Finally released

This was a quick 2-week run, but for some reason – not tedium, mind you – it seemed like six weeks. Perception of time is apparently elastic (or is time itself elastic?). Einstein thought so, anyway.  Ireland and Scotland are always a hoot, and Belgium showed a lot of love to be sure. Our London show was surreal and ethereal, with a heaviness that only comes when you play in an old-ass stone cavernous sacred space like the one we did.

ALSO, regarding Galway, Ireland  - if you are there go to Cava, a Spanish tapas restaurant (yeah, right? Ireland?) and order the 10-day-to-prepare confit of pork belly.  Three words, people: last meal menu.  Mark & I like it so much we went back the next day & ordered it again.

HASSELT

This is Karl, from Hasselt, Belgium.

My TM Keith (left) and I were walking around Hasselt after the Pukkelpop show (same night as those two tragic deaths, btw) looking for a pint, and I noticed all the St. Mary-themed iconography all over. I stopped to snap a shrine and this guy comes rolling up on us asking in Flemish what we’re doing – when he discovered we were foreign & spoke English he got excited, & promptly clued us in on the city’s Festival of the Virgin that was happening (once every seven years), and demanded that we come see his home around the corner where he had a nice shrine in the courtyard. Then he invited us to have some beer at a temporary family “cafe” that had been set up in a former art-supply store, full of his family and family friends.

Our intent was to grab a quick beer and return to the hotel but it turned into a great time, full of laughter and storytelling, and we accidentally got kind of hammered on Leffe. Totally unexpected. This is why I travel.  Perusing architecture is fine, but hanging out with your friends for a living and making new relations is a gift.

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I’m looking forward now to some American football and some food experimentation back in the NOLA, and to start paying back the generosity and warmth shown me by my friends in early August.  Boarding the plane in 9 hours, with anticipation in my heart.

Soundcheck at Union Chapel, London 8/10

I played here a while back with Greg & Mark as Gutter Twins but neglected to take any damn photos. Those who know me are not surprised at this, I am absent-minded frequently.

…Check cashing, ya-ka-mein (??), BoostMobile phones, oyster, crawfish. po-boys, breakfast, beer… New Orleanians have elevated “full service” to a whole other plane.

MVP

OCTOBER
08 New Orleans LA – DBA
12 Nashville TN – Mercy Lounge
13 Cincinnati OH – 20th Century Theatre
14 Chicago IL – Double Door
15 Detroit MI – Magic Stick
16 Cleveland OH – Grog Shop
18 Cambridge MA – Brattle Theatre
19 New York NY – Bowery Ballroom
20 Philadelphia PA – Johnny Brenda’s
22 Pittsburgh PA – Brillobox
23 Baltimore MD – Ottobar
27 IRELAND DUBLIN – Whelan’s
28 IRELAND BELFAST – Spring & Airbrake
29 IRELAND GALWAY – Roisin Dubh
30 IRELAND CORK – Cyprus Avenue

NOVEMBER
02 PORTUGAL LISBON – Santiago Alquimista
03 PORTUGAL PORTO – Hard Club
04 SPAIN VIGO – Teatro Salesianos
05 SPAIN MADRID – Charada
06 SPAIN ARRASATE – Amaia Antzokia
07 SPAIN ZARAGOZA – Lopez
09 SPAIN SEVILLA – Teatro Central
10 SPAIN BARCELONA – Sidecar
11 SPAIN PALMA – Teatre Lloseta
13 BELGIUM ANTWERP – Trix
16 Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
17 San Francisco CA – Cafe Du Nord
18 Seattle WA – Crocodile Cafe
20 Portland OR – Doug Fir Lounge

Good good times.

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A bit later this year there may be some more interesting tour action, stay tuned…