I hopped onto the tour in Philadelphia and stayed through Boston, and had a crackin' good time. I helped with merch and random things (carry this, find that, play ukulele during this song, the usual).
Got to sit down and eat in Philly, and that plus the respectful crowd made it the best show of the bunch. New York had a lot of jerks in the crowd, and I think that marred the performance. In NY I invited some friends along, who seemed to enjoy it. Didn't have a chance for a post-show debriefing, as we were off to Boston immediately, lest the snow kill us (no snow death, but near-fatal metal bracket incident). In Boston the stage was ridiculously small (though not the smallest of the tour, I'm told) and the lights were somewhat non-existent, so I stayed in the far back at the merch table the entire time. The show sounded fantastic to me, so I am looking forward to it being available for download at
www.residents.com.
When I was leaving and saying my goodbyes, Hardy Fox (the Residents' business manager) was on the stage coordinating some crate packing or something, and I started to step up to give him a hug. Halfway up he wrapped his arms around me and totally lifted me onto the stage for the best HardyHug in the history of everything. That boy is strong.
And now some pictures!
Lookit all the shirts! These arrived at my apartment Monday morning because nobody was going to be at the venue in Philadelphia to receive the delivery. I like helping.
I also like pranking. I put this Irish Mist shirt on top before resealing the box. Hilarity almost ensued.
Box packed up, ready to go!
Taking a photo of my friend in Philly, and he got photobombed by a Resident! Actually, just some guy who came dressed up in a tux and eyeball hat, which was kinda cool except he wore it through the entire show. Must have totally sucked to sit behind him.
This is Miles, aka PuppetBoy, selling merch in the lobby.
This is us waiting forever because the venue didn't send a representative down to take their share of the money.
Miles poses with the shovel he used to dig the tour bus out of the snow. Without him, there would have been no Washington, DC show. Hero!
On the road, we were behind a truck that looked like a cubist skull. That's certainly not foreshadowing of anything.
This is my lap, covered in glass. That wasn't foreshadowed or anything.
Here's the source of the glass: a metal bracket punctured the windshield. It was headed for my heart so thankfully there was no death involved.
Tom Waits has amazing powers over gravity.
Miles and I dress almost exactly alike. That's not foreshadowing or anything...
No more pics after this point. Nothing too amazing to take a picture of, I guess. Well, plenty of amazing things, but I didn't get my camera out for them. Now my mini-tour is over and it's time for post-Residents depression, though the amazing HardyHug will keep me floating in joy for a while.
La.
31 Flavours Volume Five
