Rest Stop

Tour photos by Bernie DeChant.

Right now I'm sitting at the bar of The Dame in Lexington Kentucky. Jason Isbell is soundchecking and Balthrop has a sort of night off. It's "Sort-of" because, although we aren't playing, Dawn is, which means that Josh, Annie, Jason, Lauren, Pascal and Therese are playing as her band and Kyle and I just get to watch.

We're pretty much based in Louisville for the next five nights, guests of Jason's generous parents and it's nice to have a place to return to every night after the show. From Louisville we're doing two shows in Lexington, one in Cincinnati and another in Louisville before we head further South and West.

Louisville is home to both Dawn and Jason and it's nice to coast on their familiarity with the town. This morning we had breakfast at this amazing restaurant--Lynn's Paradise Cafe--where Dawn worked for two years and the food was so good we've decided to go back every day, if they'll have us after our impromptu art-attempts using the leftovers on our plates.

The show last night was great--the band has been playing songs I've never drawn and it's a lot of fun to make something up on the fly and just sort of roll with it.

Sometimes it seems like touring is all about Drive Somewhere, Eat Something, Unload, Play, Load and Repeat. But the "Play" part makes the other things pretty much worth anything. And, to be honest, the "Eat Something" and "Drive Somewhere" has been pretty great too. There are so many of us on this tour and we get along so well that it's pretty much like being home with different scenery.

The other day in Columbus, we went out to eat at this vegetarian restaurant and, after our meal, we were deciding on which of their amazing cookies to take along with us, laughing, pointing, riffing and pretty much just being us. There was this couple in line behind us and, as they exited the place, they encountered us outside in our "You've Gotta Try This" frenzy. "You were great in there," they said with satisfied appreciation.