Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
Nov.30
Today we drove and crossed the border. All went well and we found a nice truck stop to sleep at.
The weather is pretty cold. It’s our first tour in these kind of conditions. So far we are faring well, thanks to the propane heater in the van. The first leg of the American side was a pleasant surprise cause we found an awesome grocery store in Mount Vernon.
Dec. 1
Our first show is in Missoula. We pulled into the town not knowing anything about it. Our search for a coffee bar led us to City Brew, which has a logo that is remarkably similar to Starbucks’. The first cashier we talked to was Zach. He was especially, maybe even bizarrely friendly and helpful and open so we told him we would put him on the guest list for our show. We later found out that it was his last day and he usually wasn’t that involved with the customers.
Zach told us that there was this event that happened every first Friday of the month where the local art galleries (and there were a surprising number for a town of 90 000) opened their doors and served free booze and food. So we bummed around till 6 or so when it all began. The galleries themselves were pretty shi shi boring, but the Missoula Art Museum, which had recently opened, had a really interesting exhibition by this instillation artist called Trimpin.
Our show was pretty good. we played a place called The Loft, which reminded me a little of a dance hall in a senior citizen’s home. But in a good way. We stayed at Zach’s house and discovered his full coolness. He hangs out with an artist named Wes Mills and gets paid for it. And we got some very fresh omelettes in the morning.
Dec.2 
Billings!! we didn’t get much of a chance to see Billings, or meet many locals, but we did get to finally meet Lowell and Jeanette from our record label. They were kind enough to get us a hotel for the night, our first ever!! We met up with them at the venue, which was called Yellowstone Perk. It was this awesome all ages, little Pop’s diner kind of place complete with and outdoor stage and a charming old towne in the back yard. The owner’s name was Don, a real character. Anyway, we got there and met Lowell and Jeanette and played an ok show. The turn out was pretty small, possibly due to a triple whammer prom night at three of the surrounding high schools. After the show we hit up Applebees with Lowell and Jeanette and talked over burgers and crab cakes. They are sweet.
Hotel Room Dec.2 1/2
Dear God I really didn’t get my full value of TV! I fell asleep as we all did cause we were so tired.
[To be continued!]
Filed under: tour diary
