Rebecca Katz & Kim Davidson B2B Tour 2008

What you don't know about that Ebenezers video...& Kim and me on the radio! (By Rebecca)

2008-06-19T23:47:00.007-04:00

Hey, gang. Rebecca here. I've been absent from the blog a bit, I know. My shyness isn't restricted to pictures, as Kim will tell you. And she's been doing such a great job, I didn't want to cramp her style. But I thought it was time I added a little post. So here goes! :)

First, a fun fact: Kim very sweetly described the last video in her previous entry as "some footage of me singing and Rebecca playing mandolin at Ebenezer's." But you should know, there was more going on there.... Perhaps you noticed me re-tuning my mando at the beginning of the song, but what you probably didn't know is that my strap also came untied towards the end. However, like true performers, we carried on! Strap shmap. That's showbiz!

Anyway, I just wanted to add a further detail for those of you keeping up with the blog. If you look closely, you can see me trying my best to hold up my little Indiana B-M5 ("Indy" for short), and keep playing by the end. (Now you know what really goes on on stage. Hee.) :)

Also, I want to let you know, you can catch Kim and me on the radio tomorrow (Friday) night!

Yes, tomorrow night around 9pm you can check out an interview we recorded with deejay Gene Godfrey for his show, Classic FM, on Burlington County College radio, Z889. You can stream the show live on your computer, from any where in the world, at http://www.z889.org. Pretty cool, right?

Anyway, it's off to bed for this little Katz. But I wanted to say "hi!" ("Hi!")

I hope you all enjoy the radio show if you're able to catch it, and thanks for following our adventures! (Thanks for keeping the masses informed, Kimmy!)

Sing OUT, sing loud,
Rebecca

Videos!

2008-06-19T02:36:00.008-04:00

Okay, as a bonus for being such faithful readers (all three of you, LOL), I've uploaded some video files that we shot along the way. Actually, Rebecca shot the first two, and Amy shot the last one. So credit where credit is due.

This first piece is completely ridiculous--just me and Becks being silly in the car. We were crossing over this bridge on the first day, and the sun was setting, and just as I said, "It looks like something from 'Lord of the Rings' or something," a song from the soundtrack came on my iPod. We're laughing and talking so I don't know if you can get the full effect, but we did turn the music up and drive over the bridge rather majestically, because we could.

The second video is of Jake the dog, singing. See me walking out the door just before he starts? Yeah, that's me headed out on my 45-minute car-moving adventure...

And last, but certainly not least, is some footage of me singing and Rebecca playing mandolin at Ebenezer's. Enjoy!

Days Eight & Nine: The End of the Line (By Kim)

2008-06-19T02:06:00.007-04:00

So here we are, the final post... We said goodbye to Baltimore on Saturday morning...

Goodbye, Peabody Court Hotel...

We headed for New Haven, where our original plan had been to busk at a festival they were having in town. Turns out that we had a bit more traveling to do than we realized to get there, and since the weather was crappy anyway, we just turned it into a travel day and left it at that. I got a little snap-happy on the road. I took this one at a stop light. I think it's a sports arena of some kind in downtown Baltimore. Don't I make a fabulous tour guide...

Okay, at this point Rebecca was driving, which made me even more snap-happy. I liked the whole drawbridge up thing. For a minute we headed toward it and Rebecca told me to slow down, but I said, "I'm gonna speeeeeed it uuuuuppppp..." Oh, wait... that was Keanu and Sandra... LOL.

Bridge shots.

I liked all these light fixtures in a clump like they are for some reason.

This one caught me because of the shape of the building next to whatever structures those are that mimic the same shape. Click!

And I like this version of it because of the contrast between the grass and sky. Not that I did anything intentional to make it happen. I am strictly a point-and-shoot-and-hope-for-the-best kind of gal!

Uh... I liked the blue tiles? Maybe? What can I say, I was tired!

Ah, yes... Rebecca brought this to my attention, and we both thought it was pretty funny. So... SNAP!

Our old pal the Vince Lombardi Service Area.

