard Rock. Why I don't know... there are so many better places in the area. The afternoon was a fairly leisurely walk around, shower, etc...

The show tonight is at the Casbah. Equally legendary but for very different reasons. Everyone was cool and they treated us really well, so we overlooked the decrepit nature of the club in which we found ourselves. It wasn't so bad at the end of it all. I managed to squeeze in a decent dinner nearby too, so all was not lost. We didn't stick around long after this one; 10hr overnight drive to San Fran. Nice.

Day 6 SF

We actually got in at a decent hour which I was really happy about. That meant time to walk over to the Blue Bottle Cafe for some serious coffee with one of the guys. (Ok, I know this sounds like such a lame thing to talk about on tour. It's just necessary is all...). On the way back to the venue, we walked by a cool little rockabilly bar called Lucky 13 that I know and love. We stopped by and sampled a couple fine local brews, cause, well, why not? And then it was off to load in.

Today was a bit of a weird one. It was sort of like playing a church. It was an older building, microscopic stage, definitely not meant for a rock show. The guys re-tooled a bit and played a more acoustic style show and the crowd went nuts for it. It was sold out, on their feet all night. Definitely not what we expected.

After it was done, we all headed back to Lucky 13 where we were able to set up an after-show party that included free booze for us. Sweet deal. Then we hopped on the bus to drive overnight to Seattle...

Day 7 Seattle

The last couple days have been a little heavy, so we were happy to pull into Seattle and have a night off. We had quick showers and then a handful of us regrouped for dinner. My travel agent is based in Seattle and she recommended an awesome French place in the market. Good food, good wine, good relaxing night off.

Then, as luck would have it, my travel agent was across the street at the Showbox, so we made plans to hook up for a drink after dinner. Only a couple of us went over and before we knew it, we had our drink and we were inside watching the end of the Gossip show with a new group of friends. When it was done, we went around the corner to a bistro for a nightcap, and that led to a million dollar condo on the waterfront where we had someone else's drinks. Good night overall...

Day 8 Seattle

Tonight is show night in Seattle. We woke up slowly and went to a place called Lola's for a quick breakfast before I had to take a couple guys to do some press. That kind of kills the afternoon vibe a bit, but what can you do? Gotta do some work sometimes...

After the radio, I was starving, and somehow stumbled across an amazing wood burning pizza joint in a weird part of town. I had a great pre-load meal, then it was off to work at the Crocodile Cafe, another legendary venue that recently re-opened after renovations.

We got throughout the soundcheck and I disappeared to the hotel for a bit to chill out and shower. Back to the venue and we had another really good show. It's been a good streak so far. Afterwards we went around the corner to some bar that looked like it was straight out of Coney Island with weird clowns, decorations, etc... Weird vibe, but alright. We had time for a couple drinks before everything shut down. We had nowhere else to go really, so it was just back on the bus where there was already a classic rock bus party underway, which (embarrassingly) featured Rush Live in Rio and some sort of Journey dvd... Departure time for Portland couldn't come soon enough...

Day 9 Portland

We pulled in to town right in time for lunch, which was at the always good Doug Fir Lounge. We spend some time lounging, showering, etc... and then a couple of us made the walk in to town to hit Stumptown coffee. Have to take advantage of all the west coast has to offer, naturally.

Back at the club, we found out that there we were the early show on a two-show night. Interesting. Glad they told us about that. Surprises are always fun. Either way it went well. Afterwards everyone scattered and went out to a local haunt, and I was actually able to meet up with my buddy who works for Snow Patrol for the second time in a week. He came over and met me at the venue and we went out to a cool little underground bar for a couple drinks. After a little while it was time to hit the road again. The long cross-country drive starts tonight. It's a 3 day drive to lovely Madison, WI.

Day 10 Evanston, WY

Today we drove. And drove. And drove some more. It was fairly late by the time we actually pulled into Evanston for our first stop on the epic voyage. We were barely out of the bus and going for dinner when the driver called me. He had looked into the weather for the next couple days as we're right in the middle of storm country for this time of year. It turns out we have a huge one right on our tails. So much for a leisurely dinner and drinks night. We figured we had to be out within 4hrs to miss the storm. We had a quick bite at the Best Western down the road (which is sadly the best meal in town), and then a couple incredibly cheap pints at their hotel bar. Back to the bus, back on the road. Next stop, Lincoln, NE.

