And so begins my time on the Spring 2024 tour! It feels like ages ago that I first floated the idea by Jonathan, but it was only December during our follow-up interview. March just… March flew by. I arrived in Orlando a few days early to acclimate to the warmer weather (that first day I was dealing with a 30C temperature jump and suffering), and get a bit of relaxation in.
It gave me juuust enough time to get the worst sunburn I’ve ever had in my life! I didn’t know my skin could be that shade of red. It hurt to stand for two days, and getting my boots on and off was, wow, that was an experience filled with some audible hissing and a steady stream of internal cursing. Don’t wear long pants to go kayaking at noon. You’ll get hot, roll up those pant legs forgetting that you didn’t put sunscreen on your legs, and have some pretty serious regrets about it. (Seriously, as of the day of publishing I’ve still got a pink patch.)
But I digress, Jacksonville! I was leaving that morning from Orlando for what, at the time, seemed like a “long” drive and in hindsight was a quick jaunt. It’s funny how quickly perceptions change. And, here’s something to know about me, and some important context: every so often I’m struck by these moments of – pardon the cliche – “go big or go home.”
So. Had I ever been on tour before? No – December was a sort of trial run, and I was staying with friends, using trains to get around a relatively small area.
Had I ever travelled to multiple US states in one trip? Certainly not, and prior to 2023 hadn’t been to the States in at least ten years.
Surely I’d done extensive highway driving? Haha, nooo. To make this more fun I’d basically never driven regularly prior to this trip. I had a lot of anxiety around driving. I’m over that now!
Why do one big/exciting/scary thing when you can pack three in at once, right? I mean, if your doctor – just before upping the dosage on your anxiety meds – isn’t going “why are you doing this to yourself?” then what’s the point, right? Right.
My first tattoo includes the words “be brave,” and before I left someone told me I was brave for taking this trip. Honestly? Not sure if it was bravery, stubbornness, stupidity, or some combination of the three but there was absolutely no way I wasn’t going once I got the okay from the band. If you’ve got to do it scared, do it scared. This sort of opportunity doesn’t drop into your lap every day, you know? My only real concern was the driving (and parking, shoutout to the man who watched me struggle to park in a tight spot in Orlando and clapped for me when I finally got it. We both got a good laugh out of that one), and that resolved itself remarkably quickly.
On my way out Orlando I stopped by Prometheus Esoterica. Everyone there was so friendly, and while I didn’t have much room to bring things back, (my travel companions were a backpack and a tote bag, I haven’t checked luggage since 2017 and was not about to start now) did pick up a gorgeous necklace and a healing salve that I am fully crediting with how well my sunburn healed. If you’re from Orlando, or in the area, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s quite an experience just to browse the shop even if you don’t pick anything up, and they’ve got an extensive coffee collection as well.
The drive to Jacksonville took me just as long as I expected, which is to say 45 minutes longer than it should have. Had a bit of time to get settled in and get setup with the tour managing app so that I had access to important information like the address of that night’s hotel, what time we needed to be at soundcheck, and what time doors opened in order to know what time I needed to be back at the venue. I got a lot of use out of that thing and it saved me from having to ask so many questions.
Once at the venue, Underbelly, I got the rundown on how merch setup works (essentially “unpack it like this, have it look similar when it all goes back, test the card reader before doors”) and how it should, generally, look on the table. I immediately took a photo as extensive verbal instructions and I do not get along! You’ve got a sentence, maybe two, before the equivalent of elevator music starts playing in my brain and I’m left smiling blankly while going “shit, shit, shit” internally. Did I wind up using the photo at any point? No, but better safe than scrambling.
A few hours later I was on my way back to the venue, a trip that included only one shortcut through a dimly lit parking lot, and one of the interactions that stood out to me the most in Jacksonville. This city was… it stands out as being the place where I had the most memorable interactions with people who weren’t at the show, or otherwise part of it. Like the man on one of those scooters all over the city, going in the opposite direction of me, who thought I was really rude for not even slowing down to talk to him! I was running late. I also didn’t want to talk to him, and can promise it won’t be the last time a man thinks I’m rude. It comes with the territory of existing as a femme-presenting person.
Jacksonville was the first night I arrived to already have people waiting at the merch table, which I wasn’t expecting! Arriving at a venue and immediately jumping into it became the norm over this run, though, especially when I started arriving with the guys later on.
Underbelly was one of my favourite places for merch setup. Having a bar ledge to use as a shelf? Supremely handy, and saved me a lot of leaning down and otherwise diving under the table to grab something (perfume oil, usually). There were also stools! Great for storage, and I’m a stool person- they’re especially handy for sitting at the back of a venue and still being able to see the stage. Getting to sit and lean against something? Beautiful, perfect, no notes.
Night’s end brought one of the other memorable interactions in the form of the lady who cursed me out quite colourfully while a few of us were hanging around outside the venue after packing up. I was truly just standing there exhausted and dissociating, and whatever that was had absolutely nothing to do with me.
When Kevin and Pax mentioned grabbing food, I immediately determined I was doing that instead of heading back to the hotel to sleep – my last meal had been lunch before leaving Jacksonville, and while I desperately wanted sleep, and could feel the exhaustion in my face (always great), food? Food needed to happen. We wound up grabbing a bite at a Jaimaican place in the area, running into Naz – who had been at the show – on our way there. Was she driving? Yes. Did she offer us a lift? No. Did we joke about this later while eating? Absolutely, we forgive you Naz (if you ever see this, it was great to learn more about you and I really enjoyed everything you shared)!
On our walk back to the hotel, we started hearing extremely loud and thumping music that was getting steadily louder. I don’t think anyone expected the jacked up truck with lights in its rims, cruising up what seemed like a main street blasting music. That was wild, I’d never seen anything like it and haven’t since! Seeing them once was memorable enough but when they drove back down the street going in the opposite direction??? Sir/Ma’am it is late o’clock, what are you doing? I had so many questions. Does this person do this regularly? Are they a regular part of the Jacksonville nightlife? The video really doesn’t do justice to how damn loud this thing was. A memorable end to the night, to be sure!
Want to keep up with Urban Heat? They’re fundraising to get to Europe later this year! Otherwise, you can check them out on TikTok , or find them on Instagram!
That’s all for this week! Until next time, stay cozy, and if you want to join your companions around the cauldron, signup for email updates below!
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