Anton and Lewis hipstering it up at a record store in Williamsburg Brooklyn

Yes! Touring is awesome. Lewis and I played on the street in Brooklyn and were joined by a random dumbek (hand drum) player and a trombonist. It was a sweet jam! The next day we played our best show yet at Webster hall in New York and partied so hard afterward that the Mates of State left town without us and we had to find our own way to Boston. In Boston we played at The House of Blues, which is literally across the street from Fenway Park and it was opening day for the Red Sox, so that was ridiculous.

Today we had our first official day off of the tour. We found out that Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s were playing in New Haven, Connecticut and our bus was parked close by so we decided to spend our day there. We were right in the middle of the Yale part of town which as beautiful architecture – all stone buildings. We had dinner at a noodle place and had an interesting conversation about the first rock concerts we ever went to. Mine is embarrassing. It was the “Horde” festival with Lenny Kravitz, Dave Matthews Band and Blues Traveler. Our tour manager Mark Capon’s first rock concert was Nirvana and the Breeders. How dope is that? He told us a pretty interesting story about it:

When the Breeders played, there were a bunch of people in the crowd who just didn’t care, were only there to see Nirvana and had no interest in showing respect for the opener. They starting booing and throwing their shoes at the Breeders, forcing them off of the stage early. Kurt Cobain came on the stage, said “KEEP YOUR FUCKIN’ SHOES ON!” and flipped off the crowd. He was genuinely disappointed and angry with them. The crowd went crazy. They loved it. Someone probably made a “KEEP YOUR FUCKIN’ SHOES ON!” t-shirt. I started to understand why the guy felt so conflicted.

Now we are back on the bus, driving to Montreal. We’ll be crossing the border to Canada early in the morning. I guess I better get some sleep now.

-anton