We are so excited to announce that we have been invited to play OK Go's Club Nokia show in Los Angeles. After playing with them for a couple of weeks all around the states and Canada, we are anxious to show our Los Angeles fans what they missed. This is a concert for the ages, we highly encourage you to come on out and experience an amazing show at a huge venue with a stellar sound system!!!
Listed below are also our remaining dates for 2010 all around California. A couple more shows are in the works, so please check back for the latest updates.
11/19/10 - Atwater Village, CA Heard Of Elephants Presents w/ Woolen + Writer + Random Patterns + Starving Daughters + Semiconscious Gloria Location TBA
11/27/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia w/ Ok Go + A Fine Frenzy
12/10/10 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar w/ New Mexico + Manuok + TBA
12/11/10 - Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse Silver Lake in Pomona Festival w/ Twilight Sleep + Nightmare Air + The Franks + Superhumanoids + Vanaprasta + Future Ghost + Light FM + Gliss + White Arrows + Holloys + Hands
12/12/10 - Fresno, CA @ Audie's Olympic w/ Fay Wrays
12/15/10 - San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club w/ Ugly Winner + Matsuri
12/16/10 - Visalia, CA @ Cellardoor
12/17/10 - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern w/ Silian Rail + Honeycomb
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Epilogue
So concludes my woefully inadequate account of Summer Darling’s 2010 North American tour opening for Ok Go. So many more stories exist—tour is at once a time of terrible inertia and extreme action, of crushing boredom and exhilarating experience, a time that emphasizes the true absurdity and beauty and fragility of what being alive is all about. At a bar in Albuquerque last night, the same bar we played 15 days earlier, we sat around our booth silently sipping whiskey, looking around us, not really talking until Dan observed that everything felt different.
Without getting too pretentious, because at some level it’s easy to call bullshit and pull the cord on this whole fucker we call being “in a band” and “making music,” the four of us in Summer Darling are wholly changed, irreparably other, for better and for worse. We’ve reached the beginning of an entirely new set of parameters, a place with different rules and anxieties, a place where we are reborn into a set of infinite problem sets where we know nothing, where we exist naked and alone awaiting the next light to come along to guide us to some sort of peace and growth. Simultaneously, from this frightening unknown place comes a certain acceptance of conquering everything that has come before. We are now at the precipice of everything known to us and for once I am excited to take that next step, whether it leads to falling or flying or, if this tour has taught me anything, most likely it will lead to a bittersweet combination of both.
Thank you for following us along our way.
And for all the grammatical errors, as our friendly neighbors to the north say (including 15 times in one minute at Tim Horton’s), “Sorry about that.”
Without getting too pretentious, because at some level it’s easy to call bullshit and pull the cord on this whole fucker we call being “in a band” and “making music,” the four of us in Summer Darling are wholly changed, irreparably other, for better and for worse. We’ve reached the beginning of an entirely new set of parameters, a place with different rules and anxieties, a place where we are reborn into a set of infinite problem sets where we know nothing, where we exist naked and alone awaiting the next light to come along to guide us to some sort of peace and growth. Simultaneously, from this frightening unknown place comes a certain acceptance of conquering everything that has come before. We are now at the precipice of everything known to us and for once I am excited to take that next step, whether it leads to falling or flying or, if this tour has taught me anything, most likely it will lead to a bittersweet combination of both.
Thank you for following us along our way.
And for all the grammatical errors, as our friendly neighbors to the north say (including 15 times in one minute at Tim Horton’s), “Sorry about that.”
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Summer Darling North American Tour Diary 11
Montreal
I sat in a tiny café across from Le National Concert Hall eating the best Brie and tomato baguette I’ve ever tasted, listening to the flowery fragments of French conversation surrounding me, and thinking, damn, in a blink of an eye, everything ends. Flashforward four days and I’m sitting in the passenger seat of our van looking at the vast emptiness of the Arizona high desert 100 miles east of Flagstaff. Two days ago I was in Columbus Ohio. Or was it three days ago? We’ve been driving for so long now it’s hard to tell what day it is, hard to ever uncrick your back, hard to have any thoughts at all other than GET ME OUT OF THIS VAN.
