Day 8: Balloonington

The girl in the coffee-shop painted two large fronds on John's cheeks. Ryan received the marks of a Maori warrior. Kristin's face became covered in whimsical swirls. I took some dreamlike spirals to the chin and forehead. Ryan painted Mike (I mean, Mark) later.

We were waiting around at Rachel's café in Bloomington, Indiana, where we would be playing. While each of us received our markings, a lionlike young man started dancing around us, sometimes pretending to fight, sometimes attempting to massage our shoulders. "Is he drunk? High? Mentally deranged?" Ryan asked me. I shrugged.

Davy Long and David James (of Calumet Reel) arrived as we started unloading our gear. Davy and his crew (which I call the Mysterions) played a toned-down set. We played afterwards, followed by Ed Tom and Tuba. The facepainter and the crazy man danced vigorously throughout all three sets.

Later, David arranged for us to play an impromptu house show in town, making for the second gig of the day. Oddly enough, the party was themed around cowboys and Indians. Since we had our faces freshly painted and had a new song titled "Fake Natives" practiced for the tour, we were more than prepared to play there. (John and Kristin wore Cowboy Indian Bear shirts as well, making for more overwhelming coincidence.)

The porch to the house was covered with a mix of hip young folk and bros (reminiscent of Lawrence, Kansas peoples) dressed as either cowpersons or Native Americans. We loaded in through the basement after mingling. A garage-punk band, dressed in suits and ties, played before us. By the time we began our set, much of the crowd was trashed, and therefore receptive to anything loud. As we played, many of them began underdressing and rubbing their bodies together. When the last hip hop act performed, they were ready to procreate in our midst.

Later, on the porch, I spoke with a Kurt Vile lookalike. When I asked him what he had been listening to, he responded, "Kurt Vile, and this band War on Drugs, which Kurt Vile plays guitar in." He then showed me pictures of his Triumph motorcycle and clips from his videoblog/show (quite good).

After we left the party around 3:00, David played us some of his demos of the upcoming Calumet Reel album (impressive songs, recorded almost entirely live, sounding like a mix of the Band and Fleet Foxes). We proceeded to pass out on his couches.

Peace,

Dan/the low end

P.S.

Thanks to David James for the couches and gin & tonics. Also, thanks to my grandparents for the meal and the haircut.