Around the World in 18 Days

[Tipi]

Around the World in 18 Days : Day 1

It begins. I wait for Phillip who has in 3 days delivered a boat to Fla. from Boston and turned around to catch the shows in Maine. He’s late, go figure, and yet I don’t worry about a thing. I don’t know how he’ll possibly make it in time, but somehow I know. He makes it, but there’s not even time for a shower, poor stinky guy. We are off. Sound check is well and truly missed, but we see the bus unloading at the venue as we head to our hotel. But how many people could possibly be at the show? There don’t seem to be enough in town to fill the hall, no matter how intimate it might be. It seems a bad omen.

Two quick showers, a couple of equally quick Margaritas and we head to dinner. There sit Hank and Harry (his 16? Yr old son). This will become a pattern in maine, and if you admire the Hank, wait until you meet Harry! My buddy Phillip is so impressed with the inexplicable perspective he has that the two of them talk through dinner while Hank & I catch up. Lousy food can’t seem to curb our enthusiasm; I can’t recommend the Tugboat Inn to anyone. Ever. Our off-season rate of $125.00 is for a room with a leaking toilet and an “ocean view” which requires enduring the standing water on the deck. I was told that smoking would be allowed on the deck when I booked, as long as nobody complained; there is a sign on the front desk that states “Smoking in or around your non-smoking room carries a $250.00 fine”.

Screw this it’s show time! The Boothbay Opera House looks more like a grange hall. A single balcony wraps around the entire room with a lounge upstairs and the place is packed. Everyone in Boothbay is surely here. Including a couple of friends who have driven 5 1/2 hrs. from Stowe, Vt.! “Hank!” I says to him I says “I can’t believe you drove this far to see The Feat!” “I’ve driven through snowstorms to see them!”. And, they are sitting right next to where Chris and Cajun girl have set up his camera! Things are looking up!

The band kicks it off and the crowd goes absolutely nutz! If you think I remember the set list, you over-estimate my cognitive abilities. I show Phillip my personal tactics for Da Feat as I peruse the space and spot an opening on the wall dowstairs. Dancing room right next to a door (smoke breaks) and as far away from Chris’ equiptment as possible. I sometimes holler at shows and this can ruin a good tape. Perfect location.

It’s a great show. My buddy Phillip is amazed, awestruck. “What the hell have I been doing all these years that I’ve missed this?!” A woman (who for a second I took to be Tanja danced across the stage. The crowd barely sat for the entire show.

There is a meet & greet upstairs in the lounge, as we exit the hall, in comes the band through the front door. “I need that cop!” Denny reports. “You don’t hear That every day” I tell Richie as he goes by, eliciting a grin, and we head off to the hotel.

Michelle was cold and tired (30 degrees 50 mph winds) So I offered to drive her to the Tugboat. I explain to Phillip we will meet the band in Bar Harbor where there will be time before the show, and frankly they won’t remember you anyway as 1 in a huge line. All of Boothbay was also at the meet & greet. As we get out of the truck 3 happy guys (obviously having been at the show) say hello to Michelle. “Do I know you?” she asks. They assure her she doesn’t but invites us to join them in their room for beer. We have Tequilla and wine and choose to decline.

She showers while we smoke, drink, and be Jerry. “Son of a bitch!” at our door announces she has arrived. So now 3 of us be Jerry for a bit, wondering where Chris might be. We eventually head to the room CG & Chris are sharing to get more wine, only to find him alone, trying to get the movie of tonight’s show to play on the hotel TV.

CG -“Why didn’t you read the note I left?
KOAT – “What note?”<br>CG – “Turn around you monkey, it’s right on the bedside table!”<br>
Chris apparently hasn’t turned around since he got back, and he explains he was a little rattled due to meeting 1 of Boothbay’s finest as he drove home backwards on a 1 way street!

“But Officer, I was only going one way!”<br>
After being Jerry with Rodger in the parking lot he wasn’t ready for being pulled over by the law; all was well and he was let go. He did however need to decompress at the hotel after the incident.

Well, we cavorted for 2 more hours in their room, making up for the lack of FeatFan numbers with enthusiasm. We notice that the fellows who wanted to hang with Michelle were in the room next door, as evidenced by the big pile of beer cans outside their door. Oh well.

Breakfast the next morning with Michelle and we are off to Bar Harbor. That’s day 1. I got back the day before thanksgiving, so, uhh, there is more to come.

T
(which Richie has begun to call me ‘cause Todd, Tom, Tipi, is too confusing

[Tipi]

Day 2

After breakfast it’s off to Bar Harbor. A glorious day and a lovely drive up the coast of Maine to the Bar Harbor Inn. Only affordable in the off-season, it’s quickly apparent that they have built a “ghetto” structure to handle folks like us! This place is clearly intended for Vanderbilts. “We have some bad news,” I am told as we check in, “we have closed the Newport building (Ghetto) for the season. You are now in 102, just down the hall.” Hehehe 102 should be called the Lady Di suite as the luxury just oozes. We are so caught up in the opulent accommodations that we decide to blow some cash and upgrade! So I stroll down to the front desk to see about an ocean view, in the complimentary bathrobe. It would have cost $50.00 for a less opulent room to get the view, so we stayed put. We can see the ocean any time we want.

