Chicago

Today was my second day with the band. Our first appointment was a morning show at Chicago's WGN. I think it went well, although the interviewer mispronounced Ari's last name as "Heist" instead of "Hest." This is a common occurrence, I've been told.

The second thing was an in-store appearance at a Borders in downtown Chicago. While the rest of the band set up for the evening gig at the Abbey Pub, Ari and I took a train to the store.

I have to say I like the Chicago metro better than DC's, if only for the fact that the intercom announcements are easily understandable. In DC the announcements are either hurried or done with a horrendous accent or bone-chilling death whisper.

The in-store appearance went pretty well. It gave me a chance to see downtown Chicago, which was very cool. I wish we'd had more time to hang out and explore the city. But alas, we were needed at the pub.

Once at the pub, it was time to set up for the sound check. Once that was done, we ordered some food and chowed down. I got Ari's guitars tuned while Griffin House was opening the night. Unfortunately something happened with one of the guitar tunings, and the first two songs in Ari's set were thrown off a little. Nevertheless, the rest of the show went very well -- the guys really rocked it out.

After the show, we packed everything into the van and headed out. We finally arrived at our hotel between 3 and 4 a.m.

Tomorrow we head to Ames, Iowa.