August 7th

Adrian Going Full Tribal

Unusually, it was Adrian who was the first of the BWW boys to call it a night, heading bedwards at about 4.30 a.m. Leigh was next, followed by Damian, but it was Phil Gough who won the dirty-stop-out-bad-boy-party-animal stakes, staying out past 8 a.m.

Not surprisingly, the band took some rousing the next day. With a little help from Starbucks, the BWW posse surfaced at about noon, finally mounting Ashley (the tour van) at about 1 p.m. The ride to Fairfax took us over the Golden Gate Bridge, not that we could see it, since a dense cloud completely consumed the landmark – and us – as we drove across.

We drove on, out of the cloud, and into the breathtaking beauty of wine country. After checking into our hotel, we headed to Applebee’s for lunch. Unfortunately a swarm of wasps had the same idea, chasing us from our outside table to the relative safety of an inside booth, where we continued to eat while updating this humble blog.

Then it was off to sound check at 19 Broadway. Some dodgy Mapquest directions meant the band took a brief detour, but we eventually arrived at the venue. An upstairs flat served as the dressing room and “backstage” area. Our host’s wife had kindly cooked a homemade veggie lasagna for our dinner, but as the production manager began heating our meal, smoke filled the upstairs flat. Fear of a full-scale fire quickly brought the production manager’s rare attempt at cooking to a halt, but with the help of an Italian eaterie up the road, who kindly loaned us the use of their ovens, dinner was eventually served in the upstairs tiki bar – and very nice it was too.

Gabe of Oslo

The venue filled as our support band, Oslo, took to the stage. As always, they dropped a flawless, energetic and highly danceable set. We love those guys.

The Cheering Crowd at 19 Broadway

By the time BWW took to the stage the room had filled almost to capacity. The proceeding show was extremely hot and sweaty – just how we like them. Afterwards, one over-enthusiastic audience member made a grab for Annabella’s tambourine and bells, but Damian, with his eye always on the ball, made the save of the day. By the time we’d packed and loaded up Ashley it was 2 a.m.. With the local police department standing by to wish us a friendly “goodnight,” it was time to head back to the hotel to catch some Zzz’s before the long journey home the next day.

Annabella and Phil

Mattia of Oslo