Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Monday October 17, 2016 - Boston, MA

Road Blog
October 17, 2016
PA’s Lounge – Boston, Massachusetts

With a busy day in front of us, we headed out of our AirBB in Burlington with Patty at the wheel, Gabe riding shotgun and me taking my first turn in the back. The brilliant colors kept us in awe and spirits were high as we listed to the new Dwight Yoakam record, NEEDLES//PINS, Kate Bush and some other stuff. As the Boston skyline approached, we put on The Juliana Hatfield Three record from `93 and talked about how we couldn’t wait to see her at our show.

I love Boston, but for my money, it’s the worst city to drive in. The roads are like spaghetti, the drivers are aggressive and chaotic, and parking is a real bitch. I was glad Patty was driving and Gabby was navigating. They did a good job getting us to the WEMF Radio station with a couple hours to spare. We parked the van and found the Miracle of Science Bar + Grill to pass the time. I ordered up a Left Of The Dial IPA, named after the great The Replacements song. We got some chips, salsa, and guac and chatted it up with the cute barkeep before hitting a couple nearby record stores and heading back to the radio station.

You never know how these on-air interviews are going to go. Sometimes the DJ is ill-prepared, doesn’t know the first thing about you, and you practically have to interview yourself just to keep the thing moving along. Not this guy. Dave was different out of the gate. We got right into it, talking about movies, TV shows, and the definition of a Spaghetti Western. We talked about Boston music, and he was impressed that we actually knew a lot more than just The Pixies, Mission of Burma, and The Cars. We played a couple songs, packed up and headed towards the venue. It was a good experience and should be available as a podcast soon. Thanks Dave & WEMF!

The drive from the radio station in Cambridge to the venue in Somerville was short but brutal, in rush hour traffic. The parking gods once again shone down kindly on us as we got a great spot. We quickly checked out the room and waited for my friend Rachel to meet us for dinner. Rachel and I go back some 30+ years and the distance between Boston and Michigan makes it difficult to see each other often, so when we do it’s something I really cherish. We grabbed some Thai food around the block and our poor waitress looked at us like we were speaking Hebrew when we asked for our food “Medium plus.” I guess that’s not a thing out here. The food was tasty. Patty and I both got Medium and mine was very mild while his was on fire. Gabe’s had a good kick too. Back to the venue for load-in.

PA's Lounge is a small room with a wrap-around bar and a small stage and floor off to the right. There were 4 acts on the calendar, 2 bands flanked at the start and end with singer-songwriters. Seemed a little heavy to us for a Monday night, but no biggie. Ryan Jarvis played first with some well-crafted songs and a killer Tom Waits “Going Out West” cover. We were up second, and played one of our best sets of the tour so far to a pretty empty room. Monday nights are tough. After us was Pete Montgomery and his band. Pete is a good pal of Patty’s from way back. Patty’s been playing Pete’s music in the van for a long time and we all enjoyed his set. The songs were fantastic and the band was polished and tight. They killed it with a great cover of “My Wife” by The Who. After Pete, Kyle Jordan went on and played a short set of up-tempo acoustic songs that would work well in a pop-punk format too – enjoyable set!

We said goodbye to our friends, loaded out, and headed north to Maine, where our AirBB was for the next 2 nights. Patty and I traded driving nights because he knew he’d want to party with Pete, so I got us out of Boston (much easier at midnight) and up to The Pine Tree State. Gabe crashed out in the back and Patty I rocked out to some Early Bob Seger while we counted the 20 or so cop cars in New Hampshire, pulling people over for any little infraction they could muster up. I had my shit together, and we made it to the AirBB intact, nearly taking out a big 6 point buck a couple miles out. Our accommodations are amazing. We have a ½ house, with the Atlantic Ocean across the street in front and a massive inlet/marsh behind. It’s a beautiful setting with 2 bedrooms, 3 beds, 2 floors, kickass wi-fi, and plenty of room. We’ll be here through our show in Portland tonight, then leave tomorrow for Providence.