November 17 2007: Rusty Belle - Brass Cat, Easthampton MA

Drank a few beers and enjoyed most of the Rusty Belle set after we opened for them. Lots of folks were there, the Brass Cat was generous with the free libations, and Rusty Belle played a mostly-covers setlist. Covers like a bunch of songs I didn't know but that Caitlin did, plus "Honky Tonk Woman." Which was fun to hear, but I like their own stuff a lot too.

People were dancing. It was in Easthampton. Times were good.

November 15 2007: The Mountain Goats, the Bowerbirds - Empty Bottle, Chicago IL

Ah, Chicago. After being awakened/evicted from my spot behind the dumpster by U of I campus police at 5am, I hoofed it to the edge of town and made it to the suburbs in 2 rides and 3 hours. $1.50 Pace fare and a $5 CTA day pass later I was downtown enjoying a spinach omelette, hashbrowns and toast. I used every little piece of portion-sized butter they had on the table. And didn't get a coffee - I got an egg nog latte. I was feeling pretty alright and in a mood to express myself via indulgence. It felt great to finally not have to bum anymore rides, to be at my final destination. And I'd forgotten how much I fucking love Chicago.

Called the Empty Bottle to see what time they open up for drinks and the guy on the other end said five. I called his bluff and walked in at four. He asked me what he could do for me. IPA, please. He asked for $3.75 plus tip. We had ourselves a deal.

Peter and John showed maybe an hour later and we shot the shit for a little bit. I was introduced to Wurster, who said "Oh, you're that guy. I've heard about you." Hear that? Jon Wurster's heard of ME.

And while I sat there nursing my beer I was able to catch the soundcheck. A Misfits cover, an Echo and the Bunnymen cover, "Barracuda" by Heart, that song "Da Da Da" that used to be in TV commercials, Pinklon, and a bunch of other tunes. All for me and the bartender. After which I went to find some food on Division St. Ate better tacos than I've had anywhere on the east coast, had a pretty good slice of pizza, had another beer. I love Chicago.

And the show itself was pretty great. Not as great as the last show I saw at the Empty Bottle, but close. "Quito" came out third in the set, right into "In the Craters on the Moon," right into "Mole." The electric came back out for "Maybe Sprout Wings." "September 15 1983" again, which is always a pleasure. "See America Right" on electric again.

First encore: that Misfits cover again, with Wurster on vocals and Phil/Mark Bowerbird on guitar/drums, and then "Houseguest."

Second encore: "California Song." Man do I love this song. Man do I wish that every time they played "Houseguest" they'd do it instead. It was great. Peter on bass, John singing "a song about where I'm from." I was happy.

Third encore, a number I've never seen encores at Mountain Goats shows, or really at most any shows, reach: "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." Hail Satan indeed.

And then it was over. I didn't want to go home. I ate a couple more tacos and a tamale. I walked down Division and then up Damon to the blue line. I took it to O'Hare to sleep a few hours before my 630am flight. It was not the greatest sleep I've ever had.

November 14 2007: The Mountain Goats, the Bowerbirds - Canopy Club, Urbana IL

At 5pm I was still in Cincinnati. Was I simply unable to get a ride? Had I decided to stop following the tour and just given up? Was I taking a day off to nurse my bruised chest? Or was I enjoying myself in the 70-degree sun and eating a sandwich with a Candra, the person I'd stayed with the night before and talked into going to Urbana for the next show and bringing my ass along? That's right - not only did I get a warm place to sleep, but a ride to the next show as well. Just can't beat that shit.

So at 6pm Central we left Cincinnati, listened to the Long Winters and Josh Ritter en route, and arrived in Urbana at 9pm Eastern. Urbana, city I'd been to just once before, for the sole reason of seeing the Mountain Goats. It was fun to be back and know my way around (kind of).

"September 15 1983" got played second, and was waaaaay dubier than it's been in the past. I'm excited to hear how it sounds on the record. "You or Your Memory" and "Color in Your Cheeks" were played for the first time that I've heard this month, and the drums thwarted singers-along on "Color in your Cheeks."

"Maybe Sprout Wings" was played, but on acoustic instead of electric, which toned it down a bit. I definitely prefer it electric. But there was no electric guitar at this show whatsoever.

The real highlight, both of this show and of my life thus far, was hearing "Soft Targets" near the end of the set. Tune is (a) musically and lyrically one of my favorites and (b) one I hold pretty dear for personal reasons. I didn't think I'd ever hear it live. I'm glad I was so very wrong. John told the crowd after it was over that that was the most fun he'd had singing a song all tour. I was still singing the "Hunt down the vampire" line to myself for days afterward.

Encore started with "See America Right," but it wasn't nearly as good as it was in Springfield, owing to the lack of electric guitar. But it was still pretty great. And some dumb asshole felt the need to broadcast the fact that he knew all the words to "Houseguest" by getting all in John's face and screaming them at him. Perhaps, one can fantasize, he wrecked his car on the way home.

And, as all great things must, the show finished up and Candra and Mike (dude I'd met in St Louis and then again in Cincinnati) ate some late-night pizza before I bid them adieu to find a place to sleep.

