2001 WINTER TOUR   Preamble While we could have done it without you, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun: Frank and King Radio, Sandra, Fred, Amber, Lea, Amanda, Jesse, Carla, Chris, Jeff, John and the Louisiana Red Hot crew, Jimmy and family, Jason, Angela, Tom, Devon, Anna, Jody, Dave, Sarah, Kurt, Eli, Gina, and the many others whose names escape me at the moment. Thanks so much.     Fond recollections from Patrick Berkery     Thursday, March 1 - West Chester, PA - Rex's After all we've been through, it's hard to believe this record is almost out. It's just as hard to believe we're gonna be touring behind our little baby, starting tonight in the sleepy college town of West Chester. Scott lives here (in a house, not Rex's), and Bret went to college here, so us Lovers got strong roots in the W.C. Tonight's show is more or less a tune-up for the big 'ol record release show in Philly tomorrow night, but it goes down quite well. Lots of old friends are in the house tonight, and well as some of the Lovers faithful who've made the 45 minute trek down I-95 from Philly. It's a beautiful sight to see people forking over hard-earned cash for our t-shirts and records. As we're touring behind our record (recorded well over a year ago), we're dusting off and re-working some of the songs we haven't played in a while. "Casual Friday" is a bit more sparse and spooky in its new live form; a tad rickety tonight but soon to be a staple of the set. We trot out the Zombies' "Leave me Be" per request and pile drive it home with "Summer" and "Do Ya," which will serve as the closing one-two punch for much of the tour. Opening night jitters be damned, this one rocked. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release For a Little While Forever Is Not So Long Half-Richard's I'm Here Better Off Casual Friday Imbecile Leave Me Be Threadbare Barely 5:30 Summer     Complex mathematical formulas were used to fit everything into the van.     Friday, March 2 - Philadelphia, PA - The Upstage Everyone and their mother are playing in town tonight. Okay, actually just Marah and Matthew Sweet, but it's enough to make us think there won' be a damn soul at our record release throw down. It turns out to be a packed, sweaty, drunken house, and we move a nice amount of merch. This is very necessary, as we have to gas up the van somehow. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we share the bill with Superdrag who are fantastic folks and a great band to boot. Lots of old friends make the scene and, in this narrator's humble opinion, we knocked one out of the park tonight. "Give it to the Soft Boys" goes down its usual storm, and Ed's spaced out slide guitar on "Casual Friday" takes us off our usual pop rocking course with fabulous results. Everyone in the house is ear-to-ear smiles when we trot out "Do Ya" as the encore. We stay free of any, `we couldn't have done this without you' sentimentality, but when Bret dedicates "Do Ya" to his dad (Dad Tobias was a big E.L.O. fan back in the day, word has it), there ain't a dry eye in three counties. Thanks for coming ya'll, CDs and T-shirts in the foyer!!! Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever is not So Long Half-Richard's I'm Here Better Off Casual Friday Threadbare Imbecile Give it to the Soft Boys Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Hot tub fun time in Northampton. We think this is when Pat really caught his cold.     Saturday, March 3 - Northampton, MA - Baystate Hotel A particularly late night of celebrating makes getting in gear for the 6-hour drive to North Hampton a little tough, but it's something we'll get used to over the next few weeks. With the sounds of success and white noise still ringing in our ears, we pull into former Scud Mountain Boy accomplice Frank Padallero's house, who's helped put tonight's show together and is letting us stay at his place. This is our second time through Northampton and it's a decidedly more subdued vibe than last night's gig as the Baystate is somewhere between a rock club and a college dining hall. No matter, as the set is good, and the people nice. We sell some shirts and CDs, and have the privilege of opening for the criminally-groovy mom-son-dad trio who call themselves the Stone Coyotes. Local Celebrity Watch: Alt-country/plaintive pop superhero/Northampton resident Joe Pernice is standing right in front of Ed our entire set. Word is he loves the whole thing, except "Do Ya." Not a big Jeff Lynne fan, apparently. Tonight's set list: Change your Mind A Year Ago Forever is not so Long For a Little While Half-Richard's I'm Here Imbecile Leave me Be Threadbare Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Monday, March 5 - Washington, DC - Velvet Lounge Thanks to the fire & brimstone predictions of the local weatherpersons, we feared we'd miss the D.C. show, and possibly more. But alas, old man winter has better things to do than to snow on our parade, meaning the shows will go on. It's a wonder people don't start bombarding the weather folk with death threats or something. As luck