pedia
Saving Face East Coast Tour Diary 2003
SAVING FACE EAST COAST TOUR 2003
(10.17.03 – 11.16.03)
10.17.03
MADISON, WI
THE NEW LOFT
w/ THE RICK JOHNSON ROCK N ROLL MACHINE
15 MINUTES LATE
ZERO TO SIXTY NEVER
SARAH: First show of the tour. Our kickoff show at The New Loft. The Rick Johnson Rock N Roll Machine kicks ass! Zero To Sixty Never kicks ass! 15 Minutes Late kicks ass! Our fans kick ass! Jinda made cookies and brownies; Kat gave us a whole box of tour goodies. Let’s go on tour, yeah, woo hoo!
10.18.03
JACKSONVILLE, IL
NICHOLS PARK PAVILLION
w/ INVOID
SARAH: Nick put on an amazing show. This place ruled. It’s been so long since we’ve played here, and still everyone came out to see us. Invoid is our new favorite band. Matt’s crew came to the show bearing DVDs and his mom’s chocolate chip bars. Awesome. 10-car caravan to Taco Bell after the show? Could it get any better? I THINK NOT! Thanks to John and Stains for the after-show hospitality. Apparently I could never get hired at Hooter’s.
10.19.03
SULLIVAN, IL
MASONIC TEMPLE
w/ SALTWATER VAMPIRES, ALIENZ LIE, BREAK OF DAY
SARAH: Thanks to Josh for the rad show. All the bands were great. Jennifer and Heather drove 3½ hours and made shirts! Amazing. Thanks to Derek (Alienz Lie) for the place to stay. Note to Matt (Alienz Lie): watch the drinking habits. Note to Sean (Break Of Day): “Niiiiiiine!” OK I’m gonna let someone else describe the events of the after-show party... Let’s just say I slept on a chair.
RYAN: What can we say about the after-show party at Derek’s house that night? It was a lot of... fun. Matt got an apple and orange at a local store, and with the first bite of each he was greeted with completely rotten fruit and almost puked. The house was pretty trashed, but the best part was when Grandma and Grandpa came over at 8 in the morning bitching about everything and we all got kicked out.
MATT: Where do I start? How about the amazing cat piss stench, black stained carpet, expired milk on the counter, rotten peppers, beetle running across the living room floor (and that’s where I had to sleep), dirty underwear on bathroom floor, shower that fucking hurt (!!!), basement that was flooded, lights that didn’t work house we stayed at? That’s right, we got pictures! Amazing!!! Derek is cool, his brother says “30 before I’m 20” pertaining to chicks (and he’s got pictures), and their friend Matt drinks a lot of vodka. The show was decent. Thanks to Josh for setting it up and providing sound. Fuck the Saltwater Vampires for leaving early, thanks to Alienz Lie and Break Of Day (thank God their guitar player made it) for an awesome show.
10.20.03
LOUISVILLE, KY
THE RUDYARD KIPLING
w/ HEADS AND BODIES
NOWHERE FAST
SARAH: Yeah so Monday nights are always tough, but this show was a ton of fun. Great people (thanks to Dee and Ken for the hospitality), great bands, great time. And who could forget Deon and his crazy dancin’ shoes? He boogied the night away, proclaiming that he was gonna call our moms and tell them how good their babies are! Thanks to Seth for the couch and everyone for an all-around super duper time!
RYAN: This show was the smallest show yet on tour, as far as the crowd goes. But it was also the most fun! Thanks to Heads And Bodies for rockin', and thank you Nowhere Fast for being the shit. Seth is the man. Thanks for setting up the show, and for a place to crash. Also thanks Matt from Nowhere Fast for being so fucking cool.
MATT: Monday night football, Matt from Nowhere Fast, Ken, Dee, and Regan from The Rudyard—what more could you ask for? Thanks to Seth for the show. It was a good line-up. Heads And Bodies are from Minnesota (Midwest represent!). Thanks to Seth for the floor to crash on and the bean burritos to eat.
