THE HORRISONANCE EXPERIMENT PART TWO
Posted February 21, 2007
Day 7: Chicago, IL (official city status: haunted): In the late 1800s, a Chicago sausage magnate was arrested for the murder of his wife, allegedly grinding her up in the sausage machines. He later went insane and died in prison. His lawyer also went insane and died in a mental institution. The factory was abandoned, then later partially turned into condominiums located on the southwest corner of Hermitage and Diversey on Chicagos northwest side. Also, the show was fun. Experiment notes: Avoid sausage. Stick with the noodle-houses in Wicker Park.
Day 8: El Paso, IL (town motto: Were not Normal. Get it? Normal, IL!): Lying on the far outskirts of major Illinois metropolii such as Bloomington and Peoria, El Paso is a quaint little depot town that Im sure has had some sort of 1930s gangster hideout history that Im too disinclined to discover. The venue was a small VFW with a watering hole attached containing a single pool table, an ex-Marine bartender, and three 2nd shift factory workers permanently stuck to the end of the bar. There was a sign on the juke-box informing everyone there was to be absolutely no playing of the Dixie Chicks, and to do so would result in the suspension of ones jukebox privileges. Needless to say, we spent most the night in the bar section hanging with the 2nd shifters, which tends to be far more interesting than talking to a 19 year old about the new Bloc Party record. (For the evenings lively conclusion, please see last weeks video blog on our Myspace.) Experiment Notes: Watch your back. You never know when you might get ambushed by a spunky 16 year-old.
Day 9: Muncie, IN (town motto: Were having a Ball! [Seriously.]) We spent the day taking it easy in a reflective stupor. There are some things that are more important than touring. There are some affairs that only happen once. Experiment Notes: Enjoy life. You only have one.
Day 10: Muncie, IN (most common brain drain migration pattern destinations: Chicago, Indianapolis, New York City): Spent more time at home, uneasily anticipating the brutal cold and snow foretold by the Weather Channel. Im not sure what everyone else did, but I made a delicious poppy-seed bloomer. It had a perfectly crispy crust and a deliciously fine crumb. Experiment notes: To give a loaf a great crust, add water vapor to oven.
Day 11: Ames, IA (town motto: Hi. Im in Ames.) I have a lot of good things to say about Ames (great food, nice people, enjoyable show), but I dont have a lot of good things to say about the day in general. For starters, I forgot my show shirt. Then I realized we forgot to refresh our CD inventory. My computer was knocked off the arm of a chair, rendering it unresponsive for a few unnerving minutes. The evenings misfortunes didnt end until a key was knocked off my piano and I fell on some stairs and bruised my back up pretty good. Experiment Notes: On certain days, do not leave bed.
Day 12: Papillion, NE (town motto: Tiens ce mec givr!): Monday night found us in the wild frontier of Nebraska, more specifically in the very Franco-sounding Omaha suburb called Papillion. I was initially inclined to call it Pap-ill-ee-ON, like every other American, but I decided to succumb to my cultural tendencies and refer to the area as Pappy-YOHN (with a slightly silent n). I did this, not to appear worldly, but because it felt better for my mouth to say. The concert, which happened to fall on the eve of the second major snow-blitz in five days, was sparsely attended, and if I had been a Papio-inhabitant on the wind-swept, drifting plains, I wouldnt have ventured out my front door, either. Experiment notes: The show must go on.
Next week: Part 3 of the Experiment!
