Horseheads NY @ Jake's Saloon
Drive there was another time warp/alien abduction situation. 3-4 hours turned into 7. Weird. Well, stopping a a truck stop parking lot to half-unload the van as to jack up the van and pull apart rear brakes ate a little time. Back brakes making godawful noises. But right side a cable for the emergency brake came loose and was grinding, easily reattached. Left side something had also come loose, not needed immediately so clipped and removed. Problem solved! Back brakes work better than ever.
Met our promoter friend Steve Todd there. Good to see him again. Loaded into the small venue and set up, more or less. Steve then took us to his buddy's place for BBQ and beers, all great and hit the spot. Good to chill for a bit and NOT be in the van.
Back at venue crowd already starting to build, that's good. Was hoping word had spread since last visit, and it had. My neck has been sore as shit since the previous morning so feeling a little stiff. But we tore into it and had a good crowd!
Weird thing about the bar, we played in front entry way divided into 2 alcoves. Me on one side, Eric and Rob on the other. Despite chair blocking door with taped sign "PLEASE USE SIDE DOOR" people kept walking in/out, meaning walking right thru us. No big deal. But then drunks would come up and talk to us between (and DURING) songs which got a little distracting. One guy came staggering up and mumbling gibberish, had to politely tell him stand over there with everyone else. At least the drunk lady who tried to give me a wedgie then later ate shit at the bar wasn't there...
New wireless works like a charm. Batteries last forever. Used it for all of Bethlehem set (90+ mins) and batt guage hadn't even moved. Sweet! Used it only for crowd walks at Jake's, didn't want to push my luck yet. At one point another drunk older guy was smiling and mimicking my stiff-neck head bob. Couldn't tell if he was enjoying himself or making fun of me. Put it out of my mind either way. Towards the end Brad the owner came in with his sax case, hell yeah he can sit in! He played for awhile in the corner, I kept motioning for him to get on the mic-- what he was doing sounded great! But he ket saying "That's not it..." We play a half-step down in Eb, guess that was throwing him off a bit. But he finally got on my mic and wailed last 2 songs. Awesome!
Fun show, great crowd. Small places are easy to fill \m/, That and Brad and Steve were taking great care of us (drinks). Before getting totally hammered we made sure to load the van and find out who we are following to where. Went back to Steve's buddy's house who had a full bar and pool table in the basement. And we put the PARTY in after-party... holy cow. End of night got real hazy real quick. I managed to beat Rob at pool,that was unexpected. Don't recall much about going to sleep,but woke up on living room couch, Eric on the loveseat nearby. Despite heroic alcohol consumption I managed to take off my shoes and contact lenses. We really let it all hang out, mainly cause we didn't have to go anywhere other than to sleep. Wow.
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