Hi and welcome to our Tour Blog™. Most of this is adapted from bassist Ethan Bassford’s website. We hope to give the faithful Allston Pudding readers an idea of what it’s like to be on tour with Ava Luna and Krill for five earth-shatteringly amazing weeks.
Pre-Tour Grand Theft Auto
Tour truly started when Carlos stole our van back. The “Blue Period” had mysteriously disappeared from its normal Bushwick parking spot just a few days before tour, leaving us with few options on how to actually make it to any of the shows that we’d spent so long booking with Krill. In the midst of trying to figure out rental alternatives, Carlos got a phone call from a friend telling him that she’d spotted the van in Crown Heights. Carlos immediately called the cops and hopped on his bike to go retrieve the van, forgetting his phone and wallet in the process. Arriving at the van and realizing he had no identification or way to contact the police, Carlos did the obvious: hot-wired the van and hightailed it out of there. Okay. Good start.
DAY 1, Kingston, NY
Preparing for tour is a drawn-out, stressful affair. No matter how many times you’ve done it, you always forget to pack something, and neglect to account for some crucial errand you have to take care of before departure. We planned to leave the city at 1, and ended up doing it around 4. Stops were made to clean out the van, and pick up gear, and people, and more gear, and a pizza, and merch, and at every step we were confronted by the deeply antisocial behavior of our fellow drivers. New York in winter is never pleasant, but driving is worse, and driving a huge ungainly vehicle is worst of all.
We were all relieved to finally get the fuck out of Dodge, and our relatively short (2 hour) drive to Kingston, NY passed without incident once we got past the city limits. Kingston is a quaint little town upstate, not far from Woodstock. Down the block from where we played is an actual real and apparently self-sustaining business that sells armor and swords and other knight paraphernalia. But beneath this absurdly bucolic exterior is a great local scene. As far as I can tell it is mostly centered around BSP Lounge, which houses a dance studio and soundstage as well as a space for shows. Everyone at BSP is highly pleasant and professional, and the sound in the house is excellent. They’ve got a good thing going over there. They also gave us beer backstage, which puts any venue in my good graces. A lot of people in Kingston apparently moved there from the city. Expatriates. I am always amazed at the lives people who do not live in New York City can lead. But if I were going to feel really compelled to leave I probably would have by now. New York, I can’t quit you. What if I get hungry?
DAY 2 + 3 Oberlin, OH and Gambier, OH
Oberlin ended up being pretty much the best college show we’ve played. The venue had big delicious cookies and the best root and ginger beers (Virgil’s and Reed’s, respectively). Opener PEAKS was excellent. The setup was such that we couldn’t see the crowd at all, but we could hear them oohing and aahing and generally freaking out at the appropriate times. Sometimes a college crowd is kind of checked out, but this one was really engaged. They dug us and we dug them. To top it all off, they put us up in a hotel. This is basically expected in Europe but practically unheard of in the US for bands at our level. It was probably the last time we would all simultaneously sleep in beds for the remainder of tour.
The next day was a pretty leisurely day of running errands: hardware store, music store, grocery store. Krill had a hookup at the radio station, WOBC, and we both stopped in to do a quick session.
Then it was off to Kenyon to play at The Horn. Kenyon is small, and The Horn is the only venue on campus, housed in a converted barn. Kenyon also has the distinction of housing the best college dining hall we’ve ever encountered.
Fun fact: Gambier, Ohio has some old school liquor law on the books prohibiting the sale of alcohol over 42 proof. We bought a bottle of something called Old Dan Tucker, a dilute bourbon whiskey distilled in Ohio. It tasted like when you fix yourself a whiskey on the rocks at a party and you get distracted and forget about it all night and then find it several hours later, ice all melted and back up to room temperature.
Kenyon gave us a warm reception. We were fed homemade chili, cornbread, salad, chips and salsa. The chili contained chickpeas, a great innovation. I love the way kids at Kenyon dance. They rock some deeply weird moves, completely devoid of self-consciousness. Warped Tour mosh pit meets Burning Man rave tent meets Elaine Benes/Taylor Swift High Postmodern White Girl Arm Stuff. Everyone feels comfortable looking mildly-to-totally silly here. Our friend Jon is a legit good dancer, but unserious enough in his approach to blend right in. A pleasure to watch.
Day 4, Chicago
Chicago’s show was at an amazing spot called The Observatory. It’s a recording studio by day and occasional venue by night. It’s up four flights of stairs and we get our best workout of the tour so far dragging our amps and drums upstairs. Krill showed up soon after us, fresh from visiting all of their parents (all three of them are Chicago natives). We quickly realized that we’d forgotten our merch case at Kenyon and general despondency set in–it felt like an amateur mistake, and it was depressing. I started frantically calling people at Kenyon and ended up getting someone to locate the case. Luckily, we still had enough merch to sell for the rest of tour, and we hadn’t left any money in the case. Crisis mostly averted, we could settle in and enjoy our surroundings. The Observatory is where we would hang out if we lived in Chicago. Great sound system, great crowd, cheap beer. The people who run it take pride in what they do, and it shows. The show itself was fantastic—media personality Hayden showed up unexpectedly.
Krill played by far their best set of the tour to a packed house, and we all went back to Jonah’s parents’ house to eat leftovers from the fridge and sleep on comfortable couches.
DAY 5 + 6, Milwaukee and Minneapolis
Milwaukee gave us a warm reception. We played at the Riverwest Public House, another place I would absolutely hang out if I lived in the area. Positive and community-oriented in its approach, LGBT-friendly, solid drink specials every night, plus $1 shots of rotgut whiskey all the time. Good books, comfy places to sit on whilst reading the books, plus a proper stage and reasonably good sound. But most notable was the pizza we got towards the end of the night, when we remembered that no one had actually eaten proper dinner.
The Minneapolis show was at the Kitty Cat Klub, a cozy-kitschy bar with many rooms. Couches, pinball. Friendly and talented soundman. We’ve been extremely spoiled with the venues so far, and we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Lots of people came and talked to us and bought records and such. A friend of Ethan’s from high school times let us crash in her living room, and plied us with tea and key lime confections.
Day 7, Fargo, ND
After Minneapolis, it was on to Fargo. We dropped off our stuff at The Aquarium, upstairs from Dempsey’s Public House, a bustling Irish bar with karaoke and free popcorn, serving affordably-priced beverages to young and old alike. The guy who helped us set up the show invited us over for homemade curry before soundcheck. This is his living room, which made us feel immediately at home:
Neil Young, pictured, was on the stereo when we arrived. And that is a real live Hammond organ. We helped chop vegetables, stir the pot, add stock, flour-dredge pieces of tofu for frying. The house was cozy and contained an adorable small dog, Piper. Piper is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and you’ll just have to take our word for it that she was made cute. She did not want to sit still for a picture.
A friend from another band stopped by and hitched a ride to the show. Most people who do music in Fargo seem to know each other. I noticed throughout the night that everyone expected me to have a negative opinion of Fargo which they considered it their duty to correct. I came into Fargo expecting horrid bitter bone-chilling cold, but had no other preconceptions beyond that about the people or the music scene or anything. We loved the people and the music, but it sure did deliver that cold. Good God. Nobody gets to complain about how cold it gets in New York City, ever again. Trust me, New Yorkers, you are the lucky ones. Buy a scarf, and be thankful.
