FINALLY! BACK IN PENNSYLVANIA!!

Peed on Edison and sought (and was granted) an audience with his meat monarch... Now, once more into the breach...

Strange though it may be, I'm actually really excited to be in New Jersey.

Seems like the entirety of the 40 miles of stop and go was due to rubbernecking a VERY MINOR fender bender just into NYS. I hate people.

So, after the 40 miles from New Haven to here took WAY too long, we're finally into New York. And more traffic. Whoo.

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And yet, when the sign says "Reduce Speed To 45," no one does it. Congratulations, Connecticutians: I'm officially speechless.

Oh my god route 95 veers 10 degrees to the left SLOW DOWN!!! I thought 76 was bad... Fucking Connecticutians...

Why is it that the roads around Ivy league schools feature the worst drivers and pedestrians? People can't merge in New Haven or cross the street in Ithaca...

Ah, Connecticut: a vast wasteland for crazy Massachusetts drivers and crazy New York drivers to battle for turf supremacy... And eat nutmeg.

Maybe I've got a reason to believe we all will be received in Graceland...

Taxachusetts? D'oh!

Back on the road after a stunning breakfast at the O'Brien's that did its best to chase away the hangovers... Now for a few hours of cloudy autumn drive...

The hour approacheth... For reals now... Rock...

The first dance(s) went swimmingly... Greek dancing (in 7, freaking Hellenites!) and cake en route... Then rock.

Ah, the post-wedding, pre-dinner cocktail and milling: when the gap between the shoes that look good and the shoes that don't hurt is at its widest...

And now, onto the traditional running-around-in-circles-trying-desperately-to-have-everything-work-out-before-the-wedding-starts dash...

YAY hotel! Yay shower! Yay restringing guitars! Yay everything!

And finally, FINALLY, State 6: Acceptance that we will never get out of this car. Oh wait, here we are. 95 to 4 to 16 to precious, horrible freedom.

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As an update to an earlier post: the road to New Hampshire is a long one, with lots of VERY BAD drivers. No leaf peeping is worth this.

FINALLY. State 5: a backslide to Fear. 84 to 90 to 495 to 95. Startin' to have some nice leafs to peep, though.

At long last, food stop. Whoo-hoo. Can Connecticut be over yet?

Is it just me, or does every town in Connecticut consist of -bury, -port, -ford, or -haven and a direction?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand... Traffic. Again. No accident, no lane-closing construction. Just stop and go just because. *sigh*

Aaaaaaaaaand... Traffic. No idea why. Just early afternoon in Stamford.

State 4: Resignation, with a soup_on of cautious optimism. 95 to 91 to 84. O Conncticut... You are so large and white...

State 3: Anger. The Cross-Bronx Expressway. This continues to ring true.

Gonna pee on Vince Lombardi. Also maybe eat a burger.

Aaaaaaaaaaand.. Traffic. Three lanes at a dead stop because TWELVE MILES AHEAD a car is on fire. Do we all have to look? Really?

On to state 2 of our 6 state journey... From shock to bargaining... Or New Jersey... Now that I think about it, I'd do some bargaining to avoid New Jersey...

We're off on the road to New Hampshire...

Saw a sign that got me thinkin': Why would you go to a strip club for a bikini contest? Wouldn't you just be getting less for yer money?

We're gonna catch [most of] a double-header of the South Bend Silverhawks, the Single A farm club of the Diamondbacks...

Is sitting in Goshen, Indiana, in a lovely coffee shop that is one of the 3 businesses open past 4 PM on Saturday (!), getting ready to head back to South Bend.

I find it fascinating that Wm Henry Harrison St A: exists at all, and B: is longer than FD Roosevelt St.

The South Shore Line goes past a section on the outskirts of Gary, IN where all the (tiny) cross streets are named for the presidents. In chronological order.

Marooned at Midway... it is disturbingly bright for this time of day... fortunately, I have Craig Finn here to sing to me until my sister shows...

In the vein of "a murder of crows" and "a crash of rhinos," we give you: a kegger of dudes. As in, "South Street is over-run by a kegger of dudes tonight..."

Dan has thrown down the first 5-Hour Energy bottle, and he and Nick have the first awake shift for the drive home... I shall likely nap in awhile for awhile...

