Mike’s Tour Blog: Vol. II Issue IV
I love driving.
Out of necessity I’ve driven a van or mini van (ladies love them) for the majority of my adult life. That wasn’t always so, my first car was a mid 90s mustang, you know the ones where they were more curvy looking. I loved driving that car, it got wrecked a bunch though, usually not my fault. I got ran off the road and blew out two tires and rims, got in a wreck with airbags and all, and once tried to make a shortcut to a party through a field and got stuck in a ditch. Still, that car was great, I probably didn’t deserve it.
The drive from Nashville to Atlanta is pretty epic, downhill the whole way. We downed a box of donuts and headed through the curving roads eyeing the runaway truck ramps to our left, they looked like fun. We counted, I didn’t need to put my foot on the gas pedal for 7 minutes and 23 seconds, hows that for fuel economy? I think downhill is the way to travel.
We picked up a show in Athens with our friends Richard Sherfey & All God’s Children. Richard has the best voice of anyone I know, in another time or with another group of friends he could have been (and still could be) an opera singer. He’s equal parts preacher/drunkard/gospel singer/poet/folk hero/soul man, I’d settle for one of those parts.
Richard and his crew were incredibly gracious to us, we ate at a nice tavern a couple blocks away from the club, Tasty World. Richard picked up the bill for us, it was a gracious gesture and put us in the right mood for the rest of the night. We headed to the club and loaded in.
Stairs… I hate stairs.
Tasty World is a cool upstairs room, just the right size and with suprisingly good sound. We played a pretty solid set to a light but appreciative crowd and hit the bar. Richard Sherfey sounds just fine on a Sunday morning but in my opinion he sounds the best when you have a pint in your hand, he will too. Off stage Richard is a the friendly humble guy at the end of the bar, on stage he commands the room… even the guy that stole his spot at the end of the bar. It was a fun show, the local Athenians knew the words to Richard’s songs, simple elegant well written tunes. He’s on the top of my list for 2009. Please, go check out Richard Sherfey…
www.myspace.com/richardsherfey
By the time we packed up and sold some merch we were a couple “FreeBRs” in feeling good despite the freezing weather. We headed down to the bar Richard manages for an after party. It was your typical upscale college bar, popped collars and all. Confession: I like bars like this. Down at the local intentionally dive-y hipster bar with the suicide girl bartender and fixed gear parking lot were a dime a dozen. Were not interesting or different or even cool, we’re just there.
So anyways, toss me a red cup and a game of shuffle puck any day, I don’t mind. However, I won’t wear pink, its too cold for flip flops and bassball caps make my hair hurt. We got to the bar at closing time, it didn’t occur to me how late it was or why the girls were being so friendly to me. I submit that 2:38am is either the friendliest or most dangerous minute of the day, it’s all about perspective.
Befriending a bar manager is not a bad idea, we drank a lot that night. Jacob and I played intense rounds of shuffle puck with two hairstylists who reminded us of home… I’m going to have to read that sentence over, it doesn’t sound right does it?
Usually when it comes to the part of the evening where you have to choose sleep or food, I go with sleep. It’s cheaper and healthier, but tour has no use for such things. We headed down the street, “there’s a diner a couple blocks down”, Richard said while stumbling down the pavement hands deeply tucked in his pea coat. The group followed like a pack of zombies, Dawn of the Drunk.
This next part is really hard to explain. I’ll try but I’ll let this video do most of the talking. Here’s the basics:
1. We drank, a lot.
2. The trees on this particular block had yellow leaves that Jacob apparently thought looked like “a tiny bunch of bananas”.
That’s honestly the best I can do, just watch:
When we got to the diner Jacob asked if they could make him a sausage and chicken biscuit, it wasn’t on the menu for obvious reasons such as taste and dignity. “Really?? Yeah I guess we can”. Richard and Jacob went to bathroom, Jacob came back giggling. I wondered why he asked me for some quarters, they wanted to try the perfume machine in the bathroom.
If I hadn’t the power of sight I would have imagined that two drunken elderly prostitutes were joining me. It was bad.
It had to be about 20 degrees by the time we got back to the van. The brothers Hearne huddled in a pile of gear in the back while we waited for Richard to lead the way back to his house. We crashed as the sun was coming up, our departure back to Atlanta only hours away.
Good night Athens.
