First and foremost I would like to give a shout-out to my girlfriend Penelope, who is at home feeling not-so-well. I love you, P! Send her healing vibes. I know I am.
The Olympia experience can be summed up in three words: Big Buck Hunter. What a game! And the 4th Ave Tavern had not one, but two machines. Let’s just say that I have a sore trigger finger.
But seriously – the day was great. Breakfast at Niki’s in Portland (thanks to the gas station guy!) and then, after a brief detour where we got lost attempting to find the 405 skyway, we were on our way. Olympia is a lovely little town, full of music stores and bars and sidewalks that lead to them. Once again we had a fantastic dinner, this time at Angel Thai. Afterward we set up our gear and waited nervously for the second band, The Rhythm Pimps, to arrive. We almost thought they wouldn’t, but they showed up just in the nick of time, and we rocked the house from 9:30-10:30. The stage there is great, and Paul released generous amounts of fog, sometimes to the point where we couldn’t see each other or the audience. But who cares! It’s rock and roll, people. All we need to see is our name in lights.
By far the highlight of the evening (next to Chris’s amazingly rapid mastery of Big Buck Hunter) was the guy who asked me, after we played Ship of Plenty, if he could breakdance to our music. Thinking it was a slight at the un-danceability of the tune, I told him to do a head spin. Then, during Candyman, I saw something popping and locking out of the corner of my eye. The dude was actually breakdancing. Then he bought an album! Rock. Sir, if you are reading this, you made our night.
Afterwards, The Rhythm Pimps rocked it three-piece style, with the lead guitarist and singer donning a black wifebeater in a way that few people can. Incidentally, they are from Eugene, which apparently has a thriving music scene. Hats (and sleeves!) off to the Pimps and their awesome brown van.
Like Blanche Dubois, we are relying on the kindness of strangers for accomodations, with the slight difference that we know them. Last night’s host was our friend Ulrike Krotscheck, an archaeologist and professor who does not grade students at Evergreen U. She even made us breakfast! Thank you very much, Ulrike. She also directed us to the local Walgreens, where we procured even more lights. After the lights, we left for Seattle, the adventures of which will be related to you in the next tour diary entry. I will, however, leave you with this portentous spectre we caught on camera, which I believe bodes good tidings of rock:
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