Todd and I got ourselves ready to go, dropped off the car and got to the gate at the airport without incident. It really went quite smoothly, although I always seem to get nervous going through the security checkpoints. I never run into any actual problems, but they have ultimate authority to really ruin your day and you have no recourse.

Other than that, what is there to say about a 90 minute airplane ride.

Back in the Twin Cities, Hjalmer and Sommer were kind enough to give me a ride home. It was really a blessing, because public transportation would have taken a couple hours instead of the 30 minutes it actually did. When you consider that Hjalmer lives Southeast of Minneapolis and I live Northwest, he went out of his way to make it happen.

Back at the house I didn’t even unpack. I just set my alarm and decided to take a nap. Then it was a quick shower and down to Harvey’s to meet up with people before the show. Tippy and Diane were there with a bunch of people from the board, but damned if I can remember any of their names.

I’ve talked about the Fine Line before, so we’ll dispense with the details about it.

Tippy, Diane and I took our places up front, while Todd got a table had hung out with his family. He had quite the entourage, really. His girlfriend, both daughters, their significant others, and his son Ted. His brother was supposed to be there too, but at the last minute he couldn’t make it.

I ran into Jeff, but didn’t recognize him at first. When I originally met him, he was wearing a hat so I never really got a good look at his face. Also, Destiny, his wife, was there the first time but was going to be late tonight. Something about a Godsmack show and being the “Cool Aunt.”

Todd had convinced Per to come to the show, and I think he sat at the table with Todd and family. I figured I’d catch him after the show. Hjalmer was there too, but Sommer wasn’t feeling well so she stayed home.

As Fast As tore it up again, with me singing along the whole time. Then it was Roger Time.

In spite of the crowd, Ted came up and hung out for a while. I think he’s the one that turned Todd onto Roger in the first place. From what I could tell, the Fine Line was even more packed than Joe’s in Chicago. No problem for me. I’m glad to deal with it because, and there’s no use denying it, I’m a Roger groupie.

Tippy got the setlist this time, but I got a picture. Going from what I found on the message board, including the couple add-ins it was:

Bury My Heart at the Trailer Park; Broken Record; Banditos; I Don’t Need Another Thrill; Mexico; Little Hungover You; Mexican Moonshine; Interstate†; Wanted; Americano; Feeling; European Swallow; Honky Tonk Union; Nada; Leaky Little Boat; Love, Come Lighten My Load; Girly; Yahoos and Triangles; Loco To Stay Sane; Better Beautiful Than Perfect (by request for Jeff and Destiny’s anniversary); Tell Yer Mama; Mekong; Down Together ; with Green & Dumb; Jack vs. Jose; Counterclockwise; and Blue Collar Suicide for the encore.

After the show, we hung around for a while. Both Per and Hjalmer have drunk the Kool-Aid and are now Roger Clyne fans – Per especially. When things finally started breaking up, I walked with Todd and Lori back to their car so I could grab the my posters from the previous shows. Todd had transported them back as his second carry-on so they would make it safely.

On my way back to the car, I happened across Roger leaving the club and heading for the tour-bus. Nobody else was around, so I got a private couple minutes to chat and thank him for the great series of shows. He actually remembered my name from the previous night, which was really a shot in the arm.

I could seriously see doing another road trip to see a bunch of Roger Clyne shows. I don’t know that I’d do them spread as far apart as these four were. Luckily he’s known to do Lincoln, NE; Des Moines, IA; Cedar Falls, IA; Brookings, SD; then the Twin Cities. Each of those is only a couple hundred miles apart, at most, so a driving tour would be completely doable.

We’ll have to see what comes up when he tours the new album that’s supposed to come out next spring.

• Originally recorded as a Refreshments track. † First time I’ve heard this one live.

Note: I started this post the day after I got back from my trip, but it took a while longer to get stuff together and get it posted.

We didn’t actually get out of the hotel room until almost 10am, so Todd and I decided to just skip breakfast and pick up portable food at the gas station when we filled up the car. Detroit to Chicago is 300 some-odd miles, which meant it was going to be a long day.

Before we left, we booked a hotel for Chicago via Orbitz. The place that had originally been suggested was either full or $169 per night depending upon which travel site you checked. Instead we ended up with $89 per room for the night at the Holiday Inn Select near O’Hare airport, but about 14 miles from the venue for the show. I figured it would work better because when it came time to head for the airport, we wouldn’t have to drive through town to get there. I’d rather make that drive after the show at 2am instead of during the day, even on a Saturday.

The drive into Chicago was uneventful, although we did see some snow along the way.

Actually, I shouldn’t say it was completely uneventful: Along I-80, cars get a faster speed limit than larger vehicles, so we were cruising along pretty good. After a quick rest stop we were back on the road and I could see a coach bus in the distance.

I thought to myself “Wouldn’t that be funny if it were Roger’s bus?” but kept it to myself. We were still at least ¼ mile back and, really, what are the odds?

As it turns out, we saw the horses on the side as we got close. Just as I was about to say “I don’t suppose that’s Roger’s bus, is it?” Todd started digging around in his CDs. He opened the window, got a death grip on his copy of Americano and held it out the window as we pulled in front. In the rear-view mirror I could see the driver pointing to us, apparently talking to someone else on the bus.

