I feel like it might be appropriate to copy and paste Ben Wills' last blog post about post SXSW exhaustion. Only I'd need to double whatever units of measure he was employing. Dead. Tired. I might sleep for an entire week upon homecoming.  We played Club Passim last night in Cambridge, Ma. Great times had by all. It was the last night of tour with Sarah Jarosz and such a sad departure. We were all just getting to know eachother. Guess we'll just have to make it happen again ;) Needless to say, we blew it out last night. Margaritas abound. I just can't believe the Ben Lewis didn't partake! Ben Wills would have looked on with disappointment. That's a first I never expected. Look at him being all responsible. He's finally growing up! I, on the other hand, have regressed. I might have slept 4 hours before we schlepped it to the radio station for a shakey live show/interview. But what are ya gonna do last night of tour? The choice is clear.  I'm at the Boston airport and I want to slap the person who decided to put arm rests between all the chairs. Come on man. Help a sister out.  Athens, it'll be good to see you again.  --LL

Y'all like Clam Chowda?

We had a day off. Much needed. Sometimes vacation makes work seem harder when you return. The crowd in Fall River, Ma. made our "work" seem a little more like vacation than vacation. We're still adjusting to the totally silent Jarosz audiences who erupt in applause after every song. Even the applause is shocking to me. The 30 seconds seems like an eternity from the stage. Anyway, it's obviously a welcome change. As an artist, you really couldn't ask for more.  We spent the first half of the day hiking in Middletown, RI, just outside of Newport, in the wildlife refuge. The Rhode Island coast is a conundrum. It's the warmest, coldest, sunniest, foggiest place I've ever been. Ben ate 5 bowls of clam chowder in 2 days. Guess he's been trying to get his 2-year authentic supply down the gullet before it's 16 hours away.  Last night we played at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River. Great place. Lots of character. I believe it's an old paper factory (not mill--it smells great) circa 1900. Now it's an art gallery/creative space. It made me miss our bassist, Ben Wills. Being that he's a visual artist, I'm sure he would've enjoyed the place. Surely we'll pass through again with him in tow.  On the highway to the danger zone. Driving and navigating in Boston is never boring, never easy. We're playing our last two sold-out shows with Sarah Jarosz tonight at Club Passim in Cambridge. Last night Alex Hargreaves asked "So you guys down to party tomorrow night?" I, of course, immediately and enthusiastically said, "Yes!" Sadly I so easily forgot in that moment that tomorrow will be slammed. We're doin an early morning radio show in Boston before we catch a plane home. One disappointment after another. No hang time with the sweet Jarosz crew, no boozin, no more shows. Dang. Guess we'll just go home and sleep in. Ha. I'm such an asshole. Still feeling really lucky and embarassed when y'all slips from my mouth, --LL

Ben hikes like a leprechaun.

Sunnies, foggiest, coldest, warmest place ever: Middletown, RI.

The Best Kept Secret of Mass: Northampton

The problem with fun towns and good people is that you usually carry a reminder of them with you all day; a hangover. At least hangovers don't usually mean you had a shitty time. I for one had a fantastic time in Northampton.  Two things about this tour are new: 1. We're playing solely acoustic 2. We're in the Northeast for the first time.  I'm not sure which variable is to blame but we've sold out of cds. What a great problem. The fans of Sarah Jarosz seem to understand how helpful their purchases are. Could they be truly altruistic or is there another force at work there? Regardless, I dig it.  Ben and I have our first day off since New Orleans. How long ago was that? 10 days? That's not so bad. We're taking advantage of a friend's unoccupied  Rhode Island beach pad. She says there's boards, wetsuits and beer waiting for us. Maybe I'll finally catch a real wave. We're coming down to the last few shows of the tour. I gotta admit, I'm a little sad about it.  LL

Our new friend and protector in Northampton, Amanda.

What we did pre-show in Northampton.

Our little rental car has been treatin us right.

Live Free or Die

Live free or die. That's the phrase I'd say best describes our life design. It's also the phrase that is on every New Hampshire license plate. These people gotta be great if even the government-made tags state such a motto.

Londonderry, I never really met you. When we did have an opportunity to check out the actual "town," Ben was distracted by a quick game of "kick a small rock around the parking lot with Nat Smith." I have to admit, I joined them for a kick or two.  Fun times. Real, real fun.

So far, this tour has had me see the early morning light more often than not. Last night after we played, we drove from Londonderry, NH to Boston to stay with strangers; very nice strangers who gave up their own beds for us. It took an hour to find a place to park. And we had to be up by 7am to either feed the meter or move the car. We just decided to stay up and clumisily drove around the busy and confusing streets of Boston looking for some food. There's plenty to choose from. With full bellies and half empty heads, we're off to Northampton, MA., not to be confused with North Hampton, NH.

Rest stops in New Hampshire have liquor stores.  Even better!

LL

Burlington without a coat.

Burlington. The place were they make coats and cheese. Both very important items in what you'd expect to be a somewhat harsh environment. We got lucky. We get lucky a lot. It was over 70*F and we had time to nap outside in the Econolodge "courtyard" with a sweet 5-toed cat. We also got to enjoy complimentary Vermont cheddar backstage at Higher Ground. Early in the day Ben and I rose at 7am to drive to the Burlington college radio station WRUV 90.1 fm. It worked. One girl told me she heard the radio show and that's why she can out. She even bought a cd.  Feeling a bit more rested lead to several Irish car bombs with Higher Ground's "Z" and cellist Nat Smith, before jumping inside some huge amoeba-looking balloon animal. Who knows where that came from but we certainly could not pass the opportunity to become part of it.  Someone took photos but sadly, I do not have one :(  Onwards and upwards, well downwards. We're headed south to Londonderry, NH.

