Tour Journal: The Cloth – Summer Tour 2015 – Post 1
Day 4: We approach the 1300 mile mark.
Nate and I met up with Kevin in Richmond on Monday nite, his birthday eve. The three of us have been partying together at shows in some form or another for nearly a decade; Kevin used to play drums in the Catalyst, and currently plays in Goo, with Kyler and Stubbs from Field Day. After one final sweat-soaked practice Tuesday we front-porched it at unicorn gardens retirement home, the occasional show-house he shares with Kelsey from Bitchmouth / Ultraflake.
Hit the road Wednesday afternoon, Durham-bound. Tour kickoff show at the Palace, another sometime-house-venue run by Alex of Bvnnies, a crushing blackened sludge band. Picklebacks for dinner. Mantle opens, Melvins style Hobbit-rock. We play second, followed by Akkad, a satellite project of Make. Bvnnies closes, the clouded room lit only by one red light. Party into the wee hours, no recollection of when we fell asleep.
Mantle live @ Palace House in Durham, NC
The Cloth live @ Palace House in Durham, NC
Bvnnies live @ Palace House in Durham, NC
Columbia, SC, on Thursday at Chapel of Crust, a renegade motorcycle repair shop / weed den. Crank out a one-pot pasta meal at Stephen from Endless Bummer’s house. Get to the venue and it’s like a crust punk Lord of the Flies, or possibly the Foot HQ in the first TMNT movie: someone is lovingly detailing the walls with Sharpie, the back room is filled with teenagers and beer cans, the owner has his numerous traffic violations pinned to the wall next to flyers and rattails. Suddenly a case of 40s arrives and the show starts. Solo noise act opens, I missed his short set but it sounded par for the course in the drone / experimental world. Loveably sloppy ska-punk Lestro next, and we close the nite. Party moves back to Stephen’s, burritos, grass, shotguns, rain, floor sleep.
The Cloth in Columbia, SC
Friday at Wonderroot in Atlanta, a community arts space. Steve from Seagulls is a sanctuary for the Cloth. Reheat some pasta at his house, pick a tick off his back for him ’cause that’s what buds do, and head out. Cissy opens for their first show, sounding like an alternate dimension Nirvana with no heroin or smug sarcasm. Pretty Please is second and I’ve been trying to see them for over a year. Their Unsane-grunge is punishing and does not disappoint. We go third in the basement space, there is a keg and it smells like it. Palaces follows with a thick Helmet-style rock, and Bully Pulpit closes, their dirty glam frontguy rock stirring the crowd in the late nite. We get back to Steve’s and shoot pool til the sun comes up.
Pretty Please @ Wonder Root in Atlanta, GA
Wake up Saturday and eat at a vegan spot nearby. 5 hours to Pensacola turns swiftly into 7, but the ride is beautiful, with rainbows and ufos. Sluggo’s gives us touring-band-priced burritos and beers, we follow an earnest acoustic act from a member of locals Glare. Just woke up at our friend Dylan’s, the search for coffee soon begins, and a short trip to New Orleans for tonite’s show.
Editors Note: Listen to all of the bands they played with below:
Mantle (NC)
Metal, Doom, Rock
Facebook
Pretty Please (GA)
Grunge, Punk, Noise Rock
Facebook / Twitter / YouTube
Bully Pulpit (GA)
Hard Rock, Blues, Rock n’ Roll
Facebook / Twitter
Palaces (GA)
Crust, Metal, Hardcore
Facebook
