Day 7 (Some People Just Have Cold Hearts)

So after having the Colorado show canceled last night, and playing and staying in Kansas City, today was to be our only off day on tour. Now with diesel gas being so expensive back in the summer, we were running real short on cash. We decided that we could ask Rory where would be the best place to play on the street for money. We left Rory's parents around 10 to head downtown. Right by the van were these flowers (hydrangeas) i believe.



A little known fact about them is that they are the favorite flower of my beautiful wife. Also, they don't really grow in the climate we live. One other side note, Seth, Jason, and Myself all have ladies back in California (Seth and Mine both happened to be pregnant) and we were all really starting to miss them really badly. But mushiness aside. The ride to downtown was beautiful.




We parked in a parking garage that literally had, depending on what angle we were driving inside the garage, left us anywhere between a half inch and an inch and a half between the van and the ceiling. We got our things and walked towards the crowds.



There were lots of cool fountains, and in general it felt really good to not have to be somewhere with a deadline, but at the same time, we did need to make a few bucks. So we started strategizing.



Becky enjoyed another of the sculptures. It was either song number one or two, but Jacob broke a violin string. Bummer. Jake and I drove to a music shop and they amazingly changed the string and we were back within an hour.



It was pretty sweet. There really weren't a ton of people, but it seemed that those there were enjoying themselves. It made for some really funny moments. If you saw this tour then you know that there was a slightly different arrangement to a lot of the songs. One of my favorite was in "10 Years and Separating States" coming out of the bridge, it went into an accapella chorus with all kinds of harmonizing. Really just gorgeous. And there was this moment where they were playing this song, and the acoustics of the sidewalk and building we were next to was seriously one of the most beautiful things i have ever heard,



and there was this older couple intent on completely ignoring the band. Walking straightfaced right past the band right as they hit the angels descending from heaven part, the couple didn't even break stride or crack a smile. I had goosebumps from the beauty, they had cold hearts and not an ounce of joy. It was great. So we got a tip that a church that Rory had frequented as a youth had a service that would be getting out shortly. We had to act fast.



We made enough to make it to Colorado, but not really enough to eat, and then we met some of the sweetest people that we met all of tour. Plus we got to meet this cutie pie.



There was a great community of friends that enjoyed our playing on the street and invited us back to a house where they ate "zuccizas" (really great invention) and among other things, we all just sat around and jammed.







It was sweet because we played some Lakes songs, some Watashi Wa songs, some Bella Rayne songs, some Honey Trees songs, and then some of the Kansas city peoples originals, and maybe some other covers too. I think for some reason we played the Apartment Song by Tom Petty. Great day, but we had to leave for Colorado Springs. Long drive, some near death experiences, and the bummer of finding out that this night would hold my last picture of the tour. So enjoy this picture of dueling violins. I know we did.



And to all you beautiful Kansas City people that took us in, thank you. And i think that all that playing was recorded, right? I'd love to hear it, just to remember it even clearer. Thanks. Day 8, soon......