| Thursday
27th October
These
days we seem to more often than not make New
York City our first stop when we come to the
United states of America and as such it serves
as our stop-over to wherever else we might be
going: The Singapore to our eventual Australia;
the jet-lag recuperation lounge where we can
expunge all impurities incurred during the trans-Atlantic
voyage which normally leaves one knackered and
incapable of either coherent thought or speech.
Yes, after just one brief night in the city
that never sleeps we are rendered as lucid as
the day is long.
|
This is young Mr. O’Donnell’s
first visit to Manhattan so it is for
myself and Alasdair to act as his guide
through the myriad of cultural activities
at our disposal. Although we have greeted
this city on numerous occasions, we can
scarcely remember where anything is but
our faith in eventual oblivion is still
strong for this small detail of almost
no orientation has never before hampered
our enjoyment of this crown in the jewels
of America. So each night in New York
tends to start in the 11th street tavern
for the address is partially imbedded
within its very title. I say partially
for we always arrive by taxi some blocks
away and can only find our route by finding
John Casey’s rubber stamp shop and
tonight is no exception. You never know
who you will meet in John’s specialist
shop: Last time it was the best Korean
foot masseuse on the street (allegedly)
and this time we are not disappointed
as John’s tip top customer of the
day is no other than “Pop Pistol”-
one of the lassies appearing in the Starshine
Burlesque at Rififi (starshineburlesque.com).
Pop Pistol – not her real name –
has just nipped in to John’s shop
for a rubber stamp bearing a pursed pair
of lips to be used as proof of admission
for the audience at the show – these
are the nuts and bolts of art. These women
are a great inspiration to us; especially
Alasdair who puts great effort into refining
his bubble dance.
|
I see you baby... |
 |
We
eventually make it to The 11th street
which is at 11th and avenue A –
I include this mostly for my own future
reference. There is a great session here
every Sunday but as it is hursday, we
are just in for a few pints with our old
chum and racing guru, Kenny. Afterwards
we head off for a tune at Paddy Reilly’s
with guitarist Fionn O Lochlainn and a
great fiddle player called Sean whose
surname has been momentarily lost to my
A to Z along with the specificity of our
location. To top off a great evening,
the one and only Joannie Madden –
Flautist/whistle player extraordinaire
and boss of Cherish the Ladies (www.cherishtheladies.com)
joins us for a few shandies so a great
start to any month in America: This bodes
well. |
Friday,
28th October
After
a quick sleep in the luxurious Groce Mansions
of the upper east side, it is off to work
and the first stop of our tour ; The Towne
Crier in Pawling, N.Y. We have played
here many times and it is great place
to see music: After our visit will be
shows by Odetta, David Lindley, and Tom
Russell among others. It is always a great
pleasure to see Phil , Bill and all the
staff but also in attendance tonight are
Alan’s Cousins; Steven, Jamie and
Ellen; our accountant Jules; and our inimitable
manager Robin Morton. A great night as
always.
|
Robin Morton: musician, singer,
collector, producer,
transmogrifacator
|
Saturday
29th October
Whether
it is the effects of jet lag and Anchor
Steam beer or the approaching of All
Saints eve, things are beginning to
get strange and Sean bears witness to
the stuff of Romanian legend and Hammer
horror films of the last century. Yes
folks, right here in the wilds of the
Henry Van Motel in Brewster, New York,
Sean O’Donnell emerges innocently
from his morning shower only to see
before his very eyes, the actual and
complete Transmogrification of our manager
Robin Morton into a dog: A rather sizeable
Labrador Retriever to boot!
Luckily
Sean sees the funny side of the supernatural
and We all head into Brewster for breakfast.
Oddly enough, Robin’s driving
is much better as a dog.
|
|
After Breakfast we head
up to Lebanon, New Hampshire for a concert
at the Opera house – a beautifully
restored building, which is part of the
old town hall. The reception is great
from both crew and public and tonight
is one of two concerts on this tour where
Jim Malcolm (jimmalcolm.com)
is sharing the bill with us. Jim is a
great singer, songwriter, guitar and mouthie-player
from Perth who is perhaps best known as
the principal singer with the Old Blind
Dogs. We have done several festivals with
Jim over the past couple of years and
it is always great to see him. After the
show we adjourn to a brewery pub next
to our hotel where we hear a local blues
band while the fellow next to me regales
me with stories of great fights he has
had while working for the U.S. military
at Holy loch near Dunoon on the river
Clyde.
|
| Sunday
30th October After
an early breakfast with the University
of Syracuse ladies Orangemen tennis team
– You have to see a lady Orangeman
to believe it - we head off for an early
flight to Denver Colorado and a gig at
Swallow Hill. On each successive flight
in America, Big Rob, our sound engineer,
drinks ever increasing amounts of bloody
Mary mix which I believe to be the cause
of an unusual mutation or perhaps metamorphosis
to his entire being. I cannot quite put
my finger on it now but he is starting
to look like someone familiar...
