Home Again!

We're back home in Louisville now after an all-nighter drive from Philly to Louisville after the show on Saturday. Crash Mansion in New York City was great, although our turnout was likely affected by the fact that it was July 4th, and there was a fireworks show going on just a few blocks from the venue. As many times as I've been to NYC, this was the first time I've actually driven in the city, and gotta say it was a nightmare. I don't know how people get around in that place. Due to the sheer number of roads and highways crammed into such a small area, our GPS was freaking out most of the time, not knowing where to send us. I guess it probably gets easier once you get to know the area a little bit, but I've lived in Louisville for 5 years now, which is nowhere close to NYC in complexity, and I still have to hit up Google Maps to get places fairly often.

World Cafe Live in Philly was a cool venue as well, and the show was a lot of fun. Great food there as well. Two words: eggplant fries. One word to describe them: amazing. Fela Kuti's son Seun was playing with his incredible band on the downstairs stage while we played upstairs, and the great drummer Calvin Weston, who has played with everyone from Ornette Coleman to DJ Logic, was sitting in with Club d'Elf for that show. In short, that was an awesome night to be at the World Cafe.

We toured for a little over a week, and I think we were all feeling a little run down by the time we got to Philly. I've gotta hand it to bands who tour for months at a time, because the process of playing in a new city every night takes a lot out of you. Maybe it's like running, where after a while your body perks back up and you get that second wind. For me, the major downside is that you never have time to actually spend any time and explore the cities you visit. You drive all day to the venue, set up, sound check, play the show, sleep, wake up, and drive to the next city. At most you might see the couple blocks in between the venue and wherever you go to grab a bite to eat between sound check and the show. That is, if the venue hasn't already provided food. We had a good time, though, and listening to Club d'Elf play every night was a real treat. It's easy to see why some of the country's top musicians jump at the chance to work with them. If you live in or near any of the cities we played and didn't make it out, you really missed some special music.

Pictures will be on the way soon!