Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Saturday April 05, 2025 - Findlay, OH

Road Blog
Findlay, Ohio
April 5, 2025

I left my motel in Marion, Illinois at 8:15am, staring down a daunting 7-hour drive in the pouring rain. With a belly full of lobby breakfast buffet and a large coffee from McDonalds I pointed the vehicle north on I-57 and hit the gas. Somewhere just north of Marion is a large lake/nature preserve bloated even larger by recent rains, and there was a large flock of American white pelicans swimming and fishing. It’s not widely known that these awesome birds hang out in the Midwest and migrate to and from the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s a treat to see them without having to fly to a coastal destination. I hit I-70 at Effingham (I have a “Where the Ef is Effingham?” shot glass at home from a previous tour) and crossed into Indiana around noon. Indianapolis traffic was a breeze compared to Thursday, avoiding that mess by going through the city. I crossed into Ohio around 2PM and hit I-75 just north of Dayton, knowing that home was a straight shot north.

I picked up a couple gigs this year at this joint called the FlightHouse in Findaly, Ohio. Findlay is known as Flag City because they spearheaded the Flag Day holiday in 1968 that was later designated nationally by congress. It felt somehow appropriate while so many of my friends were taking part in peaceful protests all over the country against the things that are happening to our country, doing something more productive than posting memes and screaming into the void. Anyhow, not sure any of that was going on in Findlay, but cheers to you if you were part of those events anywhere. I was with you in spirit.

The FilightHouse is a nice bar and grill, branded as a sports bar, but with live music and a big beer selection. I gulped down a half a delicious Italian flat bread pizza before loading in and setting up on the small (but plenty adequate) stage that felt like the porch of an Ohio farmhouse. It was cool! Before my set I called TrooperGIrl22 and checked in, making sure that the palace was prepared for my eminent arrival, and she assured me it was, with our backyard critters fed and the year-round electric blanket set to 12. I promised to get back to I-75 as quickly as possible after my set.

I played from 7-10 to a fluctuating audience that was largely more interested in the Final Four than the aging punk rocker singing his sad-ass songs on the porch stage, but there was some engagement, and I was enjoying the practice. I took advantage of the indifference and pulled out some songs I rarely or never play, getting them some stage time before my long run coming up in May. I was done at 10, loaded out and back on the freeway by 20-after.

The drive home was the easiest of the whole run. 90 minutes straight up I-75 through Toledo, into Michigan, and up I-275 past the airport and home. TrooperGirl22 was watching Seinfeld reruns as we got caught up and I tried to decompress from four straight days on nonstop driving-gig-hotel cycles. No complaints – it was a good run, except for the terrible weather and the construction debacle in Indy. As always seems the case in these recaps, I made some new friends and contacts, reconnected with some old ones, got my music into some new hands, and made it home alive. See ya out there in May when I trek from Minnesota to Massachusetts. Thanks for reading xx