Tour Blog 11 - Silent Soundclash, Adult Swim... American Blessings

[Robbie]

Electric Nostalgia on the road...
TOUR BLOG PART 2: THIS BLESSED COUNTRY

SILENT SOUNDCLASH SERIES PART 2
Not every show was spectacular. Some of them in fact were poorly promoted, poorly produced and downright poorly attended. There were a couple
where I wish they had just mailed me a check instead of making me drive
8 hours to get there. But there were some nights that were just flat
out MAGICAL. Boone NC, Wilmington, NC, New York City, and St Louis were
a few that come to mind. What we DID do in every market was break some
serious musical ground. 2+DJ battles on wireless headphones have never
been experienced by ANYONE before this tour, and we brought that unique
experience to Savannah, Boone, Wilmington, Athens, Atlanta, Baltimore,
Charlottesville, Blacksburg, New York City, Syracuse, and Grand Rapids.
We met a lot of wonderful people and really opened, and even blew a LOT
of minds. Some highlights, lowlights and disco lights.

• BOONE, NC: We rolled up to Boone Saloon and thought we were going to try to fit this "club" thing into a little sports bar. 2 hours later, the place had
  converted into a full-on disco getdown. The crowd was outstanding, just
  a full-on danceathon. One of the more adventurous sets I have ever
  played, full of a LOT of rock and roll and over 45 minuets of Talking
  Heads and Radiohead alone... Just a wonderful little town and scene.
• BLACKSBURG: Begin with the fact that I got to drive there from Charlotte with Joey of Boogieburg Soundsystem, (spending 3 horus with him was a treat).
  Playing with the BBurg kids and taking on another local crew of
  dubstep/electro kids was quite a treat,. Great party FOR A TUESDAY!
• ATHENS: This was a tough one. We had high expectations for Athens as Ryan is from there and we actually did quite a bit of promo. Add to this the fact
  that Eclectic Method AND Ancient Astronauts were also on the bill.
  And.... noone showed. School was out for Easter weekend, AND REM was
  celebrating 30 year anniversary across town. Our outside party wasn't
  bad, but I felt HORRIBLE for Ancient Astronauts, two of my favorite
  artists and people who were suffering inside playing to a big empty
  room. Bummertown. Nice club tho...
• ROCKS OFF CRUISE, NYC: Ok, it was COLD on that boat, but man what a magical evening. Great crowd, great view, great vibes. GREAT MUSIC FROM DJ SMALLCHANGE, on the
  other channel. But nothing really compares to seeing NYC from the
  waterside. Hats off to Jess and Jake at Rocksoff for bringing us into a
  truly wonderful, unique experience.
• ST LOUIS: Loyal Family is one of the good ones. If anything occurred to me repeatedly on this toru it was the thought that "wow, compared to Sunset, these
  promoters don't have it together do they?" But there WERE somenotable
  exceptions, the Charlottesville team was notable for their superb
  effort on our behalf. But the best job had to be the one doen by Loyal
  Family in St Louis. They had the right support Djs, the right venue,
  the right setup and just a BEAUTIFUL audience. It was the last night of
  the tour and we just blew the roof off. One of my favorite road shows
  ever. Thanks to Loyal Family.

ADULT SWIM BLOCKPARTY TOUR
Late at night in St Louis, I said goodbye to Ryan, Kevin and James, my Silent Events road crew who were some of the most professional, skilled
and adaptable people I've ever worked with. From there, Matt Khan
joined me to drive the rest of the way, beginning that night with a
12-hour slog through the rain from St Louis to Norman Oklahoma. We
arrived just in time and came into the grace and favor of the Adult
Swim Blockparty tour.