We spent our blink of an eye in Montreal visiting Todd’s friend’s bookshop in the west end of the city, just past the park on the hill overlooking downtown. The bookshop resided in a hipster feeling neighborhood; cafes and trinket shops lined the streets, above which sat small brick apartment buildings with interesting staircases, all of which suited us fine. Drawn and Quarterly was quaint and well stocked, combining the best elements of a cluttered mom and pop place and a savvy boutique. Todd’s friends were out of town, but it was entertaining to stop in for a moment. Sometimes the best thing on tour is having a purpose, something specific to do, other than sustain your body, drive, and play.
We were treated kindly and respectfully the whole tour, but this being our last night, we were especially spoiled by Ok Go, Company of Thieves, and their crews. The set was somewhat emotional for me; not only was this the end of a very surreal experience that I’d waiting my entire life to have-our first national tour—it ended in a beautiful venue. Le National looks like any other city building from the outside, but inside it has ornate woodcarvings, lush balconies, and a gigantic stage, with plush back stage amenity rooms for the bands and crews. How could I ever want to stop doing this?
Sure, there’s a certain fear akin to a heroin addict always trying to recreate the first high, and I’ve confronted the fact that no other tour will be like our first tour and I’m ok with that. What I’m not ok with is the fear that I’ll never go on another one. But I’m learning to discount that one, too. So when I took the stage for our final performance, I tried to tune my guitar slowly, and take a few moments to look at the crowd and ponder the significance of my presence in that moment.
Some time in January a friend of mine and I were arguing over whether life had any intrinsic meaning and he continually came upon the point that life has subjective meaning, the meaning that we give to our individual experiences. I countered again and again with the question But is that enough? Staring out at the faces of the crowd, expectantly waiting for the show to begin, I answered my own question.
I sat in a tiny café across from Le National Concert Hall eating the best Brie and tomato baguette I’ve ever tasted, listening to the flowery fragments of French conversation surrounding me, and thinking, damn, in a blink of an eye, everything ends. Flashforward four days and I’m sitting in the passenger seat of our van looking at the vast emptiness of the Arizona high desert 100 miles east of Flagstaff. Two days ago I was in Columbus Ohio. Or was it three days ago? We’ve been driving for so long now it’s hard to tell what day it is, hard to ever uncrick your back, hard to have any thoughts at all other than GET ME OUT OF THIS VAN.
We spent our blink of an eye in Montreal visiting Todd’s friend’s bookshop in the west end of the city, just past the park on the hill overlooking downtown. The bookshop resided in a hipster feeling neighborhood; cafes and trinket shops lined the streets, above which sat small brick apartment buildings with interesting staircases, all of which suited us fine. Drawn and Quarterly was quaint and well stocked, combining the best elements of a cluttered mom and pop place and a savvy boutique. Todd’s friends were out of town, but it was entertaining to stop in for a moment. Sometimes the best thing on tour is having a purpose, something specific to do, other than sustain your body, drive, and play.
We were treated kindly and respectfully the whole tour, but this being our last night, we were especially spoiled by Ok Go, Company of Thieves, and their crews. The set was somewhat emotional for me; not only was this the end of a very surreal experience that I’d waiting my entire life to have-our first national tour—it ended in a beautiful venue. Le National looks like any other city building from the outside, but inside it has ornate woodcarvings, lush balconies, and a gigantic stage, with plush back stage amenity rooms for the bands and crews. How could I ever want to stop doing this?
Sure, there’s a certain fear akin to a heroin addict always trying to recreate the first high, and I’ve confronted the fact that no other tour will be like our first tour and I’m ok with that. What I’m not ok with is the fear that I’ll never go on another one. But I’m learning to discount that one, too. So when I took the stage for our final performance, I tried to tune my guitar slowly, and take a few moments to look at the crowd and ponder the significance of my presence in that moment.
