Winter Tour Blog Pt. 4 - Hays, KS
Bonjour from Hays,
Are you ready to laugh at me my fellow Madison liberals? I love Kansas. Its beautiful. Something about rolling hills and endless sky that gets me every time. Don't get me wrong, many of the viewpoints around here still scare me, such as the new gun law that I'll get to in a bit, but the landscape is 100% pure songwriting material!
After posting yesterday I drove to downtown Lawrence before taking off. Lawrence really is a cool town, and just as left-leaning as Madison. I saw counterparts to the Willy St. Coop, the Infoshop, and Nature's Bakery. The main drag is definitely a shopper's paradise, though I enjoyed just walking around in the frigid Kansas air. I was a bit hungry, so I went into a market called the Casbah, a small coop, where they made Jamaican veggie turnovers. I ordered a shredded tofu jerk turnover and took a seat at the counter to read some local news. One thing I found fascinating was that in store windows and in the Isthmus-like news rag I was reading there seemed to be a concerted effort in Lawrence to dissuade people from Ron Paul. The article was titled something like "Behold o well meaning hippies, the real Ron Paul!" It is a bit weird, because for months now lots of lefties I know have been declaring support for "Dr. Paul", and most of them don't realize what a nutjob this guy really is. I know that he seems interesting because he is the lone Republican against the Iraq War, but don't be a one issue voter! Ron Paul is a serious, paranoid racist, and he is as pro-life, anti-gay as they come. Don't be deceived, o well meaning lefties!
I left the Casbah and Lawrence altogether, and headed west on Interstate 70! Driving past famed Kansas towns such as Topeka, Salina, Abilene and Manhattan the scenery gave way to the majestic plains. Many towns proudly displayed which astronaut (Joe Engle), senator (Bob Dole, Arlen Spector), or president (Dwight D. Eisenhower) had come from their 'hood. There are some pretty huge windfarms in Kansas as well, and I'll have to do some research to see how much power the Kansans get from this source. After a 3 and a half hour drive, I finally arrived in Hays, found a cheap hotel room at a Super 8, and headed to the Cafe Semolino.
The Cafe Semolino is one cool coffeehouse, and Hays is a pretty cool town. Its a college town, so its a little more open than some other nearby towns. As I entered the cafe I noticed a sign that showed a handgun crossed out, "no handguns". That kind of frightened me, and upon asking about the sign I was told that Kansas recently passed a concealed handgun law, but in response the town of Hays passed a city ordinance that barred handguns from all businesses. That made me feel better, and good for Hays! Who the hell wants to carry a concealed handgun around anyways? I set up and played for a couple of hours to a very appreciative and great listening crowd. It was a nice change from the non-existent crowd at the Bottleneck the previous night. Afterwards I talked with the locals about everything from our shared German heritage to weather in Kansas and Wisconsin (it is normally 100 degrees in the summer... and they like it!). I've really enjoyed talking with locals on this tour and getting a feel for the regions. It really is true how nice people in the Midwest are. I've also been bragging Wisconsin up a fair bit, so hopefully I'll get a check in the mail from the state tourist center when people from Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas begin flocking to Madison for vacation.
Today I'm headed to Colorado and the mountains! I am very excited to see them, and do some snowboarding while I am there. In a last minute decision, my dad decided to fly out to meet me so we can ski together, so I am picking him up at the Colorado Springs airport before my gig there tonight. Stay tuned for new elevations!
John
Setlist:
Set 1:
Isonzo Waltz
Letter From S.E. Asia
Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Carter)
Silverton Mines
6 am
Mountain Song
To Live Is To Fly (Van Zandt)
Absentee
Song and Dance Man
Girl from the North Country (Bob Dylan)
Set 2:
Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)
Our Love Was Made For Canada
Every Other Time
*new song*
My Sweet Annette (Drive-By Truckers)
Cold August Night
Rite of Spring
Phil the Prophet
Dusk Came Slow
CD's listened to on the drive:
David Francey - Rights of Passage
Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Had to eat:
coop goodies: granola bar, dried figs, 88% dark chocolate
the Casbah: shredded tofu jerk turnover and fresh-squeezed oj
Cafe Semolino: veggie melt and potato salad
Alcohol imbibed:
None!
I am loving these updates!
Thanks for sending out these entries, John. I think they're really entertaining, like a virtual roadtrip. Are you going to start the next one with "We're not in Kansas anymore"? Good luck!
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