would have it, the annual winter cold that I've managed to keep at bay this year rears its ugly head early Monday morning, and will make its way around the van for the next week. What was originally supposed to be a two show evening turns into one long (though no less satisfying) set because the club (normally not open Monday nights) owner/booker takes his time getting to the club, and the punk-funk malcontent who's swabbing the floors when we arrive wouldn't let us in until he'd freshened all the urinal cakes. Some of Bret's old friends turn up, as do some folks who went to see us at another area club back in June, only to find we'd bailed for another gig. Nice folks. We honor requests for the Zombies song and Alex Chilton's obscure gem "Hey Little Child," which we'd never even rehearsed before. The show turns out to be the longest in Lovers history, and we spend the night at Ed's pal Sandra's place, laughing ourselves to sleep watching SCTV. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever is not So Long Steady on 3s Half-Richard's For a Little While Imbecile Don't Hold Your Breath Better Off Barely 5:30 Give it to the Soft Boys Hey Little Child Threadbare Leave me Be Summer (of our First Hello) I Wanna Destroy You Do Ya     Porch sitting in Richmond. This cat was almost hypnotized by Bret's blazing red pants.     Tuesday, March 6 - Richmond, VA - Chopstixx The day begins with a phone call from back home in Philly saying "Summer" has been officially added at WXPN. And we arrive in Richmond to find a nice little write-up about us in the local free alt-weekly paper. But sadly, it's downhill from there. Sure, I guess it could be worse than playing above a Vietnamese eatery on a freezing cold Tuesday evening with a bad cold in a town where no one knows you, after playing an in-store in a cavernous record store (the very cool Plan 9) a week before your record comes out and all the shoppers are looking at you like you're hindering their decision on whether or not to pick up the new Dave Mathews record. Then again, maybe not. We play with our host Fred's band, who have done their best to set up a show on an off night with a makeshift PA. It's a less than stellar performance and my cold ain't getting better. We do, however, make fast friends with Amber, our waitress at a local deli, who tells us about getting spanked onstage at a recent Lords of Acid show in D.C. before she tells us today's specials. She's on the guest list tonight, and brings out a few of her equally enthusiastic friends who enjoy the show and buy records and everything! Another thing about Richmond (a very pretty southern town): EVERYONE is pierced, and all the women look like they should be dating Steve Albini. The following morning, we encounter a clerk at the food market across from Fred's house who has blue hair. What's next with these kids, flannel shirts and Doc Marten's? Tonight's set list: Catch & Release For a Little While Forever is not so Long Half-Richard's I'm Here Unaware Threadbare Casual Friday Better Off Barely 5:30 Summer (of our First Hello)     Wednesday, March 7 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern You ever see Ronny Dobbs from HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David? He's that mullet guy who's always getting arrested for stupid shit. Well, we think he was at our gig tonight, and we've got the video to prove it. Unfortunately, Ronny mustn't have many friends because the gig was sparsely attended. But playing in a nice big room with a real PA and monitors brings a ray of sunshine into our dreary little wonderland. A pretty good show in which we're opening for a white boy rap-rock band who, to no one's surprise, have an album coming out on MCA Records this summer. Gee, I never would have guessed it. Not even from the Slim Shady wannabee singer strutting around in his complimentary MCA windbreaker and ski cap. Also on the bill is Ultra-Bait, a three-girl, two-guy group who play what we'll call militant cock rock. The three ladies are all clad in military fatigue bikinis and are sweet as pie. We have a good time tossing a few back and exchanging war stories with them. Hell, the vibe is so good, even the soundman buys one of our CDs. Nice little write-up in the local paper, too. Not that anyone reads around here. Oh, and the mullet guy, he danced his ass off during the Ultra-Bait set. And we've got the video to prove it. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever is not so Long Steady on 3's Half-Richard's Casual Friday Imbecile Threadbare Give it to the Soft Boys Barely 5:30 Summer (of our First Hello) Do Ya     3/4 of the Diane Linkletter Experience reunited in an Athens cemetary.     