Some time in January a friend of mine and I were arguing over whether life had any intrinsic meaning and he continually came upon the point that life has subjective meaning, the meaning that we give to our individual experiences. I countered again and again with the question But is that enough? Staring out at the faces of the crowd, expectantly waiting for the show to begin, I answered my own question.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Summer Darling North American Tour Diary 10
Ottowa
The drive up the Greenbelt of Ontario from Toronto to Ottowa took us through wild, beautiful country interspersed with pockets of small towns and travel stops with sub par food. It was quite breathtaking at times as the steel gray skies dumped rain upon us and wind whipped in off the slate tinted Lake Ontario. In contrast, Ottowa seemed to be entirely under construction, surrounded by brick and concrete structures. The Parliament building was surrounded by canals and was architecturally stunning, but the rest of the city seemed to be bursting at the seems with broken roads, traffic, and dust.
The Capital Music Hall was tucked away just down from the capital rotunda. Although it was the smallest venue we played on the tour, the room was alive with a contagious kinetic energy. It was also one of the few stages that had a press area down front populated with a few photographers who snapped pictures during each bands' set. Dan suggested that Summer Darling take over this area during Ok Go's last song of their set and sing a long and basically go nuts for them right in their faces. Which we did. The stunt ended up with me getting pulled on stage by Damien, who handed me his guitar and said, "Play." I responded with "I don't know the song." Damien just brushed this off and told me Andy would tell me what to do and then he returned to the mic and started singing. Andy yelled "Solo in B minor" and before I knew it I was soloing for Ok Go. God knows how it turned out; it was over in a matter of seconds, but it still was an exhilarating experience!
After the show we descended into Ottowa nightlife. Holy shit, these people get FUCKED UP. Puking, public urination, brawling, Ottowa, you have it all!!! We all got separated and it was nearly 2 in the morning before we reconvened. Stories were shared while we drove the three hours to Montreal and our hotel. Exhausted, we found the one thing we needed: a pillow and five hours of sleep before we did it all again.
The drive up the Greenbelt of Ontario from Toronto to Ottowa took us through wild, beautiful country interspersed with pockets of small towns and travel stops with sub par food. It was quite breathtaking at times as the steel gray skies dumped rain upon us and wind whipped in off the slate tinted Lake Ontario. In contrast, Ottowa seemed to be entirely under construction, surrounded by brick and concrete structures. The Parliament building was surrounded by canals and was architecturally stunning, but the rest of the city seemed to be bursting at the seems with broken roads, traffic, and dust.
The Capital Music Hall was tucked away just down from the capital rotunda. Although it was the smallest venue we played on the tour, the room was alive with a contagious kinetic energy. It was also one of the few stages that had a press area down front populated with a few photographers who snapped pictures during each bands' set. Dan suggested that Summer Darling take over this area during Ok Go's last song of their set and sing a long and basically go nuts for them right in their faces. Which we did. The stunt ended up with me getting pulled on stage by Damien, who handed me his guitar and said, "Play." I responded with "I don't know the song." Damien just brushed this off and told me Andy would tell me what to do and then he returned to the mic and started singing. Andy yelled "Solo in B minor" and before I knew it I was soloing for Ok Go. God knows how it turned out; it was over in a matter of seconds, but it still was an exhilarating experience!
After the show we descended into Ottowa nightlife. Holy shit, these people get FUCKED UP. Puking, public urination, brawling, Ottowa, you have it all!!! We all got separated and it was nearly 2 in the morning before we reconvened. Stories were shared while we drove the three hours to Montreal and our hotel. Exhausted, we found the one thing we needed: a pillow and five hours of sleep before we did it all again.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Summer Darling North American Tour Diary 9
Toronto, ON Canada
We awoke Thursday morning three hours after going to sleep to grab Dan’s girlfriend from the Cleveland Airport and to get a head start on the border crossing that was to take place at the Peace Bridge outside Niagra. Ever since we found out we were traveling into Canada, we had been amassing various band stories about Canadian Immigration ranging anywhere from mild harassment to serious extortion to outright denial of entry. Because bands carry so much equipment and merchandise they are like giant red flags to Canadian Immigration officers. To complicate matters, one of us has a DUI, which technically makes this person inadmissible to Canada. We left Cleveland not knowing if we were even going to able to play the Canadian shows.