10.21.03
NASHVILLE, TN
THE MUSE
w/ LIMBECK
ROCKY VOTOLATO
SARAH: Well we won’t waste time on the shitty details of this show—like zero promotion, a promoter no-show, and electrical problems—cuz there were so many great details! We go to play with Limbeck, whom I love tremendously, and Rocky Votolato who is incredible. We took off after the show and stopped at a rest area in Tennessee to sleep in the van. It was the best sleep any of us have gotten so far on the tour. Good ol’ Waldoch! Tonight we play with Limbeck and Rocky Votolato again in Marietta, GA. It’s gonna rule. We’re on our way there now.
10.22.03
MARIETTA, GA
SWAYZE’S VENUE
w/ SINCE YESTERDAY
LIMBECK
ROCKY VOTOLATO
MATT: Promoter Lee: crazy kid on Atkins diet or cool promoter who let us sleep at his house? Regardless, things worked out. The show was... the same as the last couple of shows. Cool bands, not many people, and no merch sold. But fun! All the bands and Lee went to eat at Taco Mac where some kid was puking his nachos out! Gross! Then we had to say goodbye to Limbeck and Rocky and onward we went to Lee’s house.
10.23.03
ANNISTON, AL
1213
w/ SNAP 9A
TRANSPARENCY
RYAN: At last, a fun show where people were there and bought stuff! There were about 30 kids, and they looked like they enjoyed us. Thank you to 1213 and Randy and Carl for the show, along with Snap 9a - kick ass band – and Transparency also kicked ass. One more shout-out to the guy from The Parasites who had great tour stories, and had played a show with Matt’s old band Gil years ago. Small world!
10.24.03
TAMPA, FL
PEGASUS LOUNGE
w/ ODIUM
HOLLOW POINT
BLEW MONDAY
RYAN: What a long long long drive it was! About 8 or 9 hours. But well worth it. The show was great. We played with a metal band called Odium. Also Hollow Point and Blew Monday, all very good. Thank you to The Pegasus Lounge and Julie and Mike and his bartending girlfriend, and to Sarah and Cynthia for the place to crash! And thank you Blew Monday for being so cool – Chris and Brian are the shit. Ruth, you rule, it kicks ass to see a face behind the messageboard name. Kick-ass show. Thanks John the sound guy and that’s it for now.
10.25.03
JACKSONVILLE, FL
ROCK N ROLL PIZZA
w/ AS FUEL TO FLAME
UNSUNG ZEROS
SARAH: Very cool club — excellent pizza! Thanks Woody and As Fuel To Flame for getting us the show. Unsung Zeros were totally amazing. Thanks Jaymz and Erin for coming just to see us! And to everyone else who talked to us after the show. Cynthia and Sarah and Sarah’s roomie drove 3 hours to see us. Kick-ass. Andrew put us up for the night in his dorm room (sorry “Saudi” for harshin' your buzz). Jordan and the gang, thanks for hanging out and breaking open the stolen candy machine.
RYAN: Being as “old” as we are, we don't get to hang out in dorm rooms as much anymore, heh heh. So thanks to Andrew for letting us relive those days, for just one night.
10.26.03
JACKSONVILLE, FL
DAY OFF
SARAH: Andrew and Logan took us to the beach the jet show. I wanna be a Blue Angel! It ruled. This was our first day off on tour so we hung out with Andrew and Logan then headed to Chattanooga.
10.27.03
CHATTANOOGA, TN
CLUB FATHOM
SARAH: Saving Face only! Private show! Monday nights are tough, I’ll say it again, but that Chattanooga team made it worth the trip! Thanks for coming out to support us! Brynn and Kim put us up at Kim’s house. Her mom got us pizza and we pigged out. We wanted to go to school with the girls the next day but they stayed home and we slept in and ate lots of cereal.
