Day 16: Tucson, AZ.
Welcome
Yesterday we played a show in Tucson, Arizona.
My goal for the morning was to summit at least one of the small hills visible from our hotel. Ideally, I would have run all the way up, but I ran out of juice and walked a good bit of the way. I gave up on reaching the second peak. It was another warm day in the southwest and my saliva had given up and left my mouth. The view was worth it though and I sat on a rock to enjoy the fruits of my labour and try to lick my teeth apart from my lips.
Back at the hotel I showered in darkness, not out of choice but because the lights for our room were on a sensor-operated timer and they turned off after a few minutes. I picked up breakfast on the way to the venue, a spot called Cartel Roasting Co. who sold me a potato and egg burrito with cheese, beans, and onion, the latter three ingredients not deemed important enough to be included in the dish’s title but in reality, playing crucial, supporting roles. I also ordered a coffee, a cold brew that came with ice, in a clear plastic cup.
191 Toole had the trappings of a great venue. It was a long brick structure right off the railway lines and as such there were freight trains passing regularly, often one coming from each direction. If you are anything like us and enjoy standing next to the tracks and trying to guess what is being carried inside each of the hundreds of railcars, then you will have a blast visiting this location. The building was a warehouse built for the railway and as such has a freight elevator in the middle of the room leading down to the basement. We didn’t have the chance to go down there ourselves, but we did hear that a team of ghost hunters had been through recently and were being tight-lipped about their findings.
The old elevator.
Potential hauntings aside, 191 Toole is an excellent room for live music first and foremost because it sounds good. The stage has a pleasant feel helped by plenty of sound dampening, both above and below us, and it is just large enough to comfortably fit a medium-sized rock quartet and their inflatable friend. As an audience member there is good visibility from most spots in the room and it sounded great from everywhere I listened from, although I concede that having Gabe on the faders helps this fact.
It was one of those days where you arrive at the green room and see a pineapple on the table. You instantly know that something needs to happen to this well protected fruit, and despite the poor-quality knife you have been provided with the only choice is to attempt to carve Kenny Roger’s own creation, the Outrigger. That is one of the memories forged in the green room of this venue. Another is Liz helping me to wash pineapple juice off my fingers right before we had to go up on stage. There was also a small dog that came and visited us, a friendly creature who was confident enough to know that he wanted pats and didn’t hesitate to ask for them. Every time a train passed the whole building shook for minutes at a time. When they parped the horn it was deafening, even indoors.
Tristan warms up and watches the trains roll past.
Jess Kallen re-joined us for last night’s show driving all the way from Los Angeles and then delivering a beautiful performance. Tucson were impressed. Tucson were loving life. “How are you going Tucson”!? Liz yelled in our first break in the set. “Tucson!” they all yelled back. They loved their town, and they loved being out watching a band. We tried hard to leave a good impression, our first show in this beautiful southwestern city, and we had a great time bringing this small brick and panel club to life on a warm Wednesday evening.