That said, I'm not one of the drivers on this trip... so when my shift comes up, I just have to be able to talk and change records...

The positive side of leaving when we did is we made the Cross-Bronx at about 5 AM, and had no traffic. The minus: we are on 76 at 8 AM on... what day is it?

6 hours into the drive: Josh behind the wheel, me in shotgun, "awake"... in our 5th state since midnight... one more to go...

Refueling stop maybe half an hour out from New York State. Car gets gas, James gets McDonalds. I'll leave the obvious joke on the table for whoever wants it...

3 hours in, we're just north of Hartford... the rain returns as we speak... I'd like to report that yr obd't servant has slept, but no dice.

Loud quiet kinda show tonight... small, hobbit-hole kinda room... check out Driftwood if yer into great, high-spirited roots music...

So, come on down to the Prancing Pony... I mean, the Langdon St Cafe... should be a fun evening.

Also, the (regrettably closed) book store down the street is called Rivendell Books.

On the plus side, this cafe feels like a hobbit bar, and they have a fabulous oatmeal stout on tap, and they don't seem to want my money.

Dan goes middle America after pants. Josh takes a constitutional. Nick... well, no one really knows what Nick's up to.

Dan goes up to grab his backpack. Which also went to Tara. With his other pants. I buy a padlock which won't fit on the Xcargo.

So, here's the story. We know the mic & cable bag went to Tara. Dan goes bushwacking after, gets pants soaked. We arrive in Montpelier.

A nice couple who were near behind us brought it to our attention... Dan has taken a jog back to attempt to find the bag...

A brief delay between Burlington and Montpelier: apparently the roof carrier snuck open a bit, and a bag containing some mics and cable blew out...

Potato coma. Oh god. Need a nap on the way to Montpelier.

As the rain pours down, the Sobriquets eat Irish food... this meal may have more starch than I've eaten in a week...

My new measure for the dive-y-ness of a bar is now: do they feel the need to encase the workings of the urinal flush in a steel cage?

Cheers to having a beer at 3 in the afternoon. Jeers to Nectar's for not being open at 3 to serve me a beer, sending me to the dive Yankees bar next door...

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Between the beauty of the scenery, the blaring Testament, and the fact that it's 2 PM, I fail to understand how Dan and Nick are asleep...

Aaaand Live Album Day comes to a screeching halt with Testament. All things must pass...

Gonna roll up to Burlington for the afternoon, should anyone in that area want to come say hey... we'll probably get there 3ish...

Then again, jobs are kinda thin on the ground everywhere right now... which is sort of a sobering thought...

I always forget how much I adore Vermont... even the interstate is scenic... If there were, ya know, jobs, I think I'd live here...

Today thus far is live album day: The Tragically Hip Live Between Us, followed by Nine Inch Nails' And All That Could Have Been...

Apparently, they ran out of good mountain names after a while... hence we pass Mount Tom... Or maybe that guy from Myspace bought it...

See ya later, Mass Pike, with yer damn pilgrim hat! We're headed northwards to seek our fortunes among the corn, cows, and hippies!

Out of the hotel, where, sadly, we returned too late to get blitzed at Pistols... goin back to the giant Stop'N'Shop for lunch, then off to Vermont...

Up and Atom!

Have you ever seen a closed Dunkin Donuts? Me neither. Until now. Dammit. The bagel I've been craving desperately since I remembered they exist is not to be.

Not as good a set as last night's... though apparently our would-be walk-in crowd was dented by AC/DC being in town...

Almost showtime... not too many bodies in the house... guess we just get to rock em each personally...

Ashpark is doin' their thing... and sounding way better than last night, when they sounded great... here's hoping we sound as good...

Hanging out in the green room talking fall plans... this should be a good season for us...

Seriously, New Englanders... this is a REALLY nice room... it ain't far from Boston... COME OUT! Call anyone you know around here! Little help here!

The stage here at Tammany is deep enough for us to set up twice... I hope some people come out tonight...

Central Mass is purty... trees and water and whatnot...

I predict satirical political cartoons will prevail against craven corruption and power-mongering... Oh Nast, wherefore art thou when we need you again?

