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| taste the rainbow in Kentucky |
Wednesday: much driving. Las Chalupas (Elizabethtown, KY) is not good. Avoid it, lest your face look like this.
We got as far as the north side of Indianapolis. On this trip, we were able to stay with the Cobb and Olson families around Indy, so we saved a ton of money on hotel rooms. I snagged a very nice couch.
Thursday: we slept late, and after a painfully long lunch, headed north. In spite of the fact that it's almost June, northern Indiana was cold, overcast, and windy. My wardrobe of shorts, t shirts, and sandals was…a poor choice. Oops.
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| wind farm, northern Indiana |
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| Gary, IN |
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| Gary, IN |
Anyway…Chicago!
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| I need a Kamera |
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| Marina City--the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot buildings |
Our first gig was the House of Blues. Totally awesome experience. There was a whole crew who took our gear from the underground tunnel up to the stage (and back again at the end of the night). We got in a good soundcheck (we've added Daft Punk's Get Lucky to the setlist--it sounded great at rehearsal).
The show was really fun and the crowd loved us. There were seven or eight hundred people there! Wow! The combined Chicago friends, friends from The Rock Boat, family, and the free ticket give aways made for a full house. Super cool.
The band really rose to the occasion. Great gig all the way around. I wanna go back and keep playing there. Even the after party was cool (though I was blinded by tequila). We spent the night at the hotel across the street--the appropriately named Hotel Sax. The lobby, the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot buildings, and the House of Blues all share the same space on the Chicago River. Totally awesome.
Friday: I got up and walked across the river to State Street in the clothes I'd worn on stage the night before. It was the warmest thing I had. After coffee, I bought a pair of jeans and a long sleeve thermal.
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| I am trying to break your heart |
Back to Indy! Our second gig was at Radio Radio, located in the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis. A much smaller room with many more friends and family, this one sold out before we got into town (three hundred people). Still, very cool to be so warmly received. The food across the street at Revolucion was fantastic. So was Mark Cobb.
After the show, I had a chance to meet one of my heroes from college, Josh Silbert. Josh was an upperclassman when I began at I.U. In addition to holding down the bari chair in the top jazz band, Josh played in Johnny Socko, a very popular funk/horn band. So cool. What a treat to finally speak to him after all these years! I think I talked his ear off about gear. Oops.
Saturday: we played a private event for Firestone at the Marriott in Indianapolis. Due to the scheduling of the event, we had a ton of down time. We walked around the city, eventually landing at the zoo. Very nice.
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| Cartoon Butterfly |
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| yep |
Sunday: more coolness! We attended the Indy 500 as guests of Firestone. How cool is that? Very cool. It's a pretty amazing experience--the sound is indescribable (especially in the tunnels under the track when the cars are overhead). The people watching was also something to behold. Quite a slice of America.
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| fried chicken and a vodka soda for breakfast |
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| nice pants |
We ended the trip with a cookout at the Cobb compound.
Monday: we drove back from Indy. A long day of nothing. Here's Louisville.
Special thanks to Mark Cobb for the retro picture inspiration.
Come see us this Friday in Piedmont Park at the Legacy Fountain, performing all of Purple Rain (plus a set of Yacht Rock). Tickets are going quickly! Get yours here: https://www.xorbia.com/e/yachtrock/purple-rain
