Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Thursday July 06, 2017 - Buffalo, NY

Road Blog
Buffalo NY – July 6, 2017

Our adventure started with an unplanned meet-and-greet with Canadian customs and Immigration on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge. They were friendly enough, but took their time. There wasn't much of interest to them in the truck, except Patty's ibuprofen pills, looking like a pile of Quaaludes in a worn out plastic bag. The van is still in the shop so we're back in the SUV for this run, and with all our gear things are packed super tight. They took one look under the back hatch, poked around a little, and told us to go inside for processing. In another 15 minutes or so we were on our way.

We drove through Ontario to the soundtrack of NEEDLES//PINS, Dany Laj and The Looks, Sik Sik Nation, and, as we crossed the Peace Bridge over the Niagara River back into the USA, Buffalo's own Goo Goo Dolls. (I know, but they were awesome once). We found the venue and loaded in through the back door. The stench back there was unbearable, and before long, through some good detective work, Pat discovered the culprit. Apparently, some sorry bastard had used the concrete next to the dumpster as a toilet. I can't tell ya how disgustingly nasty is was.

The Buffalo Iron Works is a great, old 1900s-era factory converted into a venue. The large stage sits at the back of the room, there's a long bar against one side, and small balcony to the left, and upstairs they have a green room, which is a luxury for the circuit we play. We met the sound guy (josh?) and got a full sound check, another luxury, and headed out for dinner. Josh recommended The LagerHaus 95, a bar and grill right up the street. We split the Scotch Egg, Pat and I got the cobb salad, and Gabe ordered the Beef of Weck. Unfortunately, she wrote down Reuben for some reason, but the error was rectified with a free IPA and everything was fine. Back to the venue, through the stench of the alley, and up to the green room to change and get ready.

The first band, The Little Mountain Band, were a pretty solid incarnation of 70s era Grateful Dead, with good musicianship and delivery. After them came Second Trip – a fantastic hard rock trio that reminded me of Black Sabbath, Cream, Thin Lizzy, and Hendrix. They put on a great show, with all the moves and grooves, and really cranked out some great riffs and songs. Great dudes too, Jeff, Jose and Joshua. We really liked them a lot and hope to play with them again, anytime, anywhere. During their set, our good pal Paul showed up, having made the drive from Toronto. Thanks buddy – great to see you!

We batted cleanup last night and went on around 10pm to a good crowd. The sound was fantastic, we felt that we played well, and the crowd was engaged and rowdy. It was super fun. A couple dudes sent a round of drinks to the stage, we wrapped up sometime after 11, sold some merch and loaded out. Thursday nights are hit or miss, and this was only our second time in Buffalo, so we didn't have the highest expectations, but they were all exceeded. Huge thanks to the Buffalo Iron Works, the other bands, and everyone who was there!

After a stop at the 7-11 we checked into our Extended-Stay-America that we landed on Hotwire for just a couple bucks more than the Motel6 we had reserved. Seemed like it would be worth a couple extra bucks for the upgrade. I suppose it was, even though Pat and I had to share a bed. He was a gentleman though, and it wasn't so bad. Ears ringing and lights out sometime after 1am, relatively early.

Today we head to Rochester to play The ButaPub. It's a new city for us, and we're excited to see it and make some new friends. SuP? And The The Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company are also playing. Can't Wait!