Moral: Be Friendly, Wear Conversation Starters.

I'm a bit late in updating but surely you understand. We were having pizza.


So Raleigh. Although it's likely an unfair comparison it was pretty similar to visiting Sacramento (minus the flashy lights & inability to ever truly appear 'clean'). Appropriately, there were quite a few memorial statues near the one I posed in below so reflections were had. Downtown was more or less deserted, save for a clever panhandler; the hobo BBS' must be aglow with this new tip: pretend you're just ending a phone call as potential donations approach. While it did appear less desperate, that illusion faded once we circled the block not seven minutes later to the same bit. Variety, folks. Not just the spice of life, but a valuable asset in New Age Begging.

True to form Scott had already located the best record store in the city so we hit that up right after. Awkward high school kid behind the counter: check. Solid indie tunes on the speakers: check. Incredibly tiny 'stage' identified solely by the appearance of a mic stand and amp in the only space available: check.
My brother, he's good.

After two trance-inducing folk-rock songs played the quiet was suddenly muscled out by an aggressive, Misfits-esque baritone announcing "I'm gonna f***....EVERYSINGLEONEOFYOURFRIENDS" which immediately cut to silence and the clatter of busy hands hitting eject whilst stammering for a replacement CD. And while everyone got a good under-the-breath laugh out of that, I really wanted to hear where the rest of that song was headed.

Then came the dinner hour. Next door housed an inconspicuous little bar that provided friendly service and surprisingly great food (apple butter + bacon = joy). Even had complimentary coffee - how hospitably southern, eh?

The concert didn't start until ten but the doors opened at eight so we headed over with the promise of free pool. Eventually they opened up and we ambled in only to find a serious lack of tables and cues; free pool was apparently cleared out to make room for the show. So there we were, two hours early for a concert in an unfamiliar city with no plans to get sauced. In a bar that didn't allow reentry. Calls were made, bad jokes likely told. Plenty of "this is going to be good!" uttered between silences.

Having donned his "I've Been To Duluth" tee that morning, Scott saved us on requesting an obvious track while locking in a knowing nod to the band (and really - short of acting as identification for a stumbled-upon corpse - provided the most practical use of a novelty shirt I've ever seen).
What it also achieved was introducing us to a tie-dyed redhead who exclaimed that he had also, in fact, been to Duluth. Named Johnny, he originated on the Iron Range and relocated to Alaska for employment (peace corps?). Now Johnny 'tours' with the band. Sounds about right.
Eventually he pointed out that there was a second floor to the bar which, it turns out, housed the missing pool tables. We immediately challenged him to a game & lost right quick. He was friendly enough and had broken our boredom so I grabbed a round of drinks. The show finally started and Johnny headed to the floor to get a good spot (not very difficult as it turned out).

Honestly I was a little wary that we'd be in for a lackluster show considering the small-ish crowd and random locale. Luckily I was wrong and now firmly believe that Trampled By Turtles are incapable of playing a bad show; their live energy creates a cycle that demands the audience meet their enthusiasm which in turn feeds the performance. Just beautiful.

Midway through the set Johnny appears with a complimentary drink in a TbT cozy which they weren't even selling at the table. NICE.

The show lasted for about an hour and a half, and they did play "Duluth" to my surprise. I was grateful and moved.

We wound up getting back to Kill Devil Hills at 3:30 in the morning, with me sleeping most of the ride back. Scott probably got only two hours of sleep that night. I am told that it would have been similar had we not gone (he has a six-month-old, see) but I felt bad all the same.

All for now. I have a project to start which I promise to show you later. Gonna be awesome.