Minndianapolis

We had a good show in Minneapolis on Sunday. This odd guy in the front row with sunglasses was totally freaking out, cheering and doing weird moves from his wheelchair the whole time. Reed and I couldn’t tell if he was on drugs or just crazy. But we appreciated the enthusiasm. Monday we had a very long drive, so we got a head start on it by driving about 90 miles to the magical town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin after the show Sunday night. When we arrived in Eau Claire, we stopped at the Kwik Mart for gas. When we asked the gas station attendant how he was doing, he replied: “Livin’ the dream.” This suggested two distinct possibilities: 1. Eau Claire Wisconsin is an awesome place to live. So awesome in fact, that even working at the Kwik-Mart is a joyful celebration of life.

Or 2. People have a finely honed sense of irony in Eau Claire, which is the first case we’ve seen if it since leaving the coast. Either possibility is okay with me. And by the way, the gas station had the nicest convenient store I’ve ever been in in my life. Reed bought pretzels and I bought a pack of Werther’s candy which I finished off IN ONE NIGHT. Then all my teeth fell out (no they didn’t). We drove into downtown Eau Claire and pull up to the Oxbow hotel, where we were staying overnight. It is possibly the trendiest hotel I’ve ever seen. In the lobby they have a vinyl library where you can borrow albums to play in your hotel room, an outdoor bar with fire pits, a hammock... It would be really irritating if it were in Brooklyn, but in the middle of Wisconsin it was a nice surprise. Then yesterday we woke up, wandered around the cool little town and then got in the car for the 7 hour drive to Indianapolis. Indianapolis is miserable. Maybe because it’s raining, or maybe because there are tons of drug addicts and bail bonds storefronts on the streets downtown. Or maybe it’s just knowing that these people once voted for Mike Pence to be their Governor. A coffee place I went to this morning featured an array of wooden Christ busts and crucifixes. I got coffee elsewhere. Thankfully our hotel is super nice so I’m just staying in it until we go to the venue.