We scored a 1pm checkout from our Portland hotel, and I chilled in the lobby while the rest of my car stuffed face at Denny’s across the street. The drive to Eugene was short, and we went straight to the venue since our hotel was out of town on the way to the next show. The venue was another big and intimidating room, and I was back to using a different rented Ampeg head. I thought the sound on stage was better than Portland, though.
After soundcheck, I ate at a Japanese restaurant down the street, with Jay Haser, a bass buddy from MI who I hadn’t seen since 2003 I think. Oregon was certainly THE state for seeing old friends, and Jay was totally “rad” all around. That’s his catch word, and I’m determined to work it into my vocabulary. Anyway, the restaurant had this rad electronic toilet with all kinds of buttons to blast your ass with liquids or air or whatever suits your fancy. I won’t tell you what suited mine. Speaking of toilets, check out the funny sign posted in the bathroom in the backstage greenroom!
Before the show, Steve asked Johnny and me to take a few more chances with the jams. I think that may have slightly upset the comfortable groove we had settled into over the past few shows, so the improv sections were a bit more unsteady than I would have liked. But we learned from it, and I think it will help us continue to develop as a rhythm section. We did have some cool moments in “Footprints” that resulted from Steve’s suggestions. Another highlight was Steve sporting a WWJD shirt for the entire second set of the show, and that was very cool! Hoping it will boost sales! After the show, we drove an hour to our hotel and fell down for 6 hours before an early start to Chico the next day.
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