October 20 2005: The Mountain Goats, The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers – Uptown Theatre, Washington PA

Made it to Pittsburgh by noon and called my man Don who was nice enough to offer me a place to sleep and rides for the next couple of days, sight unseen. Thank you, internet and your message boarding technology. And then he threw in showers, food, laundry, companionship, designated driving, etc. Hell of a deal on my end.

The Washington show was in an old movie theatre that sells beer and liquor and popcorn in the back of the house and offers seats and tables all the way up to the very front of the stage, about a third of which were filled. Easily the most empty room of the tour, but a beautiful night from all angles. To start with, the Prayers and Tears played their best show all tour. Due to the sit-down nature of things and the presence of a baby grand on stage, they dropped their big rocker “Ammunition from a Bolt Action Heart” from the set and quieted down all the rest of their songs into one perfect, utterly sublime moment after another. And a power transformer blew just as the last notes of “Sad Lives of the Hollywood Lovers” faded into the woodwork, as if on cue. The Mountain Goats played yet another great set, throwing Tallahassee into the mix for the first time of the tour and doing “It Froze Me” for the first time since Urbana. Great show, got in for free again, and got a warm bed for the night. You just can’t beat that shit.