04 - 06 May. Minneapolis - Boulder
The gig in Minneapolis was at Fine Line Music Cafe - a smaller venue than usual for this band. The upside was that there was an intimate atmosphere and it was like an atmospheric pub. The downside was that the stage was small, and being at the back and at the side, I had quite a lot less space than usual. The gig went well. I noticed someone on the front row wearing a 'The World is Everything' David Sylvian 2007 tour T-shirt. That was the tour I played on, though only the first couple of weeks as I was a last minute addition to the line up and I had a Soft Machine Legacy tour I was already committed to that clashed with David's dates. The gigs I did do were fabulous and a real treat. Also in the front row were four of Steven's biggest fans who I subsequently discovered had been to the gigs in Boston, Albany, Chicago and now Minneapolis. That is some travelling! I also heard that some people travelled a very long way to this particular gig, because it was such a small venue. I did wonder if Prince might wander in to the gig, as I had heard that that was exactly the sort of thing he would do if in town - just turn up and check out bands. But he did not.
(GROUP PHOTO RIGHT : DIANA NITSCHKE)
After the gig, DJ Wilson played some great tracks in the dressing room, including some by Pete Townsend, the Carpenters and a very interesting album by the guitarist from the Swedish metal band Meshuggah, Fredrik Thordendal called 'Sol Niger Within'.
Once back on the bus, I stayed up quite late chatting to Adrian who had asked for my recommendations for great jazz albums that might interest him, given his general musical taste (which includes lots of progressive rock) and the albums he already has (which include various by Weather Report and Pat Metheny). A list was duly discussed and compiled.
Then went to sleep somewhere just outside Minneapolis and woke up in Omaha, Nebraska, once called the 'Gateway to the West', where we had day rooms in a hotel whilst the driver had his 14 hour break. An interesting place, it was once vital for transportation routes across the US and meatpacking plants and had huge stockyards and a big railroad industry. It was where the Enola Gay plane was built and it is one of the fastest regenerating cities in America. I went for a wander and a coffee with Guthrie which was most pleasant. There was an 'OK Corral' feel to the tourist section where we were, and a lovely riverfront too, on the banks of the Missouri. Notable people from Omaha - Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, Warren Buffet and Elliot Smith. Had a good day off and at midnight we rolled out of town for Boulder, Colorado.
The gig was in a lovely theatre called the Boulder Theatre (photo right). It has a very nice layout and reminded me of the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, near Philadelphia. The town itself is beautiful and the whole pedestrian central part in downtown Boulder has a wonderful feel to it. Lots of Arts and Crafts shops, jewellery shops, vintage clothing places, funky cafes and eateries and very clean. Interestingly we saw no McDonalds or other fast food chains, a couple of hiking shops and very few overweight people! The weather was good, but I was subsequently informed there had been 5 inches of snow only a few days before. I noticed the air being thin and indeed we were 5400 feet above sea level. So after a coffee with Nick sitting out in the main drag, and mooching around in the dressing room and backstage, I had a shower and then went for a walk, looking in some of the crafts shops and got back for soundcheck at 4.30pm. Despite it being a soundcheck after a day off which is usually a recipe for fun for all and having a cool jam, we did not today, and it felt a bit flat (as soundchecks go). No idea why. After that Steven, Adam, Guthrie and I went to find a restaurant for dinner and we found a great vegetarian restaurant called Aji at 1601 Pearl St where we had a delicious meal, possibly the best dinner of the US tour so far. Two of us had a Pad Thai and Steven had something called 'forbidden black rice' that sounded so intriguing he felt compelled to order it.
The gig itself felt really good. Despite some of the guys in the band not feeling 100% (though you would not have known from their performances), I think we all played well and the audience was really fantastic.
Back on the bus, we left about 1 am and I woke up somewhere in the desert in Utah. The driver was having his break and so we had day rooms in a massive hotel and casino in the middle of nowhere. I think we were not too far from Wendover, near Salt Lake City. Thousands of fruit machines by the hotel reception, thousands of rooms, hotel corridors a mile long and nothing but wide open desert outside the windows.
Roll on San Francisco....
Theo Travis
