///we celebrated being back in Idaho and having what we have, even if it’s not much, with a bunch of our Wood River Valley friends the day after Thanksgiving… Friday, Nov. 28th… in our friend Adryan’s woodshop / apt. in Bellevue, ID. party started early with a potluck and big group mural effort… spirits were high. it was a fantastic way to help celebrate Adryan’s birthday and being home from tour…
our buddy Piers Lamb and his band featuring Gravy McDavy (patrick) from The Maladies on lead guitar and Matt Guyer on drums got the music started with some alt-country rock and roll. we played a couple of super fun sets after that.
thanks to everyone that came out and welcomed us home. so rad to see you all. we’ll be playing at Fresshies in Hailey on FRI DEC 19th. if you don’t see you before then, hope to see you then.
mural turned out awesome. don’t have final photos of it, but here’s a couple other shots of it in progress…
///once again back in Moscow helping our friends at KRFP 92.5 FM Radio Free Moscow throw a party to celebrate their birthday party… their 4th Birthday Party!! and raise some money for their valiant effort of community radio in ‘ol Moscow… our favorite place on earth. and one of the most amazing communities in this country nestled in the unassuming Palouse of northern Idaho… www.radiofreemoscow.org
it was a costume party. it was a dance party. it was a community potluck. it was a benefit. it was a birthday party. it was a reunion. it was a prty prty. it was sweaty. and it was fun as all getout.
Jared Mees & The Grown Children slayed the dance party early. they are killin it. so psyched to be traversing the country with ‘em. we’re havin a ridiculously good time together.
locals Jables and Brian & Katrina and DJ Tom Willis also contributed to the festivities. thanks to all the volunteers that help make KRFP run on a day to day basis and for all their help with this event. thanks to Adrienne Vincent! Sally Perrine! Rufus T. Firefly! Eric Martin! Leigh Robartes! and all the other major players at KRFP and in Moscow in general. you rock. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MOSCOW!!!!!!
check out our travelling mascot. and no, we’re not Palin fans. far from it. in fact, we’re trying to bring the Moose back to integrity and decency…
this was our last show in Idaho until after Thnksgvng…. from here we’re headed East…
///reporting for all of us finn rigginses ///gilbert
///this tour is now officially off the ground. crazy show in Boise last night with our brothers from other mothers WOVEN (los angeles). moved it at the last minute from The Bouquet due to complications with their remodel and new ownership… had to cancel Woven in Boise a year ago due to a venue remodel, then Woven cancelled back in February due to a massive snow storm… we were on the verge of going 0-for-3 with Woven in Boise… until Justin Cantrell (“too much distortion” on BSU radio) and Jennifer Orr (backstage pass) stepped up and helped us move the show to Gusto’s — 5 blocks up Main St. — just 3 days before the show. heros!
it all ended up being really fun. started the evening with homebody friends eating Amanda’s amazing pork carnitas. unbelievable. they sent us with a huge tub of chocolate from the chocolate factory that Amanda works at. absolutely amazing.
caught up with Woven and local openers The Red Machine down at the venue and MacGyver-ed together a sound system. thanks to Woven’s sound jedi Mas, the show ended up sounding pretty damn good. especially Woven’s massive soundscape. radical. we had some good good buddies out (martin, susan, leif, kelsey, travis, simpson) and thus took advantage of the early evening to pal around with them. our set was wild. on the floor. definitely inspired. dug the halfpipe inside. dug the sound of boards riding it. Woven is also currently on a big U.S. Tour… check out their dates and if you’re anywhere close to one, highly recommend doing whatever you can to catch them. www.myspace.com/woven
post-show we continued palling around with questionable associations…. then cruised to the Pie Hole and got some slices. then dropped C. Simpson off. got some coffee. and by 3am we were on the road for Lewiston. we had a 9:30am PST load-in for an 11am show at Lewis-Clark State College. we were able to gung-ho a good chunk of the drive up the spine of Idaho before pulling over and dropping the seats back for a nap between about 5:45am and 7:45am MST. it got cold in the van. started frosting in that two hour span as we were pretty high up… just north of New Meadows. it was a weird and restless 2hrs of sleep. i got us further on up the road to Riggins, ID… then Lisa took over and finished it off while i got a good solid hour or so of quality sleep in the backseat. we arrived at LCSC at 9:35am to find out that the show had to be cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with a State Board of Education meeting going on at the same time… the show will be rescheduled!! and we’re off to take some naps and rest up for the clash of the titans tonight in Clarkston, WA @ Hogan’s Place with Jared Mees & The Grown Children…. the beginning of the epic 2 week FAMILY TOUR!!! portion of this latest !!! tour.
