Mexicali Blues

So the 3 weeks off has managed to fly by and I'm now looking at flying to Mexico tomorrow morning for a week of shows in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara. Everyone who I tell I'm going to Mexico seems to envision me on a beach in Acapulco with a chaise lounge and a Mojito. The reality is I'll be spending all my time in inland cities, one of which is the most populated and polluted in the world. Doing shows in places like this is pretty hit or miss. Last time we were there it went smooth. I just hope they don't steal all my batteries and headphones like the Brazillians. After Mexico I get to come home for 5 more days before heading out for a 5 week tour of the states. When I think about doing 5 weeks living on a tour bus going to places like Kansas City and Muncie, IN it makes me want to throw up a little. I suppose it could be worse. Here's some things I'll miss...

My sweet, sweet bed...


Movie time...


The new bike...

I Made This

So I've spent the last handful of days recovering from having a lump of fat carved out of my back. They call it a lipoma. It's a lump of fat. I was awake when they removed it which was one of the most surreal things I've gone through. I could hear him cutting. It didn't hurt until later that night when the lidocaine wore off. Then it hurt like I'd been shot. I promptly descended into a Vicodin soaked haze and spent 2 days straight lying in the same position. Val was the nurse assisting on the operation and has been changing the bandages. She's a champ.


Tomorrow I'm hoping to be back up and buying stuff for the apartment. I'm hemorrhaging money like I've been shot.

Decompression Technique

I know it's been ages since I treated this thing to an update, and this won't be a proper one. I've been back in SF since the 10th and mostly working on recovery and getting settled into the new place. Having a place to live again after 10 months on the road makes me feel almost, but not quite, human again. I've got a ways to go, but I'll post pics soon. In Karmic news, last week as I was walking into my hotel downtown at midnight there was a guy in a suit w/a briefcase asking people for money for a train ticket to San Jose because he had been mugged and had no wallet. I still don't know whether he was lying, but I gave him $20. What a guy! Then yesterday I found an envelope with $400 on the sidewalk in my new hood. I promptly went out and spent it on crap for the apt. at Target. Good times...

Sleepwalking Through Oz

You know that feeling you get when you suddenly awaken from a deep, dreamy mid-afternoon sleep? That moment of confusion and disorientation as you struggle to shake off the cobwebs and get your eyes and mind to focus on remembering who you are and figuring out what the shit is going on?
I feel like that all the time.

Albert's Wonky Eye

Despite risking seeming obsessed with Albert, I had to post this picture. He'd been to the eye doctor and they dilated one of his pupils so his eyes looked all creepy. Everyone said he looked like David Bowie, but he has 2 different color eyes, not 2 different sized pupils.

Albert...


"Bowie Eyes"...

Backlit Albert

Season Lag

As if my internal space-time continuum wasn't screwy enough lately, I'm now in the southern hemisphere which means it's winter here. I mostly think of that in terms of "I better bring warm clothes" but what I always forget is that it also gets dark about 5 hours earlier than I'm used to. This combined with normal jet-lag is particularly disorienting. Everyone is prone to fits of exhaustion in the middle of the day and fits of wakening at ungodly hours of the night. I don't know whether to shit or go blind.

Thankfully the last 2 festivals are over. Korea was pretty much a nightmare although the band loved the gig. The brilliance of planning an outdoor festival during monsoon season cannot be over-stressed. It had been raining for like 2 weeks straight and the area around the site was flooded.



The site itself was just a mud field. I was expecting the Koreans to be like the Japanese in the way they run a festival. The Japanese are notoriously meticulous to work with. It's great. The Koreans...not so much. They were more like the useless crews in the Mediterranean countries. They did an admirable job of getting our gear across the mud field to the stage in the pouring rain though...



This dipshit thinks that just because he looks like a hobbit he can get away with going barefoot on a festival stage. I know that whenever I have to walk around where there's lots of electricity and water, I like to remove any sort of insulating material from my feet that might detract from the excitement of taking 240 volts. I wanted to drop a road case on his foot just to teach him a lesson.



We then flew to Japan for the Fuji Rock festival. I was there last year with the Futureheads and had a great time. The site is at a ski resort 3 hours from Tokyo and all the bands stay at the base lodge hotel. It's a beautiful spot and a great festival.

A Japanese woman and a lot of tents...





The Raconteurs sticking it to the Japanese...



This is right after our set ended. Look how many stagehands are on the stage. Now look how many are doing any work. They make US union crews look like workaholics...



The next day we flew to New Zealand which is somewhere I've always wanted to go. I spent less than 48 hours there. It seemed great though and looked amazing from the air. I think I may go back for vacation this winter when it's warm down there.








Now I'm in Brisbane, Australia. This portion of the trip is basically distilled down to flying, shows and trying to recover locked away in a hotel room. I ventured out tonight for dinner with Matt, Fab, Albert, Nikolai, Rob and Julian. After striking out a few times we ended up having an amazing dinner at a place I've already forgotten the name of. It's nice to be in English speaking countries again. It gets tiring feeling illiterate all the time. Let the 1 week countdown begin...