Boston, Mass 18 Nov 2012
I have a theory that goes like this; as a tour approaches, unconsciously I set an inner clock. Whatever the duration of the tour... 2 months, 4 or longer... that's how much energy I have. As the tour winds down so does the energy. The last few days I've noticed the spring getting slack, not to the point of being close to exhaustion, but sort of a vague weariness.
Saturday the 17th was a day off in Boston and apart from going to the gym, getting out and walking Boylston Street, I was happy to stay in, read, practise and freebase Anita O'Day on YouTube. Met up with a friend for visit and delicious dinner at Legal Seafood. Also had a visit with my friend Kate Walker, who hosts a brilliant weekly radio programme called Sunday Morning Country on Boston College Radio WZBC 90.3 FM. Kate very kindly baked a stunning sweet potato pie made with garnet yams, Tahitian bourbon and Vietnamese cinnamon. Those are the ingredients Kate will divulge, the remainder are a well kept secret. A stunning piece of baking. Check out Kate's show from 10-2 every Sunday, it also streams at wzbc.org and is archived at zbconline.com In the meantime, you'll have to imagine how good that pie was.
Today, Sunday was another quiet day, packed the bags and prior to checking out, met up with some of our friends who came down from Booth Bay, Maine. Always great seeing them.
Tonight's show was at TD Garden. After sound check, the next order of business was catering where tonight's dinner was New England clam chowder, steamed lobster, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimming. I've taken to not eating just before the show but could not resist that particular line-up and it didn't disappoint.
The Boston audience was as good as they come, incredibly enthusiastic, a full-house standing at the end of our set. Everyone pleased with tonight's show. Mark played a few tunes with Bob at the beginning of his set, then off to the buses for a long 320 mile drive to Philadelphia that was eased by boxes of seafood from Legal, the remainder of Kate's pie and lashings of g&t. We arrived in the City of Brotherly Love at 4:30 a.m. Sleep.
So long,
Richard