Highlights from the Starlight Mints tour (Boston-Montreal-Ann Arbor-Minneapolis-Philly-Lancaster-New York and a bunch more places in between)
1. Magnolia making best friends with Penny, Marion and Andy's daughter. Gotta love the tour kids.
2. Penny and Magnolia chasing each other for hours, sound-checking with the parents and hiding in the gear cases.
3. Watching Marion dance while the Mints played every night. I have no idea where she gets her energy.
4. Deciding that Lancaster, PA, is eerie. People have a glaze in their eyes there. Not too far from Three Mile Island. Of course, the people at the show were all completely sane and an amazing crowd. But our suspicions about creepy Lancaster were confirmed the next day when that horrible shooting at the Amish school happened. We felt the sadness in the air before anything even happened.
5. Sold out Irving Plaza in NYC for the first time. After playing the Big Apple twenty times in our lifetime as a band, we were stoked.
6. Dancing on stage for that "Woo-hoo" song by the Mints.
7. Okay, this sounds absurd for a highlight but . . . Magnolia threw up for the first time on this tour. Motion sickness in the mountains while driving. Even though it was heartbreaking, it was a lifetime first — a milestone, if you will. We moved her car seat up a row in the car and told her not to watch the trees out the window anymore. Right after she ralphed she said, "I really didn't like that." Smart girl.
8. Jam session in the old rectory-turned-band-housing at the Parish in Pittsburgh. We used the piano and some old, out-of-tune hand drums and world instruments. It ruled.
9. Playing Mafia with everyone on tour. Mafia is our favorite parlor game. You try your best to lie to your friends. You learn a lot about your friends' dark sides.
10. Playing a modified version of Mafia with just Jason and Suzi. We lied to each other and tried to see if we could detect any subtle face movements. You know those people who can detect liars 99% of the time? We're working on that skill. We just took turns lying to each other over and over as Magnolia slept ten feet away.
11. Ryan from the Mints coming on stage during "Running Out" and pretending to play bass. He "plugged-in" to a suitcase.
Minneapolis!
Jason has wanted to play here at First Avenue since he was a young skater boy discovering punk rock and early indie bands. His entire family showed up tonight. Magnolia gets to stay at Grandma and Grandpa 
Hammel's house for a few days and play with her cousins. We like staying there too, of course. At the show, I mentioned something about dancing. Before we knew it, thirty-plus people climbed on stage to dance. It was chaos. Just amazing. Those moments playing live are the ones you remember. When people just want to join you, to be a part of it. And even though I worry about chords getting unplugged, and even though I wouldn't welcome it every night, tonight it felt so right.
©2006 Mates of State and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Kori Gardner is the organ-playing half of the band Mates of State; her husband, Jason Hammel, plays drums. Known for their vocal harmonies and euphoric melodies, Mates of State has been described by critics as "unabashed joy", "honesty at its best", a "two piece with balls", and "a band that you must see live." Their daughter, Magnolia, was born in 2004 and started touring with the band at 10 weeks. Hear their latest album, Bring it Back, at www.matesofstate.com. |
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