Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Saturday September 20, 2025 - Indianapolis, IN

Road Blog
Indianapolis, Indiana
September 20, 2025

I left my AirBB in Columbus, Indiana around 11:30am and headed to the only record store in town - Karma Records. Turned out to be 75% head shop, 25% new records. They had an end-cap that advertised a service to turn your home sex tapes into DVDs, so there was that, if any of my readers are interested. I checked out the new Buckingham Nicks remaster LP for a moment and left empty handed.

A quick 40 minutes up the road was Indianapolis - a nice short commute. I headed over to the Fountain Square neighborhood and found myself in a quagmire of art-fair hell traffic, but there was a record store on my list, I had some time to kill, and I stumbled onto some sweet parking, so I decided to check it out. The art fair occupied a triangle-shaped block and was pretty cool - local artisans and a higher-grade of crafts than I usually see at these things. I picked up a lil’ something for TrooperGirl and stopped in at Square Cat Vinyl and did some browsing. I got a cool used LP of Maine Mountain Music, a Blizzard of Ozz coaster, and a couple stickers. The dude who checked me out (Adam I think, from The Breakes ?) recognized my name and has a Tucos shot glass at home. Small world. Anyhow, they’re carrying my Dynamite Alley record and The Tucos’ Candy Coated Cannonball (both GTG Records) at Square Cat now, so Indy friends stop on in and grab one. It’s a great store!

I checked into my motel north of the city and watched some college football and killed a little time before heading back downtown. TrooperGirl22 was wiped out from yardwork and contemplating dinner options as I parked and headed over to a taco joint near the venue. I got the carne asada burrito and Mexican street corn. The burrito wasn’t great - I didn’t care for the cheddar queso that I didn’t order but was charged for, but the street corn was really good. My server was from Detroit and has family in midtown, so we hit it off a bit before I left.

Centerpoint Brewing is a bit off the downtown grid but still in that basic area. I was greeted by Hiam, the bartender, who wasn’t aware I was even coming, and asked me if I was sure I was even in the right place. That’s a confidence booster when you pull into a new joint, I tell ya. I pointed at the posters hanging around the bar and said that it seems like I’m where I should be. Anyhow, she was cool, we got on fine, and she helped me get set up and ready to play.

It’s a big place, maybe an old post office or mail-sorting facility or something, not sure. I played off to the side of the taproom and opted to set up near the front where patrons sitting at the bar could see, and easy access to the patio and load-in/out. I could tell early on that it was gonna be a rough night, and that it was, I’m not gonna lie. The crowd was single-digits thin and I almost packed it in early, but a later rush came and I ended up getting some faces that made it worth it in the end. Whatever, it happens to bands and artists that are bigger and better than me, so I just roll with it, play what I feel like, don’t phone it in (out of respect for the gig and the few who are there), and do my job. Between sets I had a nice chat with Hiam about the service industry, challenges of working in that field, how it’s not that different being a touring musician, and how you gotta find a way to do what makes you happy.

I packed up and loaded out around 9:30 and headed back up to the motel where I had a nightcap, inhaled what was left of my mediocre burrito, and an early bedtime. There’s an Indian wedding party here and the getups these people were wearing are spectacular. They’re all in great spirits and it was fun navigating through the lobby. They apparently had a better turnout than I did tonight, and I’m happy for them. I knew I soulda hit the Indian joint by the hotel for dinner instead of that Mexican place downtown. I dozed off watching A Time To Kill, a movie I love (Ashley Judd, amirite? Holy smokes.) and can’t turn off when it’s on, but I eventually had to if I was gonna sleep at all.

This morning I got up and out the door as quickly as possible, but not before making friends with a cockroach in the bathroom of my motel room. Little fella didn’t know what was going on, said his name was Charlie, but I could call him Chuck, and that he was out looking for some snacks. Cockroaches are gross, but I didn't mess with him. We had our moment, he scurried off beneath the sink and I headed down for a bagel with cream cheese and a banana to go from the breakfast buffet. Don't worry, I’m sure there’s no cockroaches in the kitchen where they keep that food.

The drive was exactly four hours back to Plymouth, Michigan with rain squalls on and off, heavy at times. Every couple miles there was a big hawk on a fence post looking for mice and other breakfast options I suppose. I cranked The Best of Bread, The Cars Anthology, and my fav Sober Aerosmith playlist in that order through Indiana and Ohio. I crossed into Michigan around 11:15 just as the unplugged version of “Seasons of Wither” came on and got home just after noon. TrooperGirl22 was just back from the grocery store and liked her little present, but not so much the piles of luggage, laundry, and liquor from Liquor Barn that I brought in. Time to get this blog out and my bets in for the 1pm games. I got the Eagles at even money -4.5 and parlayed the Commanders money line with Marlota throwing > 1.5 TDs.

That was a fun little run through the midwest. Crowds were a bit light but ya take what ya get and live to fight another day. Thanks to my friends in Columbus, Louisville, and Indy for hanging out, and thanks to YOU for reading. I’m playing Motor City Brewing Works on Tuesday here in Detroit from 6-8, then in 2 weeks back at it with some fly-out shows in the Dakotas and wrapping up that run in Minneapolis with pals The Right Here, so we’ll see ya then. xx