This I snapped because I am a huge "The Office" fan, and one of their fictional branches is in Stamford. So even though it's blurry, it made the blog!

Saturday was a long day on the road... about eight hours in the end. There was driving, and napping, and photo-taking, and in the end we wound up at a great little pub for dinner with Rebecca's friends Meredith, Woj, and Jane. We stayed with Meredith and Woj for the night, and then headed to Milford the next day for our final gig at Cafe Atlantique.

Poor Milford. Who could have foreseen when they named the town what colloquial terms might eventually become popular? I never would have thought of it if someone else hadn't said it--and if you haven't figured it out, I will not corrupt you--but I found it sad that even my 13-year-old cousin was like, "The name of the town is 'Milford?' Hahahahahahahhahahaha!" Innocence is a thing of the past.

Here is the best shot I could get of Cafe Atlantique in the fading light after our gig. There may be more in Rebecca's batch... we haven't done the final photo swap yet.

After this gig we drove home.

And there you have it! Boston to Baltimore (and back)! We had a great time, met some amazing people, made friends and fans, sold CDs, laughed, sang, bonded, and blogged. My first touring experience was fantastic thanks to Rebecca's careful planning, incredible organizational skills, and unlimited patience with someone older and crankier (that would be me) !

We'll be playing together locally in the upcoming months, and then who knows? Watch our websites for all the news that's fit to print! Thanks for taking the journey with us. We'll see you again soon!

Day Seven: Hotel Heaven (By Kim)

2008-06-19T01:17:00.013-04:00

Friday morning we bid adieu to Amy and Jessica's place... doesn't it kind of look like the house on "Sesame Street?"

Before heading back to Baltimore for our show at Read Street Books, we met Amy for lunch and did a little last-minute sight-seeing.

The Folger Shakespeare Library as I walked quickly by on our way to meet Amy...

Here it is from the front...

We came across the Code Pink ladies on our way to a local Thai place... I love them. They are so fabulous in their pink garb--all activists should choose a color to represent themselves! It makes it so much easier to know who you're dealing with.

Here's something from the wall of the Thai place. The craftsy (as opposed to "crafty"--which I also am) person in me couldn't resist taking a shot so I could attempt my own version of this fabulous piece later in life. It's like quilted and embroidered and sequined and beaded all in one. Love it!

Amy, Becks and Me. The perspective of this shot, with the biggest person in front (hi!), makes Amy and Rebecca look like Hobbits next to me. It reminds me of the pic I had done with my cousin at the Lord Of The Rings exhibit when it was at The Museum of Science in Cambridge.

Approaching the Library of Congress...

Okay, there are probably 9000 views of the Capitol building just like this one, but it feels different when you're taking it yourself!

The flags outside the Library.

What I love about this one is that it's a total composite shot that I stitched together using the bottom of one wider angled shot, and the top (with the flag) of a longer angled shot. And you would never have known that if I hadn't told you. Ha!

And again with the Capitol...

So, Rob Laurens told me to just walk into the Library of Congress if I had limited sight-seeing time. He was right that it's magnificent. I totally want my house to look just like this... ;-)

Near...

Far... (and the second "Sesame Street" reference in this blog!)

The view from where I was standing in the near/far pictures.

Uh... what's on the roof?

The other view from where I was standing in the near/far pictures.

More words of wisdom...

The artistry of this place is just stunning.

Art may be long, but someday soon it's only going to read "ong" if they don't fix this one!

Not sure what this exhibit entailed (live performances of some sort?), but I liked the posters.

I'm a sucker for a theater. Rebecca and I hummed a few bars of "Home Again" while we were standing there. Great acoustics.

Paintings of musical instruments seemed worthy of snapping...

I shot this room because it looks like the press briefing room on "The West Wing." Another one for you, Kristen!

Finally the flags cooperated enough to be read...

Side of the Supreme Court building... we were running out of time!

Another view of the Folger Shakespeare Library on the way back to the car.

Capitol Hill, baby!

And Mass Ave. I don't care where we were, that's how you say it!

I thought it was cool that there was a Davidson decal on the car in front of us, so there ya go.

