Midwest Part 1: February 16 & 17

Here's more...

Champaign, Illinois:
Snow. I HATE snow. I don't even like to look at pictures of snow. Well... We had snow. Bob, our manager, lives in Champaign, and informed us he had 18 inches of snow in his front yard. Bad, yes. But... it was SNOWING when we got to Champaign. now on top of snow. Loaded in to the club, in THE SNOW, did a soundcheck, and went to dinner with Bob (I was straight up Atkins. 8 oz. sirloin, steamed broccoli...). Came back to the club, in THE SNOW (Downtown Champaign looked like Bedford Falls. I was expecting to see Jimmy Stewart running frantically down the street...), and the place was packed! Great crowd. The High Dive, in Champaign is one of my favorite clubs in America. Always turns into a rock show at this place. This night was no exception. Blunt Object in da house, millbilly on merch (THANK YOU!!!). Great gig. Then, we loaded out... in the snow...

Neenah, Wisconsin:
Considerably farther north than Champaign, but, considerably warmer, and, considerably less snow. Very nice. We pull up to the club, and find out it's a Pizza parlor. Yikes. Has it come to THIS??? Walk to the front door, and there's a big sign that says "SOLD OUT". Hmmmm... Get inside, and don't see a stage. Just a TINY bar, and, in the next room, a pizza restaurant. Everyone in the place is treating us like kings. Instantly offering us drinks, food, whatever. Turns out, there's another room, with a stage in the corner, and at 9 o'clock, they take all the tables out, close the doors leading into it, which seals it off from the restaurant. THEN, they have a retracting wall, that opens up into the tiny bar, creating a L-shaped room, with the stage at the corner of the "L". VERY clever! Anyway... THIS WAS THE BEST SHOW SINCE ZOYSIA WAS RELEASED!!! Just incredible. You could not have squeezed another body in there. People goin' wild. Guys jumpin' up and down, girls trying to dance between the guys jumping up and down. Every person in there knew all of our songs. We were getting requests from every album. Just amazing. It totally reminded me of old Uncle Tupelo shows, in Cicero's basement bar. Right down to the smell of pizza in the air. Just incredible. Neenah, Wisconsin. Go figure.

I can't help but think of all the shitty shows we've had, over the years, and how many times we drove past Neenah, Wisconsin, on our way to some MUCH smaller, FAR less appreciative audience. Neenah, we love you. Wisconsin is also a VERY Atkins-friendly state...

More midwest to come in the near future.
Stay tuned...
Brian