Reflections on my batshit crazy road trips: INXS Switched On Tour, Leg One

I had the most amazing adventure travelling to and from the INXS concerts on the first leg of the Switched On Tour. All you forum folks I met made the whole adventure even more fun. INXS fans rock! The band should be really proud.

Ranking of the gigs I saw:
1. Detroit, MI, February 8, 2006. INXS was on fire. It was orgasmic. A phenomenal gig.
2. Toronto, ON, February 7, 2006 - awesome gig. Better than night one. Great sound.
3. Jacksonville, FL, February 24, 2006 - good sound, great show. Clear view of stage. ENERGY!
4. Norfolk, VA, February 20, 2006 - 2nd row pit seats, slightly loud, but I was right in the action.
5. Toronto, ON, February 6, 2006 - good gig, great sound, JD comes home!
6. Washington, DC, February 18, 2006 - good sound, GGB in leather!, but obstructed view.
7. Reading, PA, February 15, 2006 - great energy, but somewhat muddy sound.
8. Philadelphia, PA, February 17, 2006 - great energy, and a beautiful venue, but muddy sound.

Things I discovered after watching 8 gigs in 3 weeks: it’s as much fun to watch INXS play as to listen to them in concert. They love what they are doing, and they give 120% every night.

Favourite live INXS Songs on the First Leg of the Switched On Tour: ‘Never Let You Go,’ ‘Pretty Vegas,’ ‘Taste It.’

Favourite live Lovehammers Songs: ‘The Tunnel,’ ‘Call of Distress,’ ‘Straight As An Arrow.’

Number of Canadian Provinces I travelled to/through: 2
(Ontario, Quebec).

Number of American States I travelled to/through: 14
(Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia).

Place I most want to go back and explore more: South Beach baby!

City I had the most difficulty finding a pay telephone to audio-blog: Detroit.

City I had the most difficulty finding an internet café: Philadelphia.

Dirtiest bus stations: Philadelphia, PA and Richmond, VA. The bathrooms in both places were so filthy I waited to go on the bus.

Cleanest bus stations: Detroit, MI and Ottawa, ON.

Worst bus trip: Jacksonville to Atlanta on bus #2797 with torn seats, dust wafting up from the torn seats, and a huge cracked in the window near the third row seat. It was an 8 hour ride, and the driver was weaving back and forth from lane to lane, and the bus was rocking back and forth when he did. I closed my eyes and hoped I’d make it there in one piece. There was no decent food to be had on that run either. And after Savannah, the only rest stop had a tiny little bathroom that was filthy and the door didn’t close. Once we arrived in Atlanta it didn’t get any better either because some bozo started unloading the bags onto the road on the other side of the bus, and a car hit and damaged one of my bags.

Best place to store your luggage when not staying over in a city:
1) In the car trunk of fan-f**king-tastic forum members!
2) Hotel concierge desks - DC (Marriott) and Norfolk (Radisson Hotel).

Things I learned from travelling on Greyhound buses for 3 weeks:
● Logic is not something Greyhound understands.
● Departure times are arbitrary. The bus may arrive as much as five minutes after you are supposed to have left the station. And it can take a long time to load everyone on board.
● If you don’t have at least 1 hour between connections, you won’t be at the next station in time to line up and get the next bus out.
● Most American Greyhound bus toilets don’t have hand sanitizer, or paper towels, and often no toilet paper. However, if you do find one with sanitizer and paper towels, you can use that to clean the toilet and surrounding area before you use it.
● Chances are the lockers in the bus station will be out of order, so you’ll need to make other arrangements.
● Travel with plenty of water, drinks, and snacks. Just because it says you will have a meal/rest stop in such and such a place doesn’t mean you actually will. It will probably get left out because the bus is running late and the driver is trying to make up time.