We hit traffic on our way in, but it wasn’t horrible. About like rush-hour through Downtown Minneapolis, except this was 3 in the afternoon near Southwest Chicago. It was mostly due to construction along I-90.

Once we got checked in and settled at the hotel, we headed over to the club. Todd and I figured that it would be good to locate the venue and find some dinner in the area before the show so we aren’t rushed. As it turns out, Joe’s Bar isn’t really around anything, food-wise, so we ended up eating at the club.

Inside, the club looks to be about the size of First Avenue, between 750 and 800 person capacity. We found Tippy and Diane again, right up front, and joined them. The first opener was already on, an acoustic guitar duo whose name I can’t remember. They were OK, but not really worth remembering or buying their CD.

By the time As Fast As took the stage, the place was packed. Everyone was pressed up against each other and good luck getting back to your spot if you wanted to hit the bar. The more crowded the show, the more fun it tends to be, and this was no exception. And now I’m sure that Spencer and the boys are doing the same set each night. That’s OK though, since that makes it easier to sing along; and I didn’t care who heard me. They kicked ass.

Roger’s show was great too. I’m loving every minute, and getting recognized – even when it’s just a nod – is really pretty cool.

I didn’t manage to get a set list this time, but the woman who did was nice enough to let me snap a picture of it: Americano; Wanted; Blue Collar Suicide; Honky Tonk Union; Banditos; Little Hung Over You; City Girls; Mexico; Broken Record; Down; Tell Yer Momma; Love, Come Lighten My Load; Switchblade; Girly; Yahoos and Triangles; European Swallow †; Jack vs. Jose; I Don’t Need Another Trill; Green and Dumb; Beautiful Disaster; Bury My Heart at the Trailer Park; Counterclockwise; with the encore being Leaky Little Boat; Mekong; and Nada. That’s according to the written list, so there might be a couple things out of order or an addition.

We didn’t hang around very long after the show, which may have been by design on the club’s part. They started playing techno/house music right after Roger was done and it cleared the place out pretty fast. Todd and I wandered around behind the venue and saw that the crew was loading the bus with such purpose, it was unlikely that Roger was going to come out. With the lack of other bars or restaurants around Joe’s, we took it as a sign to go back to the hotel and get some sleep.

(* These were originally recorded as Refreshments tracks.)

Note: I started this post Saturday when I was back home. It took me a while to get it finished and on-line after that.

We got out of Cleveland late, and met with a couple road delays on the way to Detroit, so we didn’t get into town until about 4:30 this afternoon. Since we still had to find a hotel at that point, we had to abandon our stop at the Mowtown Museum. Pretty disappointing, but it was an add-on “if we had time,” so it’s not like we’re really missing anything we had planned for the trip.

We found the venue, The Magic Bag, just fine and stopped in the parking lot for a bit while we did some research on hotels. We ended up at the Red Roof Inn roughly 4 miles away. Not a bad place, especially for $50 per night. No amenities and outside access to the room (like most motels), but the rooms were clean and the place didn’t strike either of us as a bad place to be.

We grabbed a quick dinner at a Mexican place next door to the hotel. It was called Grand Azteca, which I swear must be related to the El Loro/El Azteca chain in the Twin Cities. The menus looked identical, as did the food stylings, right down to the white salsa that I love so much. From there, it was a quick jaunt over to the club and on with the show.

The Magic Bag looks to have been converted from an old movie theater. The stage is about 4 feet high and the main floor is broken into several levels, which of which is a foot or so higher than the one in front of it. The layout makes for good sightlines pretty much anywhere you are in the club.

As Fast As put on another great set. I didn’t pay 100% attention, but I think it was the same songs as the first night, including their cover of Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes,” which was pretty fun to see.

Once Roger came out, things really heated up. He and the boys did a great show where they did (I managed to snag a setlist from the stage, so this one is as right as I can make it): Blue Collar Suicide; I Don’t Need Another Thrill; Banditos; Honky Tonk Union; Broken Record; Mexico; Love, Come Lighten My Load; Switchblade; Leaky Little Boat; Bury My Heart at the Trailer Park; Girly; Yahoos and Triangles; Jack vs. Jose; Preacher’s Daughter (request); Americano; Mekong; Green and Dumb; Tell Yer Momma; Andale (new song!); Wanted; with Mexican Moonshine; Counterclockwise; and Nada for the encore.

After the show, I talked to the guys in As Fast As for a few minutes and got most of them to autograph their CD. When I tried to catch up with Todd, the bouncers wouldn’t let me get to where he was because they were trying to get people out of the club. Never seen bouncers be quite so aggressive about clearing out the place after a show, especially when bars don’t close for another couple hours.

I told Todd I’d wait outside while he tried to stick in there to talk with Steve for a few minutes. When he came out, he said that Steve told him to come to a place called the Shuffleboard “next door” and we’ll hang out for a while. Todd went to the bus to see if he could catch Roger while I stood watch at the corner.

Finally Nick and Steve happened by and said to come along so I said I’d catch up in a minute and went to fetch Todd. Good timing on my part too. I got to talk with Roger for a couple minutes and filled in a couple autographs. Then Todd and I headed over to a different local place with Steve and hung out for a while again. Turns out Nick was there too and we had a great time, although it made for another pretty late night.

9am is going to come very early, I think, but we have a 6 hour drive back into Chicago and still have to finalize hotel arrangements before the show.

(* These were originally recorded as Refreshments tracks.)