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So life has resumed after the whirlwind Fending/Matis tour! A few observations about the areas/venues we visited after the Buffalo date:

NYC

• ABC No Rio was an excellent venue on the Lower East Side. Parking was a bit harrowing, but no worse than negotiating with cabbies for entry into the Holland Tunnel. If you like big crowds and think of yourself as a chamber musician or rockstar, it might not be for you. But if you want people to listen and be genuinely interested, GO THERE. Great place to play, and I hope to return.
• CBGB's 313 Gallery was cool and I definitely know now why Jon insisted we play both shows that night. The venue is, however, more museum than counterculture these days. There were more tees for sale than room for people in the venue - I think that's my new gauge for crossing from Iconic to Gift Shop.

DC

• The Red and The Black is definitely a cool bar reminiscent of some of my favorite places to go (and play), and they alledgedly have great New Orleans-style food. The crowd was small due to (a) the obscurity of the music, (b) the location, (c) our lackluster promotion of the engagement and (d) everything else not covered in the first three. Smoking in bars now freaks me out, I've found - NY has been smoke-free for years now and it is, I can assuredly say, much better that way.

Philadelphia

• WOW. The Boiler Room went under a short time before we made it out there, but we were added to a stellar bill at the Avant Gentleman's Lounge downtown. The area is a little sketchy-looking (the glass on the sidewalks and quite available meter parking were the first indicators...), and the building itself has every sign of being abandoned to be reclaimed by nature, but the PEOPLE were AMAZING. We had I would think close to a hundred listeners (and I mean that term) who were taking it all in and appreciating the depths of what the duo does in its very best moments.

That's all I had to say there. I'll get more details of the musical and logistical mishaps up shortly. It will suffice to say that our opening improvisation in Philly was entitled, "Malibu Death March," in honor of my car. It ended abruptly, too.

• Music