• 06/21/12              San Francisco, The Independent
• 06/23/12             Portland, OR, Hawthorne Theater
• 06/24/12             Vancouver, BC, Vancouver International Jazz Festival
• 06/26/12             Seattle, WA, Barboza
• 07/01/12             Pasadena, CA, Levitt Pavillion
• 07/05/12            Brooklyn, NY, Metrotech Plaza, Brooklyn Academy Of Music
• 07/27/12             Chattanooga, TN, Nightfall Concert Series
• 09/21/12             Atlanta, GA, Music Midtown Atlanta

You know, they say the shoes don’t make the fish right? Before we descended into Minneapolis, for our final stop on the tour, we came to learn otherwise. A crystalized catfish by the name of Ictabright was a mainstay attraction in Rock Island, IL. He could be seen swimming up and down the Mississippi river – entertaining the locals with his colorful gills and extra-long barbel. Despite his optimistic outlook, though, it was clear in the month of April that Ictabright was looking for something beyond his daily bottom feeding. What he was looking for wasn’t exactly apparent, but, collectively, we had a hunch. This was how we helped:

In Atlanta we stumbled upon a pair of raggedy sneakers underneath the couch in our green room. For whatever reason, we felt compelled to keep these kicks by our side all the way to Rock Island. After our performance there, we traveled to a nearby restaurant located near the Mississippi and couldn’t help but witness some crystallized barbels bobbing about, in and out of the water. It was Ictabright! While mesmerized by the sight, we also noticed a look of longing in his catfish stare. Remember our initial hunch? This was it. Through our best attempts at Squeakery (the native tongue of catfish) we figured out that he was actually longing for the sneakers we were traveling with. We happily passed them his way (and were equally as thankful to rid our van of their stench and flattened soles). Ictabright shot up from the river like he hadn’t in years, in excitement – and was greeted with a kiss from our drummer Ruthie. This put a pep in his aquatic step – and his gills shined just a little brighter that day. True love was found and onto Minneapolis we were, to play our final show of the tour.

The band played on, setting our scheduled time back nearly an hour! Thankfully our good friend and loyal protector, Ms. Madly, came equipped with a new hairdo – and was hungry for some warfare herself. Furious at the sight of his pants and blatant disregard, she parted her hair just a little more to the right and yielded a sword of her own. A furious duel ensued! Tony was clearly no match for Ms. Madly’s swift kicks and sword maneuvers, barely gaining an inch of advantage over her and that ‘do. While no blood was shed, Tony, his yellow pants and his reputation, left The Knitting Factory a little dirtier that day. Our faithful protector proved victorious, and southbound we were.

We exited the south gracefully, but not without some added concern. We came to learn, damply, that Snowdonk was ill-equipped in keeping us cool. Once in Chicago, we swapped her out for another white hype; Hudson Phohawke. Hudson proved to be much a smoother vessel. She even came equipped with a t-shirt, located underneath the passenger seat, with “Fountry as Cuck” taped on the front. We could not have asked for a more appropriate phrase to describe our sound, and journeys thus far.

While referred to as the Wolverine state, our time in Michigan proved otherwise. The locals hipped us to the rumor of an escaped white buffalo in the area, named ‘Drippins’, that was apparently a Van Hunt fanatic!  Confused by the obsession, but admirable of her taste, we kept a collective eye over our gear and selves. However, Drippins managed to make her way to the show and stood front row and center the entire time.  After security promptly escorted her hooves back to the dance floor once – during the show, it wasn’t until our encore that the party truly started.

As Van began his exit, Drippins jumped on the stage and charged after him with a lustful vengeance. Van had his back turned, unaware, and band members rushed to protect him from her lone stampede. All three took part, continuing to play their instruments while taking turns fending off the creature (and while not missing a note or beat). Once security got a hold of her, the band ended the track and proceeded to hip Van to the spectacle that just took place.  We came to learn that Drippins proceeded to urinate on the back of the club once thrown out.  She also managed to hide underneath vehicles and behind dumpsters while dodging security hours after the show had ended.  Van had this to say about the experience;

“I was unaware of what was happening, but I could tell something was up because Doug missed the first chord of the encore’s last section. I was wondering why he simply didn’t play it – but I suppose, if it was in effort to protect me from a storming white bull, I will forgive him this time. In all honesty, now that I think about it, to me this was how I always envisioned ‘Hot Stage Lights’. A soundtrack for a raging bull.”

This long haul had a bad case of something to start.  Our beloved black vessel from last years jaunt, Bronx Trot, had suffered a wound.  The lovely folks at Smooth Moves (the van rental people) told us some band called Pastry Brains had dented the side of it.  Cursed!  However, we were quickly presented with a second, much brighter option.  Enter Snowdonk, our new van equipped with all the fixens.  All was well, and SXSW bound we were.

Along the way we met some friends and foes.  Tusconasaurus, one of our attempted joyriders, offered to sleep inside our gargantuan upright case in exchange for a ride.  To settle the matter, we pulled Snowdonk to the side of the desert road and had a dance off.  With mashup of “Careless Whisper” and “Bop Gun” guiding the movement, it took the 6 of us combined to combat his prehistoric steps.  Onward we were, with victory in our stride.

You can get Live At The Troubadour 2011 by following this link. Featuring 19-tracks, the album is $7.99.  Van and the band have hit the road and are set to kick off the tour on Thursday, March 15th at the Cedar Street Courtyard during the South by Southwest Music Festival.

1. Intro
2. Dimples On Ur Bottom
3. Hello Goodbye
4. Man Of The Year
5. SNM
6. Seconds Of Pleasure
7. Watching You Go Crazy Is Driving Me Insane
8. What Were You Hoping For?
9. North Hollywood
10. What Can I Say?
11. Character
12. Prelude Reprise / Highlights / Peter Intro
13. Eyes Like Pearls
14. Her December
15. A Time Machine Is My New Girlfriend
16. Dust
17. Down Here In Hell
18. The Lowest 1 Of My Desires
19. Outro

• Thu Mar 15, Austin TX Cedar Street Courtyard (presented by Thirty Tigers)
• Fri Mar 16, Houston TX Warehouse Live Studio
• Sat Mar 17, Dallas TX Prophet Bar
• Tue Mar 20, St. Louis MO Lola
• Wed Mar 21, Chicago IL Lincoln Hall
• Thu Mar 22, Ferndale MI The Magic Bag
• Fri Mar 23, Cleveland OH Beachland Ballroom
• Sat Mar 24, Toronto ON The Great Hall
• Tue Mar 27, Washington DC The Hamilton
• Wed Mar 28, Baltimore MD Sound Stage
• Thu Mar 29, Pittsburgh PA Thunderbird Cafe
• Sat Mar 31, Providence RI Fete Lounge
• Sun Apr 1, Philadelphia PA World Cafe Live
• Mon Apr 2, New York NY The Studio @ Webster Hall
• Tue Apr 3, Brooklyn NY Knitting Factory
• Fri Apr 6, Atlanta GA The Earl
• Sat Apr 7, Nashville TN Jazz & Jokes
• Mon Apr 9, Columbus OH The Basement
• Wed Apr 11, Dayton OH Canal Street Tavern
• Fri Apr 13, Bloomington IL The Castle Theatre
• Sat Apr 14, Davenport IA RME Performance Hall
• Sun Apr 15, Minneapolis MN Fine Line Music Cafe

For ticket information click “Tour” on the top of the website.