November 13 2007: The Mountain Goats, the Bowerbirds - Mad Hatter, Covington KY

The greater Cincinnati area is a weird fucking place. I got into town around 2pm and after a visit to the Covington Public Library spent the pre-show hours drinking happy hour PBRs and smoking Kentucky-priced Camel Lights at a place called Bottoms Up, a couple blocks NW of the club. It was smoky, the beers were a dollar, and the next-youngest person in the room had a good twenty years on me. The jukebox played the majority of "Back in Black" during the couple hours I spent there, and during "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" one lady fucking nailed the "Hey all you middlemen!" part at the beginning. I was enjoying myself. And then all of a sudden I'm in an honest-to-goodness barfight with a fifty-year-old dude who's far too intoxicated to be standing, much less picking fights with people in their twenties. Bottles of liquor were broken. Glasses became projectiles. Chairs were thrown to the ground. While looking out for the dude's right fist my chest was caught off guard by his left foot. The whole thing came out of nowhere. It was crazy. And finally the majority of the dudes in the bar all pile on the guy and we throw him out onto the street. Fucking nuts.

And then the show happened! "Wild Sage" again, "Love, Love, Love" again, "We Were Patriots" again, "Mole" again, "In the Craters on the Moon" again. "September 15 1983" was played, and it was only the second time I'd seen it and I think it's my favorite of the new tunes. And "Dance Music," a tune I'm generally quite alright not hearing, was played with a really mellow feel (kind of like the way they used to do "Palmcorder Yajna"), and I dug it way more than the usual dancy style. "Dilaudid" made for a nice tune to start the encore with.

The songs sounded, again, great with drums. And you know what else sounded great? The fact that drums make the music loud enough so that even though I can see people moving their mouthes, I can't hear them. Take that, motherfuckers. Just try to ruin my show again. Just try. I've got Jon Wurster on my side.

And big news of the night: I got a place to sleep! A 19-year-old girl took me home and I stayed up till 6am drinking beers with her friends and becoming painfully aware how much easier it was to stay up till 6am when i was 19. But it was good times.

November 11 2007: The Mountain Goats, the Bowerbirds - Randy Bacon Gallery, Springfield MO

I told Peter before the show: "You know, I thought I knew the shittiest Springfield around. I was wrong."

So yeah. Not the prettiest town in the world. Which made the Randy Bacon's light shine that much brighter. The place is a gallery by day, music venue by night. And there were seats! There were little tables with candles! There was red wine, gratis! Read: classy place with free booze and chairs to sit in and tables on which to place empty glasses. As far a cry from a soulless burrito-spewing food court as you could hope.

They opened with "Wild Sage" and "Tetrapod" again, did "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature," did "Alibi," did both "Orange Ball of Love" and "Orange Ball of Hate." "Slow West Vultures" was fun to hear again, especially with drums. "Maybe Sprout Wings" was great again. "In the Craters on the Moon" as well. Shit, the whole thing was great.

Especially great: "See America Right," with jangly electric guitar and drums.

Especially great: "Palmcorder Yajna," with jangly electric guitar and drums.

Unfortunate casualty of the drums: "Twin Human Highway Flares." The subtle shifts in the feel of it got lost with the steady beat. Which was a real shame, cause this is one of my all-time favorite Mountain Goats tunes.

And did I mention that there were seats?!!?? And that the crowd was polite enough to sit in them and not sing or yell or engage in other such activities?? Such bliss is hard to describe fully with mere words.

And it rained that night, but I was OK cause there's construction going on at MSU and I found a nice little place to sleep at a loading dock that wasn't yet completed but had a roof.

November 10 2007: The Mountain Goats, the Bowerbirds - Billiken Club, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis MO

Hey! It was a slow week at school, the Mountain Goats were playing in the Midwest, and I had frequent flier miles burning holes in my pockets. Seemed like a no-brainer. So after probably the roughest week of the semester, I got up early and John took me to the airport. We took off and landed in Pittsburgh. We took off again, this time landing in St. Louis. I took the light rail to the Grand stop. I walked a mile north to SLU. Life should always be so simple.

The venue was the basement of the student center, aka a food court. You could get burritos or smoothies or hamburgers or beer. Those who know me personally can probably make a pretty good educated guess regarding which I found most appealing.

The Bowerbirds came on first. I like the Bowerbirds, though they don't blow me away. But it was nice to hear them play again.

The Mountain Goats, on the other hand, blow me away on a relatively consistent basis. Especially with Jon Wurster on drums. I'd never seen the Mountain Goats play a full set of tunes with drums. It was pretty great.

They opened with "Wild Sage," which remains one of my favorite tunes to hear their shows get opened with. And then into "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod" and "In the Craters on the Moon" and "New Monster Avenue," all of which sounded great with the drums. And shit do I love "Craters on the Moon."

"Love, Love, Love" was quiet and Peter's bum bums after the verses were as subtle as ever and there weren't any assholes singing along with it. "Maybe Sprout Wings" was loud as fuck (John was playing electric), and the best I've ever heard it. "Mole" was great, "Lion's Teeth" was great (such a difference the drums and electric guitar make).

And then, second-to-last tune of the set: "We Were Patriots." Shit. Never thought I'd see that one live. Never thought it could sound so good with a full band. I would have gone home happy right there.

But then, second-to-none tune: "Lovecraft in Brooklyn." Which I recognized after a minute from having heard John play it solo in Brooklyn earlier in the year. And fuck. The drums, the riff, the phrasing and near-screaming vocals......it was pretty much the boiled-down essence of rock and roll. What a way to close a set.

Encore was "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton" and "Houseguest." "Death Metal Band" was great, as usual. And I'm getting tired of "Houseguest," but I suppose I'm the exception to that rule as most people seem to really dig it.

So yeah. "We Were Patriots." "Lovecraft." "Maybe Sprout Wings." "Craters on the Moon." No assholes singing along. No assholes yelling in my ear. Free show. $2 beers (I asked the bartender what she had that's local, she handed me a Budweiser). Nice campus on which to camp out for the night. Just can't beat that shit.