Breathe Owl Breathe New England Tour 2007

—Posted on June 6th, 2007—

andrea

That evening we played the Langdon Street Café in downtown Montpelier Vermont, opening for the Painted Bird who joined Breathe Owl Breathe for their set, crowding the little stage, and playing for a happy audience of about 70 or so, elbow-to-elbow in the café. Afterwards we stayed with the wonderful folks who ran the venue, a collective with a left-wing bookstore, the Black Sheep upstairs. Daniel Kahn’s old friend David Simmons joined him on a second accordion at this show and the next, and we all sat around drinking wine and playing music into the wee hours more like old friends than strangers.

they were surrounded by a couple dozen 8 year old voices singing harmony

The night before, the music teacher at a local Catholic elementary school solicited a performance for her students. Breathe Owl Breathe played for a few classes full of first, second and fifth graders. For a final song, they sang “Home”, and Micah knelt on the floor, as they were surrounded by a couple dozen 8 year old voices singing harmony. It was truly a highlight of the tour.

The following night we continued on to Burlington where we played with Hammer and Saw, opening once again for the Painted Bird. Emily Hilliard, another music friend from Ann Arbor got us the gig, and offered us delicious home-made cookies, and her home. The show was again packed, and klezmer violinist Michael Alpert stopped in for a surprise visit. After the show, we celebrated Michael Tuttle’s birthday, and there was much singing and dancing in the street.

susan

After a delicious breakfast with Hammer and Saw at Penny Cluse, we made our way to the small fishing village of Gloucester, located about an hour north of Boston. We were playing the Fishtown Artspace, a warehouse with a stage, that hosts after-school art classes. We walked in and saw a few 16 year old kids with Telecasters plugged into Marshall stacks, doing some serious rocking. It was loud. When it came time for the owls to play, Micah announced “We’re going to try something a little different. We’re going to go acoustic tonight. You might want to move up towards the stage.” The kids in the audience crowded in, looking like they were ready to mosh. Breathe Owl Breathe started with their cocaine ballad, “Landmark” and quickly captured the attention of the youthful audience who seated themselves at once, and listened carefully. They didn’t see it coming, but they were enjoying it immensely. We sold a record about of CDs and T-shirts that evening.

The Marathon just two days away, and a vicious nor’easter in the forecast, we found Micah a good night’s sleep in a little apartment built on the end of a horse stable. A woman offered to put us up for the night and said her mother would feed us so we followed her home. In the dewy moonlight we were met by the heads of enormous horses popping out of their stalls as we entered the building. Here mother was there, a little tipsy, and delighted to have us. She brought us food, and we played fiddle tunes. In the morning we learned that Prince Charles keeps some of his champion horses in this very stable, and there was a magnificent view of the Governor’s mansion just over the hill from where we awoke.