rain, fireworks & honey

woke in the black of my bus bunk to the sound of my phone, set to ring like sonar on a submarine. the hotel lady was ringing me at 6:45 am, to say, where are you? the answer to that, i didn't have readily available. to her credit, she pulled me out of my dreams and into the day.

we are driving through the green hills of kentucky, heading to a day off, or as we call them, a day without a show, i am up early to wrangle some dreamking details, as comicon is heating up and i am still out on tour. plus there are all sorts of other world travel plans forming and it is time to greet the day. thank all available gods the west coast is not open for business for a few hours. only have to deal with the new yorkers.

yesterday was Chicago and all the energy that is attached to that city. It has long been one of my favorite places, and i have found if you treat the union there with respect, it usually will go well.
the show was heavily sold. however, on one trip out to the buses, i was caught behind 2 huge security guards carrying a passed out blonde,who was wearing only a fuschia bra & jeans. Somehow, they dropped her & she didn't move. they both stood there, looking down at her, while i am yelling to the medics down the hall who were casually flirting with the security guards. They look up to see this poor girl splayed out on the venue floor and slowly saunter up. i was astonished. i really hope she is okay.


we had our last day off in st. paul, minnesota. i got to catch up with the famous stitliers, bill & sharon. bill is my number one crackerjack tech professional advice-giver & sharon is the bird chick, and she is also a boy magnet. we had a great time eating sushi, trading stories and catching up in general. the next day, bill brought me some goodies from dreamhaven comics.. thank you for such hospitality in the land of the vikings. my runner the next day at Xcel center also works for Prince and i heard they are having a big do up there on 7-7-07 at Paisley park. I do believe i could live in minnesota.

in the meantime, i got a blackberry (named toasty) and so far, we are not the best of friends. this phone doesn't change time zones automatically as i am used to. that alone is a feature i am not coming to terms with easily. also, perhaps it is the sunken venues we are playing, but i have not had service since i got him. toasty is very pretty, but as always with me, i need a little brains to go with any beauty. (it can probably all be billed back to operator error. )
This may seem like one long laundry list of complaints, but truly, this is not the case. I am having a wonderful time, learning everything and anything I can. This crew is so good and I feel part of the borg, if that makes sense. there is definitely something about advancing as a unit. I have taken so many pictures and seen some more of this world. the other day, walking around in Toronto with miss Lola, our wardrobe queen, i was deeply touched by the city, happy that we are going back for another show there...

here is a photo from out my hotel window during the rain over the train tracks, and i have to figure out which city that was exactly....
and yes, we are back to the old fireworks-in-the-parking-lot-during loadout...
*ok, hotel connection too slow for uploading, tomorrow will add*
in closing, i would like to send my sister much love and sympathy for the loss of her Honey, a beautiful and loyal friend to her over the years. (photo here)

newest tour dates....

well, our amazing production assistant, Kim is having to leave the tour, and they have approached me to take her place. All my bosses involved, both catering boss & writing boss, have been quite accomodating & lovely re: my switch--& bonus--this gives me a chance to go to europe with the tour... holla!

these are the announced dates at this time:

2007 07 Sep Istanbul TURKEY Kurucesme Amphitheater 2007 05 Sep Belgrade SERBIA
2007 04 Sep Zagreb CROATIA Salata
2007 02 Sep Bologna ITALY Independent Days Festival - Arena Parco Nord
2007 31 Aug Bilbao SPAIN Azkena Festival
2007 28 Aug Frankfurt GERMANY Jahrhunderthalle
2007 26 Aug Frankfurt GERMANY Area 4 Festival
2007 25 Aug Paris FRANCE Rock an Seine Festival
2007 22 Aug London ENGLAND Brixton Academy
2007 21 Aug London ENGLAND Brixton Academy
2007 19 Aug HOLLAND Lowlands Festival Latest
2007 18 Aug BELGIUM Pukkelpop Festival Latest
2007 16 Aug SWITZERLAND Gampel Festival
2007 15 Aug Salzburg AUSTRIA Frequency Festival Latest
2007 12 Aug Katowice POLAND Spodek - Metal Hammer Festival
2007 11 Aug near Hannover GERMANY M/era Luna Festival
2007 09 Aug Oslo NORWAY Oya Festival

and here are the other US/Canada dates that i didn't post yet:

2007 16 Jul Reading, PA US Sovereign Center
2007 14 Jul Albany, NY US Times Forum Union
2007 13 Jul Portland, ME US Cumberland Civic center
2007 12 Jul Mansfield, MA US Tweeter Center
2007 10 Jul Montreal, QC CANADA Bell Center
2007 09 Jul HAMILTON, ON CANADA Copps Coliseum
2007 07 Jul Huntington, WV US Big Sandy Superstore Arena
2007 05 Jul Grand Rapids, MI US Van Andel Arena
2007 04 Jul Milwaukee, WI US SUMMERFEST
2007 03 Jul Detroit, MI US DTE Amphitheater
2007 01 Jul Youngstown, OH US Chevrolet Center
2007 29 Jun Cincinnati, OH US US Bank Arena
2007 27 Jun Chicago, IL US Sears Center
2007 26 Jun St. Paul, MN US Xcel Center
2007 24 Jun HAMILTON, ON CANADA Copps Coliseum
2007 23 Jun Ft. Wayne, IN US Memorial Coliseum
2007 22 Jun St. Louis, MO US Scottrade Arena
2007 20 Jun Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center
2007 19 Jun Cedar Rapids, IA US US Cellular Center
2007 17 Jun Evansville, IN US Roberts Stadium
2007 16 Jun Cape Girardeau, MO US Show Me Center
2007 15 Jun Manchester, TN US Bonnaroo Festival
2007 13 Jun Winston-Salem, NC US Joel Lawrence Coliseum
2007 09 Jun Atlantic City, NJ US Boardwalk Hall
2007 08 Jun Baltimore, MD US 1st Mariner Arena
2007 07 Jun Richmond, VA US Richmond Coliseum
2007 05 Jun Greenville, SC US Bi-Lo Center
2007 04 Jun Duluth, GA US Gwinnette Center