Perfecting the power to achieve. We have now joined the ranks of indestructible touring bands. We are cracked-out insomniacs and are power-housing our way across "the majesty of these united states" as Josh would put it. Logan won the Marathon Award for this day as he drove eleven hours straight from Missoula, Montana to Lindon, Utah; all this, immediately after playing our show at Jay’s Upstairs. Josh kept him company till sunrise, when I woke up and relieved him of duty, also assisting in navigating the crazy, numerical labyrinth known as Utah. They don’t post many names of towns if you’re coming from the North, just streets like 10600 S. or 600 W / US-49, and it so happened that they didn’t list the numbers we were looking for. We only found it once we had turned around after proceeding twenty miles in the wrong direction. Logan’s a trooper.

Utah is an interesting place. Well, actually it’s a very uninteresting place, but so much so that it flips inside out and becomes interesting because of how dull it is. Being in Utah for one day made me thankful that with any luck, I’ll never have to live there. It appears very brown and boring, but at the same time you are surrounded by beautiful, snow covered mountains ... it’s a strange dichotomy.

By the time we arrived, we were famished, so we decided to look for food. The first place we stopped at that showed any sign of breakfast was a place called K & V’s, which has a sign on the door that states in bold letters that it is a smoking establishment and that you either have to have a membership card to the place or pay a $1 cover just to go in. I later learned that the reason for this is due to fanatical straight-edgers who literally stab you with a knife if they see you smoking. Smoking kills you a lot quicker in Utah.

Our next choice was a small place up the road called One Man Band, which is run by only one person, and you order your food via a phone at your table (See photos). The place was made up to look as much like a 50’s diner as Utah can provide, complete with pictures on the wall of “The King” and Marilyn and the cuisine was set accordingly. The food was surprisingly very good, and we all ate our fill for very little money.

Utah does have its good points, and one of them is the people. They are VERY nice and VERY hospitable. We arrived at the venue, called Suite 13 (which sounds like a pedophile pun, but actually IS Suite 13 in the strip mall it’s found in) and as it was just before noon, we were early. Mike, the owner, welcomed us in and as it turns out, Suite 13 is not only a club, but a huge video arcade as well, complete with 75 games and a bunch of pool tables too. We were stoked. Soon after, Matt the booker arrived and gave us some quarters to play video games with, free sodas and his wife cooked us a fine dinner of stir fry and pasta. They even found us a place to stay, and although we had to drive to Colorado later that night, the gesture was much appreciated. I don’t think we’ve ever been treated so hospitably at a club before. Touring bands take note: Suite 13 in Utah treats you REALLY WELL.

The show itself was a good time, and although the turnout was apparently smaller that they had anticipated (due to The Anniversary being in town the same night), the crowd was very receptive and the other bands were great as well. The Farewell Bikeride was up first and played a endearingly jangly indie-pop set, and due to their slightly apologetic or embarrased demeanor, I assumed that the trio was relatively new and was later found correct; this was their first time on stage after only being around 2 months. The songwriting and performances were very good, however, and I’m sure their confidence will soon catch up with the quality of their music. Gift Anon, a five piece, headlined and were also very good, sporting a very ambient sound and diverse orchestrations. I became entranced by the disco ball.

I then took the helm for what was to be a pretty rough night of blocked freeways, Red Bull and Up Time ... I feel like Red Sovine.

Judah