CDT V3 Pt2 got off to a pretty great start. Boston has always been a favorite city of the Static Jacks, so we were quite pleased to start the longer portion of this tour there, at the great Brighton Music Hall. With our days off we hung out with some friends outside the city, watching such classics as “Heavyweights”, “Labyrinth”, and the last fifteen minutes of “Bloodsport”, and generally just loafing around doing not-much.

Next we hit Montreal for our first Canadian show! After having lost a bunch of money at the casino the night before, we spent the day busking in various parks and streets around Montreal, where we met a fantastic roving cello player named Quinn, with whom we played some Arcade Fire songs (pandering to Canadians), until he just started making parts to our songs. Long story short, we planned on having him play on some tunes with us that night at the venue, but during soundcheck it was made clear that we play so loud that even with a microphone right under the cello strings, Quinn would never be heard. With our new dreams of string sections dashed, we blasted through the set the old fashioned way, and the beautiful people of Montreal were receptive and generous.

Unfortunately, our time in Toronto was limited to unloading the van, playing the show, hanging out for a little bit, then departing for a motel in Michigan (first TSJ motel stay!). While hanging out near the venue in Toronto, after having discussed the topic of Crusties at length in the van, a pair of grumpy Crusties tried to make fun of some of us, but grumpy, overly-stereotypic Crusties can be easily dismissed with a firm “Get outta here, Crusties!” We met some nicer ones in Chicago later on. I guess they just breed ‘em mean in Canada. 

We weren’t sure what to expect from the show in Indianapolis. None of us had ever been there before, nor did we know anyone from the area, and it seemed like a pretty long way from anything we would have considered ‘urban’. Turns out, it was one of the best shows of the whole bunch. The crowd was large and jovial, the beer was local, and the food was great. We met some very cool people, including some of (all of?) the people behind My Old Kentucky Blog. Awesome!

After leaving Indianapolis, we arrived in Chicago, after considerable overnight traffic, with the sun very much up in the sky. Never a good feeling, and it was the second time it had happened this tour. We played at the legendary Schubas Tavern, which may have become my own personal #1 favorite venue. Everyone there was welcoming and kind, gave us food and drink, and really just knew how to make a travelling band feel comfortable. Good times f’sho. F’sho. 

Chicago marked our final show with White Denim and Mazes, so playing in Rock Island, Illinois without them felt a bit strange. We played at Rozz-Tox, which was a really cool little coffeeshop/bar/venue where you could get crazy things like bowls of cereal from the bar. Its a strange experience to sit next to an intoxicated person consuming wine and beer at the same time, while you enjoy a very sober bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats for dinner.

The next day, just as we were getting into the swing of of our very first Daytrotter session, tragedy struck and a cup of coffee was spilled (not by us) on the mixer, making it impossible to continue in any kind of constructive way. It was suggested we go home, so we did, spending the night with a friend outside Cleveland to divide the mind-numbing drive into two parts. So here we are, home again. At least we got to see the Mississippi River for the first time. 

There were no celebrity deaths on this portion of the tour as far as I know, so I guess we’re losing our touch on that front. But at least you can still check out the ALBUM ART, TRACKLISTING, AND A NEW SONG FROM OUR DEBUT ALBUM “IF YOUR’RE YOUNG” (DUE OUT AUGUST 30TH), RIGHT FUCKING HERE