23 August 2010
A friend and I dined at a raw food restaurant “Pure”. I drank some wine which tasted unbelievable. I haven’t had alcohol for a month and a bit… I also broke my sugar fast… with the above. No headaches I’m glad to say. Going to Philly today to do a radio session at the brilliant World Cafe. Then I’m going to head back to NYC and listen to the vinyl cut of the record before signing off on it. Then I’m heading back to Europe. I’ve been in US since May 10th. So much has happened.
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22 August 2010
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21 August 2010
I flew back to NYC today one last time. Woke up at 3.30am, got my stuff together, did the idiot check rode the elevator to the lobby and waited there for my cab to arrive which it did, promptly at 4am. On the way to the airport, the driver, an Iranian man got a telephone call. He took it while cruising at 65mph along the freeway. I’m not into talking while driving. At the end of his call he told the caller he couldn’t pick them up but offered to make some more calls to hook the guy up. After he came off I said I didn’t feel comfortable with him on the phone. He said that it’s his business and that it is within the law for a taxi to use their mobile device while driving. I argued that it didn’t matter which kind of car, using your mobile phone while driving is seriously dangerous. He agreed but said that it was the law. I asked if he had hands free. No. So while we drove the rest of the way I looked on the internet to see what the legality of mobile use while driving was. He was right. In Portland in January 2010, a law was passed which banned people from using their mobile device while driving BUT these restrictions did not apply if you were the driver of a service vehicle, taxi, truck etc… How crazy is that… A lorry driver, driving a huge truck is permitted to drive with one hand on the wheel. NIce.
Anyways I asked for a receipt and as he was writing it out I noticed he only had one hand. The other was missing. Looked melted off. So he was on the blower with his good hand while controlling the car with his bad hand.
In other news our steward on the Delta flight was a dead ringer for Dick Cheney. I bumped into my neighbour the very lovely Joseph Gordon Levitt. As well as being a great actor, he has started this cool initiative to get artists to collaborate online. It’s called hitRECord.org. Hit the link and go check it out. Smart guy.
And finally I ate a crunchy peanut butter cliff bar… It gave me a headache. Wow… my body really is a white marble temple. It didn’t like my munchy bar one lil bit.
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19 August 2010
Hey Seattle. Thanks for tonight. When I walked into the venue earlier I was surprised by the layout. Was really formal and attractive, crescent shaped booths cascading towards the stage, all set with cutlery a single candle and an ice cold bottle of water. Like a fancy restaurant from Brat Pack times. I thought I should get a tux but had no time. The show tonight was so different from last night. I love how the venue sort of dictates how the show will be played. I feel as though there are so many directions it can take. I never felt more relaxed on stage as I do just now. Why is that? hmmm… The songs have a very different tone sans band. It’s less of a show gig, the songs are performed almost like I was recording them. The performance is more between songs but even that isn’t a performance because it’s like how I would speak to anyone i met… like I said never so relaxed… there’s something in the air.
Well thanks again Seattle. Tomorrow I leave for NYC where we’re going to shoot a video for Buttercups. I gonna write up a diary for when the video comes out. Should be interesting. Sorry if I missed y’all after the show. I’m up at 5.
2 days left of the detox. Yes!! I see the finish line. But maybe I feel like continuing… maybe i’ll eat a massive chocolate cake while I think about it…
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18 August 2010
I was singing the first song tonight off mic. The room was an old theatre with very good acoustics. I thought I might play the next song off mic too but then thought if I’m gonna do it off mic, I really should do it all off mic. So tonight’s show was my first “stripped set”. No amplification for 110 minutes. I made sure everyone could hear it and then pushed off. It was so cool. I could be as subtle as I wanted or as loud as I wanted and it was all audible. Really was magical. Everyone was so quiet. I like amplification but it is not really accurate. Nobody sings that loud and one sings different when one is mic-ed. Stripped is the way we used to perform before gigs got massive and shit needed to get loud. Tonight was quiet but crystal clear. Thanks Vancouver for going with it. I’ll never forget that.
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16 August 2010
Here’s a pic of last nights audience.
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16 August 2010
I had the coolest hotel room in Calgary. I had a cool day off right here. It might look like a normal hotel room but it had something about it. LIke a small self contained apartment.
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11 August 2010
Show was cool tonight. I played Sing Me To Sleep for the first time. It felt good.
I sloped off to the apple store and whole foods afterwards. Modern man? Mmmmm. My dvd drive is broke so the software I just bought is useless… gah! But the frozen blueberries tasted good in my shake. Speaking of Modern Man, The Arcade Fire is still sounding strong after a week.
We are up at 6am tomorrow and driving 350 miles to Minni. Ugh!! That “Ugh!!” was for early rise not for Minni. Tomorrow is the last day of Keane tour. It’s been very quick. It will be sad to wave good bye but we’ll see us again soon. Does anyone know anyone at an apple store in Minni who can fix my drive??
Night.
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