Back in Baltimore, our home for the night, the fabulous Read Street Books.

Our last dog of the tour... Miranda, who belonged to Lisette from Read St. Total sweeties--both dog and owner.

Self portrait: alone at Read Street, waiting for Rebecca and her mom to get back from the first drop of stuff at the hotel.

Huh?

Rebecca's mom flew in from Kentucky to surprise Rebecca; a secret I was in on and had almost revealed about 47 times that day alone as Rebecca referenced her mom in a variety of ways. It was very cool because Rebecca had NO IDEA, and also because Mrs. Katz had gotten a hotel room nearby (just when you were wondering what the blog title was all about!) and we both got to join her and have a luxurious night in real beds--our first since leaving Virginia. We were spoiled with excellent air mattresses all along the way, don't get me wrong--I slept DAMN WELL on this tour--but nothing beats a real bed. Also I finally got to have my crab cakes and they were YUM-MY!

Again, this is just SOME of our stuff...

Day Six: Yeah, I'm Outta Rhymes! (By Kim)

2008-06-17T02:15:00.009-04:00

Okay, so on Day Six we had our second D.C. proper show, at a place called Ebenezer's Coffeehouse. What a fantastic venue! It's fairly new, and having music is VERY new, so our crowd was small, but MAN what a set-up! They had a whole listening room downstairs from the rest of the coffee shop, with a stage, and sound, and lights, and people to RUN these things. It was very fabulous indeed, and definitely my favorite performing space of the tour. If you are in the D.C. area or know people in D.C. SEND THEM TO EBENEZER'S! It's really a great place, and they deserve to prosper as a venue.

Here is the stage, and part of the room, with our stuff preset.

Becks and I showing off our merch table, which was manned by Amy all night--thanks, Amy!

My cousin Ray and his friend Dave came out to the show.

Me and Ray. Seriously I think the last time the two of us were in a picture together we looked like this:

I love how we're standing on the same sides as we were then!

Amy and Rebecca, with Ebenezer's awesome tech team, Steve and Daniel, in the background.

Rebecca sound-checking.

We decided that blurry was okay as long as it was "cool" blurry.

I love this one!

Okay, so as far as performance images go, thanks to Amy, and Ray's friend Dave, there are a TON! It was going to take far too long to upload them all here, so I made them into a slide show. What a great night we had!

Goodbye, Ebenezer's! What I love about this shot by Rebecca is the reflection of the sign for F Street in the center window.

And because meeting fabulous dogs was a recurring theme on our trip, here is the yellow lab owned by Amy's roommate Jessica. Isn't she a beauty?

Day Five: Are They Still Alive???? (By Kim)

2008-06-17T00:09:00.019-04:00

Okay... between cranky internet and a busy end of tour, I got a little behind on the blog posting! Here is a recap of Day Five:

My life in luggage... Of course, this doesn't include the rest of the musical gear, which was in the car!

This is the outside of Kramer Books/Afterwords Cafe, which we checked out when we arrived in D.C. We found parking at a lot a block away that was only $16 for the entire day. Woo-hoo! We left the car and took the Metro to see the monuments.

Here is the view down the escalator into the Metro. Up until this point the steepest escalator I'd encountered was at the Porter Square T stop in Somerville, MA. This one was like being at Porter Square and the Museum of Science's Omni Theater all at the same time. I had a hard time deciding where to look so I wouldn't feel nauseous and trip down 9000 escalator stairs.

I was feeling a little artsy as a train passed ours while we were waiting to leave. Snapping this shot made a woman sitting near us scoff, "Newbies!" LOL.

The Lincoln Memorial as we approached.

Naturally I had to zoom in on Massachusetts!

Even though it was 9000 degrees out, we were not alone in visiting Linc.

The famous spot where MLK stood.

View of the Monument and reflecting pool from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

I hate taking a bunch of pictures of inanimate objects and no people, so I made sure I had Becks grab a shot of me--also for scale!

Approaching the Vietnam Wall. It's massive.

Self-explanatory.

The theme of the day seemed to be "reflections." Here's a self-portrait in the shiny surface of the Wall.

