The Twilight Sad’s US Tour Diary (with Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks)

Entry 1

We arrived in Denver Colorado yesterday after a lengthy flight with British Airways who were very kind in supplying Andy and myself with free red wine for the duration of the flight. Watched a few films (which were shite) and episodes of Frasier and the American version of The Office (which were good). We are all playing the Monolith Festival at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the festival has put us up in a nice hotel with plenty of other trendy indie kids whose jeans are so tight that their baws are begging to get out. We met up with our good friends Esteban (tour manager) and Steven (sound guy), then met Terry (bus driver) who gave us a tour of our bus. We all have a good time at the festival and saw a few good bands, got into an argument with a crazy drug dealer backstage and took advantage of the free booze. We even made up a cocktail and called it “The Mo Johnston.” 

Entry 2

Played Salt Lake City and Boise these past two nights. Both good gigs. In Boise, we all got pissed out of our tits after the gig then went to Wal-mart at 2am where Andy from the Rabbits decided to chase me with a trolley and went straight into a big stack of canned goods. Staff went a bit mental and couldn’t understand a word we said. We swiftly left with our beef jerky and Mountain Dew! We were lucky not to get arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

Entry 3

Seattle was great, we sold out the same venue the Manics played quicker than they did! Did a KEXP session in Portland and saw a girl kick a homeless woman around the head, which was disturbing! Also, Dok became a LEGEND that night! You will have to ask him why. Can’t remember San Jose, could have been good or bad. Next up was LA and Devine and Andy’s long search for the classic Night Train Wine that Guns n’ Roses talk so highly of came to an end, it apparently tasted like a mixture of shit and piss. The gig in LA was amazing. Dwight and Jim from the American Office came to the gig and hung out with all three bands at the end of the night, which was also amazing. Next day, the Rabbits and Dok got to go to the set of The Office and watch it getting filmed, we had to go and shoot a video for our 3rd single The Room (shameless plug) and The Jetpacks did a Hollywood bus tour which they seemed to really, really enjoy and also saw and filmed two woman fighting over a car accident.

Entry 4

Tucson was hot as hell and the lead singer from Jimmy Eat World came to the gig, EMO! Nice guy though. Up next was Austin, Texas, home of our tour manager Esteban. The gig was outdoors and the venue was rammed, there were people cuing up round the corner trying to get in. It was another great gig. Esteban does all the artwork for and is best friends with the guys from Explosions in the Sky, so we got to meet and hang out with them, really nice guys and they gave us a loan of their keyboard because Dok’s packed in. Played Birmingham, Alabama next and our set was filmed for a TV show, so we put on our glad rags and combed our hair. One person attended the last time we played the same venue in 2006, tonight is sold out. Up next is Atlanta, good gig. Got a lock-in at the venue, Andy wrestled Esteban and LOST! We took control of the lighting rig and PA and created a disco. Also, an actor who was one of the bad guys in that Sylvester Stallone film Cliffhanger came to the gig and we all got pictures with him, even though we didn’t really know who he was.

Entry 4

I had been looking forward to the gigs in Florida as my family and girlfriend were coming over; the gig in Orlando was especially good and sold out once again. Adam from the Jetpacks had said to the crowd that we had a day off and were going to a theme park the next day; luckily enough there was somebody there that worked for The Hard Rock Hotel who gave us all free passes to Universal Studios. Had a great day at the theme park, Dok shat it on the Jaws Ride and my dad pissed himself on the Simpsons ride. Florida was also bittersweet as we had to say goodbye to my family and Frightened Rabbit as they were going home. Had a great time with the Rabbits and can’t wait till the next time we tour together.

Entry 5

We arrived in Chapel Hill to the venue and nothing is working, another FatCat band from Brighton called Brakes join the tour. ALRIGHT GRANDAD! The PA is fucked and the in-house sound guy didn’t know his arse from his elbow, it was a bit of a nightmare gig. The people who came to the show were great and knew it wasn’t our fault and that’s all that matters. Next day we get a seven paragraph apology letter from the owner of the venue. A second date in New York was added quite late on as the other NY gig was nearly sold out, John from Mogwai came to the gig and it was great to hang out and see him. It was good, as was Philadelphia and Washington DC. Next up, one of the most famous venues in the world: The Bowery Ballroom, NY. I had been looking forward to it for a long time. I always wanted to headline a sold out gig there and it was happening so early in our career. It was one of those nights that will always stick with me, everything went right and the crowd were so good. We Were Promised Jetpacks were also amazing that night, they are one of the most consistent bands I have ever seen and I can only see them getting better and better as time goes on. 

Entry 6: The Final Entry

So all of the gigs went well after the Bowery, there’s not much to talk about as I can’t really remember very much. We had some problems with the bus and nearly got in a fight in Toronto with a bouncer but then the owner of the club gave us a case of Stella to calm us down (it worked). The Jetpacks and ourselves did a session and interview with the former lead anchor of MTV America called John Norris – apparently a big deal – which was cool. The last gig in Chicago was sold out and over sold by 150 people. All in all, a very successful tour and many stories that I can’t put in this tour diary. The American people seem to be really into the three Scottish bands on FatCat, let’s hope they let us back in the country some day. Plus 15 Scottish guys and one tour bus = a good time, bad smell, shite patter and plenty of spewing in the bus bog!

This was the complete itinerary of dates:

FRIGHTENED RABBIT, THE TWILIGHT SAD, WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS
12 Sept - Monolith Festival, Morrison CO (Frightened Rabbit)
13 Sept - Monolith Festival, Morrison CO (The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks)
14 Sept - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City UT
15 Sept - Neurolux, Boise ID
16 Sept - Neumo’s, Seattle, WA
17 Sept - MusicFest NW, Portland, OR
18 Sept - The Independent, San Francisco CA
19 Sept - Voodoo Lounge, San Jose CA
20 Sept - Knitting Factory, Los Angeles CA
22 Sept - Plush, Tucson AZ
24 Sept - The Mohawk, Austin TX
26 Sept - Bottletree, Birmingham AL
27 Sept - The Masquerade, Atlanta GA
28 Sept - Club Downunder, Tallahassee FL
29 Sept - The Social, Orlando FL

THE TWILIGHT SAD, BRAKES, WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS
1 Oct - Local 506, Chapel Hill NC
2 Oct - Southpaw, Brooklyn NY
3 Oct - North Star Bar, Philadelphia PA
5 Oct - Black Cat Backstage, Washington DC
6 Oct - Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
7 Oct - Great Scott, Allston MA
9 Oct - La Sala Rossa, Montreal Quebec
10 Oct - El Mocambo, Toronto Ontario
11 Oct - Blind Pig, Ann Arbor MI
12 Oct - Empty Bottle, Chicago IL