Short answer? AWESOME!!
Long Answer, see below. (for part 2 if you haven't read it already, click here)
Day 6 - Kansas City, here we come.
One of our primary objectives for the tour was to play Roscoes Boogie to Roscoes Peeps. We did that for Tim, back in Bloomington, and as an ex Marine (and Gunney too I might add, HOO RAA) he appreciated our selection of cadences.
Where was I? Oh right, yeah, we wanted to to go KC and play for Roscoes family and friends so that's what we did next.
Bloomington to KC is a long drive (8 hrs) but fortunately we had a bevy of drivers to hand and for those of us used to Australian driving distances (Melbourne gig anyone?) 8 hours was a snip. Well...not really but I'd like to appear all seasoned traveller here...oh well, at least the van was comfy and the scenery still novel.
I mean, yes it was flat. Really flat. And boy were there a lot of trucks. And oh boy do they speed over there like crazy - for us down under, in the home of the variable speed limit, the radar trap, omnipresent speed cameras and those dastardly unmarked buggers in victoria, we wouldn't dream of going as far over the speed limit, on as consistent basis, as the mid westerners seem to do quite nonchalantly.
The explanation I received form locals was that the 'cops have better things to do with their time, like solving real crimes'. Hmmm..The big big floaty lumbering van was not the kind of vehicle you drive like an enzo.
So dear reader, once more to the road
Crossing the mighty Mo' on our way into MO.
Due to the limitations of certain bladders, we found ourselves stopping at a number of road houses along the way, and when it comes to Road Snacks, we truly are in the land of choice.
Pho in St Louis
Who'd of thunk that some great Vietnamese cooking was to be found in a mall in St Louis, thanks Zico!
As the evening approached we neared Kansas City, Missouri, dodged a freeway traffic jam from a car that had caught on fire and headed for our first KC gig.
In a mall.
Fat Fish Blue is a sports bar with a comedy club attached, where Kevin Nealon (of WEEDS fame) was doing a gig. Cool.
We met up with DG, Cathy, Niels, JV from The Billybats and a host of locals who made us very welcome.
The highlight of the show for me was when a lady down the front urged me to 'sing it brother'. Amen Sister!
Cheers to Jessi on sound and Dakota (dude I hope the Koalas did the trick, she was HOT, you go bro!)
This was also the first night we had a chance to meet Roscoes Parents, the lovely Lesley and the fantastic Luis, who took us into their home and looked after us for the next few days and after non stop traveling and gigging we were glad of sanctuary.
I had my moment of American Shopping when, at 3am, we did a dash to _____ to purchase inflatable mattresses for the boys to sleep on.
Shopping at 3am, amazing.
DAY 7 - Knuckleheads gig and a place to relax.
The next Day, Kansas City greeted us in all her finery.
Doe, a Deer!
Looking up to the roof to follow the strange sounds of tapping, I saw my first Squirrel, not a popular local creature as it eats the pecans, but they were so cute. Pretty quick though so I didn't manage to get a photo :-(.
That evening was our show at Knuckleheads, a high profile venue where the likes of Los Lobos play. We were honored to be invited to play there on our first tour.
So, it was time to head for the industrial park where Knuckleheads is located in the middle of a train yard. get down. Here's the view from the highway as we passed by KC's downtown.
As we were setting up for sound check, who should come in but local legend Danny Cox. I took some shots of Danny with Rosie and Mr Wizard. He'd come to check the show out ahead of our performance on his lawn the day after.
That's enough gurning guys, it's time for sound check.
Sound was engineered by the wonderful Pete, god bless you sir. We all hope for your continued well being and thank you for the Jerky, it was awesome.
Meanwhile, our merchandise was secured and posted, thanks to our Tactical Tour Support.
They'd even laid on dinner for us.
Unaccustomed as we are to the niceties of Dressing Rooms (LOL), we were very pleased to have our own Green Room area ...
Whilst Mr Wizard took a look around the T shirt section, I spotted some posters for other gigs
Before we knew it, it was showtime, and a big show it was.
Cheers to Laura and Lauren who flew all the way from California to hear us at our KC shows (Lauren, you are a champion), shout out to Pete, Frank, Rich and Charlie.
As the evening finished, we did our usual load out and I spotted our tactical Support Officer negotiating our safe passage :-)
Nice ride. Shame about the engine exploding...but that's another story.
Day 8 Lawn Party becomes Pool party
Rosie has a big brain so he suggested bringing our Set Construction cards with us, so we could build new sets on the fly. With a short set to do at Danny Cox's lawn party, we made our adjustments as the rain fell...uh oh...
The morning weather started drizzly and grey and things were looking grim, until mid morning when the heavens relented and bright sunshine flooded through. Hurrah! Before you knew it, we were in the van and on our way to Kansas City, Kansas.
As we stopped for some local beers I spotted this ad on a bodega.
Danny Cox Lawn Party - Woodcox?
Danny & Mona Cox lost their house in a fire a little while ago and were uninsured.
In an outpouring of community spirit, their friends, family and neighbors joined together and built a new house.
As Danny said, he was truly blessed.
It was time to celebrate and thank their friends, and we were invited to participate and play some music.
Danny's boys had built a stage on the side lawn, a simple task for guys that had built an entire house :-)
Dawayne setup some history presentations from the local Blues scene
Whilst the guys setup, I spotted an important object. the Barbecue.
BBQ is somewhat of a religious event in Kansas City..they call it Grilling
Nate explains:
And there were plenty of fixings, pulled pork, home made sausages, chicken, ribs, ye food gods.
Meanwhile, Danny and Mr Wizard were getting on famously. Danny had heard that Mr Wizard lost his hat to a girl (a story for another time) and proceeded to provide a replacement.
They started jamming on the porch...
I thought that looked like so much fun I had to horn in on the act...Typical harp player :-)
As the crowd gathered we got up and did a set. I finally got the chance to do Roscoes boogie in the right town and to the right crowd.
A shining moment. We love you Brother.
We were stoked that the local muso's were ready to run something special on for us and we gladly made way for the local KC's legends to get down.
The guys were just starting to get down, when the ONLY rain cloud in Kansas City (we checked the doppler radar) decided to precipit...precippi..proce..Rain on us.
And the soundo pulled the plug.....:-(
I was really bummed until the acoustic guitars came out and the jamming started. I got to sit in with some of KC's finest players and go Old School, gotta say, Bob Sukiel is a hell of a player.
The rain passed, the drinks flowed, the BBQ kept coming and we kicked back.
Mr Wizard and Danny setting the night to rights.
They even had a fairy floss machine. Wow.
Getting to play and engage with Danny & Mona, their family and the music community of Kansas City was a privilege and we were touched (in the good way) and honored to be part of it.
Thanks to Millage Gilbert, DC Bellamy, Bob Sukiel, Max Groove (the best name ever), Jamari, Vincent, Roger (thank you for your service), Nate, Jaylen, bob, Cathy and Dawayne and all of the KCMO and KCK locals for making a bunch of wandering Aussies so very much at home. Bless you all.
After such a huge night you would have thought we'd go home and crash, but no, our Tour Ninja decided to take us out to Westport in KCMO (that's Kansas City Missouri, as opposed to KCK, or Kansas City, Kansas) where we caught the amazing high energy bluegrass/folk punk of Larry & His Flask. These guys were Folk Core!
Eventually we made our way back to home base, exhausted, replete with BBQ and music we collapsed ahead of three days of R& R in KC, MO.
IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT -
We spend a night with the Blues Super Brain of the Universe