Far too many names.

The Vietnam Wall is impressive. I've wanted to see it for a long time. I have to admit it loses a touch of its impact when you're crammed in amidst a bunch of school kids and whatnot, but it's an impressive design nonetheless. I'd always thought it was a free-standing wall, but it's not. It's built into the earth on a slope (like a grave, as Rebecca pointed out), and you walk into it, with the names reaching higher and higher until they are over your head and you're just surrounded by them. It's heart-breaking.

The Atlantic side of the WWII Memorial.

And the Pacific side.

The Monument from across the WWII memorial.

I have to say, no disrespect to the memorial or its honorees intended, but it was HARD to be surrounded by so much water on a day SO hot and sunny and not be able to touch it at all. We did sit for a few minutes and catch some spray when the wind blew the right way.

Here's one of the two of us... taken by the two of us! (We used a trick my sister has employed for years now.)

Aren't we cute? :)

This guy had a lot of balls... LMAO.

I took this picture so I'd remember what the building was, because I knew I'd never remember otherwise...

...it was the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Not the best picture, but I wanted to document my first encounter with magnolia blossoms.

The pink arrow is pointing to the security guy on the roof, who could probably see me taking his picture. Luckily he didn't shoot me!

I was prepared for a deluge of protesters all around the White House, but there was only this one woman, quietly holding a peace vigil.

I was humming "The West Wing" theme the whole time I was snapping pics. I just couldn't help myself!

It's kind of hard to see, but there are a whole bunch of birds and squirrels huddled around this tree doing their thing. I couldn't help but think that the only thing missing was Snow White or someone, chatting it up with them.

Hm... where have I seen this guy before? Oh, yeah...

Ha!

So we had a long, hot, interesting day in the sun, and I was thrilled to see the monuments up close for the first time. We took a cab from the monuments back to where the Metro was because I was just SPENT. Then we took the Metro back up to Kramer Books, walked our stuff around the block, and loaded in.

Interesting venue. It's a bookstore downstairs, with a cafe on one side. UPSTAIRS overlooking the book store is a small seating area, which adjoins an even smaller performance area, overhanging the book store. It was kind of like playing the crow's nest of a ship.

View of the store from above, where we were playing.

The best part was that between the seating area and the performance area was a railing that separated the two. The only way into the performance area was to step over the railing (which you couldn't really do when people were sitting at the tables alongside it) or to slide under it.

I initially had to go with the slide-under option, and once I landed ever so gracefully, Rebecca just had to capture the moment. I would have done the same thing.

View of the performance area from the upper seating area. The speaker with our merch info on it to the right delineates the end of the performance area. So basically it was just big enough for the two of us and our instruments.

Rebecca getting into a song.

Love the way this blurred!

Becks and I are with John Campbell, from Independents Uncovered on WGMU--the station that had interviewed us on Monday night. What a sweetie he was to show up and support us live! We rewarded him with a t-shirt.

Aw...

The photo we never knew was taken... John snapped this as we walked away with our hostess for the evening, Rebecca's friend Amy, and her boyfriend Mark.

After the show we grabbed some grub at a nearby restaurant, and then Mark and I drove to Amy's, while Rebecca and Amy caught up in a taxi. (Mark and Amy had taken the Metro to the show, and with all our gear we couldn't fit the two of them in the car). We were jokingly racing each other across town, until about two blocks into the journey, when I realized we were right behind Rebecca and Amy's cab! We followed behind for most of the way, and then a red light spoiled all the fun. I watched the cab zip away and Mark navigated the rest of the way to Capitol Hill.

When we got settled in Amy's apartment, we noticed she had left gifts for each of us. Sweet, crazy girl! She was the one putting us up, letting us take over half her apartment, and she was buying us gifts.

And what a fabulous gift indeed! I love giant mugs--they are so good for so many things. And the bonus was that I had told myself I couldn't buy any souvenirs because it wasn't in the budget, and so it was extra perfect that Amy provided me with one! Amy, you rock!

