New Mexico was a beautiful place to visit, but the show really sucked. Sorry to be so blunt. We met wonderful people, but in addition to bad sound (the PA was broken), we suffered some equipment problems: Kenny snare head completely exploded, and Matt’s bass amp mysteriously checked out for a few songs (it’s since fine). I suppose we were too loud for the coffee shop folk, because even though they watched and listened, they did so from outside.

But let’s get to the good stuff: San Diego.

San Diego marked the start of our tour-leg with Foreign Islands. We get along really well with those guys, and they consistently put on a great show. Last night, we played the Beauty Bar in San Diego and opened up for them.

I think it’s unanimous that last night was our favorite show of the tour: we played well, the sound was tremendous, and the crowd REALLY responded well. Foreign Islands took the stage after us, and did their thing quite well, too. Overall, everyone was in high spirits and feeling like it was a hell of a Wednesday.

But it didn’t end there. After the show, Matt EarFarm took us to his folks’ house where we’d be staying for the night. But sleep didn’t come before his parents treated us to a feast (buffet style) of miso, sashimi, baked manicotti, sausage, baked chicken, wine, and beer. Amazing.

Then we woke up to fresh coffee, mimosas, breakfast burritos (from scratch), fresh fruit, and more. The Matts took a spin on the PCH, Kenny rested up, and I hit the hot tub.

It was very tough to leave (especially after staying in a disgusting Motel 6 in El Cajon).

But when we did leave, Matt’s Mom (now dubbed “Tour Mom”) sent us away with an assortment of crackers, soups, chicken, energy drinks, Easter Candy (which we are to hide in the van come Easter weekend), and then cards. “Just a little something to help you out for the rest of the trip,” she said. We hugged her goodbye and left in our van. Shortly thereafter, we opened the cards. Whatever shred of good taste I have (or remains after being in a van with three other guys for nearly three weeks) prevents me from saying what was in the card. But I can say that their generosity was enough for us to be speechless for the next 30 minutes.

There’s little we can do to express our gratitude. We just hope they understand how much it means, how much it helps, and how truly thankful we are.

Tonight is our big show at the Viper Room. We play third of four, and Foreign Islands is also on the bill. I’m trying to keep my expectations in check, but - of course - it’s tough to do that. I want it to be more than just a show. I want it to be more than just a good show. I want it to be a turning point.

I don’t think that’s as crazy as it sounds, though. In addition to how long this show has been planned, how large the guest list is (well over 100), we’ve also gotten a bunch of great press lately including…

A review from PopMatters.com

A Review from the North County Times (California)

An article in the Westword (Denver)

A blog posting on the Westword with a full interview transcript

A review of our San Diego show on a blog called Cat Dirt

Exciting to say the least.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 at 9:04 pm and is filed under Daily, Goes Cube Winter/Spring Tour 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.