Pittsburgh started off real well. The venue neighborhood was charming; parked in front of a building covered in mosaics. Beautiful colorful bridges on the way and hilly roads in the neighborhood with cute shops. We spent some time hanging out in Awesome Books, perusing the shelves, hanging out with the most friendly Maine coon mix, and chatting it up with the store owner. Laura Jean McLaughlin is a visual artist and let us walk around her studio in the back to check out her ceramics, prints, and sculpture. We traded a CD for a beautiful wall-hanging vase.
Garfield Artworks is a long gallery space with a stage at the end. We got some split peas going in the back in our rice cooker, set up and waited for the local bands to arrive. Only thing was, there was a Steelers game that night and so the other bands were pretty much the only people who showed up. Not much audience but we made the most of it. We did some much-needed stretching in the back while the first band, Goonland played. Then we enjoyed a set by our buddies in Whoarfrost, and played our set. Venue-booker, Manny loosened up with some jokes flung back and forth about the boys’ choir and Gamelan musicians we were flying in. Then we took in a final set by local band, Pretty. Z and I exchanged jazz school stories with the Frost boys outside the venue and we set off back towards Ohio.
Driving after a gig is a bit brutal but we spent the night in Columbus with EGrace’s lovely cousin. There was a check-engine-light scare that I woke up early to resolve, we whipped up kale eggs in the morning and were off again. We were pretty wiped out at that point, and almost everyone began battling various stages of a cold. So Chicago’s first stop was Walgreens for meds, and then a Thai spot for some seriously spicy broth.
The Chicago venue was a house basement spot called Hallowed Ground with some biblical murals on the walls dated from the 1950s and a stage area in the back artistically strewn with old TV screens and a large abstract painting made by Laura, one of the house’s residents. Our set was egged on by some outrageous large-scale dance moves by a new friend and self-proclaimed former performance artist. Then Whoarfrost brought it, like they always do, and we took in the punk stylings of local band Geffica.
Sleeping, breakfast, showers and vitamins at our friend Molly’s (EGrace stayed with her dad) and on the road again! The drive to Minneapolis was Midwest realness– flat fields and stretches of windmills like I have never seen before. We pulled through Madison, Wisconsin to stock up on hummus at Trader Joe’s and spent the long drive sleeping, listening to TLC and Radiolab, debating, blowing our noses and reading.
Minneapolis was definitely a highlight for me. Medusa sits at a dead end across the light rail tracks and looks pretty sketchy from the outside, but inside is an incredible DIY loft space. Our friend Colleen curated an awesome show. We played first and the sound was great which is a constant struggle for us and always helps in letting go onstage. The audience was very responsive, and after a low-energy day, I felt reenergized. Monroe and I even did a little back-to-back slam dancing mid-song! It was the Z-man’s birthday and our friends hooked it up with some killer chocolate cake and ginger ice cream with candles and singing before the last song.
Whoarfrost had some car trouble so we missed them, but the other bands were awesome. Jess of Buba Bodango’s haunting voice was extra alarming over her metallic keyboard sounds and drum tracks. And I have a big band crush on Goat Flower! This dynamic trio (voice, electric bass, electric violin and sometimes drum machine) blew me away. Their songs were aggressive, pretty, fresh as hell and I think the lead singer could give Beth Ditto a run for her money. This was only their second show so keep your eyes out for them!
We were so beautifully hosted by friends of Mons’ folks who gave us all beds, showers and internet, let us do laundry, fed us pancakes in the morning and sent us off with sandwiches. Amen. On our way out I requested that we stop at Birchbark Books, a shop I’ve wanted to see for a while. The incredible writer, Louise Erdrich owns the store and there are little notes from her scattered on the shelves recommending different titles. There’s an overwhelming selection and a large amount of titles by American Indian authors and about Indigenous history. We got to talking with the women working at the store and they sent us out with a braided bunch of sweet grass and sage and instructions to keep it on the dashboard for safety and protection.
Now we’re doing 65 towards Iowa City where there’s veggie chili waiting for us at the home of friend (and USE YOUR BODY WORDS artist) Alison, Wilder’s parents. We’ll be playing at Public Space One tonight but in the meantime Zach’s driving and listening to Drew Gress, EGrace is stretching in the copilot seat, Mons is hand-writing notes to record labels next to me, and Jon’s eating sesame sticks in the back.
You still reading? That’s all for now.
xo -EALA
