Tales from the road – Vantage brings their sound down the West Coast
Vantage Tales from the road - down the West Coast
Vantage Tales from the road - down the West Coast
This is the story about a band called Vantage and how they drove on I-5 for a long time…
Sunday, Dec. 13: Further than Ever Before
Ryan and I fly south to San Diego to meet our precious bandmates, Aaron and Jon who drove all the way from Bellingham in a crimson mini-van days before. We arrive tired as our planes were repeatedly delayed and forced to board, “de-plane,” and re-board a total of five times. By 10:45 p.m. we were all reunited and eating some of the best burritos man has ever created. Honestly, B’ham burritos have absolutely nothing on those SD zeppelins-o-heaven. Wowza!
The night ends with the four of us and our friend, Erica, slumbering in an abandoned beach house. A bevy of candles (as the power had been cut off) and a bottle of Southern Comfort added greatly to the festive ambiance. We slept fast knowing we had quite an adventure ahead of us.
Monday, Dec. 14: The Best Sound You Will Ever Hear
…is in a small club in Pacific Beach, San Diego called, The 7-10 Club. Seriously, the soundguy named John is the best live soundtech I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with as a performer. We played a long set for a small crowd of California friends who cheered us on–filling the space between songs with their Irish roars. The night moved back to a friend’s house and we were serenaded by Jon Garrett’s famous U2 cover set. By the end of it all, a girl had peed both her pants and Jon’s pillow.
Tuesday, Dec. 15: L.A. is a City
Ryan drove our bad selves the modest distance to LA and we played a neat little set to a small crowd in the Silverlake Lounge. On the way to the venue we noted a very entertaining street name called, Smilax Ave. We instantly realized “Smilax” sounds much like a prescription laxative and that its proper pronunciation must be made in a Sean Connery voice. We should also note this was the first show we were joined by our fearless tour manager, Nick. Nick is a bad dude who knows both how to have a good time and to use a GPS unit. We hung out after the show in a hip bar off Sunset Blvd. and realized how badass we seriously all are.
Wednesday, Dec. 16: San Franny
It took a surprisingly long time to drive from LA to San Fran. Stopping briefly to make some dank avocado sandwiches, we arrived at the venue (The Grant and Green) right on time–totally lucking out on a free parking space right across the street! We played a tight, high-energy set and made a few friends. Not nearly enough time to chill in SF–we’ll be back!
Thursday, Dec. 17: Stadium Arcata
This turned out to be a background music show. We played in a general store/bar/coffee shop right off-campus from Humboldt University. We were promised pizza and beer as payment but received a pathetic amount of both. Frustrated and hungry, we got the hell out of there and proceeded to check out the town’s bar scene. Hmm…
Friday, Dec. 18: Land-O-Ports
We played one of our most successful sets of the tour in a rad little all-ages (bar w/ ID) club called, The Parlour. The booker, Mike, was a upstanding duder. By this point we were all a little worn down. We rolled out our sleeping bags in my girlfriend’s parent’s house’s basement and fell asleep to the sounds of T.hanks in Forest Gump the movie.
Saturday, Dec. 19: The Salem Witch Trials
…were not in Salem, OR. This show honestly sucked. The first band was a killer Zeppelin-influenced trio but they took their crowd into the back alley as soon as they finished. We played to a handful of the most stoic teens we’ve ever seen. We hurried to load-out and found the first band’s formidably sized crowd partying in the alley–smoking drugs and drinking everclear. We flew back on our witch brooms to our Portland basement base.
Sunday, Dec. 20: Down in the Town
Played our best set of the tour at Portland’s Ash Street Saloon. It felt really good to redeem ourselves from the night before. A few people ordered us rounds of high fives all around! A much older lady hits on both Jon and then me. Za-Zing!
Monday, Dec. 21: Oly the Penitent Man May Cross
First show with a fog machine! This was a casual, subdued way to end the tour. We played accurately but were a little tired from the night before. Fun fact: We opened for a Tool cover band. (Olympians love Tool).
And with that, we drove home. We reflected on the week and agreed we’re now closer to each other than family. The Vantage Core of Discovery had finally accomplished its mission (to eat a burrito in San Diego).
Check us out, dawgs! We’re at myspace.com/VantageBand
