Tour Recap and Reflections: Green Rooms and Great Halls
I’m writing from Lincoln, Nebraska on a travel day as my month-long performance tour with The Dip winds its way back West as we prepare for our tour-closing shows back in Seattle. It’s been a monumental undertaking with months of coordination and has seen the band play some historic venues as well as our largest headline show in the band’s decade-plus history!
This has also been our first tour traveling on a tour bus, which certainly represents a new step for the band, and feels like a meaningful luxury after many years and tens of thousands (or hundreds of thousands…?) miles of driving ourselves across the country. It has also allowed us to expand our stage setup and crew and I wanted to share some particular reflections along with photos from our tour photographers.
After traveling back from Portland, Oregon to begin the tour, I joined the bus for good in San Francisco for our second appearance at the storied Fillmore Auditorium. The venue is famous for its place in the 1960’s counterculture movement and featured some of the periods biggest rock acts.
Saying Hello from The Fillmore! (Photo by Jake Magraw)
The venue is features concert posters from sold-out shows filling almost every wall throughout the second floor, and I was particularly interested to find legendary saxophonists like Ornette Coleman and Rahsaan Roland Kirk amongst the artist featured. I always enjoy seeing the Green Rooms in these iconic venues and like to think about how many musicians have warmed up in the same small spaces!
Practicing Flute Amidst Suitcases and Bananas (Photo by Jake Magraw)
One benefit of traveling with the bus is I’ve been able to find a little bit more time to practice after we arrive at the day’s venue - it’s also fun exploring the different spaces and acoustics of not only the stages, but stairwells, balconies, and anywhere else I can find space.
Capturing a moment between flute warmups before our show in Houston, TX.
Getting ready to hit the stage in Austin, TX. (Photo by Jake Magraw)
After moving down from Los Angeles to Tucson (my only new stop on the tour!) and through Texas, the band took a day to record some instrumental tracks at Royal Studios in Memphis, where some of the most iconic soul recordings in history were created.
Some Incredible History in These Tapes!
Setting Up To Record!
We began our East Coast run of shows with our second-ever show at the storied 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The original venue held only about 200 people, but was formative in the punk and underground scenes of the 1980’s. This larger version under the same name opened in 1996 and has since become one of the more notable venues in the country.
Setting Up at the 9:30 Club.
D.C. Stage During the Show. (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
Psychedelic Flute Moment at the 9:30 Club (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
From D.C. we moved on to Philadelphia, which has become one of my favorite tour stops over the years. The city was once the home of John Coltrane and was the longtime base of one of my biggest musical inspirations - Sun Ra. The longtime current leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Marshall Allen, still resides in the city at the age of 100 and I tried to channel his performance energy for our show.
Our next show in Boston represented the largest headline show we’ve done to date and was a night we were all looking forward to. As a bonus, as an avid baseball fan, I was able to take in a Fenway Park tour right next door. The show was indeed a special one and felt like a milestone moment in our touring history.
Setting up for a Soundcheck in Boston.
Taking in a Moment After the Show. (Photo by Jake Magraw)
From Boston we traveled to New York City for the first of several two-night engagements on this tour. I was again looking forward to playing Webster Hall due to the history of the venue both as a performance space and a recording studio. Built in the 1800’s, the main ballroom of the building served as a recording studio for RCA records and was used by some of the most famous jazz and popular artists. Of particular note to me as the band’s baritone saxophonist - Gerry Mulligan and his Concert Jazz Band recorded here in 1961.
From the Lighting Board at Webster Hall. (Photo by Jake Magraw)
Silhouette in Green from Webster Hall. (Photo by Jake Magraw)
After a Monday night off in New York where I was able to see the famous Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (featuring two of my favorites - Dick Oatts and Gary Smulyan), we traveled up to Toronto for our only Canadian concert of the tour. I’ve always loved going to Tortonto; and, it is another city where we’ve worked up slowly and steadily to larger venues from some raucous early nights at the Horseshoe Tavern. It was a quick trip of only about sixteen hours north of the border, but like always the crowd did not disappoint!
A Colorful Flute Moment in Toronto. (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
We then moved to the next of our two-night stays at the historic Thalia Hall in Chicago. Built in 1892, this is another building dripping with history, and is one that I’ve been looking forward to getting back to since our first appearance in 2022. These shows sold out well in advance, so we were all looking forward to having two nights with enthusiastic crowds.
Set Up Outside Historic Thalia Hall
Singing Backups on Chicago Night Two. (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
View From the House in Chicago. (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
Finally, our last show prior to this writing was one that I had circled on this tour - the iconic First Ave in Minneapolis. Beginning as a music venue in the 1980’s, most know this club for its association with Prince and its feature in Purple Rain. The reminders of Prince abound - from the mural across the street to his motorcycle in the parking garage, this is another venue that acknowledges its place in American musical history. To be able to finally play the famous club after working our way up through smaller venues in town was another notable moment on this tour.
Prince Mural Overlooking First Ave in Minneapolis.
The Crowd inside First Ave. (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
As we head into the last week of the tour it’s been fun to reflect on some of these memorable nights at venues I’ve long wanted to experience. Musically, I’ve enjoyed expanding as a multi-instrumentalist within the set switching among baritone and alto saxophones and flute while getting to chime in with some background vocals throughout the set. Doing more pit orchestra and doubling work was a hallmark of my early career as a musician, and its been fun to get to exercise those chops a little bit more within our shows. And, after about ten years, we’ve been featuring a new stage position for the horn section - getting to experience our shows from a different angle has been a fun change as well. At the same time, we’ve incorporated some acoustic moments into the set where we I get to play fully acoustic without any monitors; having those close-up moments with the crowd at the front of the stage has been a highlight of each night as well.
Me and the Honeynut Horns Playing the Acoustic Set. (Photo by Brynn Osborn)
If you’re still reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed a little look into the last few weeks! I rarely take the time to look back on some of these big shows, and it’s been nice to reflect on the past few weeks and the years that built up to them. Until Next Time!
-Evan
Taking in the Moment… (Photo by Brynn Osborn)