Day 24 - San Luis Abysmal Weather -or- Shake your Frogs and Peaches

The sound of raindrops on nylon woke me. Blythe was sound asleep with a slow drip steadily wetting her hair. Several things became clear in an instant. One was the irony that we have gotten rain in Vegas, LA, and now the usually dry Atascadero. Second was that our $30 dollar tent was leaking like a Russian submarine. Third was that the seam sealer we had put on the tent was essentially good only for our peace of mind up until we actually got rained on.

We packed out our now wet equipment and rode grouchily into San Luis Obispo, a mere 20 minutes away. Gliding quietly through the small town, gilded with raindrops hanging from each palm and eucalyptus tree, we considered our options. We had 7 hours to kill in the rain. Then after the show we would have to find someplace to stay for the night, also in the rain (according to the weather service).

In minutes we had checked into Homestead Motel. It was run by a highly energetic and indecipherable Indian man. He signed us into our room, threw the key at us, and scampered off. Soon we were settled, cozily doing computer work and flipping channels on cable TV. Blythe was so happy with our decision that she passed right out and slept for four hours.

We were so refreshed after our hours out of the rain that we felt pretty good about going to play a show. We rolled up to the Frog and Peach pub and packed in our simplest acoustic set up. We figured that with the weather and the early time, it would be a pretty low key show.

Hank got us set up with some drinks after we loaded in and had us wait a bit for a crowd to show up. We sat and talked with a local musician, Dan of Ashes to Light. Soon some people started showing up so we stood from our barstools to play. We were surprised to find that much of the place reacted instantly. Also, with the windows to the street open, we caught the eye of many passers-by. It was a pretty hot show. We ended at 9:30 on the dot to give Triple Threat, the next band, a chance to set up.

People threw tips in our jar and bought some t-shirts. This was a good night. We sat and talked some more with Dan, as well as Nick and Megan, and BJ and Renee. BJ even offered us a gig to play at his girlfriend’s birthday party. Too bad we’ll be elsewhere. We’ve got to come back to this place, people really responded.

Triple Threat started up and got the crowd rolling right away with some hot classic rock covers. A large party of forty-something pirates drunkenly stumbled in and started tearing the place apart. This was our cue to leave. We said goodbye to everyone and sidled on back to our comfy little motel room. We had some grocery store fried chicken and watched a documentary on weed, all from the comfort of our sagging motel mattress.

Blythe was so pleased with our show that she went right to sleep. I stayed up a bit typing on the computer, but finally succumbed to the four Jameson and sodas I’d had and dozed off.

Thanks to the Frog and Peach for having us, Hank for booking us and getting us set up. Thanks to Dan, Nick and Megan, and BJ and Renee for their interest.

Tomorrow… Carmel (will we see Clint?), Oakland, Mama Buzz, and the desperate search for a place to stay that can get us to SF by 10 am the next morning.