Sure enough at our crossing we were asked to pull over for further inspection. Even though I knew we had a legitimate right to be in Canada, the paperwork to prove it, and no illegal substances in the car, my heart raced and my hands shook as I handed the investigating officers our yellow Immigration paper. The Canadian officers searched our car rather half heartedly then sent us inside for questioning. The inquiring officer was actually quite pleasant in a no nonsense sort of way. It was obvious to us from the beginning that we’d been flagged due to the DUI and once that was out in the open we felt a bit better, especially when we were informed that we could enter the country after paying a fee to obtain a temporary residence permit, or TRP. Once the offending party purchased the TRP (which took all of five minutes—take a lesson in efficiency from our friendly neighbors to the north, US government agencies) we were free to go.
Certainly elated, we decided to celebrate our successful border crossing by taking a short detour to check out Niagra Falls. We took Niagra Blvd which hugged the coast line for 27km of some of the most beautiful landscape and houses I’ve ever come across, culminating in a breathtaking view of the massive twin falls. There’s no proper way to express the rush one feels as you witness the mighty power of Niagra Falls. It’s simply incredible.
The Phoenix Theatre in Toronto was large, but kind of a dump. Random pieces of furniture were stacked haphazardly in the merch area, the dressing room we shared with Company of Thieves was the size of a coat closet, and the whole building seemed like a converted Cold War era schoolhouse or office building that could collapse at anytime. The city surrounding it looked awesome but we didn’t get to spend much time exploring it, apart from a quick bite at local mom and pop diner, Chew Chews.
The set went well, there were a ton of people, Tim came out and played on “Ride” as he’d been doing for a couple of shows now; overall a cool show. I was personally just a bit disappointed in the venue. I assumed incorrectly that Toronto would have some bad ass theatre or something. Most likely, we can chalk this feeling up to being spoiled by House of Blues and some of the other pretty cool rooms we’d played.
One last note on Toronto: you have the biggest raccoons I’ve ever seen. One the size of a pit bull scared the shit out of me when it leapt into the dumpster I was standing near while loading our stuff out at the end of our set.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Summer Darling North American Tour Diary 8
Cleveland, Ohio
Waking up in Louisville I got to do something I hadn’t done since leaving on the tour. I went down to the fitness room of the hotel and ran. My body had ben feeling like shit, but running a few miles really put me on the level. Throughout my run I watched news coverage of the Chilean miners being freed. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what a nightmare it would be to be trapped so far beneath the surface of the earth with just a tiny link to the people above. I don’t think I would have survived. The capacity for hope these men had!! Unbelievable.
Dan scored us free bacon maple donuts from a local bakery and the coffee shop guy gave me a savory scone on the house, which left a good taste in our mouths concerning Louisville.
We took a self imposed detour from our Googlemap inspired route out of Kentucky in order to avoid a freeway closure we came upon which probably saved us 1 hour of drive time, which, ironically I lost for us when got stuck on the Ohio turnpike five hours later.
Cleveland was a special show as we had lots of friends there. The venue looked like an old VFW hall with a massive PA in it and the common green room underneath the venue had a secret door that one could open and walk into this little underground vintage shop. The venue cooked some good food for us, which was much appreciated after a rather difficult soundcheck.
Our set felt vibrant and bombastic, easily one of the best of the tour and the energy carried over all night to the other bands. Lots of drunk people at this show, some of whom drunkenly bought our merch, thankfully. We ended the night with a campfire like sing-a-long of some of the best worst pop songs of all time with our buddies in Company of Thieves, clinking High-Life beer bottles, graciously supplied by our sound engineer, Zack. Though they didn’t know it, we were celebrating for a more somber reason. Tomorrow we would cross into Canada and we didn’t know how many of us were going to make it in.. . .
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