Day 24 - Soul Dog.

click on the comic to see it bigger

I drew today's comic on a placemat at Soul Dog in Poughkeepsie with some crayons that were on the table.  Adam suggested I go there sometime, and I thought it would be a GREAT place to bring Lindsey.  It was!  They have amazing hotdogs and lots of vegan options too--which is rare around here.  Can you say Quinoa chilli!?

It was hard to wake up this morning, and even a show with The Comeback Tour didn't motivate me to get out of bed the first few times the alarm went off.  Alex gave me a call while I was literally stepping in to the shower to tell me he'd be over at my house with the van in less than an hour to pick up the equipment.  Lindsey and I followed him over to Marist in my car so that we could head out early, after our set was over.

Normally I like to stay for the whole show when we play, and Alex told me later that the other bands were actually pretty good.  The major reason for choosing to bust out early was that Lindsey and I had many many plans for the day--and the show was a last minute addition anyway.  Let me tell you what, it was BEAUTIFUL outside when we got to Marist.  The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, the birds were singing.  You get the picture.

I think the early highlight of today was meeting a guy named Ben at Marist.  He's from Rochester, and is dating one of Jesse's friends.  Ben worked at Tooth & Nail in Seattle this summer as an intern--and helped them overhaul their website--so we had a lot to talk about.  Ben is in the same boat as me, a music industry guy with plenty of talent and connections, but no real leads on jobs he's specifically qualified for.  However, luckily for him (and me), a guy in the Tooth & Nail office has been sending him a few leads about industry job openings, and Ben's promised to forward a lot of those to me as well--many of them are in Journalism and other areas that I'm more suited for.  He also had some GREAT stories about living in Seattle.  It sounds like a wonderful city to be in.

Our set went well, and even though there really wasn't many people watching, it was fun to rock out with the guys--especially on an outdoor stage.  I know Lindsey is always watching us--even when other people aren't--which always makes me feel good.  Something weird that happens to me when I'm playing comes from the fact that I usually face more toward the left side of the audience, and so when everyone is standing more toward the right of the stage, I loose everything to my peripheral vision.  This can be super disorienting, and was the case at Marist.  But, even so, we still did great, and I'm glad we had the chance to play with Jesse one more time before he goes into the Marines.

After the show, Lindsey and I bought some "previously viewed movies" for really cheap at Blockbuster, and then took a nap back at my house.  Both of us were feeling very tired from the early show.  I love it when Lindsey is up in Poughkeepsie--it really makes my weekends happier.  However, I do tend to get little-to-no personal work done when she's up (so forgive the late bloggings--I hope you're still reading them).  Going to Soul Dog was the big highlight of the night, and for a place that is located in one of the worst parts of Poughkeepsie, it's actually very clean and nice.  The patronage for Soul Dog is also WORLDS apart from the surrounding shops.  Afterward, Lindsey and I got some dessert at the Vassar ACDC.  It was nice to go back on campus after not seeing it for so long.  I used to be there almost every other day, and it's surprising how the primary location for so much of what I did two years ago doesn't make up any of my time now.  I miss it.  I was there more than my own alma mater.

Speaking of Vassar, was anyone reading this there when we broke onto the roof of the Main building at Vassar?  That was three years ago!  The summer of 2005 was a legendary time.

Who knew Patrick could actually pick locks?