We Are Scientists, Jan 20-23, 2010

We Are Scientists Jan 20-23

Day 1, Jan 20, Philadelphia, PA

I'm starting a new one today and I'm looking forward to it. A couple years ago I met these guys in Paris, had a couple drinks, and then about a year ago, we (The Stills) were on tour with them and Kings of Leon across the US, and we all had a great time. So I'm looking forward to working with We Are Scientists the next few days.

Today we're off to Philly, to the classic Johnny Brenda's (just when you thought you couldn't get a small place, there's JB's)... We all met up at their rehearsal space in Brooklyn, packed the van, hit a deli and hit the road, stopping en route to grab some merch. The drive down was painless, and the load in sucked, but it didn't seem quite as bad as I remembered...

Once in the room, nothing was really as I remembered. There was a proper front of house booth, the PA was better, green room cleaner, just overall kind of improved. They even had a lighting guy with a couple real lights to use (and it did look pretty good). I was especially surprised when I walked away from soundcheck thinking that it sounded pretty good in there.

The dinner part was good, that was normal, as they do have a really good restaurant downstairs. After eating we had a fair bit of time to kill, so a couple of us went walking in search of coffee. I pulled up a couple places on Google Maps and decided to proceed cautiously as the last time I was there, the staff told me not to walk further than a block away. Anywhere past that was risking serious danger. Awesome. So with eyes wide open, we began the trek.

We weren't ready for what we came across... It was an actual livable neighborhood! This wasn't what we were expecting at all. The whole area's been gentrified, restaurants and coffee shops everywhere, yuppie central it has become. Crazy. So our spirits lifted and all of a sudden we were enjoying the area. We even found a cool little spot called Aroma that stayed open late for us, just wish the coffee wasn't wretched cause everything else about it was great.

Back to the show we go and the place is pretty full, which is a really nice way to start. It ended up sounding better than I ever remembered that room sounding, and the guys played a pretty good show. We were all pretty happy after, but tired nonetheless, so we didn't waste much time before getting to the hotel.

Day 2, Washington, DC

I tired to get up early enough today to run for a coffee before we left town, especially since we were right near the Reading Market. It's easily my favorite food area, and they have Old Town Espresso, which is a solid brew. So I dragged myself up and power-walked there and back, very happy for having done so. I tried to make sure I was back on time because having not toured with these guys before, I was unsure of their lobby call routines and timings. Of course, when I got back to the hotel, it turned out that the others were all just getting up and needed food, so I suggested the Reading Market and back we went! Really nice way to start a day, and I'm really into the relaxed vibe.

After eating we were off to Washington, a short hop down the 95. We're at the Black Cat tonight, which, legend has it, is co-owned by Dave Grohl. I'll have to get back to you on that. Anyways. Decent room. Sort of a warehouse style place on the second floor, but it was setup reasonably well and sound alright. In-house catering for dinner was fine, no coffee in the area though, so we had to default to Starbucks (ugh!). Show was smooth again tonight, and again we wasted little time getting out and heading to the hotel. Tonight was a luxurious Days Inn which included used soap in the shower. Nice.

Day 3, State College, PA

Today we all woke up hungry about the same time and we had no options. Our hotel was in a weird area, only thing there was Subway. After everyone swore up and down we'd never eat there again, we drove around the block, found nothing, so gave up and went to Subway. Incidentally, the ordering area at this particular Subway was enclosed by bullet-proof glass. Only place I've ever seen that. It was impossible to hear the "sandwich artists" speaking, so it took about 4 tries to get it right. Somehow my 6" whole wheat started out as a 12" on white, but we worked through our differences and soon enough we were on the road to Upper Darby, PA.

I was surprised to find out that the show wasn't actually in Upper Darby. Oops (happy I'm not TM'ing this one...). We were actually going to State College, PA, a small town, home of the Nittanny Lions, where I had actually been before, about 3 yrs ago almost to the day. I remembered a decent theater with a 24hr diner next door. But we were playing the acoustically awful ballroom on campus. Oh well... At least we had hoards of volunteer "loaders" so we didn't really have to touch anything. We survived the brutality of the room only to find out we were miles from any food, so we had to eat in the cafeteria downstairs. $6 for a slice, eh...? Nice.

The show actually did go well though, and it wasn't so bad after all. When we did get out, we were pretty hungry, so after checking in to the hotel for the night, we went out and found the 24hr diner I remembered. Still there, still open, waitresses were playing with hula hoops. Ok... We had been invited to a house party thrown by the student union, and we were tempted, but really skeptical. We are after all about 10yrs older than these kids, and from what we saw during the day, we weren't sure what to expect. After eating, we actually walked all the way over to the door of the building, stopped and talked about what we were doing. Our plan was to bail.

So we did the opposite and went right in. We found an apartment filled with kids, Jungle Juice, cans of Coors Light, strobe lights, neon lights, etc... It was a step back in time for sure... But, against all odds, it was actually alright and we had a good time. Before we knew it, it was about 4am. Once we did know that, we got the hell out because we have to get up and drive 5hrs to the next gig...

Day 4, Hoboken, NJ

And so, feeling like conquered warriors, we got up and did the only thing one could do in our situation. We headed straight for a waffle joint. And it was good. I think it was actually called the Waffle Palace, but I can't be sure... And then we drove 5hrs to lovely Hoboken to throw a party at Maxwell's. Another place I don't remember being too fond of, but really not that bad in the grand scheme of things. Definitely a dive bar vibe though, but at least they had good food. Had to default to Starbucks again for coffee though...

Afternoon was smooth, show was really good. Lots of kids singing along, crowdsurfing, etc... This time we really wanted to get out because we could all go home tonight. We packed the van, drove back to BK to unload at the rehearsal space, had a quick beverage and hopped in cabs.

All things considered, it was a really good 4 day run. Look forward to working with these kids again.