Thursday, March 8 - Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge After a night in the Motel 6 and a big 'ol breakfast at the IHOP, we enjoy a sun splashed ride down to Athens, listening to the Beach Boys and Apples in Stereo. We're staying at West Chester ex-pat Jesse Flavin's house and we're supposed to meet up with the folks from Team Clermont, who are working our humble little album at college radio beginning in April. We enjoy the glorious Athens afternoon shopping for records and exchanging leftist ideals with the counter culture youth while sipping overpriced coffee (tea, for the sick members of our traveling party). Jesse takes us for a stroll around the University of Georgia campus, but more importantly, introduces us to a great drink - a mix of Maker's Mark and Blenheim Ginger Ale at a watering hole near the club later on. Nice club, modest turnout = good set. The Clermont folks seem about as solid and no bullshit as music industry people are permitted to be by law. They actually know the titles of our songs and everything. Local Celebrity Watch: We see one of the guys from Neutral Milk Hotel riding in a van, and the Caledonia is located right next to the R.E.M. offices. Yes, they have offices. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release For a Little While Forever is Not so Long Steady on 3s Half-Richard's Casual Friday Imbecile Threadbare Give it to the Soft Boys Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Friday, March 9 - New Orleans, LA - Howlin' Wolf The next 24 hours will be a true test of wills, an indie rock Survivor, if you like. It's a nine-plus hour hop from Athens to New Orleans, and we're set to do a radio interview at Tulane in N.O. around 5:00 pm so we've got to make tracks. Complicating matters is that we're all hacking like hookers on a Sunday morning with this cold bug, and we're on about 3 hours sleep. What a fun ride, clear across Alabama (where you get a complimentary cup of cola upon entering the state), Mississippi and everything. As we zero in on the Big Easy, we phone ahead to the folks at Louisiana Red Hot (who distribute our label, Black Dog) to tell them we're getting closer. And, oh yeah, where are you taking us to eat? We dine on Po' Boys and Gumbo at Liuzza's a kick-ass neighborhood joint prior to the radio interview. The gig tonight is at the cavernous (by our standards) Howlin' Wolf, a 600-seat room that tonight is, shall we generously say, one-sixth full. It's a Black Dog showcase and we share the bill with label mates the Satyrs and the house-rocking Tyler Keith & the Preacher's Kids, who we become fast drinking buds with. Great band, like Johnny Thunders meets Chuck Berry. Our set ain't pretty-- chalk it up to colds, a nine-hour drive, whatever -- but we make it through. Not the kind of first impression we'd like to leave for the label folks (who've never seen us play before), but it'll do for now. We're staying with the kindest of all southern gentlemen, Jimmy Ford - who's worked with everyone from R.E.M., to the dB's and Wilco in one capacity or another - and his brood. Look him up if you're ever in town, as the Ford family is a safe haven haven for traveling musicians like ourselves. We have coffee and listen to Jimmy tell stories the next morning before a hearty Creole lunch and a scenic drive through the Louisiana swamps to Jackson, Mississippi. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever is not so Long Steady on 3's Half-Richard's I'm Here Imbecile Casual Friday Threadbare Barely 5:30 Summer I Wanna Destroy You     Highway 61 visited.     Saturday, March 10 - Jackson, MS - Hal & Mal's Let this be a lesson to you all. If the head of your label is meeting you for dinner, sit at that table, not with the guys from the other band (in this case, Will Hoge) who tell you that musicians eat for free at the venue you're playing that particular evening. I made the mistake of falling in with the wrong crowd and paying for my meal, while the other Lovers dined on the Black Dog dime and enjoyed a laugh at my expense. If you're looking for action in Jackson on a Saturday night, Hal & Mal's - a big concert room/restaurant/dance hall - is it. Tonight, we're first on a three band bill featuring earnest heartland rocker Hoge and his band (imagine Springsteen on Star Search) and Oxford, Mississippi's Circuit Riders, a damn fine bunch of guys who fall somewhere in between The Band and Wilco. It's an 18 to enter 21 to drink joint, and they've got an armed cop in the lobby to keep the peace, lest anyone get overly worked up by one of our "meticulously arranged pop gems" (Tom Moon - Philadelphia Inquirer). A big piece in the local paper's weekend section announces our arrival and the crowd is good and receptive. After a few drinks, we start chatting up the bevy of young ladies - some of whom have traveled across state lines - who are here to see Mr. Hoge, Two of these ladies will make us feel very much at home at our next stop. