Baltimore

...day two on the road. Compared to the perilous navigational challenges of the big apple, this one was a snap. We sped outta Bordentown NJ around eleven, landing at my buddy Caleb Stine's doorstep in Baltimore's up-and-coming Remington neighborhood around 1:30 or so...only Clint had been in Baltimore before, and coming in via North Avenue was pretty startling -- block after block of abandoned buildings and pretty vivid urban blight. The old tenements were impressive in and of itself, testament to an early era of Baltimore, which Caleb explained was a classic blue-collar blend of port-town harbor work and manufacturing, long departed.

A quick, great lunch of organic fare (a turkey/bree/cherry-chutney sandwich for me) and then back to Caleb's townhouse, which he spectacularly renovated in a minimalist style, destroying the artifice (plaster, walls, ect.) and leaving a the bones: beautiful hardwood floors, beams, and exposed brick walls. We rehearsed our semi-acoustic set for a while, then Caleb, Shannon, and I combined ruminating conversation with occasional jams while Clint slept. That took us up to 7pm...



...we loaded into El Rancho Grande, met by proprietor Pete -- a very outgoing and friendly guy as intense as he is committed to providing artists with a great place to perform and display their craft. Soundcheck is a luxury we rarely get, and we enjoyed the very spartan set-up: one acoustic guitar plugged into the board, an electric guitar (no mic on the amp), and everything else acoustic, aside from vocals.

Openers Car Phone were adorable -- two girls (Shannon and Rebecca, no less!) playing '90s rock covers on ukulele and glockenspiel. They drew a big crowd of local art students, who stayed for us, which was nice. They also generated a nice energy which we were encouraged to capitalize on by starting quickly. We started so quickly that Clint was still out in the car getting his camera...he jumped in in the middle of the first song, "Happiest In History."

The set flew by, and the crowd was really into it, so it seemed. People bought merch and offered warm compliments. The highlight for me was my cousin Scott sitting in on trumpet for the last two songs, playing harmony parts I'd hastily scribbled out days before...maybe I'll post a recording soon.



Amazing to see Caleb again, and we talked about doing a Boston show together in May...stay tuned.

We ended up the night ninety minutes outside of Baltimore at Caitlin and Josh's Pennsylvania farm house. It's old. I'm not sure how old. I'm too tired to ask...