P.S. Thanks to both Amy and John for taking pics of the show! :)

Day Four: First Show in Baltimore! (By Kim)

2008-06-11T02:50:00.008-04:00

Okay, first let's just admit that after today I probably won't be able to keep up the rhyming title thing. I mean, unless tomorrow I have occasion to say something like, "Day Five: Kim Takes a Nosedive." And I REALLY hope I don't have occasion to say that!

Today we said goodbye to Virginia and headed off to Baltimore, driving through D.C. along the way. SO COOL! I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and see the monuments and stuff. It's very exciting.

Our gig tonight was at a place called Baltimore Chop. Apparently this is a baseball term of some sort. I don't know from baseball, so I'll take it on faith. The shop is a bookstore which specializes in baseball books, along with an assortment of other interesting topics. Here's a shot of the outside of the store, and a close-up of one of the front windows.

Becks has been bizarrely camera-shy, so I've had to be a little sneaky in getting some shots off. Here she is outside the shop, with our poster in-frame on the lamp-post. Very cool!

This sign was on the door when we arrived. We were greeted outside by Brad, one of the guys who works the weekly Bluegrass Jam. He was outside playing guitar and watching a package that had been dropped off by Fed-Ex. We chatted with him until Andy, the owner, arrived and let us in. Just in time as a thunderstorm was brewing and rumbling over our heads.

While we were starting to set up, Andy's friend Dan came in with his GINORMOUS dog, Jake. It's hard to really see it in the pictures, but the dog is HUGE. He's also completely adorable and friendly, and clearly a music-lover. He's definitely our biggest (and hairiest--as far as we know) fan.

Here's Dan and Jake.

And here's me and Jake. Such a cutie!

We ultimately decided to fly without sound equipment because the place was intimate with great acoustics. As we were prepping to bring some of our gear back out to the car, a spot opened up right in front of the shop. I went to get the car to repark it, and in driving around the block got COMPLETELY lost. I ended up on a 45-minute tour of Baltimore before I found my way back thanks to the maps Rebecca had in the car. I did manage to snap a couple of pictures at red lights:

I finally made it back and we got the gig under way. It was a total blast, with a nice-sized appreciative crowd. During our break the bluegrass jammers played some tunes, with Becks jumping in on mando.

When the gig was over, we went with Rebecca's friend Andrew and his friend Lena to have some chow at the Paper Moon diner. WHAT A COOL PLACE! Doc, you would go wild for this decor. And my sister, who has a Pez collection of her own, would definitely love to check out theirs. I took some pics just for her, and anyone else who is interested in Pez and other retro toys being used in a bizarre decorative fashion.

We arrived 15 minutes before they closed, and they were not happy with us, but we promised to order quickly. As we were being handed menus I jumped up to photograph the Pez display. Andrew was trying to convey to me the importance of sitting down and ordering fast. My response, "I would rather not eat than not take that picture." So there ya go, Kristen!

Ultimately I did not have to starve, and had instead a yummy breakfast quesadilla, with leftovers for tomorrow.

Here are the pics of Paper Moon:

My new boyfriend...

Tonight we are staying with Rebecca's friends Andrew and Edie's dad in Baltimore. He lives in a gated community--which is a first for both of us. Let's just say IT'S NICE.

Tomorrow we play Kramer Books in D.C., and also plan to check out the monuments and stuff--which I have never seen--during the day. So I guess I should get to bed now so I can handle all of that without passing out!

Day Three: Too Hot For DC! (By Kim)

2008-06-10T02:18:00.003-04:00

Still here in Springfield, VA...today we pretty much chilled out because it was SO HOT and the idea of trying to walk around DC during a humid 100-degree day just seemed stupid. We have a few more days to choose from, so we're hoping for a cooler spell, even if only by a couple degrees. We also were going to end up being more pressed for time than we'd originally thought, so that was another good reason to put off the trip. DC's not going anywhere, and we'll be right in the heart of it on Wednesday and Thursday, so I'm not worried about getting to see things.

We had a leisurely lunch today with Bruce and Sue, napped, and then Rebecca and I spent some time going over some of our stuff. Today is really our last day of having free time at our disposal, so it seemed like the wise choice. Starting tomorrow we are gigging every day until we come home on the 16th.

