Live via the free wifi in the Eastern Iowa airport, I’m waiting for my 6am flight to Dallas and then on to NOLA! I got most of my pre-trip chores done at my apartment, but this beginnings of a cold or some other illness made it difficult. I managed to get to bed at 10pm, but then I woke up coughing for an hour, followed by waking up for an hour thinking of things I had forgotten to pack. The only thing that merited me getting out of bed to pack it was my Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras guide. My alarm went off way too early at 3:30am. Thank goodness for my crazy loud old-fashioned clangy alarm clock.
The PA system just announced that my flight is looking for a volunteer to switch flights. While I’d love that $200 travel voucher, I want to get to NOLA when Tracy and the Mulvey’s do. Hopefully I won’t get bumped. My previous flight option didn’t have me getting into NOLA until 5pm. 12 hours of traveling? Um, no.
Happily, I was able to check my big bag for free. I could’ve checked 2 bags free since I booked my original ticket so long ago. That will be handy for coming back. 50 pounds of beads checked free? Yes, please.
I want to get there, have some lunch, go to Napoleon House for a Pimm’s Cup, then have some tasty dinner, then call it a night. I need one night of decent sleep. Thankfully there aren’t parades until Thursday.
Many thanks to Sara for getting up super early to bring me to the airport. You rock, Sara!
I have a lot to write about, but I thought I would start with the visuals to help add to the narrative structure of my crazy five day trip.
Photos from four of the five shows (nothing from Madison, more on that later…) If you click on a photo when it is the big photo, it will give you the caption for the photo, with the option to click over to Flickr and see all the sizes.
All my video clips (some short, some long) in one big playlist:
And now a trip overview:
Last Wednesday, my boys of Bonerama came to Iowa City and enjoyed the cozy surrounds of the basement of the Iowa City Yacht Club. Huge thanks to all my friends and family from many parts of my life that came out to enjoy the fabulous music. I know it was tough since it was a Wednesday, but I hope the music and fun was more than worth it for everyone. It was very cool for me to get to see even more people I know see the guys for the first time or get a second or third (or more) taste. I can’t wait for them to come back in July and play the Iowa City Jazz Fest! Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 5th at 6pm! Bring the family!
On Thursday, Julie and I headed for Minneapolis. We stayed with the Whitworths and got a chance to enjoy the cuteness that is Muiread. There was dinner and BC dropped by for a few drinks before the show. Brandon went to the show with Julie and I. I think he enjoyed himself. The Cabooze was a cool club in Minneapolis and the show was great with an enthusiastic crowd.
Friday, we rolled eastward to Madison to our one night in a hotel. I hadn’t been to Madison before and expectations were a little high since the city was so highly recommended, but Wisconsin managed to not disappoint. Jewels and I had a great dinner at a wonderful restaurant called ‘The Icon’ that was across the street from the theater. Highly recommended for both before and after show fun. The concert on Friday was in a real theater. It was sold out and packed with around 900 people! Julie can report on the show as I mostly heard it from the lobby. I was helping out the band and selling merchandise. It was nice to be thought of and asked by Mark. Yes, I know I said ‘yes’ three times, but wow, it was crazy!! I liked getting to talk to people about the show as they came in and out for drinks or the restroom, but after the smokin’ encore, it was pandelrium! So many new fans!! And the guys came out and signed autographs and talked to the eager people. I complained, but they know I loved it. Anything to help out and share the joy of the Bone!
Saturday (and we were surprisingly feeling good, other than some lingering/developing colds), and we had a nice short drive to Chicago. There was cheese and wine tasting along the way (isn’t that required by law in Wisconsin?) and we settled into my home away from home in Chicago, at my friend Scott’s apartment. We went out for a fabulous seafood dinner at a restaurant that I can’t remember at the moment, and then grabbed a tasty (and properly filled) drink before Julie and I headed to the club. Bonerama had played Martyrs last July and I was there and it was a good crowd: dance floor in the middle with tables on both sides and it was all comfortably filled. Obviously the second time around had built up a following because when we walked in at 10:45pm it was a sweaty madhouse! Totally packed from wall to wall with people fired up to see the guys and they definitely brought the goods. The people were dancing and loving it all night. I hadn’t been to a hot, sweaty club show in quite awhile. That’s what they’re like in NYC or NOLA. It was fun. And hot. The music was so good. Seriously, watch some of my shaky video. Revisited the Green Mill, site of one of my best Harry shows ever, later that night which was a great way to end the day (or start Sunday).
Sunday, we hung out with Scott. There was brunch and a lot of walking. Then we headed to DeKalb for an evening of contrasts. A slightly smaller crowd, but no less appreciative. It was kind of like a fan appreciation show. It was nice to have time to chat with people in a calm fashion and be able to sit back and enjoy the show. Though the music was so good I pretty much wanted to crawl out of my skin. What was really cool about the setlist was that it included both ‘Moby Dick’ (with a crazy 13+ minute jam) from the first Bonerama album, which I hadn’t heard for quite awhile, as well as a brand new arrangement of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ that they had just rehearsed that afternoon. Its going to be so awesome.
And then we said our goodbyes. I cried a little bit on the way home, more from joy than sadness. What an adventure to get to take. We got back to Iowa City around 1:30am on Monday.
Look: photographic proof that I was within spitting distance of Daniel Craig. *sigh*
I’ve posted some of my Academy Awards red carpet photos over on flickr. There’s a lot of cropping involved in my pictures, so its taking a bit longer than I’d hoped to get all finished. I still have some more to add to the set… they’re coming soon.
