A Tour Blog: Salt & Samovar SXSW Tour '08 - Chicago

Local heroes Salt & Samovar head north from Austin to the cold winds of Chicago where they find home cooked food and a slew of waiting fans...

Driving through northwest Texas towards Chicago, you come upon Texarkana. I think this is the closest we have to the silkroad in America. Just as the lands of central Asia are a mix of Middleeastern, Russian, + Chinese culture, so to Texarkana is a crossroads of Texans, Arkansasians (?) + Louisianaites. The dry desert shrubs meet with the swampy cajun forests, the land is dark. The air a mix of syrup + cool northern winds. As you follow the Mississippi north, reaching the nations heartland, the forests pull back to reveal rolling farmlands--a sea of brown + green patches. We stopped for lunch in Marion, Illinois. An old ghost town, with banners of Christian sayings. The center of town is old brick buildings with the classic American white painted buildings. As we looked through the gear at a Salvation Army, the loud speaker preached a didactic sermon on why we are all sinners. We took this information for free - the seersucker suits were a bit more...

In Chicago, I visited with my Grandparents + uncle. They are in their 90s + their love beams like the sun. We ate Jewish food + sat around the table drinking tea, eating mandlebread, + talking. My grandfather told me about the time he was hidden in the forest of the Ukraine, so that the Khazaks could not get him. His brother came to find him + they walked all the way to Hungary. Our show was scheduled for 9:30, but Kelli's flight was delayed out of JFK. We weren't sure if she would make it, but she did 10 minutes before our set. We went right on + played for a half an hour. It went well, + we were all surprised when some people showed up singing along to our songs. That is always the best feeling. People requested "Soon To Be The Dust" as an encore. We were happy to oblige.

Our friends Pool Of Frogs set up the show + were very supportive to us the whole time. Sweet guys. They played an electrifying set. Will, the drummer stands up + yells during breakdowns. When the lead guitarist is not shredding, he throws confetti on his bandmates. All members sing along with each other, staring into each others' eyes like they are on cloud nine. Their songs rock smooth + heavy - a bit like the pixies in their more twangy moments. The night went on for a long time, as we had cousins + old friends at the show. All the bands decided that we'd have to do it again. Next year in Jerusalem.