Saturday, August 09, 2008
Bozeman to Missoula
We left Spearfish with weary heads and wagon trained across the arid sagebrush country of Wyoming, entering Montana from the south. An ominous storm loomed over the city of Bozeman as we approached. Foreshadowing, perhaps? We found our way through town to the Fillin Station where we were billed to play. The stage was cool, covered in license plates and band stickers. It was more of a roadhouse than a bar. The bartender and Grant, the guy who booked us, were friendly. No one else was in the bar. We hung out in the back and told stories while Jewell played us a few songs on guitar. I told a story over some of Tim's blues licks and we jokingly decided to debut it later.
Show time neared and still no one entered the bar. An outdoor music event was scheduled to take place downtown, but was cancelled because of the storm. We were supposed to be the afterparty. Things were not looking good for us. The weather struck again.
We took the stage and still no one was there. We started playing and the band that scheduled to play after us showed up and watched us, along with the bartender and the dude eating peanuts. We played for awhile for the other band and then they played some songs for us. They were very impressive and extremely tight. They're called the Chris Koza band, great guys. We hung out with them for awhile and since no one came to the show, we called it a night and headed downtown for a few beers.
As we were walking down main street, bad vibes descended. A fight broke out in front of us and a few guys went down hard. It was one of those spectacles that you don't want to see, but can't ignore. We all felt pretty sick after witnessing that and decided to get a beer and some pizza. I've never seen such drunkenness in one place. I thought people got wasted in Vermillion, but nothing like this has ever befallen my not so innocent eyes. This town is rough and tough. We're definitely in the West.
Seemingly everyone we talked to in Bozeman was hilarious in some way. Some were belligerent, some were just cool and funny. It will be fun to play here sometime when the weather agrees and we can get a crowd.
We headed out and drove west to Missoula, then north into some wild country. We came to a ranch near a lake in the mountains. Matt and Emily (not Matt and Natalie, though every time someone congratulated the couple, we couldn't help thinking they said that) were getting married, friends of Sean's, and we were playing their wedding. It was more of a festival than a wedding, which made for a pretty incredible time considering the scenery. Everyone was friendly and the wedding was beautiful. We took the stage underneath a moon and stars that looked so close they could have been painted there. We played and the whole crowd danced in the moonlight, it was beautiful. After our show we hung out and watched/participated in the drum circle, with Josh making his percussion debut and drawing rave reviews.
The next day we woke up, ate some breakfast and took down our tents before yet another thunderstorm struck. All in all, it was a great experience out in the woods, wading through streams looking for trout with Jewell, and getting to see Sean walk around in nothing but a way too small towel after bathing in the creek, striking a mountain man pose.
We're all excited for tonight in Missoula. I'm at the Top Hat right now and this place rules. This town rules. This is going to be a fun night.
SBJ/Jesse
Show time neared and still no one entered the bar. An outdoor music event was scheduled to take place downtown, but was cancelled because of the storm. We were supposed to be the afterparty. Things were not looking good for us. The weather struck again.
We took the stage and still no one was there. We started playing and the band that scheduled to play after us showed up and watched us, along with the bartender and the dude eating peanuts. We played for awhile for the other band and then they played some songs for us. They were very impressive and extremely tight. They're called the Chris Koza band, great guys. We hung out with them for awhile and since no one came to the show, we called it a night and headed downtown for a few beers.
As we were walking down main street, bad vibes descended. A fight broke out in front of us and a few guys went down hard. It was one of those spectacles that you don't want to see, but can't ignore. We all felt pretty sick after witnessing that and decided to get a beer and some pizza. I've never seen such drunkenness in one place. I thought people got wasted in Vermillion, but nothing like this has ever befallen my not so innocent eyes. This town is rough and tough. We're definitely in the West.
Seemingly everyone we talked to in Bozeman was hilarious in some way. Some were belligerent, some were just cool and funny. It will be fun to play here sometime when the weather agrees and we can get a crowd.
We headed out and drove west to Missoula, then north into some wild country. We came to a ranch near a lake in the mountains. Matt and Emily (not Matt and Natalie, though every time someone congratulated the couple, we couldn't help thinking they said that) were getting married, friends of Sean's, and we were playing their wedding. It was more of a festival than a wedding, which made for a pretty incredible time considering the scenery. Everyone was friendly and the wedding was beautiful. We took the stage underneath a moon and stars that looked so close they could have been painted there. We played and the whole crowd danced in the moonlight, it was beautiful. After our show we hung out and watched/participated in the drum circle, with Josh making his percussion debut and drawing rave reviews.
The next day we woke up, ate some breakfast and took down our tents before yet another thunderstorm struck. All in all, it was a great experience out in the woods, wading through streams looking for trout with Jewell, and getting to see Sean walk around in nothing but a way too small towel after bathing in the creek, striking a mountain man pose.
We're all excited for tonight in Missoula. I'm at the Top Hat right now and this place rules. This town rules. This is going to be a fun night.
SBJ/Jesse
