I've been all over the world. I've been to each of the continents except for Australia and Antarctica, and I think the only US states I haven't seen are North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Hawaii.
But, none of those travel experience can match what it was like following the Protomen on their tour. I know they were probably a bit weirded out by having some fanatic follow them on a motorcycle from city to city, but if they were they never showed it. I decided to make this trip at a difficult time in my life, when I had a lot of idle time on my hands. I'll never be able to thank the band enough for their openness and kindness.
I can't think of another band that I could have seen night after night and not get bored. Each band member is extremely dedicated to his or her position in the band, and they each give 100% every single night. I really don't know how they do it; I was struggling to keep up each day on the road, and I wasn't even performing!
I can't say enough good things about this band. You can tell a lot about a band by their fans, and every single one that I met across the US were first-class people. I met one fan who has the band's logo tattooed on her arm, along with lyrics from some of their songs. I met another who had put one of the band's stickers onto his prosthetic leg, which he removed during the show in order to pump both his fist and his limb into the air during the band's encore. Talk about dedication! Suddenly, following the band around on a motorcycle in order to have the excuse to take a long-distance trip seems like child's play.
This experience went beyond music. Taking my motorcycle across the country allowed me to see a different perspective of America, of a different America than I'm used to seeing. Things are just so much freer outside of New England.
The band are playing a couple of shows in Virginia and Maryland in the next couple of days. I think I might have to hop on my bike and do this again, one last time before the summer ends.
Thanks for reading,
MD
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I never finished posting the last few shows.
The last few shows kicked ass, but being on the road so much and with a companion distracted me from finishing this thing. Then, when I got home, I just kept putting it off.
It's hard for me to exactly remember when what happened where, and even in retelling some of the stories (that never made it into this public blog and never will) it was hard to me to keep everything straight: so much happened in such a short span of time, and the last couple of shows were no exception.
I remember Des Moines being a good show, despite the small crowd. The venue was pretty cool and they had really cheap drinks. The next morning my brother and I went to an Italian festival. It was funny, because nobody looked Italian at all, and I had a turkey leg for breakfast. Still, it was pretty cool, because in spite of the festival's small size, they had a lot of neat stands and whatnot.
We motored onto Springfield, MO, stopping for the night in Kansas City. I think we stayed on the Kansas side but I can't remember. Springfield was cool, with a lot of the quirks that a lot of college towns have. I guess there's a lot of meth use out there and you could definitely see it in some people.
The drinks were extremely cheap in Springfield. I was able to buy a cider for myself and a martini for someone else and it came out to $5. Needless to say, I was buying a lot of people drinks that night!
We said our goodbyes to the band that night, promised to be at the New York City show, and started driving home the next morning. It took us two days to get home. I think we stayed in Ohio, but it's kind of hard for me to keep track of, I guess I could check my credit card statement, but it doesn't really matter. All in all it was a helluva trip, by far the best vacation I've ever taken.
The last few shows kicked ass, but being on the road so much and with a companion distracted me from finishing this thing. Then, when I got home, I just kept putting it off.
It's hard for me to exactly remember when what happened where, and even in retelling some of the stories (that never made it into this public blog and never will) it was hard to me to keep everything straight: so much happened in such a short span of time, and the last couple of shows were no exception.
I remember Des Moines being a good show, despite the small crowd. The venue was pretty cool and they had really cheap drinks. The next morning my brother and I went to an Italian festival. It was funny, because nobody looked Italian at all, and I had a turkey leg for breakfast. Still, it was pretty cool, because in spite of the festival's small size, they had a lot of neat stands and whatnot.
We motored onto Springfield, MO, stopping for the night in Kansas City. I think we stayed on the Kansas side but I can't remember. Springfield was cool, with a lot of the quirks that a lot of college towns have. I guess there's a lot of meth use out there and you could definitely see it in some people.
The drinks were extremely cheap in Springfield. I was able to buy a cider for myself and a martini for someone else and it came out to $5. Needless to say, I was buying a lot of people drinks that night!
We said our goodbyes to the band that night, promised to be at the New York City show, and started driving home the next morning. It took us two days to get home. I think we stayed in Ohio, but it's kind of hard for me to keep track of, I guess I could check my credit card statement, but it doesn't really matter. All in all it was a helluva trip, by far the best vacation I've ever taken.
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