Photos by Matthew Barnhart
October 13, 2009 : The Social : Orlando, FL
Orlando was a great show. The Social’s a really nice bar in what was once a factory, or warehouse or something. Lots of exposed brick, vaulted ceilings, big pieces of wood everywhere, a boarded up fireplace – the works. There were about 300 people there, and all of them were pretty excited to be where they were. Dave got coaxed into doing another encore, and Blake was a hit with the fans (a couple of glasses of wine increase Big City’s rock-and-roll moves tenfold).
After a sweaty load-out (92 and muggy in the middle of October – gotta love Florida) we found some surprisingly killer, and unsurprisingly pricey ($5 a slice) right around the corner and totally killed it, then it was off to the shadiest hotel of the trip so far, and I should say they’ve mostly been great, the Orlando Quality Inn (so bad that I couldn’t even access the internet to write on this tour blog). Funny how the more they assure you the hotel is nice in the name, the worse it typically is.
October 14, 2009 : Drunken Unicorn : Atlanta, GA
I loaded the first season of the fantastic HBO series, “Eastbound & Down” onto Matt’s computer and let Blake watch it on mine today. Matt finished the entire first season (albeit abbreviated pilot season), and Blake finished the next-to-last episode right before we pulled up to the venue. He’s pretty bummed about not knowing if Kenny and April ever hook up or not.
What a show! The Drunken Unicorn is definitely the most rock-clubby place we’ve played on this tour. The green room doesn’t have anywhere to sit, put things, or do anything really except stand around, the rider was about ten percent fulfilled, there was a water leak, and the venue went to get merch tables from a pita restaurant across the parking lot – it was also one of the best shows of the tour.
Dave got coaxed into playing another encore (I Promise he wasn’t and isn’t planning on encores) and this one was a three-songer: Priests & Paramedics, Man In Me (it’s first appearance), and Harmless Sparks backed by the whole band on vocals, another first, and it sounded great.
After the show the bar hosted a dance party of sorts, and I got to watch six older black dudes have a dance off. I’m kind of going to miss being in the south.