Day 11 Lincoln, NE

Well, we made it. We're a cranky, smelly, somewhat depressed bunch at the moment, but we made it. There was a quick stop on the way in to town to drop a trailer we hauled for the bus company, and then we set up at the hotel for the night. Pretty nasty area though. The highlights were the laundromat and the pawn shop where you could buy used guns. Awesome. We did find out that there was a Fun Center though, and that sounded like the only real option, so we went for it. We could eat there too, so it seemed like it was all coming together.

The first sign was on the way over when I stepped into a knee-deep puddle. That was fun. And I had just put on fresh clothes. But whatever, I shake it off and we go inside to what is the weirdest, most messed up family fun center any of us had ever seen. It was like Chucky Cheese did forty lines of coke and woke up with a terrible hangover. Our options being limited, we head to the restaurant in the back thinking we'll have a drink to drown our sorrows over dinner. But they don't serve alcohol. It's a family place. We order anyways, most of us get hot dogs, and then they tell us they ran out of buns. (Not done yet...) So they offer us a choice of anything else for free, but they still serve us the dogs. One guy got a single dog on a paper plate. I was given 2 dogs in a plastic basket sitting on roughly 18 fries (photo is on my twitter page). It hurts. Not only does it look bad, but it tastes worse. So we move on to the bowling lanes.

What a mess. The balls are warped, the lanes randomly reset themselves, it's just awful. And there are kids playing there thinking it was the greatest thing they'd ever seen. I felt so bad for those kids... We played a couple rounds and go the hell out. Even sitting on the damn bus was better than this. Thankfully on the way back, we found a lame little hole in the wall called the Tack Bar and Grill and we stopped by. Apparently we were the only ones with that idea tonight. We sat a the bar like weird locals and took turns selecting tracks on the jukebox. We basically shut the place down.

We were still a little hungry though, and the only thing around was a MacDonalds, so we went over to try and grab a bite. The "restaurant" itself was closed, so we went up to the drive through, but the girl refused to serve us because we didn't have a vehicle. We tried to explain that we had a bus, we just can't drive it, we're a band, etc... but there was no love. They threatened to call the cops because "we were just a bunch of stoners looking for a high". Well I never. Completely insulted, we went back to the bus and sulked. And then decided to try again.

We went back with a different lineup. In fact, I was the only repeat offender. And apparently I was, because as soon as they saw me they actually did call the cops. During this time, we had also found a guy driving through who would place our order for us, so we said we'd pay for his in return. Perfect plan. And then the cops showed up. We had to tell our whole story, they took our ID's and ran our names through the system. It was so weird. Getting stopped trying to get McDicks. There's something inherently wrong about that. Anyways, in the end, the cop laughed about the whole thing and told them to serve us. Nice.

So, cardiac arrests waiting to happen, we went back to the bus and waited for it to roll away to Madison. 

Day 12 Madison, WI

Today started off right, with a stop at Cracker Barrel for a classic CB breakfast. It's been a while since I've hit this and I was really happy. We all were. And it was exactly what we expected. American grease at it's finest.

After breakfast we rolled into Madison. I spent most of my afternoon picking up supplies (like toothpaste), showering at the hotel, etc... then back to the venue to soundcheck. We found a really good place for dinner after too and it seemed like things were really falling into place for us after a couple rough days in the bus.

The show tonight, at the Majestic, wasn't too bad. Good amount of people, but it was a really oddly-shaped ancient theatre and it sounded bizarre at best. We fought through it and went straight to the brew pub across the street when done. We didn't stick around too long. We're going to Chicago tomorrow, one of my favourite cities ever, and everyone wants to have most of the day there.

Day 13 Chicago

It was with extreme pleasure that not only did I wake up in Chicago, but I woke up across the street from an Intelligentsia cafe! There's only about 6 of them, they're my favorite, and we were parked right across the street! Incredible! There is no way this day can go wrong.

After starting the day that nicely, I spent most of it wandering my old haunts, checking out some old faves and doing a bit of work somewhere in the middle. So far so good.

We were getting through soundcheck when things changed a little. I got a call from the tour manager for our support act that there were some cops staring at the bus, with a weird look in their eyes. So I had to stop and run over and see what was up. I didn't think it would be too bad; earlier in the day a couple traffic cops asked to see our permit and were a little surprised to see that the city of Chicago had given us a permit to park in a no parking/bus zone. They laughed it off and that was it. This was a little more intense. The shift supervisor was here and he wanted the bus moved.

