A BASEMENT FULL OF WHAT?!?!
We've had some time to rest, recover...and reflect on an eventful run of shows. Take a minute to let Gary fill you in on the first weekend of our St. Pat's '24 tour.
GARY'S TRAVEL BLOG- ST. PAT'S TOUR (PT 1)
Another March has come and gone. We’re sleepy, we’re exhausted, some of us are sick, and that weird noise Billy’s leg makes when he stands up only seems to have gotten worse…. Regardless, it’s been a great run. Eight states in five weekends. Most of the venues we hit were brand new to us and the energy you guys brought was more than worth the travel. However, as with every adventure of ours, not everything went as expected. In fact, things got pretty crappy at times…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
First stop was in Pittsburgh at a well-known restaurant venue called Jergel’s. Very cool place with a big stage, good sound, and decent food. Even if said food was shoved down our throats 10 minutes before showtime. After a set of what I can only assume was made up of about 70% music and 30% burping, we packed up and hit the road for our next stop: an Airbnb in Steubenville, Ohio. Things got off to a dicey start when we arrived, as most of the band and crew attempted to break into the house NEXT to our prearranged lodgings. After chastising the would-be criminals, we directed them to the correct house….and when we couldn’t get into that one either, we called the host and they let us in. I’ll be honest, things got a little fuzzy after that. All I know is that it involved alcohol, laughter, insults, Doritos, a surprisingly eloquent group evaluation of a pickle-flavored vodka, and a found-footage video of Brendan’s wife being possessed. We also noticed a sign on the basement door reading “DO NOT OPEN” and assumed that there must be a deformed creature residing there in secret, probably named Thorgoth. Whatever atrocities he may have committed while we were asleep that night shall die with us.
A new day dawns and we head off to Columbus, Ohio where, that night, we’d be playing at Byrne’s Pub. However, first we had to check in to our next Airbnb. We were surprised to find the owner still cleaning the place when we got there. A bit weird but no big deal. We rested up and headed to the pub. The place was already packed and it soon became clear that they were celebrating “Bua Irish Whiskey Day”. The owner of this place, Pat Byrne, is one of the founders of an Irish distillery called Bua and was kind enough to give us a lecture on the various bottlings available. Now obviously the Saints don’t drink much whiskey, or alcohol in general…but I will say that what we tried was delicious. We also had the pleasure of hanging out with Ryan from Peaky Hat. He hooked us up with an assortment of his hats and we drunkenly badgered him to make a "Kilmaine Cap" (seeds were planted). We got on stage, did what we do, and then headed back to the Airbnb. But when we returned…something was off…a lingering smell in the air…and I don’t mean Erich. We quickly searched the house for the source until someone ventured into the basement. Unlike the basement in the last Airbnb which contained a hunchbacked mutant, the basement in this place had something worse…
about an inch of water...
toilet paper...
and human excrement.
Naturally, we were somewhat shocked at this discovery but what could we do? If we alerted the owner, they’d kick us out. And even though the Saints are super rich, famous, and also handsome, there was no way we’d be able to find another place to stay. As such, we shut the basement door, filled the gaps with towels, flung open every window in the house, and went to sleep. I’ll spare you the pictures we took of the scene….
Stay tuned for more of Gary's travel blog
