Some of Those Darlins' earliest shows out of town were in Newport (on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River from Cincinatti) and it has become one of our favorite towns to play. We've met some really wonderful people there who have adopted us and make us feel at home every time we play there. After the show we partied with our buddies Tim, a badass boot cobbler, and Scott, a badass photographer, who hooked us up with a place to stay and made us laugh. Check out Scott's work at www.taketheday.com.
We stayed on the top floor of an old Masonic Lodge:
Our friend Nick crashing Darlins style...The next day our hosts took us to their favorite breakfast dive, The Anchor.
They introduced us to a local delicacy called "goetta" which is a patty made from pork and oats. Wikipedia says it was originally a German peasant food and its popularity in Cincinnati has led to it being refered to as "Cincinnati Caviar". It's kind of like a hashbrown if it were made of meatloaf. You'll just have to try it sometime.
Strike up the band! The Anchor has a live band that dances and plays when you choose a song from the jukebox. We happened to catch one of Barbie's live shows:
There are a ton of old buildings around Cinci and Newport:
And the Ohio River:
And America:
INDIANAPOLIS @ THE VOGUE W/ THE AVETT BROTHERS - April 16, 2009
The Avett Bros were some of the nicest people we've ever met and their set had a lot of energy, with tons of instrument changes. This guy was so hard at work backstage!
While the Avetts dripped with sweat the crowd gave enthusiastic peace signs and at least applauded with excitement when the songs were over, but their feet were firmly planted on the floor. The crowd at this show was also some of the 'nicest' people we've ever met. That's really all I can say about that night. There were very few people ready to throw down with us...but maybe next time Indianapolis?
Byron gave Nikki a tattoo on her boobs...it's just a joke! We don't want another incident like Minneapolis...
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS @ THE HIGH DIVE - April 17, 2009
None of us had ever been to Chapaign but it was a pretty awesome college town with a ton of bars. We played the High Dive and after our show the rock n rollers left and the dance club crowd moved in. We got our kicks, got our things and decided to seek fun elsewhere. We met an awesome person named Amy who took us to a show at the Independent Media Center:
Where there was a community closet full of clothes that we could try on!
It was Byron's birthday so we dressed him up like a king:
Pure royalty:
Nurse Nikki administers medicine:
And even after all that Darlins whiskey, he still has good aim:
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE @ THE HI-TONE W/ THE MAGIC KIDS - April 18, 2009
We LOVE playing Memphis. We've spent a lot of time there over the last two years working with the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (now the Delta Girls Rock Camp) and have made some really good friends. We love the people at the Hi-Tone too - Dan, Joel & Andrew and have fun every time we play there. And the food is great! The drive from Champaign to Memphis was 6 hours so we got krunk on the way:
And Nikki told us about her days as a Nascar driver:
The boys made time for some excercise:
Jessi wasn't feeling so well, but I think it was just the smell in the van:
This handful of shows was only four days but it was so great to check out some new cities and end the run with a show in Memphis before heading back home...till next time!
