…we had the day off after Memphis, which was a luxury. I re-visited the Graceland gift shops early in the morning, hit the continental breakfast, and then we took to the road. We drove eight or so hours to Lufkin, Texas, and checked into a Motel Six. When we saw the condition of the room (filthy, door lock broken, bathroom door kicked in), we quickly checked out. We wound up at the Lufkin Inn, which was clean, friendly, and cheap. It was also next door to Wild Willie’s Private Club, which we assumed was a gentlemen’s establishment. The bass thumped through the room, but thankfully subsided by midnight, and everyone slept well.
From there, we drove three hours down 94 – a cool state road with lots of scenery and local color (pool halls inside metal hangers, cows, etc.) – and ended up and Shannon’s folks house in Tomball, Texas (I kid you not). Really nice people, and Shannon’s childhood home was wonderful to experience. They had lunch ready to go, and after a few hours of conversation and napping, we headed off to a diner for dinner with Shannon’s in-laws, Jim and Aila, and Jim’s wife Sharon. The food was actually pretty good, a rarity lately.
The venue in Houston was the Sound Exchange, a great indie record store on Richmond. There was a simple PA – two mics – but that was plenty. The theremin worked for once, as it seems to be malfunctioning every other gig these days. I browsed a bit beforehand, but couldn’t really find anything. We bashed through a set. Shannon’s folks had never seen him play before – at least not since high school band concerts. So I think he wasn’t fully able to cut loose. We were all a little self-conscious and tired, but there were good moments. “Temporary Tattoo” was especially nice. Shannon’s family seemed to enjoy it…
Me setting up:
Now it’s the morning, Friday, and we’re leaving for Austin soon. We have four shows in Austin…one of everything: a house party, a radio broadcast, a bar gig, and an in-store. All within 24 hours…
Us and Shannon's folks:
No comments:
Post a Comment