We didn’t go for burgers in Indianapolis after all. Opposite the venue was a craft pizza twattery. I must pause to explain what I mean by twattery as it has become an established word in our vernacular. It began as a way of describing a particular type of coffee shop. One that I’ve hinted at in previous diary entries. It will typically comprise of one or all of the following features : Exposed brickwork, men with large beards or carefully groomed moustaches, ladies (and men) with tattoos, distressed woodwork, a hand-drawn menu and industrial lighting. There will be one or two barista awards on display as well as works from local artists and possibly a fixed gear bicycle (neon wheels optional) chained up outside. Above all, they will be independent (Starbucks can never be a twattery) and take themselves and their coffee very seriously – btw, if it doesn’t serve a flat white, it doesn’t qualify as a twattery. It may seem like a derogatory term and that we’re taking the piss (we are a little bit) but we love them and seek them out wherever we go. The term has now began to apply to any independent shop, store or restaurant that offers niche or specialist products in a setting as described above. We’ve visited shoe twatteries, guitar twatteries, luggage twatteries (my personal favourite), burger twatteries and yesterday, the aforementioned pizza twattery called Pizzology in Indianapolis. Granted, there wasn’t the ubiquitous exposed brickwork anywhere in sight but the pizza was awesome and I could happily have sat there all afternoon stuffing my face with their lovingly made discs of dough covered in vine ripened tomato sauce and organic buffalo mozzarella but we had to set up our gear and do a soundcheck before doors opened. The venue was actually a restaurant or rather a “gastropub” called Union 50. It was a large stylishly designed space with an amazing menu, ultra friendly staff and a small stage in the corner. We were right at home. It is owned by a successful restauranteur who, it turned out, also owns the burger restaurant we had previously visited in Indianapolis along with most of the cool establishments in town.We were incredibly well looked after throughout our stay there and would like to express our gratitude. You guys were exemplary hosts.The show itself was fun. It was obvious that not everyone in the room was there to see us or even knew we would be there but I think a good time was had by all – helped by a reckless approach to alcohol, and we may have won a few new fans which is exactly why we’re here. Mission accomplished! All we need to do now is convert the other 318 million.
U.S.A Tour Diary – Hot Tub Time Machine
A highlight of the evening came when we were taken to our accommodation for the night. The owner of Union 50 was kind enough to put us up in his downtown condo – an amazing living space that would not look out of place in an edition of Wallpaper* magazine. Not only this but he also had a huge spread of yet more delicious food left out for us. This guy is incredible! There’s more…he has a ROOFTOP HOT TUB! We needed no encouraging and after eating our fifth meal of the day were soon wallowing in the warm bubbling water with the Indianapolis skyline as our backdrop.
Back to reality the next morning and we were up and out. We had a couple of radio sessions to do on route to Columbus, Ohio. We would stay there before driving the remaining 143 miles to Cleveland.
I’m now staring at the small, illuminated screen of my iphone waiting for inspiration to come. It’s almost 11pm and we have another hour or so of driving before we reach our hotel. The van is quiet but for the tippity-tap of Luke’s laptop keyboard next to me and some soothing 50’s music at low volume in the front. It’s the calm after the storm. We tore up the House of Blues this evening in Cleveland. It was nice to be back on the BBS tour and playing to full rooms. We have only seven shows left on this leg of the tour before we fly home for a much needed week at home with our loved ones before returning for another six weeks. It’s high time we gave our partners the credit they deserve. We couldn’t have undertaken any of this without their patience and support. I know I’m not alone in saying that I miss my girlfriend and daughter terribly. You ladies are heroes. Hang in there, we’ll be home soon.
Ok, before this diary entry descends into a bad Oscars acceptance speech. I’ll sign out. My eyes are feeling heavy and if I just close them for a second, I might have a quick snoooozzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZ.
