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Stories: Tour
Journal: Part Two
 Tulsa
(July 8th
- 11th)
This tour update is coming to you from
10,000 feet. We're currently over western Colorado on our way
to Los Angeles. It sure was nice having a few days at home to
rest and regroup before striking out on the second leg of the
Hanson tour. At this time, we're still not sure where it will
take us and when it will end. Probably when we run out of money.
Or we miss our mom's too much. But for those of you who've
asked, yes, we're enjoying the ride while it lasts. It's a real
trip to observe the "fringe" behavior that those boys
bring out in people. Especially the younger members of the fairer
sex.
Unfortunately, Tulsa is languishing in
the grip of a fierce and fiery heatwave. Talk about nasty. Hot
and humid are the words of the day and the only relief from
the heat comes with rain which only further incites the humidity.
Yuck. Also, Brad had to go back to his day job for a day or
two. He calls it "work". The word vaguely rings a
bell with the rest of the band. It sounds like something we
were trying to forget.
The Tulsa crowd was markedly different
from the other crowds so far. For starters, it was a sit-down
kind of crowd. Even during the Hanson's set, the crowd sat and
watched. They seemed attentive and appreciative, but perhaps
slightly less fanatical. Chalk it up to familiarity, maybe.
The Mabee Center also confiscated all the signs and banners
that they saw, and it was quite dark inside anyway, so it was
hard to see if any of the crowd was familiar with us or our
music. We're wondering what kind of response we'll get in LA.
There's supposed to be movie stars at the show. Maybe someone
needs an up-and-coming young band for their next directorial
endeavor...
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| Los
Angeles (July 11th -
13th) |
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Los
Angeles is a very interesting place. You've got the ocean,
the mountains, the highways, and just way too many people
running around looking for trouble. Luckily, they somehow
missed us and we had a very nice time in the City of Angels.
We've been here before (see the News
Archives) so we knew what to expect. Last time, though,
LA was firmly in the liquid grip of El Nino. This time,
the weather was perfect. When we left Tulsa, it was over
100 degrees F. We stepped out of LAX airport and realized
that Someone must have left that Big Air Conditioner In
The Sky on in this part of the country. It must have been
in the 60's. Crazy. |
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While in LA, we
ate at Gladstone's, Duke's, and this really fancy place
called "McDonald's".
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The show at the Hollywood
Bowl was sold out. LA luminaries there included Gus Van
Sant, Jenny McCarthy, and David Hasselhoff. Yup, we talked
to him about Knight Rider. Really.
Unfortunately, since there was a third band playing before
us, we only got to play fifteen minutes. The crowd seemed
to like us though. |
| The next
day, we toured Media Ventures, met Hans Zimmer (a famous
composer), and drove up Pacific Coast Highway 1 to San Francisco.
By the time we finally found our hotel, it was almost 3
AM. |
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San
Francisco (July
13th - 16th)
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After
a scarifying eleven hour trek up the coastline of California,
we came to the uncomfortable realization that all of the
towns between LA and SanFran must shut down at 8pm or something.
Try driving in the pitch black night on treacherous, twisty
roads over steep cliffs. And you have to use the restroom.
We finally ate dinner at 1:30 in the morning. This was the
part of the trip that was no fun for those in the band with
acrophobia. The hotel room was on the 21st floor and the
darn window opened and had no screen! Brad stayed near the
opposite wall the whole time. |
| There was
plenty to see in San Francisco: Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown,
Ghirardelli's, Haight-Ashbury, Alcatraz, etc. Yeah, we did
all the touristy things, so sue us. We did some shopping,
too: Brad bought a bamboo saxophone and Jarrod bought a
hat and a purse. He claims the purse was for someone else. |
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The concert at Shoreline was proceeding
along well until Jed's kick drum pedal disintegrated on
the fourth song. He said goodnight to the crowd and that
was it. Supposedly we'll be back up to a full seven song
set in Denver.
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| The crowd
in San Francisco was the most insane crowd yet. Their screams
were so loud, we had to wear earplugs backstage. Yow. There
were also Admiral Twin signs which are always endearing
to us. Also, a special thanks goes out at this time to all
of those fans who've sent gifts to us backstage at the last
few shows. We even had care packages waiting for us in our
hotel room in LA. Next time, though, be sure to put your
email addresses on the packages so we know who to thank... |
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Denver
(July 16th
- 18th)
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Upon disembarking
in The Mile High City, we were instantaneously stricken
with nosebleeds. Ok, not really. We won't bother to wine
about the fact that it was the hottest day of the year (103F)
when we played Red Rocks. Nope. Not another word. We didn't
have our own transportation in Denver, so we mostly walked
around near our hotel. Next time, we're going to hire a
local Arapaho guide to show us the good spots; we only found
The Gap and Taco Bell. |
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Ah, Red Rocks! For
those of you who've never been, it's as beautiful as you'd
think. We're following in the footsteps of U2 and the
Beatles. Not bad company. Unfortunately (hmmm, there's
that word again), we arrived late, and it was a somewhat
stressful day, all told. Some of us got lost driving back
to the hotel. Those darn roads are all dark and twisty
around there.
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The crowd
at Red Rocks was wonderful. They were quite attentive and
receptive. They jumped up and down. They had banners. One
difference there that we appreciated was that most of the
general admission rows were close to the front. That meant
that the front rows were packed out early and excited to
be there. A few people got a little too excited and made
a golden calf to worship so we smote them.
Whoa. It must be late at night. Time for bed...
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Seattle
(July 19th
- 21st)
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Next
stop on the tour was Seattle, the Fertile Crescent of coffeehouses,
grunge music, and evil software empires. The flight was
uneventful, the Seattle weather just fine, and our stomachs
led us to a nearby cafe for a late dinner. |
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Astute readers would
know that the next day was our sightseeing day. We saw
the Space Needle (and the fuzzy Sneedle mascot), rode
the monorail, explored the fish-scented Pike Street Market,
and found the Admiral Twin movie theatre. It's just called
the Admiral Theatre now. Too bad for them.
That evening, we dined in sumptuous splendor at a quaint
little local bistro called "Denny's". We're
really expanding our horizons.
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The day of the show
found us eating at Denny's again. People came up to us
and asked us to sign various pieces of paper because they
thought we were Pearl Jam.
And although we never saw Eddie Vedder or Bill Gates,
we did see Andy McDowell backstage at the show. That counts
for something.
The audience at the Key Arena was the best yet. We were
back up to our seven song set and the crowd didn't seem
to mind. After 30 minutes of screaming, jumping, clapping,
and even blowing kisses, we said goodnight. Some of the
audience members were doing those things as well.
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On to Part Three!
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