HELLO PITTSBURGH

Today we left Washington DC and drove about 4 hours to Pittsburgh. We checked into our hotel, and then made our way to The Byham Theater, which was in a very lively and crowded part of downtown Pittsburgh. After settling into the dressing room (rated an 8 out of 10 - good lighting and fruit plate, but no couch), it was time to soundcheck. I had to make my way through a wall of testosterone to get on stage- about 6 stage hands from the venue who were all very large, unfriendly, and emitting a tattooed frat-boy (if that was a thing) vibe. We did our sound check, and then I did my usual ritual of trying to find a room as far away from anyone as possible where I could do my vocal warmup. I wound up in a family bathroom in the basement, staring at the black and white floor tiles for 20 minutes while I sang.

After that, Reed, Bobby and I went down to the catering area for dinner, where we sat with Emma, Vince and Andy from Erasure, and (the other) Andy, who is Emma's husband and Erasure's Tour Manager. I discovered that Emma and Valerie share my interest in true crime shows- specifically Forensic Files - which made me like then even more. I walked back to the dressing Room with Andy from Erasure and we discussed how beautiful the theater was. We made a bet on what year it was built- I said 1896 and he said 1890. It was 1904, so I won!

I didn't have anyone on the guest list tonight, so I was a little confused when Vince came to our dressing room and said "someone is here to see you. She says she's your step brothers cousin-in-law or something. Her name is Marissa." At first I thought he was joking, but when I realized that he wasn't, I told him I didn't know anyone named Marissa in Pittsburgh. He shrugged and led me downstairs to a back entrance, where I opened the door and saw my second cousin MARISA (oops, I forgot she lived in Pittsburgh) with her husband! I was so surprised and happy to see her.

It was funny to hear it from her perspective. She said she had knocked on the back door of the theater before it was open to the public, and some English guy in a suit who she didn't recognize answered the door (Vince Clark). She just said "Do you happen to have access to the opening band?"She was very embarrassed when we told her that was Vince from Erasure but we all thought it was pretty funny.

The audience was much more welcoming and enthusiastic than usual, so we had a good show. We're also getting a little better at interacting with the audience. Reed got to say "Hello Pittsburgh" through the vocoder, which I'm pretty sure he's been waiting to do all his life.

Now we are back at our hotel. I'm very happy to be sitting in my air conditioned hotel room with the nice crisp white sheets and the giant TV, even though I'm not watching it (no Maddow on Sundays).

Tomorrow, we drive to Toronto! I might ask if they would grant me asylum. Just kidding Davo. I'll ask for all 4 of us.