Compared to my spring solo tour, Glorytellers’ casual outing with Joe Lally felt like a vacation. Short drives, great venues and a good hang with Joe and his crew made for a fun couple weeks. Unfortunately the “Pens” playoff game kept people away from our first show at the Brillobox in Pittsburgh, but things started to pick up after that. We had a blast playing in the wonderful sounding Southgate House Parlor in Newport KY, caught Eugene Chadbourne’s set right down the street from our venue in St. Louis, caught up with old friends in the Beat Kitchen in Chicago, and played with a great band called Alan James and the Cold Wave in Pontiac MI. Our Canada shows were also a blast, especially because we had Helen Money on board. Her solo cello tunes grew on me more with each performance, and it was sad to part ways after our show at the Suoni per il Popolo festival in Montreal. The next night in Boston we shared the stage with my pals The Soft Drugs, who rocked with fervor. Unfortunately, by the time we hit, the crowd was too loud for us to do our thing, but we pulled out the Glorytellers rock version and it seemed to go over quite well. We finished up with a couple of NY shows and the obligatory Black Cat Backstage appearance in DC. By then the set was flowing effortlessly and it turned out to be one of the best shows of the tour.
Joe’s generosity and hospitality also made us feel right at home: night after night he gave us long sound checks, drink tickets, and even gave us his hotel rooms in Montreal! Joe’s band mates, Nick and Ricardo, laid it down with zeal night after night, and were truly road-worthy companions. Thanks for the great tour fellas!
