Tour Diary Day 1 cont’d and Day 2 Posted by Ian on August 13th, 2006
August 11, 2006
Helena, Montana
9:46 AM
Tour Beard Status: Mediocre.
Wakeup at the comfort inn was largely uneventful. Perhaps surprisingly, we avoided paying extra money even though it seemed like we checked out a little after 11:00. We went for breakfast at the No Sweat Café. The food was pretty good, the table was oddly lacquered and there was a semi-lengthy discussion about it. I was pretty impartial about the whole table affair. Really, the only issue with the place was that the cups that were provided for water were ridiculously small.
We proceeded to check out a candy/novelty store, where mark purchased a Leonardo Di Vinci action figure. I do not believe that it had Kung Fu grip. We picked up a dashboard monk, too. There was also a bookstore where mark bought a book about Jesus and Julius Ceasar with some tight maps in it.
Casey had earlier spotted a large cathedral so we went to investigate things. It was pretty neat, but they had redone the interior with cheaper materials so it was far less exciting than the outside. James, Phil, and Mark lit a $2 candle to pray for the tour. Jesus is with us now. He’s an awesome guitarist. Way better than James.
We went to Safeway after this. It wasn’t really exciting so I won’t document it. We began the drive to Bozeman. The dashboard monk was jack-hammering all the way. Thanks to my expert navigation we made it to the Filling station in record time. We sat outside in the van while the rain came down and we made some calls. Thanks to the rain, the barbeque that we had hoped would go down was cancelled, and Tracy was doing some laundry so we headed into town.
We got directions to Cactus Records, so we went in that general direction. We stopped by a secondhand store and James bought some sweet shoes, Mark got dressed up like a old time casino dealer. Casey (perhaps wisely) took a nap in the van. I got bored so I checked out the record store, which was decent but had a small selection compared to Calgary stores. Meg and I went to the leaf and bean and got chai lattes. They were pretty good.
August 12, 2006
Bozeman, Montana
9:36 PM
Tour Beard Status: Unchanged
The Filling Station was very aptly named, as it was in kind of an industrial district and was formerly a filling station. Tracy, the drummer of J.C. Auto, was nice enough to allow us to stay at her place for the evening, so we had previously dropped off our sleeping gear there. I don’t actually know how to spell her name so I’ll just keep using that spelling.
We kicked around the bar for a bit and then had some lengthy and interesting discussions in the van. I actually really enjoy shit like that. J.C. Auto and 3% Rhino both played better than the previous night, I think. I got up onstage and helped 3PR do a cover of “Radio” by the Alkaline Trio. I like the Hot Water Music version better so I tried my best to sound like HWM. We played better in general than last night in Helena. I felt that we had a lot more energy and stage presence this time. Our onstage banter was good, too. Meg, James, and Phil drank some alcoholic beverages. Meg’s voice got high which means she was drunk.
VFB played after we did, and did a bunch of covers of old punk bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag and did some originals that sounded along the same lines. They were unfazed by beer being thrown at them while onstage.
Phil and I spearheaded packing the van, without advice from Mark or Casey. It actually went really well. Phil and I then witnessed a near fight outside, people just seemed to be yelling at each other for no reason, but most of the ire was being directed to what looked like a couple of Hispanic guys, and for no real reason. I don’t want to make claims that racism is more prevalent or common in the USA, because that would be generalizing without facts to back that up, but in Montana, at least, the issue of race seems to be handled differently. Pushed more to the fore, maybe.
We went back to Tracy’s apartment, and waited outside for a bit. At this point I had a killer headache because we hadn’t eaten since the morning and my blood sugar was low. Tracy’s friend Acadia showed up with keys and we got up to the apartment. We made some veggie Keilbasa and Broiled Meg’s shish kebabs. A bunch of people showed up from the bar, including members of 3% Rhino, a guy called Dan that was at the show in Helena, and another guy who’s name I never caught. Some talking was had, and then eventually everyone went to sleep. Thus ends another chapter in the epic saga of the Marty [sic] Index.