Tonight we were at George Mason University (beautiful campus!) for our live radio interview with John Campbell at WGMU. THAT was a trip! John is an hysterical guy--SO full of energy, and such a music lover. He really made us feel welcome and special, and he kept us laughing because he's just crazy. I am officially stealing the terms "Kumbayaotic" and "cross mojonation" from him. He talked with us a bit, played some tunes from our CDs, and then Rebecca sang her a cappella tune, "Home Again" live, while I added some harmony. All in all it was a very cool experience, and I wish I'd been able to hear it from the other side.

We got home a couple hours ago, and after chilling briefly, catching up on e-mail and such, Becks and I had an impromptu John Denver singalong over carrots and hummus. Look for some JD classics to make appearances at future gigs...

No pictures today, unfortunately.

So that catches you all up through tonight. Tomorrow it's on to Baltimore and the first of our consecutive string of shows. Which means I have to get to bed. Lots to do tomorrow before we head out. Nighty-night!

Day Two: My First Radio Interview! (By Kim)

2008-06-10T01:58:00.005-04:00

Hello again, kids! I'm blogging today from Fairfax, VA, where we are staying with Rebecca's friends Bruce and Sue. They have a lovely home and Becks and I are being spoiled with separate bedrooms, central air, yummy lunches, and fabulous, generous and fun hosts.

Yesterday we were still in Jersey, making a stop in Magnolia, the scene of my very first radio interview! Gene Godfrey was the DJ behind that one, inviting us into his home studio for a taped interview which will air on June 20th, I believe. I'll get that info to you, don't worry!

It was a really fun experience (if HOT!) and Gene was a great interviewer and host for us. We each played a couple of songs "live" and got to talk about our music and some other stuff. I got to give a shout out to the Andover Educators gang--very cool. I love that he asked me about that.

Here we are with Gene.

We stopped for lunch afterwards, deciding we had to go to a diner to have an authentic Jersey experience. The winner was the Starview Diner, which was yummy, but the jukebox at our table didn't work. We were amused by the fact that there was a typo in one of the song lists...

The streets of Vineland, NJ...

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Vincent's, where Rebecca taught him how to play "Riding West," and I blogged about Day One. Then we had to hit the road. We had initially thought our drive to Virginia would take two-and-a-half hours... we were only off by an hour... We arrived at Bruce and Sue's around 11:00, got settled in, and that brings us to the end of Day Two... stayed tuned!

Day One: Git 'er done! (By Kim)

2008-06-08T16:59:00.021-04:00

Hello from Vineland, NJ! I'm sitting in Rebecca's friend Vincent's kitchen, catching up on blogging for you guys so I won't have the whole week to deal with when I get home. Rebecca and Vincent are in his living room listening to music and watching videos on YouTube.

We had a good first day. We hit the road around noon and had a smooth ride from Boston to Trenton, NJ. We were both thanking all the powers that be for the fact that I'd gotten my car's AC fixed a few days before. Was it HOT ENOUGH FOR YA yesterday? How about today? Yeah.

Here we are getting ready to set out yesterday. That's me, Rebecca, Iggy (on roof) and Buffy (my Camry). Iggy has already been to NY once before (without me!) and so we thought he'd be a cool tour mascot, since he's already accustomed to traveling...

Here is Iggy (right) with Karleto (left) in NYC last year...

For some reason, the phrase from this blog's title was in my head and I said it once or twice as we hit the road, and it stuck. We ended up using it repeatedly throughout the day and night. I fessed up right away that I had no idea where I'd gotten it from, but was certainly stealing it from SOMEWHERE. We found out later it's a Larry the Cable Guy thing, which is interesting since I never watch him.

I drove the first leg of the trip since it's my car and I like driving... Rebecca took a bunch of pictures of the road as we hit various milestones. Here are just a few...

Here I am looking like a big goof at a rest stop in Connecticut.

