Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Sunday October 15, 2017 - Dallas, TX

Road Blog - Dallas, TX
October 15, 2017

We left Lawrence, Kansas with me at the helm, Gabriel riding shotgun and Patrick in the back. It was a gorgeous but crisp morning with blue, sunny skies overhead. There's not too much to say about an 8 hour drive through Kansas and Oklahoma along a never ending two-lane state highway, but highlights were beautiful, giant hawks perched on fence posts and trees every couple miles, roadkill armadillos, and the occasional joke or jab from one of the boys. We were still a bit jaded from the debacle in Lawrence, but we were doing a good job moving on, spinning music and thanking the gods that we didn't live in some of the run down little rural crossroads we passed through.

We checked into the Magnolia Hotels and had just a little time to freshen up and change a set of guitar strings before we headed to the venue. It's a really nice hotel, nicer than we are used to, and we could have used some down time, but we had work to do. We drove into Deep Ellum, which is the entertainment district of Dallas, but was originally settled as a freedmen's town by former slaves after the Civil War. There was incredible street art everywhere and bars, music venues, and restaurants stacked on top of each other. We got rock star parking right in front of Adair's Saloon and loaded in.

After we set up we went across the street for salads and beers before the show. One of my best friends Amy and her husband Jeff came over and it was so great to see them. Amy and I haven't seen each other in person in over 15 years, and I hadn't met Jeff yet so it was a real treat - great people. We went back to the bar where my pal Brooks was now set up with beers and ready to hear us, and Pat's sister in law Beth and her husband TJ were there too.

Adairs is a long, thin bar covered in graffiti and stickers with a stage in the front. I started the night by playing a couple solo acoustic songs, then the boys came up and we did 3 sets to a decent Sunday night crowd. We had some dancers on and off and a table of rowdy Irish women who joined in on an a capella version of Dirty Old Town by The Pogues. Afterwards we visited with our friends, sold some merch, and loaded out. Pat and Gabe went back to the hotel and I stayed for a couple more rounds before grabbing a Lyft myself. It turned out to be a super fun night, especially for a Sunday.

This morning hit pretty hard, but I'm rallying ok and getting some business done. Dallas was a blast and we can't wait to come back! Tonight we're at the Neches Brewing Company in Port Neches, Tx for 2 sets around 7pm. See y there!