The last thing I wanted to do was piss these guys off, so I tried to be as pleasant and helpful as possible, but I still had to call the driver, wake him up and come move the bus. Turns out the guy in the diner across the street didn't like the bus blocking his view all day. He called some high-up friends at city hall, and before I knew it, I was bargaining with the alderman, police chief and a couple other positions I had never heard of. It was full on Chicago politics, and it was sort of fun to be honest. I sort of ended up winning too. They were going to put our bus in a lot further down the street, but my new police friend (who's cell number I have incase of emergencies), said to park anywhere I wanted (I chose directly in front of the venue in a no parking zone), and he would make any problem disappear. I like!

So that solved, we went back to doing a show. Quickly finished up soundchecks and for dinner I took one of the guys a few blocks away to Giordano's to give him a taste of a classic deep dish pizza. It was awesome.

And to top it off, the show is sold out tonight. Lake Shore Theater. Never heard of the place, but it's a nice little community style theater and it was full, so that's what counts. The show was really good, the kids ate it up, and my bus was parked in front of the venue, which was also next door to the bar we would go to after the show. Perfect. And then it turns out the Chromeo guys got to town today for a show tomorrow night, so one of my good touring friends was able to make it over to have a couple pints as well.

Love Chicago.

Day 14 Ponitac, MI

After the high of Chicago, it's only fitting that we come crashing down, hard... Welcome to Pontiac, MI. Home of, well... nothing. It's essentially a deserted car town outside of Detroit, but somehow they have a real venue. Weird.

Make no mistake though, it was awful. There was absolutely nothing to do all day, and I looked. And it was raining. By some stroke of luck there was a coffee shop across the street that didn't suck, and we were able to do laundry at the venue, so all is not lost...

Oddly enough, the show at the Pike Room was packed. So weird! We obviously had nowhere to go after the show, but there was some entertainment. While we were waiting to load out, a huge hip hop night ended next door. Night before Hallowe'en, so everyone is in costumes. All the guys were pimps and all the girls were ho's. It was hilarious in the worst way possible. They were all pushing each other around, guy were groping the girls, the cops were out shutting down streets, just crazy. There may have been a knife fight, but it could also just be heresay. I'd believe it though.... It was with extreme pleasure that we got the hell out of Pontiac and made the drive up to Toronto. They woke us all up at the border, but it was a small price to pay...

Day 15 Toronto, ON

We got in early this morning as our day started with a lovely in-store performance at Criminal Records. I hate in-stores, and so does the band. Thankfully it's so small that everything had to get scaled back and it didn't end up being too bad, at least we got it done. We parked the bus behind the Horseshoe, where our night show was, and I promptly got the guys in cabs to go to Aunties & Uncles for breakfast with a couple stops around the corner at Manic Coffee. Wicked.

It took a while to get the food but it was so worth it. And the coffee made it even better. And I was really happy to be back in Canada; it's been months and it feels good, even if it's only for about 16hrs. I was hoping to hook up with a couple friends, but turns out everyone was out on the road already, oh well...

So it ended up being a really good afternoon and we eased into the load in and soundcheck, etc... We didn't have time for a real dinner tonight as the guys were going to get makeup done for their Hallowe'en costumes. Tonight is the night after all... That took a serious chunk of time, and we basically had to rush back and get on stage as soon as it was done. It all went fairly well and we stuck around the 'Shoe for a couple drinks after. Every now and then it's nice to do something familiar. When they shut down we found a place a couple blocks away that was taking advantage of the time change tonight, so we indulged for a last one, and I was able to squeeze in a Sleeman's. What a Canadian day.

When we finally hit the road again, we made it through the border fairly easily, and then the guys wanted to make a McDicks stop for food. And then it happened again. They refused us because we couldn't drive through. And this time we had the bus right there!! It took some convincing, but we were able to work something out eventually. I had to take everyone's cash, approach the counter alone, leave the cash and walk away. They made it more like a stick up than it could ever have been. So insane. Anyways, it worked out and before long we were back on the road towards NYC. Going home, nice.

Day 16 NYC

It was good to be home, even with all the work coming up. We got to the hotel, got the guys checked in and set up, and then I finished up all the bus paperwork, got the driver paid and on his way. And I got to go home for a couple hours. Amazing. It was good, but still a bit short-lived. We had another one of those movie screenings tonight so I had to turn around and head back to meet the guys and head over to the screening at Piano's.

