I’ve been to “the Bay” a number of times, but the show I played this Friday night was my first trip to Berkeley proper.  This weekends tour with The Strangled Darlings seemed an appropriate introduction.  We drove down from Arcata in a steady morning rain, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying a quick trip through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and fulfilling one of George’s life goals of seeing a rare albino redwood tree (also a more in-depth video).

One of only probably 50 albino redwoods in the world.

Driving through Humboldt County reminds me of my first trip to the area in 2005 to backpack the Lost Coast.  At that point, the religious kid from Chicago was surprised that the prevalence of “illegal” activity.  After living in Oregon for 4 years, it seems far more banal:

Just another fine business establishment in Willits, CA. Marijuana accounts for an estimated 2/3rds of all economic activity in Humboldt County.

The rain hadn’t let up by the time we got to Berkeley at 3:30pm, which made exploring the city on foot fairly unappealing.  After gorging at a local Ethiopian place, we took a quick tour down College street and posted up at a coffee shop just a few blocks from the venue The Starry Plough.

Thanks for a great space, solid acoustics, and an attentive crowd!

First off- many thanks to the Glumac SF/SV staff, and my brother+friends for showing up and giving the out-of-town band the largest contingent of fans in the room.  George laid down some solid stage banter, my brother in the audience provided plenty of laughter, and as usual, we had a very good time making music together.  I feel very fortunate to have found great people to play music with, my only regret was not getting to play with them sooner!  Obviously, I’ll be looking forward to other opportunities to keep this partnership alive.

Wonderful musicians, also wonderful people.

Late Friday we headed into San Francisco to stay with my friend Ross (many thanks for the couch/floor/shower!), and tour the city a bit on Saturday morning.  Continuing rain drove us south to see my brother in San Jose for the afternoon and evening.  Art walk, dinner, and jamming ensued before an early bedtime and long drive back to Portland this morning.  With the rest of the band being unfamiliar with fine fast food, we held out for lunch today at the northern-most In ‘n Out Burger in Redding, CA.

Double double, animal style and fries... time to hit the Airdyne.