Music DAY TWENTY-EIGHT, TWENTY NINE, THIRTY, and THIRTY-ONE: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA! LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS! DENVER, COLORADO!

I'm writing this on my bulky desktop computer in the comfort of my NE Portland home. It's a small house with a perpetually dirty basement. This little place would be a tight fit for ...   More

Music DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: HOTLANTA!

The little recharge in Raleigh was something we all needed before getting back to the final stretch of the tour. Our next show was in Atlanta, and we set off on the relatively short drive with relatively high spirits.

Atlanta has historically presented ...   More

Music DAY TWENTY-FIVE and TWENTY-SIX: CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA!

One of the main things we were looking forward to this tour was the chance to play with a band called Megafaun again. They opened for us in Raleigh, N.C. last tour, and we've been keeping in touch ever since. The band is composed of br...   More

Music DAY TWENTY-THREE: PHILADELPHIA!

Thank God for Philly, or "Phila" if you're a snobby local. We've always enjoyed ourselves in the City of Brotherly Love. This time, we were set to play at a newly remodeled venue called Johnny Brenda's. We arrived with warm hearts and low expectations.

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Music DAY TWENTY-ONE: NEW YORK!

After another night of pure mattress bliss in Boston, we fired up the ol' Dodge and headed south again. We forgot to close the cargo bin on our roof, and it didn't take long until the honking and pointing around us made us pull over. All of our luggage was still intact, bu...   More

Music DAY NINETEEN and TWENTY: BOSTON!

Our 19th day started with a trip to Chez Cora's, a Canadian breakfast chain that specializes in fancily sculpted fruit dishes and ten million different styles of crepes and pancakes. The highlight of the meal came courtesy of the couple dining next to us, who apo...   More

Music DAY SEVENTEEN: OTTAWA!

Our debut performance in Ottawa was to be at a club named Zaphod Beeblebrox, which is apparently a nerdy reference to a nerdy, deceased author's nerdy masterpiece. It was starting to snow when we arrived. We were told in advance that we had 30 minutes to play, and if the music...   More

Music DAY SIXTEEN: TORONTO!

We decided to be men and drive through the night from Pittsburgh to the Canadian border. I was petrified the entire trip because I was the only one in the van without a passport. To make matters worse, I submitted my birth certificate when I submitted for a passport, and neith...   More

Music After an aftershow extravaganza at Music Saves in Cleveland (that consisted of ten or so of us drinking cheap beer, listening to the National's Alligator for the billionth glorious time, and buying CDs at random—J Dilla, Oneida, Bears, and Califone to name a few—we grudgingly called it a night and head...   More

Music Ah, Cleveland. How we wanted to dislike you upon our maiden voyage to your fair city limits in 2005! You were run-down, sprawling, and nearly all of your creative outlets were owned by Clear Channel! Your sports teams were arguably racist (Chief Knockahoma, anyone?) and your Hall of Fame was rejected by the Se...   More