Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Thursday May 11, 2017 - Milwaukee, WI

Road Blog
Thursday May 11, 2017
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Hey! It's great to be back out on the road with the boys for our first run of out of town shows this year. We've been working hard on our next record and this is a great break from that. We met at a carpool lot yesterday early afternoon and headed west on I-94 towards Chicago. Gabe was behind the wheel with Patty riding shotgun and me in the back. The soundtrack for the drive included Fishbone, Gary Numan Official, David Bowie (live in 74), Cory Branan, Mobina Galore, and some other stuff. As usual, Chicago was a nightmare to get through and cost us a good extra hour of frustration. Our trusty GPS and 5th member of the band (after Patty's white shoes) Karen did her best,but it was a long stretch.

We pulled into Milwaukee and loaded in at the venue. Our pals The Atomic Spins were there and the owner Eric was welcoming and friendly. Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall is an old, long Polish bar with a stage at the back and the largest selection of Polish beers in Wisconsin. They also had an impressive selection of other beer, including Lone Star, which I have never seen this far north. Jeff from the Spins sent us to a Mexican joint called El Sen'orialal up the street for dinner where we met up with one of my best friends on the planet John Magas and his buddy Anthony. It was great to get reconnected over a couple beers. Gabe and I enjoyed our meals – he had a veggie burrito and I had 3 tacos. Patty, however, wasn't impressed.

We headed back to the venue where Eric from The The Belle Weather was just about to start. He played a killer set of what he calls "folk metal." He had some great textures and effects going, and I haven't seen anyone strum an acoustic guitar that fast for a long time. We had a good chat after the show and he's the nicest dude too. After his set the Atomic Spins were up and they played a great set that included a cover of Heartbreaker by the Stones. We played with them last time we were in Milwaukee and they're good dudes. Jeff has Michigan ties and we have a lot in common (Donny – your name came up!). We played third, hitting around 11:30. For the most part our set went good, to a fairly thin but very appreciative crowd. We're a little rusty around the corners and we're also breaking in about a half-set of new material, but it was a lot of fun.

After the show we hung out with the other bands and said goodbye to our friends. Gabe had never had a Blatz and I had to have a Lone Star, so we ordered one of each and I sent a photo to my pal J Tyler Gregg (from Lexington, KY) who was with me in Austin, TX when I had my first Lone Star on tour in 2014. We loaded out and drove up to our Air B&B about 5 minutes away. Gabe and I had a nightcap, scarfed down our leftovers, and we all crashed.

It's a nice morning in Milwaukee – partly cloudy, 51 degrees. My hangover is wearing off and I already got in a great run down to Miller Field (where the Brewers play) and back. We're off for some greasy eggs and the drive to Minneapolis where we are super excited to play Hexagon Bar Minneapolis tonight with The Right Here, Class of 86, and The Anchor Windlass - hope to see all of our Minneapolis pals!