![NOVEMBER 20 – BEECHWOOD LOUNGE, DES MOINES, IA [SHOW #129]
Day 164. 39,600 miles. So sunny and balmy it was in Kansas City on the afternoon of our final day of tour. We were bumming the area around Greg & Jill’s place for a while visiting the usual places: City Market and K City Coffee. We also stopped into the newly-opened market store that Greg & Jill both work at where we had some good coffee, soup and salad. Also had a surprise run-in with Greg’s dad in the parking lot just before we took off for Iowa. Greg introduced us all and it was neat to see them together. We said our goodbyes with Greg & Jill, thanking them for all the good times they’ve provided on our Kansas City stops.
The drive back to Iowa was bittersweet, and the outside temperature was dropping by the mile. We cheered as we passed the “Welcome to Iowa” sign at the border. We went directly to see Devin’s parents, Bill & Lynn, at their place once we arrived in Des Moines. They welcomed us for the Nth time and prepared a wonderful dinner for us all. On the TV was the Iowa/Ohio State and Iowa State/Missouri football games. Ashley soon showed up bearing gifts for the band members: plastic gold medals and a nice pair of socks. “Now Dave finally has a patching pair!” Patrick joked. Lynn looked down at the mismatched socks on David’s feet and burst into laughter.
As comforting as it was to be back, we still had one last show to play, and we were soon piling into the van to head downtown. The Beechwood Lounge is a small bar in Des Moines’ East Village. Only David has played here once before, and to the rest of us it was a completely new venue. “It feels strange to be playing somewhere other than the Vaudeville Mews” we kept saying to each other. The Beechwood was a fine place. The prime bar was on the main level, with an outdoor patio, and the secondary bar was downstairs, where tonight’s show was to take place. It was small and boxy, but there was a decently-sized PA system set up, and enough room for the band to play in front of a neon Budweiser sign mounted between a storage closet and a restroom door. Budweiser was the prime drink poured at the Beechwood. “This is the wrong place for a Miller fan,” Devin told the nice Bartender, Amanda. “Oh we’ve got Miller Light,” she said. “Yeah, except it’s served warm,” I quipped.
The night went very well. Gabe Cordova and his band, Canyons, arrived and we talked with them for a while before the night’s crowd began turning up. It was such a wonderful reunion to be with all of our Iowa friends at last. Everyone was in great spirits, and giving us many congratulations on the long and successful tour. Canyons played a wonderful set, and the band sounded terrific and everyone enjoyed them very much. We played second, and it was loud and little riotous at times. We played a longer set, which included a never-played-nor-practiced cover of ‘Running Back’ by Thin Lizzy, a group that we have been recently in love with. We also ripped through our standard cover of GBV’s ‘A Salty Salute’ before closing with our own ‘When The World Sleeps,’ though this time with the crowd on lead vocals. Ears ringing, we hung out with friends chatting and sharing stories until closing time, when many migrated to the Lift.
We want to give big thanks to all of our families and friends for all of the support and encouragement this year. We have so many people to credit for making this all possible, that it will have to wait for a separate blog post. But for tonight’s show at least, we want to thank Ladd Askland who put it best when he said: “I think this night was just perfect.”
The jam in the van: The Lemonheads It’s A Shame About Ray / Silver Jews The Natural Bridge / Belle & Sebastian Dear Catastrophe Waitress / Big Star #1 Record/Radio City
The word we heard: “Smells like college in here” –Greg, retelling a story about his dad
Our friends the Bartends: Amanda / Jared
Sound Tech we respect: Darren
We adore the door: Dre
The fill of the bill: Canyons
Patrick: don’t be so pissed, you get to write the hometown setlist
Some Ordinary Vision / Monument / Pacific Sunrise / By The Wave / Being Gone / Don’t Go / Thousand Colors / Friends In The Band / Cognac Dreams / Running Back / Magic Circle Symphony / Porcelain Brain / Give It A Try / A Salty Salute / When The World Sleeps](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lcbfzbsheC1qahyhxo1_500.jpg)
NOVEMBER 20 – BEECHWOOD LOUNGE, DES MOINES, IA [SHOW #129]
Day 164. 39,600 miles. So sunny and balmy it was in Kansas City on the afternoon of our final day of tour. We were bumming the area around Greg & Jill’s place for a while visiting the usual places: City Market and K City Coffee. We also stopped into the newly-opened market store that Greg & Jill both work at where we had some good coffee, soup and salad. Also had a surprise run-in with Greg’s dad in the parking lot just before we took off for Iowa. Greg introduced us all and it was neat to see them together. We said our goodbyes with Greg & Jill, thanking them for all the good times they’ve provided on our Kansas City stops.