We quickly connect with Hank & Harry on the phone and drive to meet them for a bite. Now, the restaurant is at the end of the driveway of The Bar Harbor Inn; still it must be 1/2 a mile away. We had some lousy steamers, which seemed incongruent with our surroundings, and some enormous Margaritas, which didn’t. More great conversations with Harry & Hank and we make plans to have a good dinner at our hotel, and went to sound check. Our illustrious POC Deb “Mango” Malinkas was there, and it was great to see her, as the poor thing couldn’t make Boothbay. 6 ft. of snow and Day at the Dog Races is all I know.

Upon returning, who should we see in the room next door, but the very people who were next door to Michelle and Chris at Boothbay! We giggled at the coincidence and immediately hit it off. They offered us beer.

“Hey! You must be Pete from Canada!”<br>
Now I know this is profiling, and profiling is wrong, but we were right. Tanja had asked me to give him a hug from her, but it turned out he was yet another Pete from Canada (Marginalcreature on the BB). We cavorted for some time, they drinking beer Phillip and I Tequilla, and spinning music. They mentioned they wanted to hear Gimmee a Stone at the show, I had to confess that even if I hadn’t seen the set-list at sound check I didn’t think they were gonna get it, so I playedum disc 1 from the Mateel Center shows. The 1st time Richie ever sang it.

They explained they were waiting for some party favors to be delivered.

“Uhhh how so? You are from Canada after all.”
“Oh, we met someone in town”<br>
These Canadians are resourceful! As we had to step outside to smoke cigarettes, that’s where we were when a couple of young guys walked up and started talking to us. We shot the shoot for a while before we realized these were the very two kids the Canadians were expecting, and all went inside. They began to try to explain that they had to go get it. And that they had no money. Well, I have seen that movie although not since I was their age. Phillip and I apparently had the same reaction to this news, as we locked eyes and both left immediately. We didn’t know any of these people, and weren’t about to tell them what to do. As we left Pete was saying,

“But how do I know I’ll ever see you again?”

He tried to get the kids Red Sox hat for collateral but Jr. wouldn’t hear of it. He did however leave his watch. The truly remarkable part was when they returned! I was so overwhelmed that I had to personally thank both the kids for being exceptional human beings, at 19 & 20. I also demanded that all present recognized and acknowledged this good choice. Well, now they were buddies, so they hung with us until Phillip and I left.

The show. Oh my god the show. I am really anxious to hear tapes from it, because I was transported. All of a sudden it was as if I was 14 again and seeing them for the first time. Red streamliner has never been better to me. Mark will tell you I can’t remember the set-list so I don’t have to.

The show was so, uhh, moving that 1 fellow was drawn to the stage. There was little or no security at the venue, so not much happened. He was gently helped off-stage, and even let back in to the show. Unfortunately, he chose to relive his experience on stage. Now, the first time as I say, he was gently helped. Billy even made light of it …<br>
“He was moved”<br>
He announced mid-song. The second coming wasn’t as propitious. The words shoe-less and writhing were offered to me by Denny to explain what happened. As I said there was little or no security, so it fell on our crew (Rocky, Rodger, Nick, & Howard) to explain things. As the situation developed, I would be remiss not to mention that I began to casually drift that way. I am no bouncer, but there was no security, and I smelled the fellow coming back for seconds, so I drifted that way. They got him out long before I got there, so I am sure the people around me assumed I was just taking my show (my dancing tends to illicit almost as much notice as Ms. Tanja) on the road.

I have a vague memory of Hank and Phillip (who is also 6’4”) having a conversation in the middle of the show, but I never understood what they were saying. It was over my head. Literally! I couldn’t gain access to the conversation because it was going 2 ft above where my conversations generally occur.

Oh my. This is going to be more fun than I can stand! I was overwhelmed. Denny would assure me later that he liked Ottawa better, but I can’t be convinced that’s not because the merchandise was so stellar.

As Phillip and I left the next day, suffice to say it took me 3 attempts at refueling to get the gas tank on the right side of my truck, so that the hose would reach. I was truly devastated by the show.

We got the gas in the truck and the truck on the road, took it back to my lil’ house in Belgrade, and swapped it for Phillip’s. We headed to Boston to pick up the Sailboat Phillip was towing to Fla., stopped briefly at his Dad’s place (his Dad was my headmaster in High-School for a bit, just a lil’ eerie), and drove to DC. Where we met Rick in a shopping center parking lot. Are you kidding me?

Fasten your seat-belt, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

[Tipi]

Hehehe I almost posted a "who ya gonna vote for next year?" question just cause it was so quiet up in here! But I have been slackin'.