10.28.03
MARIETTA, GA
SWAZYE’S VENUE
w/ FOREVER DOWN
LIAISON
THE LYNDSAY DIARIES
STEADLER
SARAH: Great show! Better than last time! Lee took us to Atlanta after the show, to The Earl first where this great band was playing called The Deathray Davies. Then to The Claremont. Wow... What can I say? Oh yeah, and, GO LEE! ha ha ha
RYAN: Great show, Forever Down was amazing. Liaison was also amazing, as well as Steadler, who the guys from Wakefield and a guy from Marvelous 3 came to see. But the Lindsay Diaries (Scott), wow, such a great voice! Good show and all, but the real shit went down after the show. It wasn't so much the first bar we went to, but the second one. It was a strip club for nasty girls, I'm saying as ugly and gross and old as they come. Anyone who is anyone goes to this place, including Dave Attel who I guess just made fun of the strippers the whole time. Boy oh boy, what a night!
10.29.03
JOHNSON CITY, TN
ETSU
SARAH: Apparently certain people get appointed to positions on their campuses and don’t know how to do their jobs. Show got cancelled the night before, but luckily we had enough warning that we could make plans to go visit my old friends in North Carolina! Thanks to Jon and John and the NC crew for putting us up and entertaining us on such short notice! Always a pleasure...
RYAN: Oh and the moonshine was to die for!
10.30.03
RICHMOND, VA
NANCI RAYGUN
SARAH: This promoter wasn’t as courteous as the kid at ETSU, and never told us the show had been cancelled. Or shall I say, not booked? So we got up early to drive all the way to Richmond for nothing but a consolation prize of “a couple of free pitchers of beer” and an apology over the phone. We turned down the pitchers and ate at a diner down the street where our waitress had pigtails and hated her life. We were excited about this show too, so it was a bummer. Luckily Chad from The Springfields had floor space near Baltimore 2 hours away so we headed there. On the way we noticed the sky was glowing bright red and we got off the interstate and found a country road. Just as we suspected: NORTHERN LIGHTS! It was amazing. Worth the trip.
MATT: Wanted to play at this club, but the promoter was [edited by Sarah] ... she [edited again by Sarah] ... this means we had to [edited yet again by Sarah] ... who thinks [OK, Matt had nothing nice to say about this day] ... get a job [Yiiiiikes!] ... non-punker.
10.31.03
STROUDSBURG, PA
THE SANCTUARY
w/ THE SPRINGFIELDS
TEAM SPIDER
NO CASH
SARAH: The car in front of us hit a deer on the way to the show and we got run off the road from the blood and guts that exploded onto the front of our van! Gross... We wore Hawaiian costumes but they were pretty half-assed. Crazy show, very cool club! Slept in van after failed attempt at picking up transvestite hookers outside The Springfields's singer’s apartment in downtown Baltimore.
RYAN: OK all I can say is Baltimore is one of the worst cities I have ever been in. It’s almost as bad as Detroit — almost. Anyway don’t go there, if you don’t have to. After our show in PA we went there to sleep, but left after driving around looking for a place to park and noticing all the sketchy characters who were out walking around. I have never seen so many cross-dressing hookers in my life!
11.01.03
BALTIMORE, MD
HAL DADDY’S
w/ DID CHEERLEADER DIE
STILLBORN
THE SPRINGFIELDS
SARAH: This was an awesome punk rock dive bar with a basement for shows. Hal rules. We slept in the same rest area as the night before, but only after driving through the ghetto, getting Taco Bell, and witnessing a drive-by. Or something.
RYAN: A great show. We all had a lot of fun at Hal’s. The bands were good and a lot of girls wanted Sarah. Once again drove around shitty Baltimore—but this time we got to see a drive-by... Sweet...
MATT: Hal Daddy’s was a cool club (reminded me of O’Cayz and The Wisco). Drank shitty beer for a dollar. We apparently like the ghetto of Baltimore because we’ve been there a lot recently.