The two photos above are of the Army convoy we passed... there were about six different crazy-ass vehicles that we weren't quite fast enough to take a picture of. We were initially alerted to the convoy by the last vehicle, which had a big banner on it saying, "convoy ahead." We thought, "They really have to make a big announcement about it?" Then as we pulled up past the tail vehicle and realized how many big ol' Humvees and whatever were part of it, it made a little more sense. We later passed this same convoy again, pulled over on the side of the road fixing a blown tire in one of the vehicles. And the "convoy ahead" car was at the FRONT of the pack in the breakdown lane. We thought they should be able to flip the sign over and have it read "convoy behind."

Here is Rebecca the Pep Girl, squeegie-ing my windshield while I fill the tank.

The mother of all IKEA's...

A glimpse of Iggy in the dash, and the opposing lane of traffic... kind of surreal, no?

Look, it's a "Sky Full Of Shoes!"

Preparing to pass through the city...

Pathmark... we don't have those here.

I love how the sides of the Geo Washington Bridge look like a rollercoaster.

At this point Rebecca and I switched, and she drove the rest of the way into Trenton. I had only gotten about four hours of sleep and was starting to feel it. So I took a nap, and she drove, and that made it really hard to take any more pics of the road. We did manage to grab this last one...

Are we there yet? YES!

Okay, so I have to tell you this story because it's SO ridiculous. Becks and I went to dinner at a place called Graziella Ristorante, a new restaurant in the same complex The Cookie Cottage is in. We were enjoying our dinners, just chatting, and Rebecca was telling me the story of buying the new shirt she was wearing, a perfectly fabulous (and feminine!) tailored white shirt with thin black vertical stripes. She had been standing in line and some teenage girl looked at her and said, "Oh, my dad has that shirt," in kind of a thinly-veiled bitchy way. Rebecca said to her, "Well, I doubt it would fit him." What she WANTED to say was, "I hope he has better manners than you." JUST as she said these words to me, the man at the table across from us let out the LOUDEST fart I have ever heard in public. It was like literally ten seconds long, and cued EXACTLY to follow her manners statement. It took us a stunned second to absorb the fact that it had actually happened, and then we were killing ourselves trying to stifle our laughter so as not to embarrass ourselves or him. It was very funny and we referenced it all night, which spawned many giggle fits as it got later and later and we got more and more slap-happy.

This is the interior of The Cookie Cottage, where we had our first gig of the tour. What an interesting place! Sue, the owner, used to own a vintage furniture store and antique business, as well as a bakery. Over the course of time for a variety of reasons, she found it necessary to assimilate the two, with this fabulous result. Check out the furniture! We had excellent goodies there as well: a peanut butter and chocolate brownie for me and a chocolate cigar for Rebecca. Yum!

Another view of The Cookie Cottage.

Our gear, patiently waiting to be loaded out at the end of the night.

We had a great first night, and ended with an hour drive from Trenton to Vineland to meet up with Vincent and crash. VERY comfy Aerobed accommodations. I slept SO well. I'd also like to say that bringing my little fan with me was the smartest move I've ever made. Not only for the fact that it was 9-zillion degrees, but for the comforting white noise I would definitely have missed.

Quote of the day, by Rebecca, in response to my asking if she had any chocolate in her bag of snacks: "If I ever leave the house without chocolate, check my pulse."

20 Paces and Draw! (by Kim)

2008-05-25T23:24:00.002-04:00

Okay, was that a challenge???? I can be just as wacky as YOU can, Rebecca Katz, so there! (I am sticking my tongue out at you, you just can't see me. ;-)

Meanwhile, to comment to the rest of you on RK's post, I was fairly shocked to discover that crab rangoon was EVER made with anything but crab. I mean--HELLO? It's not called whitefish rangoon!

However, I am going to let that all slide because that post reminded me of the whole Baltimore crab connection, which I had not thought to focus on, and now I am thinking, "Crab cakes are in my future... Yum!"

It's the little things, really...

