Tuesday, March 24
Detroit, Mich.
We’re driving to Chicago right now. We’ve just finished listening to Stephen Colbert’s audiobook I Am America & So Can You for the second time. It’s 5 a.m. in our world, but we just crossed into the Central time zone, so technically it’s 4 a.m.. We decided to leave Detroit after the show tonight so we could make it to Chicago for an 11:00 a.m. interview with Heave Media. We thought about staying in Detroit, but we were afraid we might hit rush-hour traffic in the morning and miss the interview.
We’re about to pass through Gary, Ind., on I-94. I’m an urban blight nerd, if you haven’t been able to tell by now. Gary fell into decline in the ’60s along with the steel industry and has since had an incredibly high crime rate, so it has become something of a landmark for people who are interested in that kind of thing.
Earlier tonight, we played with our buds, The Decks. I’ve been to Detroit twice before. My ex-girlfriend grew up there. We had a band, and played two really small tours through Michigan a few years back. Detroit is a funky town. I was psyched that we were able to book a show there, especially with a band as kickass as The Decks. I got to know them from my prior Detroit excursions. We played a venue called PJ’s Lager House. PJ is the sweetest bar owner out of the many sweet bar owners we’ve met on this trip.
We ate at Taqueria Lupita, located in the literally named “Mexicantown” in northeastern Detroit. It was delicious. Jeff got cactus leaves as an entree. They were kind of like spicy, tangy green beans. The show was a lot of fun. Our friend Steve McCauley opened the night with his country western acoustic jams. We rocked it next, then The Decks did their thing. Check out their song “What you Said.” It’s a great little tune.
Only thirty miles to Chicago. . . HNMTF