Spring Tour Blog Pt. 2 - Kansas City to Dallas

Saturday, April 26th - Kansas City, MO

The drive to Kansas City from Columbia was pretty short, and as soon as I saw that KC skyline I had only one thing in mind: the National World War I museum. Dorky, right? The last time I was in Kansas City was last June when I played a show there after playing at the Wakarusa Festival in Lawrence, KS, and my girlfriend Tabitha had been with me that time. After finding out that the National WWI museum was in Kansas City, we had raced down to it on a Saturday morning only to find that it was closed due to a giant rock festival being held on the grounds. At this point I should probably explain that I was a history major in college, and studied World War I heavily, and it is my favorite subject and time period in all of history. Yes, I am a geek. Needless to say I had been extremely disappointed the last time around, and it was a priority this time in KC. I went straight to the museum, which is capped with a huge, phallic tower that was built soon after the war in the 1920's to honor the veterans. It is very impressive looking, built high on a hill overlooking the KC skyline. I gladly shelled out some money for a ticket in, and spent about 2 hours inside, looking at all of the exhibits. Some of my favorite things were the collections of propaganda posters that the museum had from all of the countries involved, including my favorite American poster (of which I had to get a copy), which features a woman wearing a sailor's uniform saying, "I wish I were a man so I could join the navy!" After touring the museum I took the trip up to the top of the memorial tower, to take in the views of the city. I always enjoy Kansas City, it always seems like such a cool town to be young in, especially in the neighborhood where I was playing that night. The Westport Coffeehouse lies in the Westport neighborhood, which is the oldest part of the city, and at night is a party paradise for 20 somethings. I saddled up to play my long, 3-hour set at the Coffeehouse, and enjoyed the first hour and a half or so thoroughly. There was a great listening crowd and they were very responsive. After that, however, the combination of the cold wind outside and a lack of a big concert at the venue next door emptied the place out, and I played to the staff for the last bit. C'est la vie, especially "la vie" of a traveling folksinger.

Sunday, April 27th - Fayetteville, AR

Before leaving Kansas City for Fayetteville I had to stop down the the Plaza district, which I had never been to but was highly recommended. It is the part of town with lots of fountains, which boasts giving Rome a run for its money in that department, and it has some great architecture. Unfortunately, this district is also completely overrun with chain stores: American Eagle, Panera Bread, Starbuck's, American Apparel, etc. The Plaza cannot really compete with Rome, it would need 1000x the character (and 1000x less chain businesses that one can visit anywhere). I hit the road to Fayetteville, which is about a 4 hour drive straight south into Arkansas. A few hours in and I was getting pretty bored in Southern Missouri, so I pulled over at Carthage, MO, where a minor Civil War battle was fought. I followed the signs to the battlefield, which was really a small park by a nice stream, with no real signs of the battle other than a marker. It did provide a nice walk and distraction, however, enough to wake me up and continue the drive. It was only in the 50's, and was supposed to reach around 36 degrees that night, so I was not looking forward to camping. As soon as I reached Lake Wedington, where I had camped the last time, my spirits were lifted, as it is such a beautiful area. Situated in the Ozarks, it is a great place to camp right next to the lake and practically have the place to yourself on a Sunday night. After setting up camp I headed into Fayetteville, which is a college town (University of Arkansas), and is about the size of Oshkosh, although admittedly cooler. Dickson St., where Common Grounds is located, is a college students playground, with great bars, restaurants, and shops. I paid a visit to Flying Possum Leather, where they make custom leather guitar straps and belts. They were closed, but the owner opened up and let me in anyways, and gave me the full talk about his guitar straps. I must admit they are pretty cool, and you can even see people like Neil Young and Willy Nelson sporting them (they bought his first two ever made). Maybe when I strike it rich and have a bit more money I'll pick up one myself, but for now my cheap fender strap will work fine! The show at Common Grounds was fairly similar to the night before in Kansas City. It was another 3-hour paid gig, and the first half featured a very attentive and interested crowd, which was great. At least in Fayetteville the place didn't clear out, as there were still people later on, they were just more into talking, which was alright because I got paid no matter what. I got done around 11pm and headed back out to the lake to my cold tent, but thanks to my new sleeping bag, I actually stayed quite warm!

