Can you ever have too many recipes?
So here I am, sat in my hotel room in San Francisco. We obviously still have some shows left, including this evening at the Great American Music Hall, but we're definitely in that part of the tour that brings you some reflection. We arrived here last night in a bit of a haze after a 12 1/2 hour journey from Portland. This can create a hazy feeling in itself, but I think it has also dawned on us just how far we have travelled in the last few weeks. We flew into LA on the first day, and drove from there, and then tomorrow evening we will be rolling into the same town - a little weary but with heaps more memories to pack away in the memory luggage. We have definitely done some miles in the past but I think I'm correct in saying that this is the longest tour we've ever done. It will be close to 8 weeks when I finally get back through my door - and start having to wash up after my meals again. I realise that really huge bands are often away for longer, but I also know that really huge bands will have individual buses, and personal assistants etc. This, for me, has truly been week on week of looking at the back of Adam's head, to the point where I can tell what activity he is doing (sleeping, reading, staring forwards, watching TV) according to the level of his head against his chair. We have definitely reached the point where all our conversations sound like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. There is nothing to catch up on, so you can imagine how pointless and ridiculous stuff can get. Whilst setting up the other day, we genuinely had a conversation based upon my premise that you can never have too many recipes (Todd disagreed, Adam, I think, agreed). Feel free to muse over that yourself, but really, conversationally, there's an example of how we're not all there.
The normality is the shows themselves. It was always going to be interesting to see how things panned out for us this time around. We haven't released a new album (or anything really) since our last tour here over a year ago, and it goes without saying that the disappointment of having to cancel the whole tour in the Autumn wasn't ideal, but I think I can speak for all of us when I say we have had massive smiles put on our faces by the people that have turned out this tour. The understanding and concern for us over the cancellation of our previous tour has been heartwarming (particularly for me, who has spent most time meeting people before shows), and thank you, still, for those people. Without going into detail that has already been described, that has all been noted and appreciated. Also, the numbers of people that have been out to see us has made all those hours sat travelling worthwhile. And amongst those numbers, I have met an awful lot who have never seen us before. It's great to see our music spreading, and to hear what it means to so many folk. It's a main reason as to why we do it.
One final note has to go to our support band, Canon Blue, who have followed us all round the country (not forgetting Canada!) playing some great shows with us. The most accommodating and lovely set of people you're ever likely to meet (even when, in Durham, due to technical issues, we handed over to soundcheck for them 15 minutes after doors!). They have not held their heads high in the games arena though, losing not only pride but also money at shuffleboard and pool. They are fast running out of time to redeem themselves on that score (3 days in fact). Anyway, if you weren't at a show over the last month, or you turned up too late, check them out.
You may hear from me again on this tour (we are going back to Mexico after all). I appreciate not much blogging has been going on this year but, well, we've got to keep things interesting - in the mean time, if you're due to see us over the next few days, come and say hi. It's been a pleasure North America.

