9 hours and 45 minutes to San Francisco

The drive was bittersweet in a lot of ways. It meant the final few dates of our tour and also leaving behind the cold and wet weather of the Pacific Northwest, weather I feel very at home in. The music we listened to was very appropriate given the area we were leaving, mostly classics like The Carpenters ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ and Elvis Presley’s version of ‘A Bridge Over Troubled Water‘ – as we kissed Bridgetown goodbye.

Gig was at The Bottom Of The Hill and I ate at the venue. A classic hamburger w/ fries on the side, and free hot toddy’s all night.

I hadn’t played there before and really the whole experience felt very special. The sound engineer was rad, he was just learning how to use the new board they had installed in the room but gave us a great monitor mix. For us, one of the best sounding shows since Treefort in Boise.

Smokin’ Ziggurats (fun name to say) was the opener and favorite for mine of the night. Hadn’t seen them before but had heard their name. Their drummer was friends with my buddies Sarah Summer & Sam (a rad indie/folk duo out of Arizona). They played with zeal and controlled dynamics. The singer and drummer were highlights, the drummer knew how to really play in the pocket, and had a great sounding kit.

Prior to the gig the venue sent us a paragraph on how break-ins were currently at an all time high in San Francisco, and how we should keep an eye on our van, & bring anything of value inside the venue. Very kind of them to offer up this information. Albuquerque and San Francisco definitely tied as the most stressful in terms of potential burglary. Something I need to remember for later is to get insurance.

For this gig I was also starting to fight off a small cold. Our bass player had been fighting off something when tour started and our drummer caught something on our way to Seattle, and I guess it was only a matter of time before someone else came down with it. I chugged a ton of Apple Cider Vinegar and felt more balanced, almost immediately. Still fighting off something but without the above mentioned I would be worse off. Needless to say sound check was a little fuzzy due to my head not being there, but during our set the adrenaline kicked in, and I felt present and good.

Onto San Luis Obispo and Ventura.    Final couple of dates.