Sept. 26: West Palm Beach, FL
My sister sent me a text this morning that read “You hanging with the golden girls?” I could see why – we were in West Palm Beach, Florida, a retirement town. It’s the last place you’d expect to find a punk show. We all half expected to roll up on a town of all senior citizens, complete with wheelchair ramps on every storefront.
Of course, that wasn’t the case. Even on the beach, which was our first stop, there were plenty of young people out and about. As I reported in my last dispatch, the water was anything but refreshing. The floating trash and jellyfish warning signs didn’t help anything. But the beach was still a nice stop before the show. As far as the show was concerned, we didn’t know what to expect. Would it be full of oldtimers hobbling around the mosh pit?
Once it was dark, we took a walk down to the waterfront to kill some time before our set. We stumbled upon a newly developed marina area with a huge dock that went a few hundred yards over the water. The breeze was perfect, you could see the city lights reflecting on the ocean and I felt peaceful – a rare emotion when you’re on tour. It was probably the nicest moment for me from all of Florida.
The show ended up being great. Somehow the best scenes unfold when you’d least expect them to. We handed out stickers to everyone, which helped us get some extra people hanging around our merch table. We didn’t have a place lined up to stay, however. So when the show ended, we had to drive for three hours to get to our friend Christian’s pad in Orlando. By the time we got there, it was 3:30a.m. As always, Christian was up and offered us drinks and food as soon as we stepped through the door. But I think we all just wanted to go to sleep and start fresh in the morning.
Sept. 27: Orlando, FL
Orlando has always been the place in Florida that we feel the most at home. There are two bands there that we have become good friends with who live here, and Christian (whose band is called The Hi-Life) has always done his best to make us feel welcome. His apartment is loaded with everything a rock musician could ever want: huge collections of vinyl records, CDs and DVDs, not to mention instruments and gear that I will never get my hands on. Let’s just say it’s a nice place to be invited.
We woke up late and went to a local shop to get a bite and some coffee. Today was a Sunday, and we didn’t have practically anything to do. Adam went down to catch the Patriots game at a local sports bar, and Matt and I eventually met him there. Everyone in the bar was rooting for a different team, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any native Floridians left in Orlando. After watching New England prevail, it was time to head to the show.
The club was unique. There was a huge stage with a lowered viewing area directly in front and multiple stairways leading to a normal level bar. The show ended up being the best in Florida because a number of people whom we’d met at the other shows made special trips to come see us again. Since the South is so far away from us normally, it felt good to be realizing a new following in Florida.
Sept. 28: Tallahassee, FL
The only time anyone should travel to Florida is in the dead of winter. In September, the heat and humidity are pretty ghastly.
Driving from show to show sucked for two reasons:
- Our air conditioner did not like Florida, its weather or its drives.
- Since the AC didnt work, we had the windows rolled down, opening the car up to the worst highway bugs I’d ever seen. Every now and then I’d hear screams over my headphones when someone had been attacked. I’d look up to see Adam or Matt flailing their arms around, trying to avoid a giant dragonfly or some other monstrous flying insect that only thrives in the south.
As excited as I was to get out of Florida, we had one more stop to make – Tallahassee, the home of Florida State University. The venue looked terrible. We parked on a crater-filled dirt lot and walked into a dusty, smoky and awkward bar. Fortunately, the show didn’t end up being so bad. Some kids in the audience sang along, and there was even a familiar face from Maine in the crowd. He was in his senior year at FSU and came to see us. The bar may have been a bit rough around the edges, but they gave us free PBR for the night – a rare gesture in the United States, at least nowadays.
Sept. 29: Mobile, AL
Today we left Tallahassee and drove straight to Mobile, Alabama. At last, we were out of Florida (although not quite out of the deep south). When we got there, we went directly to an oyster bar where Adam, Matt, and I got fried shrimp. Kurt got a full order of oysters. Dont get me wrong, I’m a true Mainer. I like seafood. But oysters look like giant boogers, and who wants to eat a booger?
The downtown area of Mobile has a certain rustic feel that helps a visitor, especially one from Maine who doesn’t particularly like the South, to appreciate it. The storefronts and buildings along many of the downtown blocks have high pillar-supported second floor porches that add to the feel. Even the venue had a southern-style, wrap-around porch on its second floor.
Tonight’s show looked like it might be sort of low-key since it was a weeknight, but it ended up being pretty well attended. I think the crowd that the Queers draws isn’t exactly the church-going stay-at-home-with-the-family type. It turned out to be pretty fun. Maybe the southern hospitality thing everyone always talks about isn’t so bad after all.