///it’s 2pm PST. Oct. 9th. goodnight. ///reporting for all of us finn rigginses ///gilbert
10/8/08 BOISE, ID @ Gusto’s (w/ Woven!!) – 9pm 10/9/08 LEWISTON, ID @ Lewis-Clark State College – 11am-1pm *10/9/08 CLARKSTON, WA @ Hogan’s Place – 9pm *10/10/08 MOSCOW, ID – KRFP Benefit (Halloween Party!!) @ 1912 Center – 7pm *10/11/08 BOZEMAN, MT @ The Filling Station – 8pm *10/13/08 MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ Castle Greyskull (w/ Burger Thirst) 8pm *10/14/08 IOWA CITY, IA @ The Mill – 8pm *10/15/08 CHICAGO, IL @ Cal’s Liquors (w/ Raise High The Roof Beam!!) — 8pm *10/16/08 INDIANAPOLIS, IN @ Radio Radio (w/ America Owns The Moon!!) – 8pm *10/17/08 BLOOMINGTON, IN @ Rhino’s All-Ages Club – 7pm *10/18/08 MIDDLETOWN, OH @ Tree’s Farm ((Halloween Party + B-Day party for Mary!!)) – 6pm *10/20/08 CLEVELAND, OH @ Pat’s In The Flats (w/ Sea Urchin + Trouble Books + others!!) – 8pm *10/21/08 ITHACA, NY @ Lost Dog Lounge – 8pm *10/22/08 ONEONTA, NY @ Oneonta Teen Center (w/ Joseph von Stengel on visuals!!) 7pm *10/23/08 NEW YORK, NY — CMJ Fanatic / TLE Showcase @ John St. Bar & Grill 8pm *10/24/08 NEW YORK, NY — CMJ Spectre PDX Showcase @ Knitting Factory 11am **early show** 10/24/08 BROOKLYN, NY — CMJ official Showcase @ The Charleston 8pm (we play at midnight!!) 10/25/08 CONCORD, NH @ The Barley House (two sets of Finn Riggins!!) 9pm 10/29/08 KITTERY, ME @ 2 Government St. (all ages, BYOB) 8pm 10/30/08 MOULTONBOROUGH, NH @ Moultonborough Academy – assembly + wkshp during the day 10/30/08 MOULTONBOROUGH, NH @ Moultonborough Academy 7pm (all ages, open to the public) 10/31/08 NEW LONDON, CT @ tba 11/1/08 NORTHAMPTON, MA @ The Elevens 9pm 11/2/08 PHILADELPHIA, PA @ The Manhattan Room 8pm 11/3/08 BALTIMORE, MD @ Hampden Baptist Church (w/ Cameron Blake) 7pm #11/4/08 WASHINGTON D.C. @ Dahlak 9pm #11/5/08 BLACKSBURG, VA @ The Lantern (w/ Dynamite Club!!) sponsored by WUVT 90.7 FM 9pm #11/6/08 GREENVILLE, SC @ R3V3RB 8pm #11/7/08 ASHEVILLE, NC @ New French Bar (w/ Speedsquare!!) 9pm #11/8/08 WILMINGTON, NC @ The Soapbox (w/ Ponchos From Peru!!) 8pm #11/10/08 GREENVILLE, NC @ Spazzatorium Galleria! 8pm #11/11/08 WINSTON-SALEM, NC @ The Garage (w/ Jews & Catholics!!) 8pm #11/12/08 CHAPEL HILL, NC @ The Reservoir Bar (w/ Gray Young!!) 9pm #11/13/08 CHARLESTON, SC @ The Village Tavern (w/ The Burgundy Curtain!!) 8pm 11/14/08 CHARLOTTE, NC @ Snug Harbor (w/ Black Skies + Pride Parade) 9pm 11/15/08 ATHENS, GA @ Celebration of Life Festival (w/ Captain Number 1 + The Points North!!) 6-10pm #11/15/08 ATHENS, GA @ Secret Squirrel (Parts & Labor Afterparty with We Vs. The Shark!!) 11pm 11/16/08 CHATTANOOGA, TN @ JJ’s Bohemia 9pm 11/17/08 RUSSELLVILLE, AR @ The Crazy Burrito (w/ The Counterlife!!) 7pm 11/18/08 LITTLE ROCK, AR @ The Whitewater Tavern (w/ The Counterlife!!) 9pm 11/19/08 TULSA, OK @ Soundpony Lounge 9pm 11/20/08 LINCOLN, NE @ Box Awesome 8pm 11/21/08 DENVER, CO @ Larimer Lounge (w/ Apollo Sunshine + CAT-A-TAC!!) 9pm 11/22/08 NEDERLAND, CO @ First Street Pub 9pm 11/29/08 HAILEY, ID @ The Mint 8pm **Homecoming Show**
* w/ Jared Mees & The Grown Children (Portland, OR) — FAMILY TOUR!! # w/ Where The Buffalo Roamed (Carrboro, NC) — corbie!!!
