midwest tour or somesuch

as i'm sure you've already seen in the video imbedded in the previous post, the midwest tour was exciting and fun. each day consisted of a long drive, a fun show, and staying up until at least 4am checking out whatever was on the tube in our luxury hotel rooms. it was a bit of a downer that the bear and lance couldn't join us this time around, but the four of us made the best of it.

A LESSON IN CONCERT ETIQUETTE

after pulling up to the young avenue deli in memphis on a beautiful wednesday evening, we loaded all of our gear in and i went on a walk around the town. when i came back i learned that the headlining band (who shall remain nameless) asked us to play last in their stead. they made a pleading case about family being up too late, and levi agreed...can you blame him?...he's the nicest guy you'll probably ever meet. that, however, was a big mistake. by the end of the aforementioned band's set the room had cleared (they were not very good) and we played to about 10 friendly folks who really liked us. if you are a headlining band, never ask to switch with an opening band in your hometown...it's just poor etiquette.

here's what it looked like from the eagle's nest (drums).


we in radiant are not easily defeated. the booking agent for the club happened to be there, and he promised us a much better show in the future, so all was not lost!

after loadout we realized that we had locked all sets of keys in the van. fingers were pointed, and blame was tossed around until a homeless man confidently offered to help us. we offered him $20 in return for unlocking the van.


he was absolutely no help whatsoever. we sent him on his way with $10 and a guy with a slim jim came and bailed us out. it was back to our hotel, thus ending day one.
daniel

we went on tour

we went on a small tour. i missed home very much. more on this coming soon. until then:



daniel

sxsw continued

as it was predicted i did not keep up with the sxsw journal as i said i would. however, there were some great memories that i'll try to conjure up for you now. since i already posted one for wednesday, i'll do thursday through saturday.

on thursday we had an odd but fun performance in the shoe dept. of nordstrom. despite the weirdness of the situation we made the best of it and enjoyed ourselves.



that night i was able to show some sxsw first timers (julie, angela, and laura) around austin for some loud music, mediocre pizza, and general good times. the evening got even more adventurous when we snuck into the hero factor show, where we camped out and watched them and our friends soular. after the girls took off we went and watched some forgettable band and turned in for the night.

friday was our day off, so we spent the entire day milling around watching great bands. we started off at gorilla vs. bear party where we were thoroughly impressed by the apostle of hustle. next was the mutemath, eisley, snowden show and made our way down to see our friends the new frontiers at the belmont. this was probably my favorite show because we were able to see mew for the first time. we were blown away by their vocals and overall musicianship. as soon as i got home i purchased both of their records, which are terrific. after the mew show, i started down to stubbs where i saw andrew bird, badly drawn boy, and the good the bad and the queen. we ended this night with a 2 hour trip to denny's (which we will never do again).

saturday was a lot of fun. we started out over at the blackland records party (which we played), and saw pleasant grove, hymns, and colormusic. jesse and i slipped away to catch a few minutes of starsailor, and made our way back just in time for load-out (some will argue otherwise). later on we went back over to stubb's and saw kings of leon, spoon, and then the amazing iggy pop and the stooges. at the end of the stooges perfomance, jesse in all of his excitement, jumped onstage and danced with iggy. it was quite amazing.

at the end of sxsw 2007, i can say that this was one of my favorite years. i was able to spend it with some of my favorite people, show some pretty girls around austin for the first time, and see some terrific concerts.

sxsw day 1

so day 1 is now over. after a few confusing hours of driving around, retreaving our wristbands, and loading into the venue, we finally settled into sxsw mode. jesse, bear, lance, clay, jessica and i went to go see beirut and they were pretty good. a bit repeditive but a lot of fun. i bet i would've enjoyed them more if i owned the cd.

the two chinese bands that opened for us were amazing. they had a bit of a joy division influence. a fight actually broke out onstage during the set of the band that played just before us...i kind of hate when that happens. watching a fight is like watching a car wreck...you just can't take your eyes away from it, but it's a really horrible thing happening right in front of you. i didn't, however, let that put a damper on the night, and we ended up playing a terrific show.

it's 3:15am, and we're now hanging out with the hero factor and co at a friend's house in austin. good times are being had and pictures are soon to follow.

i hereby dub thee....FUN FEST 2007!

sxsw is upon us. the only thing that seperates me from hopping in the van and heading down to celebrate my favorite week of the year in my favorite city in texas is about 24 hours, during which i have a court date. i killed a man just to watch him die...that's a lie...i was committing the incredibly cliche act of speeding, which is sooo overdone. so now i have to get up early and stand in line with the other criminals.

sxsw is going to be so much fun. i'll give you a little insight into how nerdy i am...i spent about 3 hours researching the sxsw parties for the week, and have mapped out where i want to be and when. am i the only person who does this? it's a little ridiculous i know, but i would kick myself if i got home and didn't get to see a band i wanted to see. 2 years ago i missed british sea power and i'll never forgive myself.


this is a video of what our rehearsal was like the other day. sometimes we just get a little burnt out and can't seem to come up with anything creative. after rehearsal, we went over to the aardvark where we performed for the first time in almost a year. these pictures of the show were taken by lacey henson.







expect more blogging over the next few days...i'm going to attempt to keep a daily journal of the sxsw goings on, as well as our midwest tour next week.

here's a special message from jesse



goodbye for now

time seems to be moving like one of those dreams in which you can't run fast enough. i'm really looking forward to SXSW, which is usually my favorite week of the year. we just walk around all day from one party to the next, running into old friends and listening to great bands. all the while, we pick up a staggering amount of swag. every year we find ourselves in some top secret party. one year my friend lance somehow got into a party that carson daily was throwing, and got an ipod as a party favor. i don't know how we do it, but we do it.

right now i'm one week into a three week cleanse, which is starting to really kick my butt. i wake up everyday with a headache from the toxins released into my bloodstream. my diet is supposed to be really specific, and i've done a terrific job sticking to it, except for the other day when i ate popeye's chicken.

if you've never listened to the ricky gervais podcast you should check it out. i recommend going to the itunes music store and downloading the complete first series. it is hilarious!

that's all for now. i know what you're thinking..."riveting stuff, this blog." i'll have more for you later, but for now i have some internal organs to detoxify, and some spanish homework to complete.
daniel


for ten points, what is levi thinking?