Saturday, July 2, 2011

"Well, I'm back", he said.

Hello to you and yours. This is Henry, using the editorial "we", just so we all know who to blame here. I'm ensconsed in my Comfy Chair at home, looking for something to do besides weeding, and thought I'd thow out some free(as in beer, not speech)-association on our recent jaunts.

As you can tell from Chris' previous post (The $1000 Taco, which I highly recomment [the post, not the taco]) things got off to a rather theatrical start. But once we were all safely arrived in Hartford, the Jewel of the East, things settled down. We found a microbrew(so I was happy) sports bar(so Peter was happy) nearby that kept the 2 of us going with our respective needs. Chris, as is is wont, enjoyed the house-made root beer whilst cheering on the Red Sox to victory over the hated Yankees.

But, there was work to be done. First off to a little Universalist Unitiarian (henceforth UU) church where the congregation sang us under the table, then a hop to WWUH (91.3 on someone's dial) where our hostess with the mostest Susan Hansen flogged our upcoming show at the Concert In The Park in Ridgeway CT as hard as she could (thanks Susan, it felt good!).

And then, New York, just like I pictured it: skyscrapers and everything. We played Kenny's Castaways in the Village, a nice little joint famous for having bands in the 70's play there before they were famous(Aerosmith! The Smithereens! Steel Mill!!!). We got the coveted 7PM Monday slot graciously given up by the Disco Sticks, and thanks to Chris' relatives the audience barely outnumbered the band. Chris reported he saw someone had written on a wall in the neighbourhood the name "Lou Reed" and underneath it someone else had written "yawn..." (oh how sharper than a seprent's tooth is a thankless child...).

On to the aforementioned CITP! This went well, a good crowd and many happy children high on sugar spinning in front of the band. You may have seen the video Kathy took on our web site, reminded me of my own Brisbane Community Festival my wife and I usually play (Oct 1 noon, be there!).

Then on to Western New York. The Club Helsinki in Hudson is a great place to play. One of the partners, Cameron, from our times at Mama Hillybeans in Tehachapi CA has his C3 there which made Travis so happy, brought back memories of his days in a soul band in Germany (seriously, ask him about it sometime...). Then, Woodstock, which is pretty much a Ye Olde Mill Valley. We had a small but enthusiastic crowd at the Colony Cafe (enthusiastic enough that someone actually called the cops on us). More hippies than you can shake a Thai stick at.

Then, one of those routings that makes being On The Road entertaining. Over to Eastham Cape Cod to another UU chapel (over 100 years old, but holding up better than I will) then kazam back to Western New York to finish up at the Town Crier in Pawling NY. Phil the owner is a serious mensch. We got to have the gorgeous and sweet Carolann Solebello (formerly of Red Molly) open for us, and she graciously brought an audience to share with us. Thanks, Carolann, they were very tasty.

And there you have it. I left out a few things such as Benny, the Littlest Conga, in the name of the soul of wit.  Ask us about it when you come by to see us sometime. Next time I'll cover our trip up to the Kate Wolf festival with that internation man of mystery, Stevie Coyle, which was more fun that should be legal. See ya in the funny papers. Oh, and the first few folk who knows where my post title comes from gets a copy of my new album _Everybody_Digs_Henry_Salvia_. My people.