//pretty wild weekend as we got our Fall U.S. Tour officially kicked off in some serious style… and with a rather weird hiccup… we’ll start with the hiccup…
cam and i drove up to Basecamp (30 miles east of Ketchum up over Trail Creek pass) on friday night. hung out with Mati and RU and slept like babies in a yurt being steadily hit by rain all night. woke up to sunshine and amazing fall colors saturday morning. ate some breakfast. then hung out in the wood stove-powered hot tub and took in the scenery. in doing so we eyed a hike across the way that we decided to embark on.
about an hour later, as we were about to undertake this mini adventure, Cam was taken out by a horny dog (Cuz) chasing another dog (Camas). Cuz slammed into the outside of Cam’s left knee. at first seemed like no big deal, but Cam soon turned pale and was obviously in pain and concerned about the damage. after giving him about 40min to gather himself and assess the situation, we decided to cruise him back into town to go to the emergency room and have it checked out. what a freak accident!
by 5pm we had Cam in a new knee brace, an MRI scheduled for monday, a pizza, and Lisa and our friend Tyson loaded up in the van and headed back up to Basecamp in high spirits. the fall colors are incredible around here right now, and this area of Idaho was new to me and some of the most beautiful country i’ve ever seen. and there’s a lot in Idaho that already astounds me, so that’s saying a lot. we were even treated to a rainbow on the way back up…
BASECAMP
a nice little crew made it up for the evening. the event was mostly a birthday party for RU and for another friend Ric. a Libran Hoopla!! we had a family dinner together in the main yurt and hung out by the fire as the sky cleared and a starry starry night in true Idaho fashion opened up above us. there were 12 of us. RU, Mati, Ric, Tibby, Jocelyn, Luce, Willow, Tyson, Lindsay and us. it was awesome.
at some point it was decided that we should indeed play to properly kick our tour off. and that we should do so in the main yurt where it would be warm. we setup our more minimal and quiet ensemble. sang happy birthday to RU and Ric, and then celebrated with a big family dance party in a yurt. one of the coolest little events we’ve ever been a part of. we played two relatively short sets. the second got a little weird and wild as any show inside a yurt in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of the night should… all in all, we were very thankful to be amongst such good friends and couldn’t have asked for a better send off on this latest adventure…
tour starts in two days!! it’s our third full U.S. tour in the last 12 months. crazy to think about. almost a year now since our album came out! so many amazing things have happened in that relatively small span of time… hard to believe. thank you thank you thank you to everyone that has been a part of this macro-adventure in however you have been. big or small. we’ve been cherishing every little moment with all of you!! and could never thank you enough for being constant reminders of what is good and exciting in all of us.
and speaking of which, i’d like to point out that Basecamp is the brainchild of Mat Gershater. an amazing spirit. he runs an outdoor camp for kids from there called Mountain Adventure Tours and has been doing so for over 10 years to help expose kids to the outdoors and the environment. he has started a new organization called Greenscool that is geared toward donating and installing renewable energy systems at poor schools around the world. Basecamp is the home of this operation, where he hopes to model new green technology and structures and lifestyles. He just got clearance for the windmill that he will be installing soon. Check out Greenscool at www.greenscool.org.
some more photos from the day after and our drive home: Mount Borah in the clouds:
definitely going to miss Idaho for the next two months… but lots and lots of other beautiful parts of this country to experience along the way… super pumped.