A promotional vehicle for the summer/fall tv schedule, the tour was basically an Adult Swim-themed
traveling carnival with games,
prizes and a great soundstage. I would Dj for a while, then theyd run
the contests and giveaways and a band would come on. In Norman and
Lawrence it was the outsanding rock band the Whigs. In Champaign it was
the Clipse (not my favorite). In West Lafayette it was Asobi Sexu
(pretty cool indie electronic act) and in Columbus it was the amazing
People Under the Stairs. My Dj sets were fun in some places, and a
struggle in others. As I opened all of the shows, at times I would be
playing to a long line of kids waiting to get tee shirts. But in some
places I got the sense that no-one had ever heard the kind of stuff I
was playing and were kind off jawdropped. Here were some highlights:

• The Adult Swim Crew: Led by the uber-cool jazz-touring veteran Tony Clark, and Bonnaroo vet Mary Beth Elam, the 15+ person crew of this traveling carnival could
  not have been more professional, easy-going and interested in my
  welfare. They consistently went out of their way to make sure that I
  was heard, respected, and treated properly. Brad and Patrick, my sound
  crew were just outstanding. Although I only toured with them for 5 of
  what would be 12 dates for them, me and Matt consistently felt like we
  were part of a big traveling family.
• Lawrence Kansas: My first cousin, and sister-in-law went to KU and my girlfriend Amy grew up there. So I had been warned that Lawrence was a beautiful little gem
  in the middle of the country. But I was still pretty blown away by just
  how cool a town it was. Little
  did I know that Lawrence was once an abolitionist center and
  paid the price, when it was burned down by pro-slavery bandits during
  the prelude to the Civil War. "The Free City of Lawrence" rose from the
  ashes and still seems to be a center for progressive,
  free-thinkers.Full of cool little independent businesses, Lawrence
  reminded me a lot of how Austin used to be
  when it was still a town of 200,000 and not a city of 500,000. Like
  Austin, it seems that the college really created an oasis that attracts
  all of the open-minded folks in the entire region. Highlights included
  a walk through the gorgeous KU campus and a great night singing karaoke
  at the JazzHaus.
  
• The Endless American Steppes (and I 80): My roadie, Matt Khan flew out to make the drive, mostly because he wanted to see the country (it certainly wasn't for the money). However, by the
  time he got to me, I was worn out from 6 weeks on the road. So most of
  what he saw was endless roadmiles, streetlights, truck stops, and
  motels as we hustled the length of the US. I kept telling him about the
  Wasatch range in Utah but we crossed it at night. He slept through
  Great Salt Lake. We arrived in Tahoe at 5am during a freak windstorm
  and had to hustle out in the morning to avoid the pass being closed.
  But coming in through the Caldecott Tunnell and across the Bay Bridge,
  the kid's jaw was on the floor with his first experience seeing the Bay
  Area.

BLESSED BLESSED and MORE BLESSED: From March 5 to April 26 I drove more than 10,000 miles in 26 States with
Ben Ebyam, Ryan Dowd, Kevin Garner, James Buck and Matt Khan. And the
word that kept coming to my mind was "blessed". Blessed to be fortunate
enough to be of sound mind and body. To have a profession I love
dearly. To have the help of amazing business partner and staff in SF
that allows me to go on the road. To have Phil and Wes at Philosophy to
book such an outstanding tour for an independent artist. To know such
amazing people in Davis, Austin, New Orleans, Miami, and on the road
with Silent Disco. To have been asked by Superfly to do the Adult Swim
Tour. To be able to play the music I LOVE and not the music I HAVE TO
play.

But even more than that, I felt blessed to be an American. I know, I know, shut up. We're not supposed to express
patriotism unless we're rightwing Foxnews nutcases right? There is so
much about this country and what it stands for that I object to,
question, and try to change. I have travaleed overseas a LOT, even
lived in Europe for a year of my
life. But this was my first real trip around the US in more than 15
years and when you actually get out and see it, you realize just how
gorgeous our country is, and how many different types of human beings
inhabit it. They are all going about their lives in millions of
different ways and in some ways competing with one another for finite
resources. But that is the HUMAN condition. And of the billions on the
planet, only a few hundred lucky million will EVER get to be citizens
of this incredible country at this incredibly exciting time. It ain't
perfect and certainly could use some help right now, but I'd take being
a citizen of this country right now, over most lives anywhere, ever.
Hobbes said that life for most is "Nasty, Brutish and Short". But if
Thomas Hobbes had been riding shotgun with me on the "Electric
Nostalgia Tour" I think he would have had a very different perspective.