11.02.03
DAY OFF
ELLICOTT CITY, MD & ATLANTIC CITY
SARAH: Day off. Hung out in Ellicott City, MD, built in 1772. So amazing! Drove to Atlantic City for the hell of it. Saw the beach at night and Matt won $60 at Blackjack. Drove to Philly to sleep at a rest area... again.
RYAN: Ellicott City is one of those amazing cities you could spend all day in. There were so many cool little stores—just wish I’d had some money to spend.
MATT: Ellicott City was cool; there were tons of antiques and a kick-ass bookshop. We drove to Atlantic City where Donald Trump paid me $60 to play Blackjack! Packers won, I believe.
11.03.03
PHILADELPHIA, PA
CLUB 218
w/ MIDNIGHT CREEPS
COMMON ENEMY
SARAH: Awesome club on South Street that was upstairs from a pizza joint. Thanks to Dan and Ed for all the amazing hospitality and the huge fucking pie. So good! The show was all about being as punk as possible and throwing metal garbage cans around, apparently. The Mohawks were impressive; the attitudes abundant. But we got to meet the one and only Toothless George, who is the SHIT, and who put us up for the night in his sweet-ass apartment. Thanks for the floor space and conversation, George. I like Philly.
RYAN: Philly was so fucking cool. South Street is amazing. I ate the best Philly Cheesesteak ever and George, you are the man. Thanks.
MATT: South St. was cool. I saw a Tripmaster Monkey CD (Pat Stoley recorded my band Gill in high school). The cheesesteak was great. Toothless George (Bed Rockers) let us crash at his place near Little Italy. The van almost broke down. Creepy “electrical” problems.
11.04.03
BOSTON, MA
SARAH: Josh Halifax! Best name ever, other than maybe Sarah Saturday.
RYAN: So this night was kind of a flop. The show we were going to play got canned after all the other bands cancelled or something. But thanks to Joelle, Mark, and Josh for the great time in Boston. Also to Josh for the place to stay and the food. It turned out to be a great night.
MATT: This night fell through, so we drove to the city and hung out at Middle East. Josh hooked us up with a place to stay and tasty waffles, bacon, and coffee for breakfast!
11.05.03
EAST HAMPTON, MA
FLYWHEEL
w/ BARN OWL
CAPTURED BY ROBOTS
SARAH: The Baby Jesus ruled! Mike and Tati, I love you for driving so far to see us.
RYAN: This has been one of the most amazing shows we have ever been a part of. First off, thanks to Mike and Tati for driving all the way from Connecticut. Thanks to Chris for the show and to Lauren for the place to stay; also to Barn Owl, and to Andy for offering us his place. The Flywheel is the shit, that place rules! Captured By Robots put on one of the best shows I have ever seen. He’s a guy who built robots to play instruments, and if you get the chance to see him you better do it! Oh and a big thanks to Monro Brakes & Mufflers for the new pads. (No we didn’t hit a cat. More like a big fucking deer.)
MATT: Captured By Robots = AOK. Jaybot is amazing.
11.06.03
BROOKLYN, NY
THE LUCKY CAT
SARAH: This was a tiny coffee shop and we were the only band. But they provided sound so we made the most of it. It ended up ruling and we packed the tiny back room where we played! John lives with Cometbus and I taped a note to his door! We wanted to beat the traffic so drove for a while and crashed at a rest area. I’m getting really good at rest area bathroom showers.
RYAN: This was a great night. We played this little bar/coffee shop and at first there was no one there, but right when we started playing all these people walked in. There was John, and old friend from Madison, Matt Rodbard and friends, and Justin. After the show we all went to Matt’s for a few, then to John’s where Sarah gazed lovingly at Aaron Cometbus’s closed bedroom door. I Farm lived there too but they were on the road. It was a really great night after all.
MATT: We love sleeping at rest areas.
11.07.03
LACKAWANNA, NY
THE CRUISE INN
w/ JOHNNY WAS...
