It came and went so fast! I guess I was having too much fun. I really had no idea how bustling Chicago is, it’s almost on par with parts of NYC.

I arrived on a Friday and rented a sublet in the Gold Coast area. It was nice to be central to everything. I probably ate the same dinner at the same place for like 4 of the nights at a place called Big Bowl where you can make your own stir fry. I love me a good stir fry.

The band members that played with me were amazing, they really came to rehearsal knowing most of the parts to the songs and it made it so easy to do what normally would take a handful of rehearsing. The club was pretty nice, it’s always nice to play a good sounding club after playing so many shit holes in my life. It’s like an ice cream on a hot summer day.

I’ve also been so lucky to fall into good weather so far on this tour I haven’t been suffocated with heat or humidity. It’s been bearable weather and I thank the earth lords for blessing me!

On my last day I wandered over the Art Institute and snapped this:

And my last weekend the lady next door to me decided to go insane and keep me awake all of the weekend. Thanks lady, you really are too kind!

Only thing I’m bummed about is I didn’t get to meet Oprah! Well it’s time to rest my head, next stop is Boston!

Howdy!

I just finished up my shows in Denver and wanted to share my experiences!

Here we go:

So my first few nights I had stayed in a small motel and was welcomed by a flood of Grasshoppers! I guess they are moving west and making their way through Denver, as much as a grasshopper used to be cool as a kid, they kinda gross me out now. Especially seeing that many all around.

Denver is 1 mile above sea level and it really affected me and kept prices down! 1 whiskey on the rocks felt like 3, 1 glass of wine felt like 2. So I didn’t have to spend much! And a cup of coffee was like 10! Altitude gratitude! I did feel a little sick here and there from the height but for the most part my body had adjusted to it. Another weird thing is that 99% of grocery stores don’t carry wine or alcohol! They have a law out there that only allows the one main store of all the chains to carry it and the rest can’t. Not a big problem to go to the liquor store but just awkward!

When my room availability ran out, because of a conference in downtown Denver, I was about to find another place when my bass player offered the extra room at his house with his wife. I saved a bunch of money but the best part was I got to connect with them. His wife works at a funeral house and had some interesting stories to share. So very six feet under! They were even watching six feet under on tv.

First day of rehearsal we went to the drummer’s space in this really interesting old ex-armory warehouse. The place smelt like must, dirt and mold and could have been perfect in any ax murdering movie. Yet it was charming! Just creepy! We had 2 rehearsals before our gigs.

Larimer Lounge was the first show and the space has been played by a bunch of indie artists I’ve loved over the years. It’s a bit of a dive bar but the sound made up for it. There’s something about playing smelly bars that makes you feel alive.

Then we played Cervante’s and the location is in a bit of a shady area of Denver, I had heard someone mention that their friend was shot out front! None the less we jiggled the room around. Here’s a clip:

Then on my last day I ventured to the 16th street mall area and happened upon this:

So that’s my Denver week for you! Now I’m in Chicago and getting ready for the show out here. If you or anyone you know lives in Chicago please let them know! The shows are all listed HERE.

Lots of Lurv,

VM