Memphis in May

They were setting up for Memphis in May (3 day music fest) along the
Mississippi...

Bars, Blisters, & Beyond

In addition to getting locked upstairs above the Basement behind bars,
(Thank you Mike for saving me) I also got a blood blister from loading
the trailer for the 44th time this month. Ouch! (Dena here yo!)

The Rouge

The Rouge playing right before us at The Basement. They're from Denver
and sounded pretty cool. Front guy evoked some Jeff Buckley... And I
enjoyed talking to the drummer & bespectacled guitarist :-) good luck,
guys!

Dena & Chris

Dena & Chris, pre-show convo.

The Basement poster wall

The Basement is Cool.

Rain & hail tour

In Nashville... With our sweet guide and host, Eden.

I keep telling

Rae & Dena to be nicer to me - they will benefit, too!

Nashville shopping

For the bean! Pretty cute! ;-)

Shopping in Nashville

Katie K's in Nashville

Rae's new T

Rae's bro-in-law had this shirt ready for Rae upon arriving in
Nashville. Nice! Attempting to talk her into wearing it tonight for
the show but have a ways to go...

TN Elements

View down I-40, approx 90 miles east of Nashville. Today has been our
longest haul, 9 hrs from Charleston to Nashville. The route was
extended because I-40 was closed through Asheville so we took
highways... resulting in our stop in the cute tourist map dot, Hot
Springs, nestled deep in the Appalachian hills.

We want to also thank Rae's sweet cousin, Cindy, for her hospitality
in Charleston. And we're so glad it worked out for you to see the
(late and loud) show!

Tri's with Erin

Erin, the groovy sweet bartender @ Tin Roof (we hope you enjoy your
schwag!)

Tin Roof we heart u

Tin Roof, thank you! We had a great evening and think you all are
really nice & cool and we will be really happy to come back through!
Shouts out to Mike (great sound), Leslie, & Erin. And Harrison Ray and
Jim sounded terrific opening...

Fleets Landing, interior

Fleets Landing

We had fancy drinks at Fleets Landing, per Leslie's (Tin Roof
bartender) suggestion. A very talented musician played great acoustic
stuff with a Boss RC50 (crazy looping pedal I have, but that has
collected too much dust as of late).

US Custom House

Beautiful historic building on the waterfront in Charleston.

CCPL

Quick stop @ Charleston Public Library (free wi-fi).

Charlestown, NC

Charlestown is incredibly charming.

The Wavos

Rae & Joey

At Drink! Rockin out to The Wavos, an awesome cover band from NYC
playing a Smiths song Right Now. Nice!

Gerry Leonard

We walked into Drink! and much to our delight, they were playing a
David Bowie DVD. Of course, we like him. A lot. -but- what was cooler,
was seeing Gerry Leonard playing some smokin coo spooky ghost
guitar... I've been lucky to meet & hear Gerry play with Duncan Sheik.
One of my faves. Tasty, tasty, tasteful...

Vista #2

Put put [sic] miniature golf course, view #2.

Putt putt putt putter's Dee-lite!

This is an artistic vista of the most ginormous put-put golf course
located next to Drink! in Myrtle Beach. It took our breath away
(literally).

Hamish

Erin & Owen's super cute and playful pup.

Back that thang up!

That Sarah Glynn, she can back that thang up down a 10 mile gravel road!

I think we're ready

Stage pre-show at Rocket Club. Looks & sounds good per sound check.

Chocolate Lounge

Yes! Fantastic idea, Asheville. Our lovely hosts, Erin & Owen,
introduced us to Asheville's cocoa decadence.

Double espresso + large coffee

And why, yes - I do believe I'm waking up... Hello world and happy
Friday. Now off to Asheville. C'mon now, Ms. Element. You can take
those Blue Ridge Mountains!!

Erin Brown

Opening at Broad Street Cafe in Durham... Thanks so much to everyone
for making it a fun show. We can't wait to come back through. Cheers,
Durham! You ain't so bad ;-)

Snake City

Erin & Owen took us for a journey in downtown Asheville... AND... We
found this Sssssnake on the street!!!! It was 3 feet long!

Erin Brown

Opening the show at Broad St. Cafe in Durham.

Durham funeral park

We pulled into Durham, and swiftly found parking at a funeral home
across the street from venue. But the venue quickly told us we had
better park at the salon instead of the funeral home so I promptly
moved our tour vehicle.

White House Night Cap

Jen, Michael and I hustled up the street because I really, really wanted a picture in front of the White House.  (Rae & Shawna waited for the cab).  So check this out - pretty awesome, eh?!?  Thanks Jen & Michael for helping to make this happen :)  And thanks again to Kim & Rick for their hospitality... Kim, we hope to catch up with you again in Myrtle Beach.  We really can't wait to make it back to WDC - what an awesome, fun time we've had.

Private Humidors

Lease a private humidor at Shelly's.  This is fancy, folks.

Shelly's Cigar Bar

We headed over to Shelly's Back Room, just down the street from Ceiba's.  Jen quickly spotted a news anchor (but his name escaped us all)... this is clearly a happening WDC spot.  Michael took this photo.

Red Snapper Head

When ordering the red snapper, I didn't envision I would be so lucky to be served the head and all!  The eyeballs were a little chewy and the teeth were a no-go, but everything else went down nice & easy... the pickled jalapenos made the dish.  Yum! = Totemo oishikatta, desu yo!

Sarah + Russian Lady

The Russian lady appeared again at Ceiba while we were waiting for our table and so I kindly posed for a photo with her.  I'm sure this made the Russian lady's entire evening!

Ceiba with friends!

We enjoyed a tasty meal at the Latin-fusion restaurant "Ceiba" (WDC) with Kim, Michael, Jen, Deb and Penny.  Super delicious and a good time all around...

Russian Lady + Rae

This nice Russian lady asked to have her picture taken with Rae.  She must have recognized Rae from the show at The Red & The Black.

I Am The Cheese

After many samples, I decided on the Etorki, a delightful Sheep cheese that we were told is a local favorite.  (Pssst: Rae, you can have some of this... no cow's milk)

Situ Panchen Tibetan Exhibit

Beautiful, inspiring work...

Parterra Gardens

Parterra Gardens outside Smithsonian galleries.

Washington Monument

Cheese Shop #2

Rae & Sarah @ Cheese Shop.

Metrorail

WDC Metrorail...

Gauguin

Gauguin piece from the Chester Dale Collection.

National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art is amazing. We saw many amazing pieces in
the Chester Dale Collection (mostly French impressionists) and an
exhibit Rae read about called "The Sacred Made Real," featuring
Spanish sculptures from the 18th century and complementory paintings.
Beautiful, and somewhat eerie work.

WDC Metrorail

It turns out that riding WDC's Metrorail requires detailed reading to first purchase the correct pass.  Rae, Shawna, and I each had to jump the turnstyles at some point because our thingies didn't work (this was on the way out of the subway...).

Off stage

And this is part of my "off stage" outfit.