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago For a Little While Forever Half-Richard's Change Your Mind Imbecile Threadbare Give it to the Soft Boys Barely 5:30 Summer     Sunday, March 11 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone We've been looking forward to Memphis more than any of the other stops on this tour, what with the city's rich musical legacy: Sun and Ardent Studios, Stax Records, Hi Records, Big Star, and even that Elvis fella. Little did we know Memphis folks were so darned hospitable, and that the food was so God damned tasty. As we arrive at the Hi-Tone, owner/booker Tom (a nicer guy you'll never meet) gives us a note left by a girl named Anna who we met the night before in Jackson. It says she'll be coming out to the show, and if we needed a place to crash, we were more than welcome to stay with her and her roommate, Devon. Further to that, if we wanted to do some sightseeing the next day, they were on spring break from U of Memphis and would be more than happy to show us around! Nice gals they were indeed who came out, enjoyed what was a pretty good and well attended show, and showed us around in grand style. They ended up putting us up for two freaking days! We drank for free, and Tom even gave us a 6-pack of PBR for the road. We play "Hey Little Child" again, in honor of Alex Chilton, but I don't think a single person in the crowd knew what the fuck we were doing. What a shame. We spend the rest of the night getting piss drunk at Anna and Devin's, watching their neighbors across the way play strip poker. I think Cheap Trick said it best: `Southern Girls, you got nothing to lose.' Local Celebrity Watch: Monsieur Jeffrey from '68 Comeback is in the house. He too, is a damn nice fella. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago For A Little While Forever Half-Richard's Casual Friday Imbecile Hey Little Child Threadbare Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Hanging out with all-around great guy Jody Stephens. We don't look too hung over, do we?     Monday, March 12 - Off Day in Memphis Our first day off in a week gets off to a rough start as it's a bit tough getting out of bed this morning, and we're running late for our appointment to get a tour of Ardent studios from Big Star drummer Jody Stephens. If you know anything about the Lovers, you know we're kinda into the whole Big Star thing, and it's a huge thrill to meet Jody and chat with him, as he is one of the kindest souls we encounter on our little trek. He shows us around and regales us with stories about the Replacements, Paul McCartney and Big Star. Sadly, it seems that most of Ardent's current clients are either Christian rock bands or generic alt rock bands, though it's difficult to tell them apart anymore. He seems genuinely touched at our enthusiasm and our requests for autographs and a photo. After a strong lunch, we hook up with our hostesses Anna and Devon for some sightseeing on what turns out to be an absolutely gorgeous day, low '70s, and not a cloud in sight. We hit Sun Studios, Beale St., the Peabody Hotel, take a nice long walk along the banks of the Mississippi River, and have a laugh as Bret and Scott get very messy during our barbecue dinner. Oh yeah, almost forgot our trip to Shangri-La Records where I purchased a brick from the original Stax building for the low-low price of $10. Best $10 I've spent on the tour thus far.     Tuesday, March 13 - Fayetteville, AR - JR's Lightbulb We head home for a few days after tonight's show, and we've all fully shaken this cold, so we're aiming to rock tonight. Though it would seem like an unlikely hotbed for rock, we've heard nothing but good things about Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas. We hook up with an extended member of the Black Dog family, Dave from The Tares and his wife Sarah (and their Jack Russell Terrier `Petey') who are great people. We're opening for Scott Miller, an alt-country singer-songwriter who is in the V-Roys. They used to back up Steve Earle before he started using fellow Philadelphians and former Black Doggers Marah. Once Scott Miller finds out we're from Philly (and sees Dave's Marah shirt) he turns into a bit of a wanker, even calling us pussies behind our back. Whatever, dude. Nice band of session hacks you got there, though. Our set is spirited and well received, even if we're pussies. Great food at this place, and cool staff. We also meet some friends of File 13 honcho Matt Werth and Philly bud, which reminds us that home is only a day or so away. Or so we think… Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever Steady on 3's Half-Richard's Casual Friday Imbecile Threadbare Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Wednesday, March 14 - The Ride Home - Part 1 We return to JR's for a nice lunch and then it's time to head back to Philly. About two hours into the journey, our water pump bites the dust somewhere in Missouri. The four of us are soon roadside on cell phones, and AAA is on the way. In keeping with our buzzard's luck, the timing is such that the local mechanic in Mount Vernon, Mo. has closed up shop for the day, so we're forced to spend the night in Mount Vernon, and hope the van's ready to go tomorrow. Something tells me our profit margin is, how you say, fucked!!! We try to make the best of it, and end up staying at the Walnuts, which according to Zagat's offers "a little taste of old Mount Vernon with the decidedly urban flair of Branson." Not really, I just made that up. Mount Vernon is a no horse town with a Subway, some sort of Midwestern