Nashville and Bonnaroo Setup

Hi everyone,
Yesterday we arrived in Nashville at noonish. After unloading our bags, Brian (FOH Mixer) and I decided to head out to a burger joint a few blocks away. On my way down to the lobby to meet Brian, a gentleman in the elevator was chatting me up in typical friendly Nashville fashion. It turns out to be Mentor Williams, a celebrated songwriter who penned, among other songs, "Drift Away" ("Gimme the beat boys save my soul...."). He told me his wife was country music legend Lynn Anderson, best known for "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." I googled him, and found out his brother, Paul Williams, is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Not only has Paul written "Just an Old Fashioned Loved Song," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Rainbow Connection," and the theme to the Love Boat, but he also played Enos in the Smoky and he Bandit movies!

Local resident Jim Pitt, who booked the guest bands on both of Conan's TV shows (and is booking guest talent for this tour as well) put together a nice list of restaurants and things to do in the area. On this list, the place Brian and I chose, Rotier's, was said to have Nashville's best burger. And it was a damn good burger. When we left the restaurant, the sky burst into instantaneous torrential rain. There was no 30 seconds of sprinkling first, no warning at all. It was like a flash flood. We got back to the hotel finally, and there's Wynonna Judd in the lobby. Hello Nashville!

After returning to the hotel, drenched, I decided to take a nap. I was hoping to stave off the cold/flu thing that's been going around (and that I'm starting to get). I ended up sleeping for maybe six hours, waking up at 10pm. I got some room service delivered, and worked on the blog for a couple hours before retiring for the night.

Morning came waaay too fast. Fucking 5:30am bus call! A dozen of us headed out to the festival site to load in and setup. Because of all the rain we'd had the day before, the festival grounds were wet and muddy- think Woodstock. So we couldn't drive the semi full of gear to the stage: we had to unload it onto a dock on the other side of the grounds, then into small box trucks to deliver it to our stage in the comedy tent. We then had to drag our gear into the tent on sheets of plywood laid out over the mud. It turns out that festivals SUCK. But at least the gear's mostly setup.

Tomorrow we leave at 6am for the festival. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the smell of patchouli and malodorous hippy wannabes. Yes, I said "malodorous." Deal with it!

Washington, DC

Hey,
We just played the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in DC. It's really more of a congressional hearing-type room than a performance venue. While the acoustics were great for hearing the audience cheer from stage, it was less than ideal for a loud 10-piece band and PA.

But who cares how it sounds? The audience loved it. They loved Conan, they loved Andy, they loved Reggie Watts, they LOVED Deon Cole. Another good show. I know that's getting monotonous, but what can I do?

During my morning camera walk, I stumbled upon the Washington Monument (tough to miss). Apparently the White House was two blocks away, too, but I never made it that way. Bah.... it's just the White House. The Hall of Terrible Decisions. The Birthplace of American Entitlement and Wealth Redistribution. But I digress.

Now it's time for our last long bus ride of the tour, 12 hours to Nashville. We'll be doing two days at the Bonnaroo Festival, a couple hours away in Manchester, TN. It's been four days since I've seen a hotel bed or shower, and I would kill for a shave. Talk to you in Nashville.

Philadelphia

Tonight we played the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA (Philadelphia area). It was yet another great crowd, except for that one asshole that yelled "Upper Darby hates black people!" during black writer/comedian Deon Cole's set.

The Tower is not one of the prettier theaters on this tour. It's a small stage, too, so I was way out onstage, with a great audience view. The backstage was so small that the wardrobe setup was outside in an alley. That's where I snapped the shot of saxophonist Jerry Vivino, getting in a little warm-up after changing into his show clothes.

Our special guests tonight included Philly natives Tina Fey and Trey Anastasio (of the band Phish). Philly sure loves their Tina Fey- they went nuts!

I wish I could tell you about all the great tourist sights I managed to check out. Unfortunately, we were not in the best area for exploration. Besides, these four and five-in-a-rows really beat the shit out of you. You start to value bunk time above pub time and camera time after a while.

Another night on the bus. This time to Washington, DC. See you there.

Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT

Hey all,
What a surprise tonight was: a casino audience that kicked ass! For whatever reason, despite the fact that the venue was the enormous casino that is Mohegan Sun, the crowd was truly there to see Conan. It was also one of the larger arena venues of the tour, so you could really feel their excitement.

The great show was in stark contrast to the less-than-ideal load-in and setup. The arena was being used for a WNBA game until 4pm-ish. So we had to set everything up in stages. First, while the basketball game was going on, we all put our worlds together (partly) in the arena's large loading area. Then we pushed our setups into place and tied up loose ends. The entire stage was built at one end of the floor, then moved, in one piece, into its final position (with the help of maybe 30 stagehands pushing it into place). We had two hours to setup AND soundcheck, because the Mohegan Sun insists that its event start and end on time, regardless of the circumstances.

Luckily, we knew about these complications beforehand. Evidently, the tour people knew about it when it was booked, and for whatever reason, felt we needed to keep the date and soldier through it. Fuck it- we made it. And the show was terrific- one of my favorites.

Next up is the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA (Philadelphia).

Wang Center, Boston

Hey people,
It was great to spend some time in Boston again. When I lived in Boston, I spent most of my time in the Back Bay area. There wasn't much reason to hang out near the Theater District (where the Wang is), unless you were looking for hookers or strip shows. I did work right near the Wang Center for a few years, at a couple restaurants. And I was routinely propositioned by prostitutes on my way home. So the venue area wasn't exactly a homecoming.

We stayed a half mile away at the fabulous Nine Zero Hotel, near the Old City Hall (which is evidently now a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.... weird). This is right at the edge of the Boston Common, on Tremont Street. I didn't spend much time in that area either, back when I lived in Boston. But from what I remember, it was pretty seedy then. Now it's home to a thriving pub and restaurant scene. Shira and Franki came to stay with me for a couple days. We loved walking Franki in the Common, and eating porterhouse for two at the KO Steakhouse in the Hotel. Of course, Franki got the bone when we were through. One lucky wiener dog!

The Wang Center is gorgeous and great-sounding. The crowds both nights were fantastic. Conan had a bunch of his family at both shows. At one point during the show, Andy swore onstage, then turned to Conan's mom and said "I'm sorry, Mrs. O'Brien." Local Celtic Punk legends the Dropkick Murpheys were the musical guests, and they were super entertaining. The entire crew has been singing and whistling "Shipping Up To Boston," their big hit, ever since their appearance.

Last but not least, check out the great (i.e. lucky) shot I got of Conan up on the balcony with his guitar. Isn't that sweet?

Next up: Mohegan Sun