VAUX
JINXED
THIS DAY & AGE
SARAH: Chris Ring booked us on the show and he rules. Especially for playing Lifetime during load-in. I love Vaux with my whole heart and this show was a big one—which we needed. Sold a bunch of merch and had a great time.
RYAN: Vaux rules! So we were kind of late to this show, and when we walked in the door there were about 150 16-year-old girls. That would be because of Shane West—you may know him from A Walk To Remember or Dawson’s Creek? Well we played this show with him—I mean, his band. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Vaux was the shit, that band is so fucking good. Afterwards we all went to Denny’s where someone (we blame Vaux) put a sticker on the back of our van which we didn’t find until the next morning (after driving all the way through Canada and getting crazy looks and smiles from truckers). It said “I LOVE HARD COCKS.” Oh on a side note, don’t go to Niagara Falls in November at 3am.
MATT: Johnny Was... a really fucking shitty shit ass poop fuck band! They suck! Vaux owned the show! The all-girl band ruled. They will be good.
11.08.03
FLINT, MI
THE LOCAL FLINT 432
w/ NEVER NEVER
RELAPSE
CAPONE
CALLING ALL HEROES
SARAH: I love Tyler. I love Flint. I love The Local. Love love love.
RYAN: Back in Flint! We love this place. There is always a great crowd and this time was no exception. Never Never, Relapse, and Capone were all great. But Calling All Heroes were amazing! Thanks to Mitch for the place to stay, and of course to Tyler for being so wasted because it was his birthday that he smeared his birthday cake all over us on stage when we sang to him. Great party afterwards.
MATT: This was my first time in Flint and it was alright. The show turnout was good. Tyler took care of us! He was really cool and understands how shows are supposed to work. Very organized! Afterwards, we partied at Mitch’s (also where we stayed) to celebrate Tyler’s birthday. He drank a lot of Jaeger!
11.09.03
MUSKEGON, MI
SOCKS MANOR
w/ LINCOLN NORTH
RICK JOHNSON ROCK N ROLL MACHINE
BLOWING BLUE
SARAH: Basement shows rule, even if they are in sub-zero temperatures. Punk kids are cute, especially when they draw anarchy symbols on their walls and go dumpster diving for food before logging on to the internet on their Macs. Super nice kids though, and they had a bonfire after the show which we warmed our hands over before sleeping in the freezing cold van. Again.
RYAN: It was freezing! We played in a basement with no heat, but thank God for the kick-ass bands and kids to help us forget the cold! Rick J is the man! The kids who lived there were nice, they get their food from dumpsters. We slept in the van and woke up cold as hell! It sucked!
11.10.03
COLUMBUS, OH
BERNIE’S
w/ THE JEFFS
SARAH: Show ruled! Thanks to Zack, Laura, Shelly, and Sveti from the messageboard for making it out to the show! The Jeffs were awesome, and the drunk guy who kept trying to grab my mic stand actually adhered to my five-foot rule, which never happens. Columbus has obedient drunks! Sweet! A big thanks to my friends in S.T.U.N. who were playing down the street and came out to watch us after their show. I love those guys. After the show we went to Taco Bell, which is open until 5am in Columbus! Fuck yeah! Thanks to Zach for letting us crash at his house. Finding Nemo rules.
RYAN: This show was a lot of fun! There were a bunch of familiar faces there from the website. The Jeffs are a great band. Thanks so much to Zach’s mom for letting us crash at their house. Taco Bell, we love you.
11.11.03
DAYTON, OH
ELBO’S
w/ LATE NITE DRIVERS
MANANA a.k.a. VIAGRA FALLS a.k.a. THE MOTEL BEDS
SARAH: Awesome club, not the best turnout. Great bands though which makes any show a fun one. Thanks to Melissa for putting on the show and again to Zach, Laura, and Shelly for making the trek. The Motel Beds are amazing—keep the two-piece guys! It rained but we had a place to stay, and that rules. I think we’re all starting to get worn down. Five more days to go.
