BUT. Before I jump in, here are some tid-bits from road life thus far:
- DID YOU KNOW -
- Wal-Mart is the only place you can legally sleep in your car (other than designated camp sites, which aren't everywhere). So. Wal-Mart and I are gettin' real tight.
- People in Cincinnati have southern accents.
- Yoshi has been extremely well behaved. Seriously. He loves the van.
- $75 is the highest amount gas pumps will allow you to get up to? Apparently so. Apparently our tank is literally too expensive to fill.
Ok. Those are some fun facts from the trip so far. Now let's get started with the daily details, eh?
Saturday, April 6:
I returned my nanny-mobile keys, hugged my pseudo child of the past 3.5 years and then frantically emptied the Lincoln Square apartment (with the help of our dear friends JF & PS).
Always down to the wire, KG, Yoshi & I hit the road (and picked up our friend J en route) just in time to arrive at a respectable time to our show (the only scheduled show on this journey) in South Bend.
Our show was at a pretty amazing place called "The Pool". It's an apartment, that (aptly named) is in the pool of what used to be a high school. It's a gorgeous space, and the friendly folks that live there turned it into a DIY acoustic performance venue. We played with a Chicago musician called Zapruder Point and the South Bend group The Rutabega (through whom I got the gig, lovely gentlemen).
It was quite an experience. Our dear friend from Michigan had been in Chicago with his gal, and on their way to Columbus they came to our show as well! There were also locals trickling into the space through the night... all sitting quietly on couches around the room and simply taking in the music. It was probably the best crowd of respectful and interested strangers in an audience we Scuttlebuggs have ever had.
After the performance, the fella that lives there (Gus) informed us our dog was more than welcome inside. This place got better and better. We brought Yoshi inside from the cage in his new van abode, and he was pretty frantic. It got us worried for the two months of Yoshi anxiety that could be to come, what with his constant panicky panting (and then there was that embarrassing moment when he knocked down a stool during a beautiful quiet number by The Rutabega...) but he calmed down quickly, and we haven't had any real trouble with him since! What a dear. Mostly.
While hanging around after the show, we were told by the lovely lady of the house that they often take in traveling musicians on their dozens of couches. We were offered a place for the night! Almost too humbled by their kindness to accept, she went on to say she would be staying elsewhere and we were welcome to her bedroom (including Yoshi!) There was even a patio connected to it for him to run. These people are really something.
We gratefully accepted, and then were invited to join some of the folks hanging out at "The best pub in the midwest": Fiddler's Hearth. It probably WAS the best pub in the midwest. You seat yourself, wherever there is space. For us, this meant with an older gentlemen who had been sitting alone. He didn't seem too thrilled to be joined by a table of 7 young'ns. But he was kind enough anyhow, even warmed up enough to show us a picture of his little grandson. We enjoyed some great beer, some kinda salmon dip thing, quite a pub. Also, we made quite the entrance -- since before we strolled over, Gus provided us all with suit jackets from his impressive collection he bought in Afghanistan.
When 5 of us all in fancy suitcoats walked through the door, we were immediately asked by a drunk patron "ooo! Are y'all a band??"
Anyhow, we crashed for the night and went for a delightful brunch the next morning. We strolled over, checked out the river on the way.
After a bit of wandering, we dropped J at the train back to Chi-town and continued on our journey.. following our friends to Columbus, Ohio.
ON SOUTH BEND: The city itself didn't look like much, for the most part. There weren't many people out wandering the streets. Our friends that passed through town to see us commented on how it seemed dead, like there was nothing going on. What was the most impressive to me about this place, was the extraordinarily apparent sense of community there. The gal who gave us her room works for an organization whose sole purpose is to create fun exciting events in the city, and build up the art scene and passion that is already there. Someone during the show gave a speech on how South Bend has not had much going on for a while, but it's so inspiring to see the people becoming so much more active these days. He said, "I have never been more proud to be from South Bend than I am right now". And you could feel it. The pride around the room, and the sense of kindness and community. They were true to their town through hard times and they are making it better and better through their efforts. In bigger cities it can feel as though the sense of community sometimes gets lost.. The "scenes" can often seem less open... you have to find a way to to be accepted at times. Music venues especially are so often cold. South Bend feels so warm and open to everyone, and that's a beautiful thing.
All in all.. South Bend gave us a beautiful warm friendly start to our adventure. I appreciate you so, South Bend-ers.
 |
| The Rutabega in The Pool |
After the performance, the fella that lives there (Gus) informed us our dog was more than welcome inside. This place got better and better. We brought Yoshi inside from the cage in his new van abode, and he was pretty frantic. It got us worried for the two months of Yoshi anxiety that could be to come, what with his constant panicky panting (and then there was that embarrassing moment when he knocked down a stool during a beautiful quiet number by The Rutabega...) but he calmed down quickly, and we haven't had any real trouble with him since! What a dear. Mostly.
While hanging around after the show, we were told by the lovely lady of the house that they often take in traveling musicians on their dozens of couches. We were offered a place for the night! Almost too humbled by their kindness to accept, she went on to say she would be staying elsewhere and we were welcome to her bedroom (including Yoshi!) There was even a patio connected to it for him to run. These people are really something.
We gratefully accepted, and then were invited to join some of the folks hanging out at "The best pub in the midwest": Fiddler's Hearth. It probably WAS the best pub in the midwest. You seat yourself, wherever there is space. For us, this meant with an older gentlemen who had been sitting alone. He didn't seem too thrilled to be joined by a table of 7 young'ns. But he was kind enough anyhow, even warmed up enough to show us a picture of his little grandson. We enjoyed some great beer, some kinda salmon dip thing, quite a pub. Also, we made quite the entrance -- since before we strolled over, Gus provided us all with suit jackets from his impressive collection he bought in Afghanistan.
When 5 of us all in fancy suitcoats walked through the door, we were immediately asked by a drunk patron "ooo! Are y'all a band??" |
| the most beautiful building I saw downtown. |
Anyhow, we crashed for the night and went for a delightful brunch the next morning. We strolled over, checked out the river on the way.
After a bit of wandering, we dropped J at the train back to Chi-town and continued on our journey.. following our friends to Columbus, Ohio.
ON SOUTH BEND: The city itself didn't look like much, for the most part. There weren't many people out wandering the streets. Our friends that passed through town to see us commented on how it seemed dead, like there was nothing going on. What was the most impressive to me about this place, was the extraordinarily apparent sense of community there. The gal who gave us her room works for an organization whose sole purpose is to create fun exciting events in the city, and build up the art scene and passion that is already there. Someone during the show gave a speech on how South Bend has not had much going on for a while, but it's so inspiring to see the people becoming so much more active these days. He said, "I have never been more proud to be from South Bend than I am right now". And you could feel it. The pride around the room, and the sense of kindness and community. They were true to their town through hard times and they are making it better and better through their efforts. In bigger cities it can feel as though the sense of community sometimes gets lost.. The "scenes" can often seem less open... you have to find a way to to be accepted at times. Music venues especially are so often cold. South Bend feels so warm and open to everyone, and that's a beautiful thing.
All in all.. South Bend gave us a beautiful warm friendly start to our adventure. I appreciate you so, South Bend-ers.
Glad you started the blog. Looking forward to more news and adventures! Love you!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear more!
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