Can't Keep Up

(Part six of a sequential tour narrative. Go to April, 25 2009 to start at the beginning)

Yeah, I can't keep up with writing. So much has happened since I last wrote, I don't even remember when I last wrote. I'm currently in Brooklyn, having a beer after having walked the Brooklyn Bridge with my friend Bartow. It was my first trip across the bridge on foot and after having read The Great Bridge, it was a terrific experience. The weather finally cleared up. It has rained everyday since we were in Minneapolis and it's getting quite old. I hope it stays clear for our trip up to Connecticut tomorrow. The plan is to drive out through Long Island and take the ferry from the tip of the island over to New London where we are playing that night. We want to stop and see Ace Frehley's childhood home if there's time. Should be a blast.

I just looked at my last post and it was in Columbus which was a week ago. Damn. There have been four shows and one live recording for radio broadcast since then. We've been in appalachian territory and huge east coast cities. Touring is awesome.

The show in Columbus ruled. We really needed it as a group. The crowd was right up against the stage and definitely feeding off our energy which in turn, gave us something to feed off. The previous weeks performances led perfectly to that moment. It's a shame that no one recorded it. Megan Palmer, who played on Porcupine, played violin with us on quite few numbers and added a great element to the songs she played on. Stones Throw Away specifically. I enjoyed seeing Shane and Micah Garage that night... it was cool of them to come out. I wanted to see Josh Kayser too but i should have known he'd be a punk ass bitch and not come out. Jive ass muthafucka.

The next evening we played Whitesburg, Kentucky at a venue called Summit City. We took Highway 23 (Columbus' High Street) down through Michael Hurley's home of Portsmouth, Ohio and crossed into Kentucky where we stayed on 23 until we split off on 119 south. The light rain and fog covering the thickly wooded hills made me feel like Whitesburg was a secret hamlet tucked away in a distant holler that we were quite lucky to discover. Amelia and Joel owned Summit City and really took care of us while we were there. We stayed in the apartment on the second floor and had some tasty grub made right there in the venue. That happened to be Kentucky Derby day which may have contributed to the smaller turnout. That's our new excuse anyway. After all, we are Tim Easton and the New Excuses. Even though I couldn't care less about the derby, I had a Mint Julep in honor of the regional event. It helped me realize that I just don't like bourbon that much. The mint and sugar were tasty but the bourbon just put it too far over the line. Anyway, the opening band Folk Soul Revival did a nice little set and then we played to a decent crowd. We were certainly loud in that room but it worked out. We heard a lot about how Jason Isbell had recently played there and that he had gotten loaded. Jason Isbell, Jason Isbell, Jason Isbell, etc...

Bartow and I are heading into Manhattan to have dinner and then go to Easton's art show in Soho. I'll have to get back to this later because I haven't covered Charleston, D.C., New York or Philly. In a nutshell, the show's have been great. The last two nights, in New York and Philly, have been a four piece with Tasjan back on lead guitar. That dude rips and has added another layer to the music that has really catapulted the performances into an even greater realm than they were before. Later...