Our last shows of the tour were excellent: First there was the impromptu open-mic in Adams Morgan, DC, where a crowd member, upon finding out we were from Minnesota, shouted “Al Franken!” and “60!” between every song.

After that we drove to Philadelphia, where we were warmly welcomed by the women who run Girls Rock Camp there and several of their friends, including members of the delightfully insane ensemble Oh! Pears. The next day we even walked around the historical parts of the city.

That evening we joined Oh! Pears onstage at Johnny Brenda’s, along with An American Chinese and The Mean.

The drive from Philadelphia to Minneapolis was twenty hours long and punctuated only by a midnight meal at Denny’s and the unfortunate news of Jay Bennett’s death.

Now that I’m back, I’ve done that neat trick I performed after my tour with Nolan, which is to immediately and efficiently ablate from memory all the tedious or frustrating parts of touring with a band, leaving only memories of the fun, and the desire to do it all again as soon as possible.

More here.