NEWSOM EXPECTS MORE OUT OF ME

Sometimes I get bored with what I think is the humdrum day to day life of playing fair and festivals. It's a lot of dirt, a lot of inadequate facilities and a lot of meet and greets. However, sometimes I'm reminded that others revel in the choice descriptions and short diatribes that I dictate to this blog. Chris Newsom, our beloved Production Manager, is apparently one of those. Therefore, he told me a few days ago that he expected more out of me in the blog department. So, here we go.

My last entry was Atlantic City. Alex had a baby, we had to send him home for a couple days. We had a great day off in Washington D.C. (Tyson's Corner area, actually). The new NCAA '09 Football came out and Kline hacked a copy, we played pretty much all day. Kline and I did venture over to the mall to eat at Cheesecake Factory with ML and Luke. Good quality food, always consistent. I've been there at least 20 times and haven't even gotten 1/4 of the way through the menu. We walked around the mall a little and I realized that in the last five years I think I've only made three clothing purchases from any mall. For some reason they all have that stuffy, hoity toity feel to me.

We then headed out for Lewisburg, WV. It was one of the ML/Blake shows. This is what a sold out crowd of almost 6000 people looks like.

I got to run home for a quick couple days after that. We had a forgettable gig three days later in Coffeyville KS. It was a mudpit of immense proportions. They made a walkway from the buses to the stage with plywood. However, some dumbass on the "maintenance committee" didn't double check that he had all the nails out of the plywood before laying it below our feet. I walked right over it and a nail went thru the bottom of my Chuck Taylors. I was pissed. I had to go the following day and get a tetanus shot, I hadn't had one in about 12 years. I remembered them hurting really badly, but it didn't sting when I got the shot. However, two days later it felt like I took a roundhouse to the left shoulder from Holyfield.

We had a great gig a couple days later in Beaver Dam, WI. It's always such a nice change when fairs "get it" and let people come up tot he stage. Makes such a difference. From there we had another couple forgettables in South Dakota and Nebraska. After those two we headed to Denver for a day of R&R. If you are planning a Denver excursion, I highly recommend the Crowne Plaza on Glenarm. It's right in the middle of the LoDo district downtown and there is so much going on. Malls, eateries, etc. And the hotel was great as well. Aden, Alex, Charlie, Keith and I went to a breakfast place called The Delectable Egg for brunch on Sunday. We beat the rush in and had an amazing meal. I had regular old eggs benedict (great hollandaise) while Aden opted for the California benedict (English muffin with tomato, avocado, eggs and hollandaise). When leaving, Aden noticed he really liked the sign.


That brings us up to speed. We're sitting in, surprise, a dustbowl in South Dakota again. This time it's Rapid City, but you think it really matters Eddie?