Los Diablos Tour Jan 2006

OK, so I never thought I'd be out on the road again...or at least not so soon after my wife and I had a baby 18 months ago. Well, guess I got the itchin more than I thought; kinda like I imagine "crabs" to be...
Anyway, my main band Los Diablos, had been receiving some requests for shows in the Midwest and Southeast. Seemed like a good time for them to hit the road, and it was either this or spend another week with my in-laws in Texas. No brainer.

I'll post my recollections of our travels in parts to make them more easily digestable.

PART I: Jan. 4-6 Buffalo, NY and Northeast OH
Boston to Buffalo was the usual boring-ass drive of 7+ hours. At least I had the comforting sounds of John snoring the whole way. Comforting like an erupting volcano. We decided to take the booking guy Ken up on his offer of hospitality and sleep at his place. Note to bands on the road: this is often a mistake. I can't count the times I've slept on the floor of the booking guy, the bartender, the well-intentioned fan, hell, even the owner, only to wake up stuck to the beer-stained carpet, with an 80 pound cat on my head. But Ken seemed different. Much nicer and dropping hints like "pancakes," and "plenty of beds" to put us at ease. Turned out that the only downside to staying with Ken and his wife was the fact that they live in what is possibly the most remote part of New York State. Other than that, it turned out to be one of the nicest, sweetest places to stay you could hope for on a budget tour. Thanks Ken!
that evening we played the venerable Sportsmen's Tavern in Buffalo. A true throwback to the times when neighborhood honky tonks ruled the land. It was pretty great. Everyone treated us like we mattered, and we even got to hang out with John Lombardo, one of the founding members of 10,000 Maniacs. the only downside to the evening was the fact that our mandolinist Pete was in Hungary, our fiddle player Damon wasn't due to arrive on the tour scene for several days and we had three hours of playing to fill. As a band, we're not really set up to do that much playing without a soloist. To compound the problem, three hours=many beers at a Los Diablos show, especially when the bar is kind enough to provide them gratis. I'm not really sure what people thought of us by the end - mostly because I can't remember. But people stayed...and clapped. So all in all, I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10. And true to his word, Ken prepared us an incredible breakfast in the morning, while we listened to WDVX's Blue Plate Special and checked the weather forcasts for Cleveland. Only one question remained for us: with such a pleasant experience, should we just end the tour here?

The drive that day to Akron, OH was again, thankfully uneventful. We even got to drive through Amish country and a Native American Reservation. What a country we live in. More on that later.
Our gig in Akron was at The Lime Spider, a downtown hipster bar quickly gaining a reputaiton as one of the best places for small to medium drawing bands to play in the entire region. Danny, the owner, is a loveable drunk - kinda like a post-modern Arthur. He too treated the band superbly both times we have been there. This time, however, there are some twists. Josh (lead singer) decides to go swimming before the show. Fine you say. Well, not so fine. Turns out Josh has some history of ear canal issues and the swimming manages to clog one of his ears to point of deafness and pain. This, of course, puts Josh in a great mood. On top of this, the band that opens for us, Blonde Boy Grunt & The Groans pull some of the most unprofessional shit I've ever had to endure - they play for over 2 hours!!! It'd be one thing if they were playing to a bunch of their fans - who would we be to deny them that in their hometown? But no one came to see them. On top of that, nearly everyone who came to see us, gets sick of their sound and leaves! Where's Danny the owner during all of this you ask? Why at the bar getting drunk with us and watchingThe Lonely Guy , of course. I have to say, it really pissed me off that they would do that and that Danny would let them. The rest of the band is fortunately much more forgiving. Besides, we also got to hang out with Pat Sweany, who Los Diablos played with the last time in town. He's one killer musician and a helluva guy. So evening saved. I give this gig a 5 out of 10, and our time at the bar an 8 out of 10. Once again we are too drunk to be believed. Another thought creeps in my mind: it's only Day 2, will we make it?