The drive back to Iowa was bittersweet, and the outside temperature was dropping by the mile. We cheered as we passed the “Welcome to Iowa” sign at the border. We went directly to see Devin’s parents, Bill & Lynn, at their place once we arrived in Des Moines. They welcomed us for the Nth time and prepared a wonderful dinner for us all. On the TV was the Iowa/Ohio State and Iowa State/Missouri football games. Ashley soon showed up bearing gifts for the band members: plastic gold medals and a nice pair of socks. “Now Dave finally has a patching pair!” Patrick joked. Lynn looked down at the mismatched socks on David’s feet and burst into laughter.
As comforting as it was to be back, we still had one last show to play, and we were soon piling into the van to head downtown. The Beechwood Lounge is a small bar in Des Moines’ East Village. Only David has played here once before, and to the rest of us it was a completely new venue. “It feels strange to be playing somewhere other than the Vaudeville Mews” we kept saying to each other. The Beechwood was a fine place. The prime bar was on the main level, with an outdoor patio, and the secondary bar was downstairs, where tonight’s show was to take place. It was small and boxy, but there was a decently-sized PA system set up, and enough room for the band to play in front of a neon Budweiser sign mounted between a storage closet and a restroom door. Budweiser was the prime drink poured at the Beechwood. “This is the wrong place for a Miller fan,” Devin told the nice Bartender, Amanda. “Oh we’ve got Miller Light,” she said. “Yeah, except it’s served warm,” I quipped.
The night went very well. Gabe Cordova and his band, Canyons, arrived and we talked with them for a while before the night’s crowd began turning up. It was such a wonderful reunion to be with all of our Iowa friends at last. Everyone was in great spirits, and giving us many congratulations on the long and successful tour. Canyons played a wonderful set, and the band sounded terrific and everyone enjoyed them very much. We played second, and it was loud and little riotous at times. We played a longer set, which included a never-played-nor-practiced cover of ‘Running Back’ by Thin Lizzy, a group that we have been recently in love with. We also ripped through our standard cover of GBV’s ‘A Salty Salute’ before closing with our own ‘When The World Sleeps,’ though this time with the crowd on lead vocals. Ears ringing, we hung out with friends chatting and sharing stories until closing time, when many migrated to the Lift.
We want to give big thanks to all of our families and friends for all of the support and encouragement this year. We have so many people to credit for making this all possible, that it will have to wait for a separate blog post. But for tonight’s show at least, we want to thank Ladd Askland who put it best when he said: “I think this night was just perfect.”
The jam in the van: The Lemonheads It’s A Shame About Ray / Silver Jews The Natural Bridge / Belle & Sebastian Dear Catastrophe Waitress / Big Star #1 Record/Radio City
The word we heard: “Smells like college in here” –Greg, retelling a story about his dad
Our friends the Bartends: Amanda / Jared
Sound Tech we respect: Darren
We adore the door: Dre
The fill of the bill: Canyons
Patrick: don’t be so pissed, you get to write the hometown setlist
Some Ordinary Vision / Monument / Pacific Sunrise / By The Wave / Being Gone / Don’t Go / Thousand Colors / Friends In The Band / Cognac Dreams / Running Back / Magic Circle Symphony / Porcelain Brain / Give It A Try / A Salty Salute / When The World Sleeps
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friendsintheband reblogged this from thepoisoncontrolcenter and added:
Welcome home, boys!
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