Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Monday October 13, 2014 - Tulsa, OK

Tour Blog – Day 5 – Tulsa

We pulled into Tulsa around 6pm after 10 ½ hours of mostly Kansas, some Colorado and some Oklahoma. I’ve seen enough of Kansas to last me a while. Almost 25 hours total of through and back through that state. It was nice to get into Oklahoma and see some trees and lakes!

Our motel was a sweet little retro dive right on Route 66, complete with rotary phones, real keys and a great sign right out front. It wasn’t the Ritz, but the price was right and they had running water. What the hell….

We got dinner at a Mexican place downtown near the venue, because, as we’ve already established, I’d eat Mexican for pretty much every meal given the chance. The venue was The Downtown Lounge and this and the 3 Kings in Denver have been my favorite so far. The walls are covered in cool posters from area shows and the wall next to the stage is covered in set lists from bands who’ve played there, so I added ours (it’s the one in the pic with all abbreviations). They have a great stage and a pool table and the bartender was a sweetheart who poured a good whiskey and kicked J Tyler’s ass at arm-wrestling.

Minks and J Tyler from TCR were playing pool when we walked in, and they were a bit whacked out on no sleep from their overnight drive, but in great spirits, and those Kentucky smiles are usually about all it takes to get me in show-gear. It was great to see Johnna Appleseed and her husband and their friends too! It’s always so awesome to run into a friendly face from Marquette in a city that’s about as far away as you can get.

TCR went on and played like they were shot out of a cannon. We took the middle slot and did our best to match their energy (but didn’t even try to match their volume), and locals The Danner Party wrapped things up with a great set of bluesy-punk. Great dudes who were front and center for our sets and partied with us all night. Things got just a little crazy as it was the sound guy’s birthday and some shots were going around, but Gabriel got us back to the retro Desert Inn just fine where we demolished our Mexican leftovers and crashed for a few hours.

This morning we ate at a little rock & roll diner that the bartender at the venue suggested and it was GREAT! I got grits, just because my wife loves them and I miss her. We’re now heading south towards Texas beneath a pure-blue sky and the warmest temps we’ve seen. Tonight is Austin – my first time playing anywhere in Texas! And – my first ever Lone Star beer. Can’t wait!!!