RYAN: Good luck figuring out your band name!
11.12.03
KETTERING, OH
WKET 98.3
SARAH: We co-hosted Zach’s radio show at the high school and played some acoustic songs on the air. It was super funny and I think Zach has a copy of the show. It was a mellow day and Zach’s mom cooked us a big spaghetti dinner which was amazing. We hit the road and slept in the van. I guess the showers and beds and home-cooked meals just weren’t cutting it. NOT.
RYAN: So it’s been a while since I’ve been to a high school, and I miss it. I don’t want to be in the real world anymore! Thanks again to Zach for all the hospitality and to his mom for cooking for us. Time to get out of Ohio and back to sleeping in the van. So cold!
11.13.03
PEORIA, IL
PLANK ROAD PUB
w/ THE TIMMYS
SUPER 88
SARAH: I love The Timmys! This show was upstairs in a roadside bar outside of Peoria. Very interesting. It was fun though and we got to play with our good friends The Timmys who are totally fucking amazing. We got lost on the way to the show and ended up in somebody’s driveway at a dead end. Kind of frustrating. Tom from the band The Amazing Kill-O-Watts came to the show and ended up letting us crash at his house, which was a 150-year-old Victorian house. Totally haunted, I decided. Tom rules and his mom cooked us breakfast.
RYAN: We haven’t had too many bar shows, which is good because they usually suck for us. But this one was fun. Super 88 was great and The Timmys were amazing as usual. Thanks to Steve-O for the show and thank you to Tom for the place to stay. His mom is the shit! Almost home...
11.14.03
COMBINED LOCKS, WI
RYAN’S BALLROOM
w/ HONOR AMONGST THIEVES
SOCIAL CLASSICS
SARAH: Thank you first and foremost to Brian Strebe for putting on the show. He rules. The bands were great and The Social Classics had the tiniest drummer I’ve ever seen, but he killed it. Thanks to the sound guy Bill for being so helpful. We had an amazing Taco Bell party with this hippy kid who has a love cactus or something.
RYAN: Thank you to Brian for the kickass show! The bands were great and we had a great time afterwards at Brian’s. Thanks for the place to stay and thanks to the kid with the plastic cucumber happiness scepter—you made the evening very interesting.
11.15.03
LA CROSSE, WI
THE WAREHOUSE
w/ ANYTHING BUY JOEY
THE DOG & EVERYTHING
THE TIMMYS
SARAH: What a kickass line-up! We love The Warehouse, and La Crosse in general. This is our home away from home and we always look forward to playing here at the end of tour. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to express our gratitude to Steve Harm for helping us build a following at The Warehouse, or to all the kids who come out to every show we play there and truly support our band. It means more than any of you will ever know. My most favorite show memories all come from our Warehouse shows. This show ruled, the bands were great, Michael Thompson came out to sell our merch, and despite the cold we had a great post-show Taco Bell party (sorry for getting there so late). WE LOVE THE WAREHOUSE!
RYAN: Oh, how I love this place. We have been all over the U.S. now and it is still one of the best. Thanks to M.T. for selling merch! All the bands ruled, and it was a great feeling to be back in La Crosse.
11.16.03
CHICAGO, IL
THE FIRESIDE BOWL
w/ THE DOG & EVERYTHING
ANYTHING BUT JOEY
POMEROY
SARAH: The last show of the tour. Is it over already? What a crazy adventure. I’ve always wanted to play The Fireside so this show was very cool for me. We were sooo tired but we made it through the show. I think all the long drives and sleeping in the van finally caught up to us. The bands all sounded great, and thanks especially to John, Jennifer, Heather, Emily, Faye, and Jessie for coming out to support us. So I guess that’s it! Another 30 days of touring in the bag! In retrospect this was a totally successful tour for an independent, unsigned band. It was painful at times but we will always cherish the memories we have! Thanks to all the fans who helped book shows for us and promote the tour, and thanks to everyone who made it an amazing experience!
