Jeremy Porter Road Blog

The Rock and Roll Adventures of Jeremy Porter and Jeremy Porter and The Tucos

Lafayette, IN
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Road Blog: Saturday November 11, 2017 - Lafayette, IN

Knickerbocker Saloon :Pre-gaming before the show. (photo from Amy) — at Knickerbocker Saloon. Trivial Nonsense — at Knickerbocker Saloon. The comedy of Patrick Murray! — at Knickerbocker Saloon. Some glorious place along the Hoosier Heartland Highway. — at It`s Mr. Weenie Time.


Road Blog
November 11, 2107 - Lafayette, Indiana

We left the hotel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky after back-to-back-to-back-to-back episodes of The Rifleman. The last episode had guest star Richard Anderson (who played Oscar Goldman in The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman) as the antagonist/villain character to the show’s protagonist Lucas McCain. In the end, the bad guy got his, and little Marc McCain learned a valuable lesson about honor, honesty and principles. The theme was fairly consistent through the episodes, but the characters and delivery varied a bit. We’re gonna write a song about it.

Somewhere around noon we hit the Indiana border on the other side of the Ohio River from Louisville. We discussed the pros and cons of stopping at the store of all “Goat Products” and/or getting “The Hammer on our side” with the Isaacs & Isaacs law firm - who clearly have a corner on the southern-Indiana billboard market, but ultimately decided to make a quick stop at the Flying J Truck Stop where Patrick and Gabriel ganged up on me and subliminally forced me to buy a slice of shitty, cold, coagulated-cheese and meat pizza. Their tactic was indirect and discreet, but sure enough, I fell right in. They say the Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded. It was nasty. I ate about half of it and am still dealing with the shame and regret today, some 22 hours later.

We drove through Indianapolis and eventually hit Lafayette strip-mall hell, where Patty pointed out chain restaurant after chain restaurant that weren’t about to get his hard earned cash. We enjoyed a couple hours of downtime at the hotel where we watched some of the Michigan game, part of a Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band concert, and a bit of Wedding Crashers before Pat and I headed out on foot in search of adventure. There wasn’t much to see, but we did scope out a place called Sushi Burrito that combines two of my very favorite things into one, yet ended up in some terrible beer house drinking Bailey’s and eating chips and queso dip that was the consistency of dirty water.

We rounded up Gabriel and headed into downtown Lafayette for some proper food and load-in. We scarfed down some mediocre/decent brew pub fare and loaded into the Knickerbocker Saloon, which was around the corner. It’s the oldest bar in Indiana, a class joint where the bartenders wear vests and button up shirts, and they have an impressive whiskey selection. It’s split into two rooms, a bar room and a band room, and the band room has a bit of a restaurant feel to it, though they don’t serve food. We played here a couple years ago, so we knew what was up. We said hello to Deborah (the manager), the sound guy, and the opening band, then set up our gear.

We were thrilled to see a couple friends from Indianapolis who made the jaunt over to catch us - Amy and Patrick. Amy is our very own Riff Randall (google her!) - super sweet and so concerned about which of her fav songs would be played. We had some great talks and drinks and her enthusiasm is infectious. Patrick is a great dude who has a stand-up comedy gig going, so we asked him on the spot if he wanted to do 10 minutes before our set, and we were stoked that he agreed!

Trivial Nonsense went on around 9:30pm and played a short set of indie/college rock. They are a five-piece of younger dudes who drove down from South Bend to play the show. They had good tunes, were well rehearsed, and their guitarist was pretty smokin’ too - and they were all super friendly guys. After their set, Patrick got up and told some jokes for a while that had us in stitches. His comedy is on the edgy side, a bit self-deprecating, and super hilarious. We were glad we asked him and he killed!

We went on and played a couple long sets to the crowd that was somewhat coming-and-going. People would come in, catch a few songs, then bail, and some new people would come in. It was a very diverse group - young girls, drinking and dancing, older people making the rounds and just looking for some live music, and just about everything in between. We played fairly well, getting into some deep cuts we don’t often do, and had a good time. Once we were sure we hadn’t forgotten anything Amy wanted to hear, we tore down, loaded out, said our goodbyes and went back to the hotel.

We watched a bit of the HBO Rolling Stone documentary, and drifted off to sleep during the Plaster Caster part, which wasn’t exactly like welcoming visions of sugarplums into our dreams. I was tossing and turning all night, struggling to get any rest at all, and was surprised in the morning when Pat was bitching that the alarm clock went off about five times. How I missed it, I have no idea, but I guess I was out deeper than I thought. We had some breakfast in the lobby, showered, and hit the road.

The next five hours took us across Indiana and Ohio on the glorious Hoosier Heartland Highway. I was at the wheel, which always puts the boys on edge, but gets us to our destination quicker. I saw the fattest red-tailed hawks I’ve ever seen on fence posts every few miles, apparently eating the same crap I have been on this run. I wondered to myself if they liked that shitty pizza from Flying J. A quick stop here and there for gas and restroom breaks, and we finally hit Toledo, then Michigan. Along the way, Pat talked me into getting this venison jerky, and I don’t know why I am so impressionable this weekend, but I did it, and it was a succulent, sodium filled treat. We unloaded in the pouring rain at Gabe’s and headed home to our wives.

That’s the last multi-night run of the year, folks. Thanks for reading the blogs and even bigger thanks to the cast of characters that have been a part of them - the promoters, venues, bands, friends, fans, and everyone else. We’ve got some one-offs the next three weeks, and we’re especially excited for our back-to-back record release shows in Detroit and Lansing this weekend! So come on out and wrap up this year with us in style! Be safe out there! Xo




Jeremy Porter

Rock and roll, traveling, touring, guitars, records, dive bars, whiskey, good food, TrooperGirl22.

www.thetucos.com
www.jeremyportermusic.com
www.gtgrecords.com


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