Thursday, May 6, 2010

Arrington Tour Days 8-10

So, I awoke in Kansas City to the sound of moving kitchen wear and was wondering who would be up at 10am? Being that I went to bed around 2am and there was still a living room full of kids playing acoustic guitars, banjos, and banging on tables along to Rolling Stones songs. I walk over to the kitchen and find our hosts, wide awake and having just finished making us coffee and food. I walked into the kitchen right as they were pulling the muffins and biscuits out of the oven. I was shocked and delighted. I munched away and Nehemiah, the roommates and I all played Apples to Apples until it was time to head to Norman,OK.

We arrived in Norman sort of early and were able to set up our gear and soundcheck before the other band arrived. They were described to me as an "Afro Beat" band by the owner of the club but he said he had never heard them really. I have one of the free Miller High Life's and talk to the bartender/owner about Neil Hamburger coming through town. She mentions she knows the opening band well having toured with them. I ask what band she's in and she says The Starlight Mints. Knowing several people who are big fans of theirs I expressed how loved they are among them and she is flattered.

There are quite a bit of college bro dudes at the venue by the time we go on and we really freaked them the fuck out. I was pretty happy with our set and how quickly I have been able to tear down my gear after playing. I get a phone call from Dany right after we play and he and I discuss his new Art Gallery endeavor and I am really proud of and excited for him and what could potentially happen to Hialeah because of it. I then have a nice talk with my beautiful Arminda and walk in once the band after us is done. Apparently Arrington and Nehemiah were dying for me to come in and see the "Frat Funk" they were doing which was supposed to be horrid and I imagine it was.

Nehemiah had some friends who were on a road trip come through and they had some camping grounds booked for that night. We drove out there and stayed with them. They were kind enough to lend me a sleeping bag and I slept outside for the first time in my life. We were outside of Norman,OK and the stars were absolutely stunning. I spent some time working on my tossing and turning technique in a sleeping bag (another new experience for me). I was awaken by the sound of a weed whacker and Nehemiah's friend placing a red plastic cup by me and asking "Coffee?". I was very happy to say yes and I joined them at the picnic table for some coffee and oranges. They took off for their journey over to the Tennessee, West Virginia border and we headed south to Denton,TX.

We get to Denton pretty early and have some Mexican food that Arrington suggests. I order a shrimp quesadilla and it was a bad move. Just shrimp and a whole ton of cheddar cheese. Not my scene but I enjoyed what I could and was glad to be out of the Texas sun for a bit. We start to walk off the meal and go into a record store. I get a copy of Mustafa Ozkent's album on B Music for $8 and Sade's Lovers Rock for $5 as well. We head to the venue and load in.

Rubber Gloves is supposedly the best place to play in Denton and it seemed alright to me. The opening band was called Drug Mountain and had T-Shirts with huge dicks on them or upside down crosses. I got one with the crosses. We play our set and I happy with it. Afterwards I re-meet Natalie whom I had met when she was on tour with Daniel Francis Doyle! Apparently she speaks Indonesian and came to see Arrington. The owner of the bar buys Nehemiah and myslef a shot of Tequila and we go stay at a strangers house with several nice couches, a pull out bed and 2 extremely cute cats.

We head down to San Antonio in the morning and the hot Texas air is pretty brutal. I have a very enjoyable experience in traffic listening to Terry Riley's "In C" something I had never really listened to and the last time I tried to listen to it I was in traffic as well. We get Arrington's parents house and his father is standing in the lawn watering it down in flip flops and swimming trunks. I have a good handshake with him and Arrington's mom gives me a hug.

We jump in the pool for a few minutes and it's extremely refreshing. After a bit we get dried off and head to a mexican restaurant with Arrington's parents. The food was just OK but the conversation was great. I really love meeting and talking to parents and Arrington's parents are fascinating. We walk around the river walk for a bit and grab coffee before heading to the venue.

The Ten Eleven is directly next door to Rock Bottom, where I had played with Afuche in San Antonio and apparently it's roof caved in just a few weeks ago. Every beer at this bar is $2. Sierra Nevada, Real Ale, and 16oz Lone Stars all $2. It was really nice. The opening bands were... diverse. The first band was a death metal band that looked just out of high school. Then a sort of weird uncle band went on that sounded just like Living Colour and I'm pretty sure they know that. Then we played. The room was full of people who were dazed, confused and entertained. A girl had her eyes closed and seemed in a trance for a bit before dropping her bottle which broke on the ground and she swept it up. The singer of Living Colour told us our set was good... it was weird but good... "and good and weird is wood"... I didn't think that was funny either. We pack up and head back to Arrington's parents house and watch half of "Some Kind Of Monster" before knocking out.

I slpet extremely well and we had a nice lunch with Arrington's dad. We finished the movie and are now about to dip back in the pool before heading to Austin. I am having a great time, but I greatly miss my Brooklyn, my friends and my lovely lovely Arminda.

With Love & Prog,
Ruben Sindo Acosta

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