Lake George.

Burlington Econolodge's 5-toed cat.

Napping in the Courtyard.

Albany?

Sleep when we're dead. As if SXSW would leave us feeling nourished and rested. With 4 hours of fitful sleep and healthy hangovers, Ben Lewis and I made it onto our Albany bound plane by the skin of our teeth. Albany I can't quite put a finger on. People were smoking joints and drinking in the streets. To my disappointment, I was told St. Patrick was to blame.  Ben Wills, incredibly talented and charming bassist, usually writes these here blog posts. But since he's not on this duo tour with us, I'll do my best to wear his shoes.  Last night Ben and I played our biggest acoustic duo show thus far, and our first as support for Sarah Joarsz, with Nathaniel Smith and Alex Hargreaves. I swear those kids are aliens. They're so good! Looking forward to several more days on the road with them. Good people.  The route from Albany to Burlington is breathtaking. This is our first time seeing upstate NY. Our rental car was outfitted with a snow/ice scraper. I didn't know what it was at first glance. Oh yeah, we're way up north. It snows. And freezes. But this week weather.com predicts temps in the low 70's. Lucky for us.  Until tomorrow, Lera

The Egg

The Egg Outside.   Beautiful.

South by Southwest (Part 1)

I'm le tired.

It's the end of South by Southwest for me.  Ben and Lera are on their way to New York.  Ck's staying to see this thing through (he has to drive the van home), and me... well I'm sitting alone at the airport, tired... exhausted really.  All I want to do is take my boots off because my feet hurt but I don't know if that's socially acceptable.  I guess I could tell anyone who has a problem with it that I'm just doing my part to keep Austin weird.

I touched Tom Morello.  The YouTube video of the event you can see my hand touch his back and then he stops talking and looks at me and then redeclares to the audience, "I've got something to say."  That's right.  He's looking at me in disappoint for disrupting his speech, just so I could touch the guy from Rage Against the Machine.  Whatever.  It kind of one-up'ed the whole situation for me.  

I'm. So. Tired.

I guess that's what I deserve.

Airport Internet is worth it, if you're going to be here for 4 hours alone.  $7.00.  Not bad.  Not to bad at all.
And thanks Norfolk St.  for ruining my otherwise perfect bracket for March Madness. Gosh.  Happy St. Patricks day.

That's my hand! 

Keeping Austin weird.

Who dat? Oh, never mind. It's Lera Lynn.

New Orleans. 

I had two goals. 

1.  Monkey Po Boy

2.  Find a Louisiana Voodoo lady.

Did you know: In the Voodoo religion, it is a commonly accepted belief that you can make a farmer’s well go dry by putting some soda in the well for one week each day; then drawing a bucket of water out and throwing it in the river. 

We didn’t do anything even like that.  I did drink PBR and watch a band.  So at least I got some déjà vu.

On Lera’s suggestion we went to a cigar bar. 

Immediate Lera reaction: disappointment- too much smoke.

On Ck’s suggestion, or maybe it was Shank’s, we went to the Carousel bar.  Immediate Ck reaction: nausea.

But all’s well that ends well and we were able to watch a brass band cover the Fresh Prince theme.  Thank god that’s an actual band.

It’s so humid.  I love it.  Our manager Chris is with us.  He can grow a beard.

Ck, Chris, Lera, Team Ben, Stranger Girl

What I hoped New Orleans would be like.

What New Orleans was actually like.  Not to far off.

What's the deal with these tires?  This is the third load of them I've seen.  I mean... look at the semi truck tires, now back to the tires.  They must be being made for the resistance.  It's coming.

Destin-ation

The best part about being in a van for long periods of time is coming up with games like, have Lera draw a tattoo on me and then have her turn it into a new tattoo.  So first, she gave me a bass clef, and then turned it into an old timey Mexican drinking cowboy. 

The best part about playing music while people are eating is that you get to feel like you’re in the one-ders.  “THAT’S IT, GUY PATTERSON!! THE WONDERS! THE ONE-DERS.” 

Florida is hard for me, because I’m terrified of the ocean’s undertow.  And large fish.  Everything.  The Ocean is scary.  But not so scary that I wont get in and splash around and try to pretend that I’m not scared.  And nice try the beach, but not even you can keep CK from sleeping. 

The Shed in Destin is the fastest meal service that I am aware of.  Additionally, they have a helicopter that you can play in.   Got to play with our new friends the Delta Saints, who are a kick ass rock and roll blues harmonica dobro playing music band with two Bens, just like us. 

So far this little tour has felt pretty much like a vacation. The sand looks like snow.  Upward and onward.  SXSW bound.

Can you see the bass clef? Lera is an artist.

Lera and the Bens.

Ck Koch.

4 Bens.

Black Hawk Down.

Home Base

Athens, Georgia.  Sister city to Bloomington.  Well done.

Last night, the Georgia Theatre got Lera'd pretty hard.  I still can't believe how awesome the crowd was.  Radiohead was the night before in Atlanta.  Their crowd was of similar quality, just a larger quantity.  And Ring of Fire is officially released!  And this week Lera started doing interviews correct, 

"... I'm excited about: Ben Wills." - Lera Lynn

http://flagpole.com/news/2012/feb/29/lera-lynn-7-inch-release-show/

I'll take it.  Even if it means I have to take it out of context.

I don't think that the evening could have been more fun.  I had a blast.  Athens, Georgia.  I am glad that I live here.  I want to do last night every night.  That was just the most fun.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for Lera's keys.  They're somewhere.

Georgia Theatre. 3.2.12

Lera and Ben Lewis with some kind of weird tiny guitar. 

I hope that Kirby Cobb doesn't mind that I borrowed a couple of her photos.