Day 10: Boise, ID
Welcome
Yesterday we played our first ever show in the state of Idaho.
My day began on I-84, the powerful form of Blue Paradise cruising east on the final stretch of highway leading to the state capital. The venue was in downtown and offered limited parking, so we had to wait our turn for unloading. Mr Bus headed to his hotel to lay up while we waited,d a task that should have been straight forward but somehow ended up with us stuck down a dead-end street and having to reverse all the way out. It was accomplished masterfully by our fine driver, and we made it into the hotel carpark unscathed. We soon found out that the hotel carpark was full and Mr Bus was back in the saddle, reversing the trailer around several corners to get us out. We found a parking spot on the street and patiently waited.
Half an hour later we were pulling up outside Treefort Music Hall where we were met by a powerful force of loaders who emptied our trailer in a matter of seconds. The bus drove off and we headed inside to explore. It felt brand new – modern and state of the art, handsomely decorated, beautifully fitted out, and highly accessible.
Our green room was spacious and comfortable, and we settled ourselves in for an afternoon of work. The task of the day would be completed by the two members of the team who were most adept at soldering and so it began with scrounging extra soldering irons from the venue technicians. Every good and professional band must have good and professional microphone cables which is why we were replacing all our cheap and dreadful ones with a brand-new second-hand set of cables that Jon had pickup up for a steal on Craigslist, Spokane. Then all they had to do was cut off the old plugs and solder on nice new, reliable plugs, and we would be up and running.
Video footage courtesy of Tristan Deck.
While the smell of molten tin lit the air, I headed out to pick up some breakfast with the other two members of the band who are not expert solderers (but are very talented in other subject areas). We walked a few blocks to Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro and ordered takeaway meals, enjoying the atmosphere of this cosy restaurant with its walls covered in certifications of Breakfast excellence. I ordered Trav’s Famous Breakfast Burrito, two spinach tortillas filled with Goldy’s potatoes, three scrambled eggs, sauteed peppers and onions, melted cheddar and pepper jack cheese, and chorizo, served with homemade salsa and sour cream.
My breakfast burrito, a presentation style somewhat reminiscent of the lunar module.
I headed out for a run in the afternoon, my best chance to explore the city of Boise. There was a beautiful grid system, a lattice of streets that enabled a view all the way up the central boulevard to the Capitol building, a grand marble structure wearing a tall hat. I passed the Capitol, admiring the gardens and immaculate lawns, and the protesters camped outside. It was a searing afternoon and there were sprinklers operating on every block to keep the grass happy and cool. I soon reached the heights above the city where there is a nature area called Military Reserve, a park filled with trails and bush, named after its former use as an army training area. Sagebrush and grass cover most of the terrain and stands of cottonwood fill in some of the lower areas alongside a meandering stream. From the highest point of the trail I could see back to the city which sprawled out across the flatlands, and in the other direction the hills stretched into the distance, a spectacular landscape that I longed to explore.
The evening began with a soundcheck and it went well save for a patching issue which meant that Gabe couldn’t talk to us through a microphone and had to creatively mime everything he wanted to hear from us. There was a local band to open up the show, a duo called Deep Heavn that sounded much bigger than a duo, rocking hard with great songs and heavy breakdowns.
Deep Heavn
Our first show in Idaho was a success. Although we didn’t pronounce Boise correctly, we were still treated fairly, and the crowd were generous in showing their appreciation. There was a tight schedule to keep so after finishing we fled the stage with our equipment and created an area of chaos in the backstage where we slowly disassembled everything. One of the themes this tour has been the cross-load, a situation where the bus can’t pull up to the venue and we have to move everything to the bus in a smaller vehicle. Yesterday’s smaller vehicle was a Subaru Forester, station wagon fit for a family, a fine vehicle for all-terrain exploration and a vehicle that was put to the test when we rammed the back full of huge, heavy-duty equipment cases for the several trips it took to get everything to the bus. It may not have been the perfect vehicle for the job, but it was certainly fun trying to pack things into it.
Tristan demonstrates how to measure whether a case will fit into the boot
After the show we took our time showering and eventually headed back to the bus in a cab, not just any cab though, it was a party cab filled with music and club vibes. The mood was set for the remainder of the evening and back on the bus Liz performed one of the more ruthless DJ sets I have witnessed in my time.
Liz demonstrates leaving the venue.