We got there a little early, so we went next door to the Living Room so the guys could build up some courage. Once back at the movie, it actually went fairly well and it was over before we knew it. We all went for dinner after with some label people, stopping at Smeltzers, and then went random bar hopping for a bit. Somewhere in the middle of it a couple of us ducked out and we ran into Sean Lennon, who I had toured with for most of 2007. Amazing. A quick chat on the sidewalk and we went our separate ways. We went back and had a couple drinks with the others and called it a night.

Day 17 NYC

Today is multi-show day in NY. We have an early recording session for this thing called Fearless TV, so it's an early call to head over to Crash Mansion for the taping. Once we were there and in, it wasn't so bad. It kind of ran itself. Out on the sidewalk I ran into another friend I used to tour with, so it's 2 random run-in's in 2 days. Love this city. Aside from that, most of the afternoon just moved along at it's own pace and soon enough we were heading over to the Mercury Lounge to set up for the 3 night stand. We had a little time once we got over there so we went over to Katz's to get the guys a classic overrated deli sandwich, and managed to stick in a coffee stop in there too.

After soundcheck we went to dinner a few blocks over to Il Posto Canto, an Italian wine bar I really like, we took our time, enjoyed a great meal, and then back for show #1 of 3. It was packed, a really great way to start a string of shows is with a sellout, and it was a great show. And the best part is that there's no load out! Amazing. After the show we headed a few blocks over to Black & White and had a couple drinks to cap a successful night.

Day 18 NYC

Another early session today, this time at CBS Radio. I go meet the guys, grab the pair I need for the session and we head over. It's all fairly painless, actually filmed in Howard Stern's old studio (ha!), and then we even had an hour or so once we were done. We were able to find a cool little sandwich shop, which actually isn't that hard in Greenwich Village, had a bite and went over to the venue. After soundcheck we went to dinner at an Italian place our guitar tech really liked, went for a coffee afterwards at Ost Cafe and slowly made our way back to the show.

Again, it's slammed, way over sold, and it's great. We're having a really good streak here in NY. After the show tonight, everyone was a little tired, so to keep things in check, we just went back to the hotel bar. They were staying at the Jane, which is where some Titanic survivors actually stayed back in the day, and they had just finished renovating the bar/lounge area the day before. It looks really incredible, and we were meaning to stop by for a drink, so it all made sense. It was a cool little vibe we had going and a good way to end the night.

Day 19 NYC

Another day, another afternoon press event. This time I went down to meet the guys and we had to go all the way back up to the Bronx to Fordham University to do their radio show. That was a trek through parts of the city I'd never seen, nor care to go back to. The show itself was cool though, the interviewer actually had a clue, which was a nice change. We made our way back asap and had a bit of time to kill, so we walked around the village a bit and ended up stopping at a place called Amy's Bakery where we had great sandwiches and even crazier cakes. Then back to the real world of soundchecks, etc...

The guys had a business dinner tonight, so I went out with our guitar tech and the TM for our support act. We ended up finding a really cool little Italian place on 2nd or 3rd and we had a really good meal. And then back for the show.

This one was off the charts. By far the biggest crowd, and that's saying something when the first two nights were over capacity as it is. Really great way to end a tour. 3 sold out shows, everything went really well, the guys were really happy. And then we still didn't have to load out! The club let us keep our gear there overnight so we could just pick it up on the way to the airport tomorrow. Probably a good thing too because our guitar techs truck got towed so he was indisposed for a while trying to get it back... Oops... Should've paid attention to those parking signs...

So we ended up at The Spotted Pig in the west village, right by their hotel. They kept the place open for us, I had a couple friends come over, the food was amazing, the bar was open, what more do you need? But, like most places, they too must close, and I walked the guys back to their hotel where we spent a little more time reminiscing before I hopped in a cab and went home.

Day 20 NYC

Finally a day with no press at all. The only thing we have to do is get to the airport. So I go down and meet up with the guys, throw everyone in the vans and we make our way to JFK stopping en route to grab the gear at the club. It was all rather painless, which was nice, and in no time at all I had the Brits checked in and through security, goodbyes said, promises to reunite exchanged. I hopped in a cab and headed home.

Oddly enough, after spending 3 nights this week at the Mercury (and that's also where I ran into Sean a few nights ago, so 4 nights really), I had more friends in town who were playing there tonight. So back I was,  the staff knew me well at this point, I was treated amazingly well by all involved. I think it just might become my hangout when I'm in town these days...