Days 3, 4, 5, 6.

Oh my. Maine simply could not have been better, but I got work to do! Phillip and I did not stop giggling the entire ride to DC. Not when it seemed clear we were going to both fall asleep while rolling, not when they closed the Tappenzee bridge 2 cars in front of us for a 1/2 hour to put up a road sign, not when we missed our turn and ended up on the cross-bronx through NYC. We saw maybe 3 cars before the GWB, and 3 on the GWB. It was remarkably funny. We were clearly 'lettin' the Old man steer', and he had been here before!

The delay on the Tappenzee was so we didn't fall asleep, by the time we were going to again, we were in DC.

"Rick, meet us at Montgomery Mall" where we parked the sailboat for the night and went into town to 'get some sleep'. Alas, sleep was still a ways off, but for good reason. My old buddy Ben Andrews was playing that night at Madams Organ in DC. Obviously exactly where we were supposed to be.

My buddy Ben is the first guy I ever tried to manage. We were once at a Jorma show where he knew the sound guy and got his tape on the house speakers before the show. Jorma’s wife came running out from backstage to tell the sound guy,

“Take this off or he doesn’t play.”<br>
Ben’s got skills, and was basically playing Jormas set-list before the show. Ben is as good as any guitar player going, but he doesn’t want it. He is happy playing his little Catfish Hodge circuit, and going home to his wife and kids. Rick was going berserk. First to let me know how fuking good he thought he was, then to explain why he was playing in some little dive in DC for $200.00 and drinks. He couldn’t believe that a guy this good put forth so minimal of an effort. We talked of Hyatts “Smashing a perfectly good guitar”.

“That song always pissed me off too!”<br>
It was all good. This as much as anything got Rick and I on the same page. This night, while being the worst performance of the next 15 days, did more to bring us close than all the incredible shows yet to come.

Phillip begrudgingly left in the morning, and Rick and I, with another day to kill, called Ms. Tanja. She joined us for Sam Kenninger and Soulive at the Funk Box in Baltimore. Both these bands just drip the funk! Go see them if you’re lucky enough on this tour. Tanja brought her best buddy Gravity Gayle (where the name was bestowed) and the 4 of us were the envy of everyone there. Manoschewvitz! We thought perhaps our luck had changed when we got lost on the way into town, but as soon as we pulled up in front of the place, our parking space opened up. As we would discover on our journey, everything we did was perfect, in spite of us. After the show it was an easy trip back to Annapolis.

As much fun as I can have alone at any little feat show, can you imagine how much fun it was to GO TO a show With LF? The Subdudes played the Ramshead the night before the Feats 2 night run, and Rick and I went with Shaun, Kenny, Howard, and Denny. Oh My God.

Now, I’m a huge Subdudes fan. I’m guessing that I have seen them as often as anyone, with all the time I’ve spent in Nawlins, but this show was exponentially better than any I’ve ever seen. The Dudes Knew that LF was in the house. They played to them and raised the bar on their performance. At the end of their show, they do this,

“We’d like to come down there and sing to you”<br>
acoustic thing. This night it was,

“We’d like to come down there and sing to you, but not You people (us) you make us too damn nervous!”<br>
So they walked to the far side of the room, and began singing.

“Can you folks over there hear us alright?”<br>
They asked the people in the remote corner of the room.

“NO!”<br>
They all screamed. The dudes just shrugged and came back to the middle of the room, and basically sang to us. It was absolutely incredible.

Joined by Mr. Richie, Andy from deep-south, his lovely fiancée’, Rick, Jimmy the bass player for the Dudes and I, cavorted across town till the wee hours. Special indeed. As Andy became enveloped with the prospect of signing the Dudes, his fiancé’ and I became weary, and I walked her home. Now that was fun all by itself, but when it was explained to me the next day that as soon as we left Andy said,

“Oh my god! Did I just make a terrible mistake? Is he going to do something to her?”<br>
Well, I am such an iconoclast that this enough would’ve made my night. To find out that Richie took that ball and ran with it?

“Oh man did you fuck up! He’s definitely going to “Do Something!” hehehe I was in heaven again. It should be needless to say that the next night I offered my services to Andy 5 or 6 times.

“And buddy, if you need me to walk Nann home ….”<br>
Hehehehe What a hoot. Even if I hadn’t gotten to spend that nights show sitting with my favorite professional caddy Mike Fluff Cowan, become good friends, it would have been priceless. I did, and it was. When I saw Mike at the Birchmere 2 days later, he saw me first and yelled “Todd! With a big grin, and embraced me like he never will Tiger. This little moment was one of my all time favorites of the 18 day adventure. Mike rocks.

OK, so I lied. I only got a few more days in, and now I have to go! It’s almost as exhausting in the telling as it was in the doing. I love you all, and thank you all, present or not, for the small part you play in what I know to be Little Feat. What a fucking thing this is.
More later.
T