///reporting for all of us finn rigginses ///gilbert
///we just got home a few days ago from a pretty stellar 10-day tour of the NW and Inland NW. here’s some recap and some highlights…
///9-4-08. The Red Room. Kennewick, WA.
opened for Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (brooklyn, ny). what a rad rad place the ‘ol Red Room is. staff and everyone were so good to us… had home-cooked lasagna and an epic salad. some chips and salsa. and a bunch of veggies and fruit. it was pretty heavenly. show was fun too. we played a 30min power set, then cleared out for the MBAR team. enjoyed their set as well. they were good peeps. thanks to Caleb and Bryson and all the rest of the staff and family for such a rad start to our little mini-tour.
after the show we packed up and headed to Portland… rolled in late night and crashed with the Mees’s.
///9-5-08. Music Fest Northwest. Portland, OR.
spent the day chillin in Portland and helping out around Tender Loving Empire headquarters. played that night at Slabtown as part of the TLE Showcase for Music Fest Northwest with labelmates Nick Caceres, Super XX Man, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Boy Eats Drum Machine. we played right in the middle. the turnout was fantastic… especially considering all the amazing bands playing at the same time… the TLE Showcase slayed it. friends and friends of friends. loved everyone’s set. wouldn’t have wanted to me anywhere else all night…
we took this day off to hang out with friends and check out some music at the festival… got some QT in with Milo and Jess and Noah… and Jared and Brianne Mees… hung out at some industry panels… munched some pizza and traded witty small talk and booking tips… stood in line to see Ratatat and Les Favy Fav… settled for free ice cream from the Ice Cream Man… later that night caught our old friend Justin Ringle with his band Horsefeathers at Holocene… super quiet and rad… from there saw our buddy Sean shed some drums for The Wherewithals at Rotture… then some of the Hillstomp set at Slabtown before heading for sleep… early morning looming ahead…
///9-7-08 Moscow Food Co-op Parking Lot Party: 35th Anniversary Celebration Moscow, ID
got up at 6am and headed inland toward Moscow… had a parking lot party to help setup. i used to work at the MFC and used to be such a huge part of all three of our lives, so we were pretty excited to be a part of this celebration. this show would also be the first of 7 shows in a row we’d play with our buddies
Ben Walden kicked the party off with some cameos from Von Walden (dad) and Henry… Dan Maher followed despite having been stung on the tongue by a hornet that morning. the Kim and Kenna delivered a spectacular update on the status of the Co-op on behalf of the Board of Directors… and after them Low Red Land slayed some Co-op folks of all ages, shapes and sizes. our set started right as it was getting dark… for a sunday night, Moscow sure brought it’s game face and a bunch of people shredded some dance moves on the asphault. it was super fun. all in all, another Co-op success.
we post-partied at the new Shari’s in Moscow. 24 hour grazing. we grazed hard all crammed into a cozy little booth. 4th meal had some guest stars in Mary Packer, Andy Jacobson and Sara Foster — who would end up housing Low Red Land and Cam for the couple of days we were there…
///9-8-08 John’s Alley. Moscow, ID
slept in. then slept in some more. Cam took Ben out for a run on Moscow Mountain… and hooked Mark and Neil up with some bikes for a little Palouse bike ride… we all met around 4pm and destroyed ourselves on the basketball court out at Mountain View Park. after some showers we cruised over to Jerry & Amy McMurtry’s place for some BBQ, beers and we all helped crank out some homemade ice cream for desert. pretty epic.
show that night was off-the-hook. even on a Monday night, Moscow represented hard. and the Alley got danced and danced and danced till last call. it was pretty ridiculous in the fun factor.
///9-9-08 The Empyrean. Spokane, WA
The Empyrean has become a little bit of a home away from home… always excited to be there… with friends like Rhea and Chrissy and Michelle and Mike and Sean and his brother etc etc etc…. Sara Foster even came up for the show… it was a decent crowd for a Tuesday. locals Dominik Bar and The Farm Circle sandwiched the other two of us… Low Red Land shredded. The Farm Circle closed. what a rad group of kids. sweet tunes. a harp! lots of instrument switches. fun fun stuff. we scored some cookies then cruised to Couer d’Alene to crash with my sister.