pizza chain that did a number on Bret's innards, and a video store than offers tanning booths for $3.99 and hour. We hit a local bar, bring some beer back to the hotel and spend the rest of the evening watching to Sopranos and Barfly, thinking how close we'd be to home right now. If this shit doesn't bring us together, I don't know what will. Thursday, March 15 - The Ride Home - Part 2 After a cab ride to the local diner for breakfast ($.25 per person), and a walk to the mechanic (who turns out to be the local minister, thus ensuring honesty), our van is all fixed up and we're ready to head for home. One observation from our ride home, Pennsylvania is the biggest fucking state in the world. We pull into West Chester around 8:00 am, unload and head to our respective dwellings for some much needed rest. We'll talk soon…     Wednesday, March 21 - Cleveland, Ohio - The Blind Lemon So, the night before, us Lovers (minus Scott who had to work) saw the big Soft Boys/Young Fresh Fellows show in Philly. One Lover (that'd be singer/guitarist Bret Tobias, if you're playing along at home) in particular took his jubilation to such extremes that he overextended his intake of libations and had to be helped to bed round about 4:00am by another Lovers (that'd be your narrator and drummer, P.B.). Needless to say he's comatose for the miserable drive from Philly to Cleveland, which last about two hours longer than Mapquest promised, thanks to some nasty-ass weather. By the time we get to Cleveland, it's bone dry, and we're ready to rock. It's all ages night here at the Blind Lemon and the band of youngins who open for us (and their equally young following) can only hang for part of our set, as they've gota be in school tomorrow morning. Lucky for us, a handful of folks have come to this watering hole specifically to see us. One of which is rock writer/air traffic controller Kurt Hernon, who runs the very fine Bangsheet web site. It's a good show, we meet some very nice people, and head back to our Motel 6 for some much needed R&R post-show. Local Celebrity Watch: The blind Lemon sound guy also does sound for Warrant. Tonight's set list: Catch & Release A Year Ago For a Little While Forever Half-Richard's Casual Friday Steady on 3's Imbecile Threadbare Give it to the Soft Boys Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Thursday, March 22 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's We spend the first part of the day on an abbreviated tour of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as we've got to be in Chicago for an early soundcheck. The HOF has some pretty nifty exhibits, and I make it a point of tapping on the drums of Stewart Copeland, John Bonham and Dennis Wilson when the security guard isn't looking. We play tonight with the band Hopewell, which features members of the touring lineup of Mercury Rev. Turns out several Hopewell members also went the same high school as our very own Ed Hogarty in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Both bands do the Hudson Valley proud on this night. Schuba's seems like the room to play: we eat for free, everyone tells us how much the like our record, it sounds great, and there's a nice little crowd assembled by the time we hit the stage. What makes this night that much more special is that there's a positive little blurb about us in our unofficial bible, The Onion, which is free in Chicago. We fight hard to hold back the tears of joy as we plow through an inspired set which is probably my favorite of the tour. Tonight's Set List: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever Half-Richard's Steady on 3s Casual Friday Threadbare Imbecile Give it to the Soft Boys Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya     Friday, March 23 - Lexington, KY - Detour Well, this is it, the final night of our first official tour. All in all, it's pretty much been what I expected. Some highs, some lows, a little bit of homesickness, but all in all, I think we've passed this test with flying colors. Not knowing a damn thing about Lexington before we hit town, we didn't know what to expect. You know what? This town rocks. At least, the Detour did on this night. Tiny place where you're encouraged to smoke weed (out back, of course), but admonished for drinking your drink in the doorway. Go figure. Anyway, we play a fiery, lager fueled set, which nets us a Lovers first: two encores. Nice little write-up in the local free weekly, as well. Yes, they even have local free weeklies in Lexington. We meet some really nice folks, watch Temple beat Penn State on the tele, and then head straight on back to Philadelphia for a 12-hour drive. I take the first shift with Exile on Main Street blaring from the hi-fi, anxious to get back in my own bed, but itching to hit the road again soon. We had us a real good time… Tonight's Set List: Catch & Release A Year Ago Forever is not so Long Steady on 3's Half-Richard's Change Your Mind Threadbare Barely 5:30 Summer Do Ya Give it to the Soft Boys I Wanna Destroy you         Thanks for reading - see ya next time!