After talking about Canadian stars and TV Shows – Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience, and Trailer Park Boys among them, Pax and I discover that we both watched a fair amount of Heartland – he’s actually seen more of it than I have! Spoilers for Season 14, but we agreed that Ty’s death was the breaking point where we stopped watching. It was also fun to share that yeah, the books open the same way the show does, with the death of Amy’s mother, which looking back was an… interesting way to kick-off a book series aimed at 9-12 year olds. We arrive at the hotel and start unpacking the van, only to realize we’re actually parked in front of the wrong hotel – our bad! A very hasty repacking later, and we’re at the right hotel and getting settled.
Which, for Jonathan, looks like setting up the replacement laptop he picked up in Philly, and starting the downloads for the software he needs while we all head to soundcheck. LPR is a cool venue! Everyone I speak with there is so welcoming and friendly. Bringing all the gear and merch down two flights of stairs? Not so great, but we do get help – and get to use the elevator to bring stuff up at night’s end (we joke about the band needing to have proved themselves before getting elevator access).
Merch setup is probably the most cramped I’ve been so far, but the lighting is very good – especially for the shirts – which is a nice change from the last few nights. Amy grabs me a stool to sit on, which I deeply appreciate, and while fitting it behind the table with everything else I’ve got with me back there, including all of the duffle bags for shirts, is a struggle, it works! At this point I’m down to lingering sizes in Sanitizer shirts, know another order of Tower shirts will be needed before the end of tour, have a dwindling supply of “Still Sad, Still Cute” keychains, and have sold-out of the eau de parfum, candles, and bandanas. There’s two tote bags left.
Tonight is the last time I’m setting up the merch table for this tour, and honestly? I’m pretty sad about it. Getting to be part of this, to sing along during soundcheck while doing my little dances as I’m adjusting merch placement, has been great. It has been non-stop for the last few days, and that it took three days to manage to pick up masking tape (which will not leave a sticky residue behind when used to secure rolled up shirts) is both ridiculous and hilarious. It’s a different kind of fast-paced to anything I’ve experienced before, and while I’m tired in ways I didn’t previously know I could be, this whole experience has been deeply rewarding on what I can only call a spiritual level.
After soundcheck, Jonathan and I are off to the Apple store to see about getting the water damaged computer looked at. We wind up overshooting it by three blocks, and only get mildly distracted by vintage vendors setup on the street on the way. We backtrack, and reach the store to discover their next opening to look at a device is an hour from then, which doesn’t really work considering doors are in 90 minutes. Suddenly armed with much more time, the walk back to the hotel isn’t done in the interest of shaving 5+ minutes off the journey. Also? It wouldn’t have been possible as there’s just too many people on the sidewalks.
LPR has a cool feature where there’s screens in the area merch is set up in, with a live feed of the stage. Even though we aren’t in the room itself, we can still see what’s going on, and since we’re close enough to hear everything clearly it feels like the best of both worlds. Amy and I both think this is really cool, and while I’ve dipped away from merch for Urban Heat’s set for every other show (besides Philly, because there really wasn’t anywhere else to go), this time I don’t get much past the door – it’s a sold-out show, and the heat of the room, even just at the threshold, is more than I want to deal with!
One of the attendees tonight is having his birthday, and it is with glee that he brings his scent obsessed friend back to sniff all the perfume oils. I’ve enjoyed talking to people about them, seeing their reactions, and the satisfaction I experience when seeing someone’s expression change when they find Their Scent really can’t be described. During my run, Right Time of Night is the one that does it for most people – except Philly! Philly really liked Seven Safe Places, which is the most femme of the four.
In terms of familiar faces, I see David – who I first met in Jersey back in December, and who has great energy, and Bub – who shouted my name, which resulted in me looking around like a wide-eyed owl to determine who knew me here! In a city of however many people, I know maybe 3, so it was with understandable confusion that my head was on a swivel going “hmm? Who???” It’s nice, seeing these familiar faces, and being reasonably certain that I’ll see them again in future.
Once the show starts, I’m sharing snacks with Amy and Connor while reorganizing all the shirts, repacking them in a way which makes sense for how much inventory is left. At this point, for example, there are five Right Time of Night long sleeves left – they don’t need to be in a dedicated duffle bag all by themselves! With the rest of the time, I’m folding, tapping, and marking the size of the remaining Tower shirts so that the shirt trunk is easier to restock. It’s a productive night, and I’m trying to leave the merch situation in the best state I can.
When packing up, our merch table collapses again – a note is made for the future to check and see that they’re locked correctly before loading them up with a bunch of breakable stuff. After the show we and Dancing Plague start wandering nearby streets looking for a place to eat, and are astounded at how many places are closed before midnight. I’m pretty sure this is the earliest we’ve been out of a venue in a while, or at least it feels that way! We wind up at a burger joint that has a vegan patty and take up the whole front corner of this place as we stand around eating and chatting. Jonathan’s order is called out for Johnny, and the group shares a collective moment of confusion as we go “who???”.
The next morning, we’re packing up our bags and Jonathan and I get to talking about reflections from this leg of the tour. I’m asked something along the lines of whether I’m still a fan of the band after being on the road with them for a week, getting a much deeper look behind the curtain than I did in December. I answer honestly: it’s different.
And how couldn’t it be? I’ve had the chance to see everyone as people, people who – for example – spill a glass of water over their laptop and spend days trying to get it fixed (eventually succeeding, and returning the temporarily purchased new laptop, days after I’m gone), or who are flying back home on a day off to spend more time with their kids.
But perhaps the most poignant moment of these very human experiences comes this morning, while we’re packing up. It has been a few days now since Jonathan lost his wedding ring – a somber moment which had him calling the hotel, hoping against all hopes that someone had found it in the hotel’s gym where he thought he must have left it. New York has a small hotel room, and while I’m trying to give Jonathan privacy while he’s on the phone with his wife, he’s maybe 6ft away and I need to be where I am so that I can finish packing and catch my flight home.
It isn’t an easy conversation – it’s hard, being away from home, from family. It makes Jonathan finding his wedding band less than a minute after getting off the phone – in the pocket of his travel pants this whole time, all the more emotional. We both know it wasn’t there – I was there when he first thought he lost it, when he went through all his things trying to find it – he’d checked those pockets so, so many times. I don’t know that I’ll ever forget the laugh, immediately followed by breaking down into tears, upon finding it.
How couldn’t it be different, when the morning I’m heading back home, I am also sitting next to my friend, putting an arm around his shoulder while he cries – knowing that I have about twelve minutes until I need to be in my Uber to the airport. Nobody would want to leave their friend on that note. But, the show must go on and the guys have an eight hour drive ahead, and I have a plane to catch.
For me, being a fan of the band, of their music, is completely separate from this whole experience – and what an experience it has been. But to answer the question, over a year after being asked: yes, I am still a fan of their work. The difference, I think, is while still rooting for their growth and success as a band, I’m rooting for them as people. It was a privilege, getting to be part of this, their journey, this world, even if just for a little while. It isn’t an experience I’m soon to forget.
Until next I see you across the merch table,
K
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