Got some time to kill…

Day 3 – Killington
So let’s see – at this point of the trip I’ve only gotten lost once and that was on the way to a health food store, in a town that issues house numbers not sequentially, but randomly. By the time I got to Killington, the tally was at two. It happened somewhere in New York, but at this point I’m not sure exactly where. Suffice to say after talking to the band’s driver I felt better, as he got turned around at the exact same place as I had. So, if this whole Internet thing goes belly-up I might be able to get a job driving a bus. Sweet.

Remember the ass-smelling motel in Buffalo? Yeah well, thank god for the Inn at Six Mountains. I had a gorgeous room in this ski resort, lodge-type place. The bed was wonderful… and no ass smell to be found.

So I’m in the middle of a mountain town. A relatively small band is playing. I’m thinking the turnout is gonna be poor, much like the previous night in Buffalo, but to my surprise, the place is packed. It probably helped that Jack Daniels was sponsoring that whole week in Killington. The place was crawling with “Jack Daniels Girls” – blondes with strategically-placed tattoos and tight, skimpy outfits. A shame really.

I kinda hung back again at this venue, just people-watching (I averted my eyes whenever the JD Girls cruised through – honest). Before the guys came out, the roadie hit the stage and taped down the set lists at which point, a bunch of fans ran up to take a peek. A couple of guys hung back, so I decided to ask why. It seemed they like surprises and it turns out we’d get one with the opening number. We talked a few minutes more and then introduce ourselves, and it turns out we had been in contact online for a couple of years – so it was good to finally have a non-virtual encounter. As we’re standing there, the guys come out and open with a song they hadn’t played in forever. The three of us were totally blown away – and stayed that way for the rest of the show. It was an amazing gig, the band was on and the crowd was really into it. After an encore the band is trickling off stage one-by-one. The bass player grabs my shoulder and says “make sure you come on the bus.” WOW. Then the guitarist comes through a couple minutes later, and mouths to me “you gotta come on the bus.” That made the whole trip for me. Right there.

I went out to the bus and just hung out for an hour or so. I don’t really like beer, but the one I was drinking tasted great – but probably solely based on the atmosphere. It was really cool, everyone was just chilling out, talking, eating, drinking. The bassist put some old Clapton on the stereo and we’re all grooving along. It’s weird to watch a band listening to someone else’s music and totally getting off on it. Not sure why, but I guess you just realize that they’re fans too. It’s kind of like the great equalizer, everyone enjoys a good riff. At one point the drummer disappeared in the back of the bus with a fan girl for a half-hour or so… rock n’ roll!

I got to drive the guys a little that night too. I made a run up to the cabin so they could all take showers. I ended up falling asleep on a couch waiting for them. Ran ’em back to the bus, and then to my hotel at which point it was 4am, and I needed sleep.

Next stop – Boston.