2003-10-19 - 3:59 a.m.
We make Flagstaff on the second day out of L.A. I love this town and it is on my list of places I would live. It’s a small city in the mountains of northern Arizona that is an hour from the Grand Canyon and ½ hour from the beautiful town of Sedona. It’s laundry day for me so Andy and I head downtown where there’s a Laundromat next to a coffee shop and an Internet café. Only in a college town! After my laundry was done I hoof it around town exploring all the shops. There’s a great gallery that displays Hopi art. I’m intrigued by the paintings and figurines of Kachinas they have on display. Kachinas are the spirits that help the Hopi grow crops, find game and generally help them live their lives. Some of them are whimsical and some are frightening but they’re all beautiful.
We’re playing at the Orpheum Theater, which is supposed to be the cool place in town. We had a great time at the Mogellan Brew Pub last time but we’re trying the larger venue this time. It works out great and a couple hundred people show up to see us on a Tuesday. Our show is over early and afterwards some of us head over to see our buddies from Psychedelic Breakfast who are playing at the Mogellan. Jonas, the owner of the bar, seems genuinely shocked to see us. The Breakfast boys are at the top of their game. It was fun chatting with them after they were done.
We’re off to Albuquerque to play with our friends Mary and Mars at Stella Blue. The folks at this venue are some of the nicest you’ll want to meet. We seem blessed as most of the places we play are populated with good people! The neighborhood around Stella Blue is near the University of New Mexico. There are some really cool restaurants and shops and I duck into a comic book shop and walk out with a copy of “Fear of Comics” by Gilbert Hernandez. Gilbert did the book “Love and Rockets” with his brother Jaime during the 80’s. I loved that book and take a $10 chance on a collection of post-L&R stories by Gilbert. It’s very surreal stuff. The artwork is amazing, as usual, but the stories are not for all tastes.
Mary and Mars are a fantastic band from Santa Fe who have opened for us before at Stella Blue. They’re a trio that features a fabulous mandolin player named Sharon Gilchrist who is as beautiful as she is talented. They write cool songs and are fun to watch. They get the crowd riled up and away we go. Anyone who seeks live shows would be wise to seek this show out, as it was unusual and well played. We are now finally leaving the west. What a fantastic country this is!
May I suggest you visit my website? http://www.timcarbone.com
