Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Monday May 12, 2025 - Buffalo, NY

Road Blog
May 12, 2025
Buffalo, New York

I left Cleveland around 10:30 with not nearly enough sleep, but grateful for the short drive ahead. I drove through Pennsylvania and into New York cranking The Afghan Whigs and NP Presley & The Ghost of Jesse Garon and landed at my BnB around 2PM. My host Jen showed me around, and again, I find myself staying in basically a historic mansion with the run of the place. I set my laptop up, changed the strings on my guitar, got caught up on a couple emails and texts, and got ready for the show.

This is my fifth show in Buffalo, each one at a different venue. I’ve been trying to get into the Sportsmens Tavern for many years. I always heard it was a great room, perfect for The Tucos, but never was able to seal the deal. Finally, with the assistance of my pal Geoff, I was able to secure a date, and got my pal Jungle Steve to play too. The Sportsmen’s is a bigger room than I’d usually play but turnout was good for a Monday and it all worked out. It’s got a balcony floor and a main floor, a bar in the back corner, and bar and another venue out back. Plenty of space and a great sound system. It’s an awesome room, best I’ve played in a while. The food is great too!

I went on at 7:15 and played for an hour. My fingers weren’t behaving, and I was fumbling a bit, but I played ok and had a good, attentive crowd. Jungle Steve went on after me and played a great set. He’s a fantastic songwriter and can pick circles around me on guitar. He’s the boyfriend of the sister of the fiancé (Alexandria) of my brother Nate Presley. Got all that? Well, we played together in Lexington, KY in December and here we are again, so thanks for that connection, NP!

After the show I got caught up with Geoff and a few other people who stopped by to get some merch. I (re)met a guy named Dave who saw The Tucos back in 2016 when we played Buffalo Iron Works. We were both amazed that it was 9 years ago. We talked about the other band Second Trip that played that night, who we both really liked, but they are no more apparently. One dude came by the merch table and picked up on just about every single lyric I stole in all my songs. “So when you say ‘spanning time’ in Bottled Regrets…” yep, that’s from Buffalo `66. “And when you say in Josh that he didn’t ‘have time for dice or drink or whores’…” yep, Pogues, Body of an American. And there were about 4 more, but I don’t wanna give away the secrets to all of my thievery. He picked up on things no one else ever had, it was awesome.

Before I left, I got to have a chat with John Lombardo, the guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs, who took in both sets. We talked some Marquette, Detroit, and Ann Arbor and he has many fond recent and older memories of Michigan. Super nice guy with some flattering compliments, and very cool that he was there. And yeah don't @ me. I was honest and told him that my friends and I were listening to Hüsker Dü and The Replacements while our girlfriends were listening to 10,000 Maniacs back in the day.

I called home and talked to TrooperGirl22 on the drive back to the BnB. Things are good back in Michigan, and I’m 6 down and 5 to go before I go home. Big thanks to Jay, Jungle Steve, and everyone who came out to the Sportsmen’s Tavern tonight – probably my best Buffalo gig to date! Tomorrow I’m at Downtown Brew in Fredonia, New York with Eric Weinholtz and Ed Croft. Show is 8-10 so come on down! Xx