Montreal

We are drunk on romance language and good coffee.
I saw a four-year-old girl in a soft blue dress and button-down sweater carrying a tiny baby doll wrapped in a blanket and tucked inside her sweater and she was chatting away to the baby in French and I almost died.
photo by TimLytvinenko

Cat's Cradle 2008

This here video is something I found while innocently YouTubeing myself.
It's of a bunch of crazy people, obviously. It gets really good around 2:30 (2 min. 30 sec.) and I remember this--there were so many people on stage I couldn't hear Matt anymore. Hell yes!

on the road: HOT FUDGE CAKE!

Ivan loves hot fudge cake from Shoney's. He really loves it so much. At the end of our first US tour, he was talking to his parents and telling them all about the cities we went to and how the shows were. His dad said, "Did you get to go to a Shoney's?" Sure did. "Did you get the hot fudge cake?" You know we did.
I realized the hot fudge cake was a whole thing. For the whole family.
On our second tour, Ivan asked our drummer, "Do you like hot fudge cakes?" He said, "Naw man. I don't like fudge." It got really quiet in the van for a while. A solid three minutes went by and Ivan sheepishly said, "You don't like any kind of fudge?"

The sun never sets on the BSP!!!

This tour is going so well so far and you know how it is just getting to know people--think if this were a new office job... it could take months! But with touring musicians, it takes a few days to KNOW know each others' whole fucking deal.
Tonight, during our first song, I saw a worried Phil next to the stage on my side. His face. Next he was gone. I knew something was up. Later I learned that my keys were not in the house speakers and that the British Sea Power totally sprang into action--Phil came to me, which I knew meant something, then he and Scott went to the sound man as Mike, their own soundman, made split-second plans for a new amp. Emergency band reinforcements!
The sun never sets on the British Sea Power.
All of the east coast is about to blossom as we head into DC, moving north, toward the first days of spring in every town.

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One day home

Day 5: Tornado Warning

We are on our way through Arkansas, heading to Oxford, MS, through multiple tornado warnings in all counties we are about to cross. We are racing tornadoes at this point. Ivan said, "well, the warning will be over in a few minutes." Just then the announcer said, "with another cell just behind it."

Another warning coming through now.

I don't mean to make light of this because I know this storm has killed people today, but we are having alternating bouts of fear cracked up by laughter since there is one announcer who keeps referring to a nearby county called "Cooter County." He said, "And it IS getting hotter down in Cooter. We are seeing some moisture down there now." I mean, !!!

Another warning. Funnel cloud just west of us, moving to the east.


We are trying to pick our shelter now. Here comes the rain...
I thought a Target would be a good place to stop but I also thought about the possible fatal irony of picking an enormous building with an actual, prominently displayed target.

I don't want my life to have been reduced to that easy of a joke.
Oh damn, we are approaching Cooter now.
I also don't want to die in Cooter. The weather spotter is saying he is looking at two separate funnel clouds. I can't see one.

Here's a rest stop.
---
Matt just said, "Hey Kelly, go stand over next to that funnel cloud and let me get a picture." See here, we are funny ALL the time.

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day 3: indianapolis

These people! They were so fun! We'd never been to Indy before and didn't know if anybody would like us but they totally did and it was a blast.

photo by tim lytvinenko
http://www.timlytvinenko.com