Steve's Tour Diary

  • New York City

    1996-11-18: and that's all folks. Eight months of touring for "Melting in the Dark" came to a close last Friday at Maxwell's in Hoboken with a rousing rendition of Derek and the Dominoes' "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad" in front of hometown (Hoboken is just across the Hudson River from Manhattan) friends. Everyone shuffled to their various domiciles,more

  • Philadelphia

    1996-11-13: And as the tour winds to a close, the shows just get better and more fun as if to actually tease me into doing this American Touring thing again sometimes soon. Oh, I'm such a pushover that I just might. I can actually think of many, many enjoyable nights on this journey and last night would certainly rank near themore

  • New Jersey Turnpike

    1996-11-12: Yesterday home life and touring life collided in a wonderful way as we took a day off between Albany and Washington DC in New York City. A chance to reduce suitcases to an overnight bag, read mail, scan the bills (pay some, ignore others), play a few long-missed cds and just generally enjoy my favorite city in the world. Imore

  • Approaching Connecticut

    1996-11-08: Well, with seven days left to go on this US tour, various illnesses have beset the entire band. Coughs emit from each of the five of us as though we were a phegmatic version of the World Saxophone Quartet and, hey, it might make for a cool jam session on stage. The Hackers? Okay, no need to get so graphicmore

  • Boston

    1996-11-07: Tonight was the big homecoming for Rich and sure enough there were many,many people crowding towards the Gilbert side of the stage to welcome home the prodigal son. Rich welcomed his minions with some raging leads and generally cut me to the quick in the lead-guitar derby (he is usually the victor but tonight he even had the home-ice advantage).more

  • Toronto

    1996-11-05: Well, for once I'm not typing from the van but rather from my hotel room at four in the morning. Why am I not sleeping, you ask and the same question has occured to me. Maybe it is the buzz of election results (no great surprises outside of the disappointingly low turnout), maybe it is the buzz of the finemore

  • Approaching Toronto

    1996-11-04: Well, with no desire to go OVER Niagara Falls in a barrel, we decided to merely go UNDER the Falls through a tunnel. Yes, it's family fun day for the SWQ (+soundman Ford) and just across the Canadian border (heard not one, but TWO Gordon Lightfoot songs on the radio in 30 minutes, thus proving that we are indeed inmore

  • Indiana at 65 MpH

    1996-11-02: So there we were driving down Belmont Avenue in Chicago, slightly late for our Soundcheck at Schuba's (a FANTASTIC club in Chicago, now amongst my faves in the world) but still enjoying the sights of the Windy City and in the distance I spotted a very attractive large neon sign, very old-looking and exotic. as the sign got closer Imore

  • Leaving Minneapolis

    1996-11-01: I often wonder what a person from another planet would think if they just happened to land on Earth on October 31 and witnessed the celebration of Halloween without prior warning. the spectacle of this strange species with plastic face-coverings and body paints, fake gore spewing from necks, bangles, baubles and beads. Last night we played to a skeleton. Butmore

  • Leaving Nebraska

    1996-10-30: You may remember the story from three months ago when Rich overheard the two truckers in Gothenburg, Nebraska discussing their various waist sizes. good story and it's somewhere on this fine website. Well, that same day I found myself perched at the phone booth (as usual, it's always me or Armistead) and when I left, I realized that I hadmore