TOUR DIARY #6: THE BOTTLENECK
Lawrence, KS
Damn! Never underestimate the Midwest! What a great night! People came in from Lincoln, Columbia and Kansas City. We got in around nine o'clock, did a quick sound check with our loving soundman Jonathan, then went for a walk. Tom and I found a beautiful, old neighborhood with lightning bugs and giant trees. Lawrence is quite a handsome town!
Tom got a giant spider-web in the face and freaked out like a little girl. (He still thinks the spider is on him somewhere). If you are reading this and you live far away, please do yourself a favor and drive around North America. It's so easy to live in the United States or Canada and take for granted that a few hours away there is a completely different place with it's own feel and climate. Especially places like this that are totally underrated. The air was all moist and bats were flying around, crickets were chirping. It sounds like it could be anyplace, but the same elements are completely different. It makes you think about books you read or your idea of what history was like when you were a kid. None of it looks like it does on TV. None of it. You have to see it yourself. For example; if you have never been to the prairies, you probably still have images in your mind of what it looks like, maybe you see fields and giant grain elevators. The fields are still there, but the elevators are disappearing, especially the old wood ones in Canada since they don't really rely on the railroad (also disappearing rapidly) to transport wheat anymore. It doesn't seem like a big deal until you've seen one. They are massive, lonely and beautiful. It's as though some ancient pharaoh built them thousands of years ago. It makes you think of those eerie Edward Hopper paintings of abandoned gas stations and big haunted space. It's exciting to visit little towns and find out what famous people grew up there. There's old architecture and beautiful vistas everywhere. That is what North America looks like to me; old vine-covered things and abandoned factories. Things that make you feel connected to your ancestors.
Perhaps my imagination is a bit hyperactive, but even the flattest Texas prairie or the most broken down, graffiti-riddled old warehouse is fascinating when you think about who used to live there, be they Native Americans, migrant workers, wealthy plantation owners, dust bowl farmers or just herds of bison. A far cry from depressing strip malls, resort hotels and theme parks. My point is, you can actually feel what it's like to be inside the painting. There's nothing even close to it on your stupid television. Anyway, I'm rambling, back to the show. Rex and the Boys were fabulous. The people were friendly and excited, they made us feel good, which we really needed after our Denver show and ten hour drive. Yay Lawrence!
Notes:
Good BBQ- Chubby's in Junction City, Kansas
Unidentifiable Road Kill - Porqu-Dog, Cat-Coon and some kind of Coyote-Deer-Wolf thing