Having solved a possible wardrobe faux pas, we are on the road for Tammany Hall, to witness the epic battle between Boss Tweed and Thomas Nast. Whoo.

Havin' a lazy, dog-dangling afternoon... some swimming, email checking, napping... one of these days, maybe we'll make enough to do this all the time..

My (very slight) apologies to the fucking cursed limey giant Walmart: they lack the new Phish album because it will not be released until September.

Dan is out swimming, and if he doesn't come back for his dolmade soon, he may not have a dolmade to come back to...

Holy crap was that huge salad the best idea I've had in weeks.

The giant Stop-N-Shop, however... contains apples, sandwiches, and not evil.

Fucking limey giant Walmart...

Also, I'm pretty surprised that there's a retail location in Massachusetts that doesn't have the new Phish record today... it's MASSACHUSETTS, fercrissakes...

Plus, giant Walmart: you have shitty cell phone reception. No bars, giant Walmart? Et tu?

How I despise thee, giant Walmart: you get me excited with your giant sign for Books and Magazines, and offer me only Harry Potter and Nora Roberts..

Also: does anyone know the name of the piece that is the Sorceror's Apprentice in Fantasia?

So, the hotel we're likely staying in tonight has a hotel bar called, I shit you not, "Pistols". I may get snockered at Pistols tonight.

Today's music trivia question that we should know but don't: is Boston actually from Boston?

We would be on the road to Woodstock... I mean Worcester (old lyrics die hard), but we wait for a band member to find a place in Harvard Square to go number 2.

People watching at Harvard Square. Also watching for Nick, who should arrive at any moment... In theory...

A slow reader would NEVER make these exits..

So, some of you are from Massachusetts: what is the aversion to posting signs for lanes, exits, etc more than 3 car lengths from where you need to be?

Aaaaand... traffic. But not to worry: evidently, in Massachusetts, the breakdown lane is also a passing lane...

Awake (sort of) and heading to Harvard Square for the meet-up...

Sweaty, raucous show... decent sound... Ashpark warms up the room... we smolder it... I'm on my way to K's sister's place for shower & sleep

Almost show-time.. deciding whether or not we go to sleep at a hippie vegan co-op tonight (and, counterintuitively, eat hot dogs...)

Ashpark is nearly on... so, in about an hour- rock. Until then: pacing, some drinking, more drinking.

If they were 15, it might be a push... and certainly a good game...

So, it occurs to me that the winning team in this Little League game could probably take on the Nationals... I think they'd lose, but they're 13...

Watchin a bunch of hispanic kids play Little League... heat finally broke... gonna change for the gig in maybe half an hour... could get used to this...

With belly full and hours til showtime... it's Miller Time. Come on down to the Midway Cafe, have some drinks with us!

Dan and Josh head off to Cambridge. Nick and I have delicious sandwiches from Harvest Co-Op in weirdly adorable Jamaica Plains.

We are here. That is all.

In Boston. Trying not to die. Trying to find the venue. Should be there soon... should anyone wanna come out to Jamaica Plains and hang out with us...

"I've got this great idea.. why don't we pitch it to the Franklhn fucking Mint?"

Much to my surprise, Massachusetts drivers REALLY ARE a special kind of problem... and we live next to Jersey, the Land of No Lefts...

Ben Folds Five follows the Clash, for those you keeping score...

I forgot the cursed stovepipe hat!! I don't know why, but that symbol fills me with rage! It's a road, not a damn Monopoly square!

Now onto our 4th New State Dance of the day: Massachusetts! Maybe another hour to Boston... note the use of "maybe"...

Or something... um. Yeah.

Can anybody following along at home look up who originally wrote "I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)"?

"Ticki Tocki Ticki Tocki Hoy Hoy Hoy." I don't even know where to begin.

The Clash is usually better driving music when the car is moving... otherwise, you start reacting to other drivers like it's a class war...

Aaaaand... traffic. Lousy Connecticutians. With their nutmeg and their ex-Whalers.

10 minute bathroom and football break... somewhere in central CT...

I understand why all the songs from Rumours were singles except Christine McVie's... they are not good...

Yay no more route 95 for at least a few hours! Also: always pictured New Haven as less dumpy and dug up...

Here's a hint: not being in the mood for Dio-era Sabbath, I have gone antisocial and have Fleetwood Mac on my headphones...

