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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. When we arrived at the venue, we were surprised to find it was an art space in the middle of nowhere. A nice girl came out of the building and said the place was still a mess from the kids' summer art camp she was hosting, and that we should come back in a little while. She then mentioned three things in a row that instantly caused concern: First, she asked if we could waive our food guarantee ($40) so that the children could eat the next day at camp. Then she wondered out loud if she was going to get a sound system for the show. We asked her if the show had been promoted at all, and she said "a little," but then went on about how busy she had been because of the camp. We were glad she was giving little kids something fun to do that summer, but as a band you just don't want to hear any of these things two hours before a show. It was as if she didn't even remember the show was happening.
We went to dinner and pondered just how bad the show was going to be. We also went swimming in the Coeur d'Alene lake, which was absolutely beautiful. If only every tour stop could have swimming! Upon returning to the "venue", we found out that 1) the room was one big cement box, 2) there was no sound system, and after the show had already started, we noticed that 3) no one was watching the door, collecting money.
To a band, this means 1) with a room like that and 2) no sound system, no one would ever hear Gabe's vocals over our guitar amps and drums, and 3) we wouldn't be making any money from the show. Which meant we wouldn't have any gas money to get to the next town. Then there was the heat….Oh my lord. It was the middle of summer, and both the band and the crowd were sweating profusely, not that anything loud or remotely exciting was stirring anyone up. We were all playing as softly as we could so that Gabe could sing. The girl throwing the show was in the back room the whole time, getting ready for the next day's activities, so the show was run by ourselves and the crowd. That part was great — everyone involved had a lot of fun, but it was no way to keep a band on the road.
Afterward, we tried to imagine how the show could have been worse. There could have been a heater stuck on in the room, or I guess one of us could have been stabbed. Someone could have stolen our merch, or blown up our van…that would have totally sucked. In the end, it was just one of those shows that you get through so that you can make it to the next city. We left the show ready to drive through the night to Salt Lake City. Well, not without going swimming again — perfect.
– Greg Swinehart, drums, the Pale Pacific
Pale Pacific, Urgency
(2005, SideCho Records)
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Posted September 2006
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