Category: Tours
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More Ways to Skate in (a) Town and Country
The Grotto are playing at the Soiled Dove in Denver tonight. The drive from Carbondale to Denver is on a good highway, well gritted, but it’s hairy at times. The roads are thick with snow, slush and ice, and the windscreen washers freeze over, forcing us to stop every so often to wash the caked…
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Can you hear the drums Charango? – US Tour 2010
Judging by the constant snow, the gritted roads, the ice forming on the windscreen – it should be really cold here, but it just doesn’t feel cold. We reckon it’s because there’s no moisture in the air – no humidity. Irish humidity levels are very high, so when it’s cold, it goes straight to your…
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Mostly Harmless – US Tour 2010
Still in driving mode today. We have to make ANOTHER 600 miles today in order to make Carbondale, CO. We’ll be cutting through Idaho, Utah and finally Colorado. Our day begins in Twin Falls, Idaho, where we pulled in late last night into our usual spot – Motel 6. Cheap and cheerfully consistent. The morning…
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Way from Oregon – US Tour 2010
I CAN HEAR THEM CALLING, WAY FROM OREGON Dock cranes loom up over the San Franciscan fog like herd of Freight-osaurus Rex, We’re leaving San Fran and heading up the coast to Portland. It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m travelling with two Irish guys for 10+ hours in a van. (In fairness, they have to travel…
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Ad Ventura – US Tour 2010
I’m writing this from the back seat of the Grotto’s new (second-hand) Chrysler, as we head northwards to Ventura, CA. We’ve just got the car today, hours before the deadline, and one day before we’re set to leave SoCal (Southern California to the uninitiated). It was an absolute steal. The car looks and feels new,…
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Long Beach Pear Plum – US Tour 2010
Last night we played our first show of the tour. The weather was okay – certainly nothing bad by Irish February standards, but the drizzle seems to affect Californians more than it does us. Luckily, the drizzle didn’t drive away the crowds, and we had a lovely, friendly crowd at the Art Theatre in Long…
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US Tour Summer 2009 – Sarkozy’s Wham-like Debut Album
NB. I’ve had some previously unpublished blogs from the US tour this summer that I’ve decided to release into the wild. They’ll be appearing here over the next couple of days. Hope you enjoy! I watched Dylan’s “No Direction Home” with Chris & Liz in Brooklyn the other night. It was extremely entertaining, even just…
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US Tour Summer 2009 – Stately Homes of Staten Island
NB. I’ve had some previously unpublished blogs from the US tour this summer that I’ve decided to release into the wild. They’ll be appearing here over the next couple of days. Hope you enjoy! The strange thing about New York for me, is that apart from the relatively new apartments, and slightly older skyscrapers… there…
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Mapping the US with Tiger & Friends
This is just to give you an idea of the places we’ve been to in June and July. More blogs later on some of our hairier driving moments, etc. [EDIT : I have it arranged in two legs because Googlemaps couldn’t handle the amount of stops we made. Just so you know!] Leg 1 of…
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Mad Dogs & Baseball Caps
Going on tour with the Guggenheims for two months meant catching one or two of their shows. I was also doing, and sometimes failing, to be guitar tech. The toughest show, by far, that I’ve seen them play was a show in Louisville, Kentucky along the waterfront. The humidity was nearly 100%, the heat was…