Thus far on the trip: Guided By Voices, the Stone Roses, Copeland, Dio-fronted Black Sabbath... See if you can guess whose pick each was...

Hoorah... Connecticut... we did not elect to go to the Bruce Museum (G'day, Bruce)... but now we're wondering where all the nutmeg is...

Coming up: the band pees on Joyce Kilmer and tries to recall who that is. (Here's a hint: it's not a lady...)

Aaaaand... first traffic stop... Way to go, Philadelphia... *sarcastic single clap*

On the road! See y'all in Boston (in maybe 5 or 6 hours)!

Also, maybe I'll finally get to fulfill my lifelong dream of punching Joe Buck in the kisser... to the MOON, Buck!

On the way down to the Phils game... I'm gonna eat ALL the hot dogs!!!

Q: What has two thumbs and is getting laid off in 8 weeks? A: This guy!! *points at himself with both thumbs*

Seriously... this is really fucking with me some...

I have 3 very important questions: 1, when the hell did Chris Cornell do a record with Timbaland? 2, why? 3, how did I not hear about it?

Who was the worst nephew: Robin the Frog, or Scrappy Doo? Inquiring minds who are stuck in a car want to know...

It's never a good sign for your day when you fully wake up and find you've already been at work for an hour and a half...

Sittin in the shade... beach on the Chesapeake... 2 beers in by 1 PM... A guy could get used to this...

Drunk, sweaty, exhausted, and due back at work way too soon... Must be a rock show Wednesday again...

Ah... joy! We've gotten to that part of the year where I sweat through my clothes just standing around, to say nothing of DOING anything...

Seems like this used to work... maybe it still does, and it's just me who doesn't get jokes?

It's like Custer's Last Stand if the Dakota Territories were populated with pre-pubescent mental patients with questionable math skills...

If everyone living in PA, DE, NJ, and MD between 15 years ago and now can just stop breeding, retroactively, I'd really appreciate it...

No part of today has not been irritating.

Bad sleep, stuck in the shop, main computer shits the bed... gray and rainy again... I fucking hate Mondays...

At the Dark Horse real early for Quizo... anyone wants to stop by and get a beer, I'd certainly appreciate the company...

Lousy rain... I want my Phillies game! What the hell else do I have to distract myself from my meaningless existence?

Holy CWAP, the new Neko Case record is fantastic.

God, I hate it when the high school kids who come here to tour all come eat in the cafe... lunch takes forfuckingever to get...

Remind me again why Pedro Feliz is batting 7th?

Unless I've been misled, Wilco's new album will be called Wilco (the Album). First single: Wilco the Song. Does anyone else hear Mel Brooks?

Just when I think I'm getting out, they pull me back in... 5 minutes to close, they tell me I need to stay until 9... AARGH!

OMG!! Arlen Specter just switched parties! He's running in 2010 as a Dem!

Totally haven't dug my summer skin outta the closet... this is a silly April... so lame...

Phillies won, got drums, watched Arrested Development, ate Ethiopian food & Ben & Jerry's... end of a day with the folks; it's Miller time.

See how much more fun that is, Phillies? Nice and easy, everybody hits (or walks)... no stress... isn't that better than busting my balls?

Once again, Brad Lidge busts my balls. Once again, Brad Lidge gets the job done. Is a 3 and out just too much to hope for? It is, isn't it?

Journey, you had it wrong: the trick is to STOP believing. Publicly. Then, and only then, the Philadelphia sports team wins.

And then fucking Shane Victorino hits a grand slam.

You know what I think happened? I think last year just fucked up my whole chi re: being a Philadelphia sports fan... this is the reality... *sigh*

Doin' laundry on a Friday night... yeah, I live the rockstar life... y'all wish you was me...

BEST THING EVER

At the moment (courtesy of Yglesias):

Wouldn't ya think that I could be a whole lot more productive if my office wasn't so cold that my fingers ache after 25 minutes?

Just watched Rep Barton R-TX ask Chu "how did the oil get to Alaska?"... OMFG how do these people get diplomas, much less elected?

River Horse Belgian Triple: a bit sweet and malty for my tastes... but can't knock 10 percent off a keg out the window in my local speakeasy