Monday, April 28th - Tulsa, OK

After taking down my tent and enjoying some last looks out on Lake Wedington, I got back on the road, headed to Tulsa. It started out as a winding drive down out of the Ozarks and finally flattened out just before entering Oklahoma. I stopped out the border town of Siloam Springs (on the Arkansas side) for a sandwich at a local coffee shop. Soon I was on my way in Oklahoma, and eastern Oklahoma is really very beautiful, as you're still in the foothills of the Ozarks. I was feeling the need for a pit stop and was pleased to find a state park advertising a waterfall just inside Oklahoma, so I pulled over to take a short hike. It was great to get out and climb around on the steep slopes alongside the river that was below the falls, and the whole area made me feel like I was in Colorado somewhere. The falls were much better than expected, with a pretty big drop into a beautiful, blue pool below. After a bit more hiking it was back to my Caravan and it wasn't too long before I reached Tulsa. I was camping again, this time at a KOA on the outskirts, so I stopped there and set up camp before heading to check out the venue for the night, Agora Coffee. It was set in a pretty suburban area, and I actually never did get to check out the downtown area of Tulsa, but I had some work to do so I just settled down at Agora with my laptop for awhile until it was time to set up for the gig. As I was setting up a large gathering of kids had amassed outside of the coffeehouse, and I realized that it was a youth group type meeting in another larger meeting room attached to Agora. They were a bit loud later when I was playing, but its all good I suppose. It seems to me whereas in Wisconsin there are some Christian coffeehouses and the rest are secular, in bible belt areas like Tulsa everything is Christian, and there is no such distinction. A local songwriter named Susan Herndon opened for me, and she played a great set, really smart songwriting! Check her out on myspace if you're looking for some new tunes. I played a little over an hour to a handful of folks (thats what happens on Monday nights), and was just happy to have a place to play and make a few tips. It was only 10pm when I finished packing up and left Agora, and I was still wide awake and not ready to get in my tent, so I decided to try my luck at the Native American casino that was at the same interchange as the KOA. Now, I'm not much of a gambling man, and the only other time I've ever been to a casino was at Niagara Falls when Tabitha and I were bored and decided to explore the wonders of gambling. I wanted to play blackjack, but there was a $25 min. entry fee, and I didn't feel like blowing most of my earnings in tips for the night in one thing, so I decided to try the slot machines. Turns out, that blows the money faster, and it only took about 20 minutes to lose $20. I had been hoping for the machines where I could actually put in quarters and nickels so that I could watch my money go down the drain a bit slower, but the minimum you could put in was a dollar! I left the casino feeling unsatisfied, and basically like I had just been screwed. I went back to my tent with my tail between my legs.

Tuesday, April 29th - Dallas, TX

Packed up my tent. Got breakfast. Got a much needed oil change. Left tulsa. Drove the long, boring drive to Texas, and arrived in Dallas in the afternoon in beautiful, 82 degree weather! I had done a priceline bid for a hotel for the night, so I checked in the Homestead Suites (for only $25!) and just relaxed for a bit, watching a bad movie about a college student-turned-executioner at a prison and took a shower. I was playing at the Absinthe Lounge that night, which is an uber-hip, swanky joint lodged in the South Lamar loft building on the South side. Also located in the same building is a fantastic caribbean restaurant, where I had a delicious veggie patty, and Opening Bell Coffee, where I played an open mic before my real gig in hopes of pulling some people over to the Absinthe Lounge. It was a pretty poorly attended open mic, so my plan was foiled, alas. A local Ft. Worth songwriter full of Texas flavor named Glitter Rose opened for me and played some southern-rock infused acoustic tunes. I played two sets for the crowd, which was far superior to the last time I had played here, when there was maybe 4 people. The crowd was really great, and I played just about until 1am, which is a late gig for a folksinger. Thanks much to Carlos for running the sound and making it sound terrific in there! Went back to my hotel and got some rest to prepare for the awesomeness of Austin the next night.

what I'm listening to:

Woody Guthrie - The Asch Recordings Vol. 1
Townes Van Zandt - Rear View Mirror
Death Cab For Cutie - Plans
Bob Dylan - Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker

*this blog was written half at a Waffle House outside of Dallas, and half at a Denny's in Austin, TX

For pictures, visit:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2095310&l=ecb8b&id=71200612