Crab AND Imitation Crab (by Rebecca)

2008-05-25T16:42:00.007-04:00

Last night was a night of firsts. Kim and I had our first of two local gigs before hitting the road, a fab show at a terrific little coffee shop called Cafe Ziba in Acton, MA. And, Kim had her first (maybe second?) Thai dinner, at my prompting, at one of my favorite restaurants: Baan Thai, in Waltham. We were excited. We were hungry.

Kim saw crab rangoon on the menu. So we asked if they were made with real crab (b/c I keep kosher, and I know that restaurants often make "crab" rangoon with whitefish, which means I can eat it. Yay!) So the waitress went to check, and initially told us they were just fish. Then she came back and said they were made with a combination of fish and crab. Boo. Not kosher.

So, we went ahead and ordered the other dishes we wanted, and Kim decided to opt out of the crab rangoon. Meanwhile, I got rainbow soup as an appetizer, one of my favorite Baan Thai treats. I had some dripping issues with my soup...looked down, and saw this:

It's a CRAB! And do you know which American city is famous for fresh crab? BALTIMORE! Oh, the coincidence. Oh, the humanity! Oh...the joys of having a cell phone camera. (I tried getting a shot of it without the shadow of my phone in the picture, but to no avail.) In any case, it's a good thing Kim didn't order something more obscene, which might have then appeared on my place mat.

So there you have it. The first poke of the universe aimed at Kimmy and me, and the first story of our tour.

Stay tuned for future installments. You can bet the wacky posts will primarily be written by me. :P

Your queen crab,
Rebecca

P.S. Hope to see you at our Somerville house concert this Saturday! For directions and reservations, e-mail marshall@giantantconcerts.com. Woo hoo!

One T-shirt Equals 3 Gallons... (by Kim)

2008-05-23T01:55:00.014-04:00

Well... roughly! So you can see how we'd want to sell as many t-shirts as possible to cover the trek to Baltimore and back.

How can you buy one, you ask? Easy! Just click the button below and you will be magically taken to a Paypal page set up by Rebecca, just for this purpose. Complete the form to give us your $15.00 (plus $1.00 for shipping) and we will send you your t-shirt! OR show up at any of our gigs and buy one in person! They're a high-quality, medium-weight, 50/50 blend, white t-shirt with our colorful (and patriotic!) tour logo emblazoned on the front. A great way to show the world who you love... uh... that would be us. ;-)

Magic Paypal button:

Shows you can buy shirts at in person:

May Local Shows

Saturday, 5/24, 3-5:30 PM
Café Ziba, Acton, MA (FREE)
340 Great Road, Acton, MA 01720
Great coffee and to-die-for chocolate muffins!

Saturday, 5/31, 8:00 PM
Giant Ant House Concerts, Somerville, MA (Cover: $10.00)
Contact marshall@giantantconcerts.com to make a reservation and for directions.

June Tour Shows

Saturday, 6/7, 8:00 PM
The Cookie Cottage, Trenton, NJ (Cover: TBA)
3697 Nottingham Way No. A, Trenton, New Jersey 08690
Mmmm... COOKIES!

Monday, 6/9, 8:00 PM
WGMU Radio, Fairfax, VA (Listen Online!)
Interview w/ John Campbell

Tuesday, 6/10, 8:30 PM
Baltimore Chop, Baltimore, MD (FREE)
625 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21230
We found out the name has to do with BASEBALL, not karate, or any kind of meat butchering process!

Wednesday, 6/11, 8:00 PM (pending)
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café, Washington, DC
1517 Connecticut Ave NW , Washington D.C. 20036
Late breaking addition!

Thursday, 6/12, 7:30 PM
Ebenezers Coffeehouse, Washington, DC (Cover: $5.00)
201 F Street NE, Washington, Washington DC 20002
My first trip to DC! Woot!

Friday, 6/13, 8:00 PM
Read Street Books, Baltimore, MD (Cover: TBA)
229 W. Read Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
If you don't find us entertaining, you can always catch up on your reading... A Women's KISS Venue.

Sunday, 6/15, 6:00 PM
Café Atlantique, Milford, CT (FREE)
33 River St, Milford, Connecticut 06460
One last stop on the drive home... during the Pirate Festival! Arg, Scallywag!