///9-10-08 The Badlander Missoula, MT
thai spicy thai spicy thai spicy put all of our digestion systems through the ringer… those of us willing and qualified, employed the Wild Turkey to battle the intestinal demons… to mixed success. show was put on by Mike from Dead Hipster. we opened. dusted off Combover to kick the show off. it was a playful and fun set for us. Low Red Land followed with the thunder. locals Wartime Blues closed out the night why the rest of us celebrated being in Missoula…
got to catch up with our old Moscow friends Mamie and Kevin before the show. what sweethearts! oh my. it was awesome. we crashed at their cozy pad that night. so so nice of them. especially since we had another early morning awaiting us…
///9-11-08 Common Ground Cafe McCall, ID
got up around 7am for an ambitious day of driving and exploring. we were excited to take Low Red Land over Lolo Pass and along the Lochsa as we crossed back into Idaho. and we all had our sights set on Weir Hotsprings… as they were stoked to experience some natural hot springs…
just had to make a quick stop as we were all still processing the Thai Spicy experience…
turns out there’s bears in them there hills…
drove a little ways more down the road and parked. after a nice little hike we were all bathing together on the side of a mountain… Bort (mark’s dog) included:
Bort couldn’t stop attacking the water. she’s fierce and relentless:
we then began work on the Neil Thompson mansuit calendar for 2009…
then we continued on down through the epic spine of idaho drive… rolled into McCall around 4pm and slammed out setup at the Common Ground… all spiffied up since last year… new stage location… bigger stage… sand pit for dancing and chillin… Brian and Pam are awesome. please please support this place when and if you’re ever in McCall. they’ve always been really good to us and do a lot for that community…
show that night was rad. great turnout. lots of dancing. big moon. 9/11. Ben (low red land) recently took part in Run For the Fallen… a non-political run to honor all the men and women that have lost their lives in Iraq. check it out: www.runforthefallen.org those guys lost a really good friend in the war, just two weeks before he was supposed to come home. pretty moving talking with them about it. this run sounded incredibly moving.
hung out with some locals into the wee hours. crashed at a nice cabin that was generously provided by Ben’s ex-girlfriends parents. super cozy night for all of us.
///9-12-08 Visual Arts Collective Garden City, ID
super casual morning in McCall… then hit the road for Boise. stopped just south of Banks to go swimming in the Payette. sun was out. water was crisp. it was awesome. continued on and hit up Chiang Mai for some better Thai food than what Thai Spicy had to offer in Missoula…
show that night was a little disappointing turnout-wise. headliners System & Station rolled in late since they were coming all the way from Denver… we started a little before 9:30. we had a nice little crowd of folks that had come out. some buddies and some new friends. it was rad. most of them stuck around for Low Red Land, but when System & Station started there were just about 10 of us there. they had had a long day of driving, but they did there best to energize.
all week we’d been talking about doing a SPORTS show. it had been decided that we’d pull out all the stops for the tour closer in Poky. it’s a fun place and we knew it could handle it.
show was awesome. a perfect way to end what turned out to be a very successful tour with Low Red Land. all around. they’re rad. we all got along marvelously. very very similar wavelengths. they have a new album that just came out yesterday. it is sooooo good. go to www.myspace.com/lowredland to hear more and find out how to get yourself a copy…
sweet local band Spondee opened the show with a set of fun fun pop tunes. def. check them out: www.myspace.com/spondee123
here’s some photos and videos from the SPORTS! night tour closer at the First Nash… go to www.myspace.com/finnriggins for more photos from this night and all of this tour…
NEIL
MARK
BEN
GILBERT
LISA
CAM
LOW RED LAND — WEIGHT OF NATIONS
LOW RED LAND — LANDMARK
LOW RED LAND w/ Lisa Simpson — HAWK’S DIE (acoustic)
FINN RIGGINS — A WHALE, A FISH
show ended with an unprecedented and pretty epic SUPER JAM with all of FINN RIGGINS and LOW RED LAND on the stage. unrehearsed and unscripted, we unleashed a 15min or so psychedelic improv to celebrate a love fest week of touring together. i suspect we all will tour as one once again… not sure when, but odds are very good that it will happen… thanks to everyone that made it out to any or all of the shows!! it was a super fun tour. appreciate all of you support, your energy, your dance moves, your generosity and good spirits.
///more details on our Fall US Tour to be announced soon. know for sure that we’ll be making some appearances at the CMJ Music Festival in NYC and several other dates out East… full, regularly updated, tour itinerary at www.myspace.com/finnriggins
thanks for listening!!
///reporting for all of us finn rigginses //gilbert
