Seattle

While Jason and Scott had to drive the van from St. Louis to Seattle, finding a new bond along the way,the rest of us flew out there on the 3rd.  James and I shared a Jet Blue flight from Boston pretending to be interested in “Funny People” to avoid conversation.  Actually, aside from my dislike for Adam Sandler and the silly cringe inducing Wilco references, we quite enjoyed the film. I was hoping for a Top Chef marathon but no dice.  We all met up at the hotel to discover that Jay had a little domestic dispute over the holidays.  I don’t know how he managed to keep this out of the papers.  No, it wasn’t a heated Thanksgiving argument and it didn’t involve a golf club.  It seems that he was attacked by a Radio Flyer wagon and sustained an injury to his nose.

Jay is not phased, however.  Let’s not forget that he hails from St. Louis where bandages are fashion statements.

We had a considerable amount of time the day of the show to wander around Seattle and I made a pilgrimage to a place that has been closed the past two times we’ve been there: Amandino’s Salumi. Amandino is the father of celebrity chef Mario Batali and he specializes in cured meats.  There’s usually a line out the door but it’s well worth your time for cased meat heaven.  Since it was a cold, misty Seattle day, I opted for the warm Porchetta sandwich and a glass of wine.

In addition, I purchased a Mole Salami to take home (which has been keeping quite nicely in the van thanks to the freezing temperatures) and some sliced Finocchiona.  Being that it was sliced, the Finnocchiona didn’t fare so well in the van and the smell offended some of the dudes.  Except for Scott, that is, who loves all things meat.  I admit it wasn’t the most pleasant smell but it still was better than the jar of preserved garlic that Farrar bought in Texas.  That smell woke me from a deep slumber:

Neumo’s is a fine rock club with the excellent Pike Place Fish Fry next door.  We played a decent show despite having to go on at 10:30 which was a little late for us East Coasters.