Days Like This returns

Days Like This tour log:

Ah, the excursions of Days Like This, Matt Mascolo, Adam "Skills" Rhodes, Joel Fisher, Ben Jones, Tom Carroll. Twelve thousand-three-hundred and forty-five pounds of equipment. And Scooby Snacks.

Friday, March 22:Began packing in the afternoon; Ben's mom calls to say, "Ben, make sure none of those boys have reefer in their pockets in case you get pulled over for some reason." After mailing all of our reefer to her, we left Oberlin late because Joel needed 54 hours to pack three pairs of underwear. In such a hurry to get to Connecticut, we drove a bit fast, at which point Skills proclaimed, "We're a cop's wet dream." Fortunately gained no tickets and arrived at Tom's house at three in the morning, slept cozily together at which point we discovered exactly who in the group snored the loudest.

Saturday, March 23: Woke up early and packed everything from our three cars into Tom's dad's "Family Wagon," a huge 1972 Dodge Van with kitchen, bathroom, beds, seats and 237,000 miles (no joke) on the odometer. We filled the bathroom, kitchen and beds with our equipment and settled comfortably into the remaining 1.7 square feet of room. Drove to Haverford, PA, where we played that night. Joel's family came, and the rest of the band fell in love with his sister. His sister, however, thought we were all gay. Sold some CDs and got to bed around 3 a.m., again cozily together on the floor of a living room.

Sunday, March 24: Woke early and headed off in the van, which we had by this point named "The Mystery Machine." Arrived in Princeton by noon, and set up outside on a beautiful 70 degree day. Played from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Ben's mom and grandparents arrived to see the show just as the hosts were handing out Jello shots. Ben's mom freaked under the mistaken notion that the Jell-O shots were big sugar cubes with different kinds of acid on them. After calming her, we got her and Ben's grandparents to eat some. During the show, Ben's grandmother whispers to his mom, "They're so good - they start and end at the same times!" Princeton enjoyed the show and asked us to stay for dinner and do another set afterwards, which we did. Sold a bunch of CDs and drove to Baltimore to sleep at Ben's house.

Monday, March 25: Woke LATE and decided to live the lives of Rock Stars: went downtown to a nice bar and spent the afternoon smoking cigars, drinking beer and playing pool. Returned to Ben's house to eat a home-cooked meal (nice change from all the fast-food rest-stops). During dinner, our friend from Princeton called to inform us that our picture had appeared on the front page of Princeton's daily paper, and that they wanted us to return that Friday to play again. Went to another bar, celebrated and resumed the identities of Rock Stars.

Tuesday, March 26: Woke up early and drove to Chapel Hill, NC, to stay with Skills' brother, drummer for the band Mercy Me that played Harkness last semester. Discovered that one of his neighbors had recently killed another one of his neighbors with a fire poker. Stayed CLOSE to the house until that night, when we played at the "Skylight Exchange." Returned to the house and passed out.

Wednesday, March 27: Slept very late, hung out with Mercy Me, and then went Bar-hopping in Chapel Hill. Stopped by the bar we were supposed to play the following night to find out the guy who had booked us was in jail. Continued to drink. Lots of fun until the cab ride home when various members got sick. Gave the driver a very large tip for putting up with us. Went to bed immediately.

Thursday, March 28: Slept very very late. Got up, went to gig, played gig, went home. Bar gave us 100 percent of the cover charges. Went to bed.

Friday, March 29: Drove all the way from Chapel Hill to Princeton. Set up, played for a lot of people and sold a lot of CDs. To our surprise, we were also paid a handsome sum for returning. After the gig, at about 3 a.m., tried to start the Mystery Machine - it was dead. Used Ben's AAA card and got it towed - went to bed at 5 a.m., fearing the amount of time we would be stuck in Princeton.

Saturday, March 30: Woke up at 9 a.m. to deal with the van. Found out it was only a loose connection in the starter - breathed huge sighs of relief and returned to Tom's house in CT. Packed cars, drove to Oberlin, arrived at 2 a.m. after 12 hours total of driving that day. Slept until Monday.

All in all, tour was incredible. We got very tight as a band, met a lot of great people, saw some new places, and made some money. It was certainly exhausting, but also exhilarating. We'd recommend the experience to anyone.

Days Like This: Playing Princeton on the Spring Break tour. (photo courtesy of Days Like This)