Anyway, We have played here many times
but today’s travel plans afford
us no opportunity to investigate the delights
of Denver. The concert, however, was great
and all of the Swallow Hill Mob look after
us splendidly. |
caption schmaption. |
How
did Darth Vader know what Luke was getting
for Xmas? Because he felt his presents.
(you're fired - ed.)
|
Monday
31st October
Today is Halloween and we have a day off,
however we have before us an epic drive
to Durango, Colorado at the opposite corner
of the state. First, however, we stop
for breakfast at an Irish theme bar situated
in one of the newer suburbs on the fringes
of Denver. In keeping with the Halloween
theme, This bar/restaurant has emblazoned
on one of its interior walls the story
of the celts who of course came from a
land far, far away, a long, long time
ago to another land far, far away not
quite so long ago. This mural depicts
this story with all of the Hollywood style
of the now famous cinematic moment at
the beginning of the first Star Wars film:
Indeed just about any science fiction
story created since. “A long time
ago in a galaxy far, far away blah blah
blah…” This prompts the meditation
from Sean: (cue Heavy breathing) “Oi’m
yer daddy Luke” and of
course that great catchphrase omitted
from most John Wayne films: “Stickin’
oit, Pilgrim”
|
The
scenery on this voyage is truly spectacular
– high desert and mountain passes.
Once in Durango, we adjourn to the Carver
brewing company for a hallowe’en bash
of some magnitude featuring the red hot
sounds of a local bluegrass band whom we
are informed have been playing together
since infancy. Americans go in for this
holiday in a big way and ther are a great
cast of characters present: A three-hundred
pound baby, Gumby, various witches and devils,
men made up to be women, four guys dressed
as Steeleye Span, a few bearded ladies,
and plenty of 1970’s retro-kitsch.This
is our kinda town pilgrim.
|
”I’m
Gumby dammit!” |
Tuesday
1st November.
This
morning we have a live radio interview
with Stasia Lanier
at KSUT
FM This proves to be not only enjoyable,
but valuable for publicising tonight’s
concert in Farmington, New Mexico.
(We've
got a couple of mp3 excerpts from this
interview here - sorry; we've had to cut
some of the songs & tunes short -
it's probably only worth trying to listen
to this if you've got broadband clip1
..clip2)
The
concert is great – big hall, loads
of people, and we're well looked after
by Linann and her crew.
|
| Wednesday
2nd November
Again we have two days
to get to our next destination and on
our departure from Farmington into the
great deserts of New Mexico we witness
one of the finest juxtapositions of Americana
I have seen for some time. For those of
you whom have never been to the rural
southwest, the countryside is littered
with superstores dealing in erotica and
ammunition in variable proportions depending
on the particular brand of “love”
favoured by that county. These outposts
tend to stand like monoliths against this
breathtaking backdrop of seemingly empty,
painted deserts and as such are optimum
advertising opportunities. Massive billboards
rise out of these shops, coaxing the weary
traveller from the road so the he (or
I suppose, she) might investigate the
charms within. Well this particular shop
had one such super-placard in two halves:
On one side: “XXX Adult Superstore.
DVD’s, Toys, Lingerie (plus sizes)”
while on the opposing side of this two
part behemoth was the classic, iconic
representation of that most famous bearded
man of Galilee with outstretched hand
proclaiming “Jesus is Watching You”.
Unfortunately we have no photograph of
this as the camera had gone temporarily
blind.
|
|
Once
out of the town, we make the long drive
through the Navajo Reservation. Words cannot
do justice to this majestic landscape so
here are some pictures:
|
For
our night off we stop in Show Low, Arizona.
This town is named after a game show and
as such is not unique in the United States.
Some years ago we played in the similarly
named Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
Given this precedent, on wonders what
other townships lie on the horizon: Jeopardy,
Wisconsin; The Price is right, Ohio; Blankety-Blank,
Lancashire; Going for Gold, Luxembourg….
After a few aperitifs in the bar watching
Las Americas v. Valez in the Liberatadores
cup – this is the latin American
version of the European Champions League
- the La Fiesta restaurant in Show Low
provides for us one of the best Mexican
meals we have had for some time. All in
all a mighty day off.
|
| Thursday
3rd November.
As you can tell by our
photographs, we are all avid tanning kings
so after a quick top-up in the “One
Tan Banana Tanning Salon” (there’s
only one tan banana, one tan banaa na,
there’s only one tan banaa na) it
is off through the Apache reservation
to Tuscon, Arizona and our next concert
at the Berger performing Arts Center.
Luckily it is down hill all the way for
Rob’s petrol gauge is showing empty.
So he free-wheels the thirty or so miles
to the next petrol station.This is part
of the new, Green Batties ethos: We will
start all our tours from the highest point
in the continent and plan the gigs in
a downhill order as to emit less greenhouse
gasses. We could sell biodegradable cd’s
which will have to be re-bought every
six months. The possibilities are endless...
|
The
all New Green Rob: half man half spaniel |
|
