I’ll start w Marfa. This was my first time there. We rolled into a sunset against the small town. Buildings there sit calm and still, and the adobe whites and grays look perfectly set against the purple mountains in the distance.

So we played after a long wait in a great bar called Padre’s, a game of shuffleboard, and some amazement when I found none other than the great “aint no party like a grown folks party” carl marshall in the jukebox (along with some “I be wearin it out” bobby rush too). I felt a little lost when we played. I messed up lyrics – I haven’t done than in years. I believe its the tail end of this cold. WD destroyed it. There were some free form 2 steppers doing cool stuff to WD’s set. It was just twirls, no waltzing, and it looked like a giant ball of energy. The man wore a black cowboy hat at a perfect angle and would adjust it ever so slightly when he felt it move. It was really beautiful.

Went to a party after. With only 2000 people in Marfa, everyone old and young goes to the same place. It felt very open, and everyone walks, too.

Then it was to Tucson. We stopped in this Mexican place in Van Horn on the way. A disinterested waiter took our order. Paul asked him, how big are your burritos. He responded in a who the fuck are you kind of way – not too big, not too small. Well, there you go we thought. We all ordered burritos. We drove and drove. Pretty drives, but tiring.

Tucson was nice. We stayed in a friendly hostel. We played in the famous Congress Hotel. A couple had driven almost 100 miles to see us, and that was a first. They were requesting songs and I couldn’t help but laugh. The show ended at 10 at which point the hotel put on an industrial DJ, the people from the show left, and a crew of perfume girls and highlighted hair dudes swarmed in like a burst of fake happiness. I sometimes forget about these things, and then I’ll have an oh yeah moment. Afterward we hung out and ate street food. James and Steve saw a fight and a girl pull her pants down, and I’m pretty sure the way they told it was funnier than if I’d seen it myself. I took off early to sleep to try to kill this cold.

I really like Arizona. Something about seeing flat spaces with no trees, it makes human things feel small. I just passed a bull dozer on the side of the road, and it looked kind of funny and pathetic covered in dust against a flat horizon where you can see for miles. And the desert too, there’s little for taking. We’re headed to some sand dunes later. I’m going to take some pictures.

m.c.