(note to reader: This tour blog entry is from Shawn Neary. This is Shawn's first tour as bass player with Cloud Cult)
Saturday dawned warm and sunny, cloudless skies and gentle breezes. I parked across from the Guthrie, looking for our filmographer and merchandise person. I saw neither, just two agile twenty-somethings breaking hundreds of boards while a crowd of onlookers in Twins jerseys gawked, slack-jawed, forgetting that only a moment ago they had been heading to the game. I noticed luggage next to these karate wunderkinds- luggage that looked like it may well have contained a video camera. And a tripod. And chocolate. Yes, this duo, John and Jennifer, with their fists of fury and feline quickness, would be accompanying Cloud Cult for these two weeks- I'm sure my sense of reassurance and security was palpable.

Saturday, September 1st, was our first show of this tour- and my first show, ever- with the band. As noon approached the day remained perfect. We arrived at Sarah's house, waiting for the van to arrive and meeting all the folks that would be joining us out on tour. Dan arrived with the van straight from the mechanic's; it had erupted only two days before, spewing fuel like the beginning credits of the Beverly Hillbillies. But the problem had been solved, we were all packed up, and we were off for Madison. Much of my trip was spent with headphones on, studying my parts and doing my best air bass and trombone. We made it to the High Noon and Jeff, consummate soundman, singer-songwriter, and van backer-upper that he is, parked the van/trailer combo in a tight tight spot, making it look easy.

Soundcheck went well, we grabbed some food next door, and the show began. Jeff was up first, wowing the Madtown crowd with his mad guitar skills. Then the Pale Young Gentlemen, a band that had a couple of ladies, healthy complexions, and great chamber pop sensibilities. We were next, and despite my being scared more than a little bit at the prospect of performing for the first time with these guys and girls, everything went so very well. The crowd was gracious, involved, responsive- they made our first show of the tour a great one. Off to Cleveland, city of light, city of magic…

My son's third birthday today--- So my wonderful husband made sure that I would see my son, Micah, this morning before we left Madison for Cleveland. So he arranged lodging, presents and an early morning sing-session before I left town with my newborn and nanny. It was quite nice.

Cleveland then offered a very attentive audience who sang along to some songs and bopped their mid-western heads to others. The venue lends itself well to mixing with the crowd and getting in some good conversations. I sound-checked my mic by singing Happy Birthday again. Both paintings depicted a man-women couple is some stage of communication and both paintings went home with happy bidders. It was a relaxing show and a welcoming atmosphere. Great beginning to our tour. Happy, happy birthday Micah. I love you.

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Erika Friesen, a friend of Cloud Cult who is touring with them as a nanny to watch the two kids of Sarah and Adrian Young, Cloud Cult's cellist and manager)

Notes from the Nounoune... After an absolutely painless border crossing yesterday whereupon we let out a collective sigh of relief and milled about in disbelief at the border for a few minutes (and as if entering prison made last phone calls to loved ones before being out of affordable cell phone reception for three days!); we split into our two parties again. The majority of the band and crew in the main van went to Niagara Falls; while Sarah, baby Samuel and I went straight to Toronto. This part of the world is home turf for me and being here is always a treat but being here to support the band is a joy I have long looked forward to!

The band was booked at the ever welcoming El Mocambo, a destination of longstanding distinction which is nestled in the loving arms of Chinatown and Kensington Market and in the long shadow of the birthplace of insulin; and as Sarah allowed me to delegate my childcare duties to a friend in town I was able to attend the show and resume my original duties of total appreciation of the music and the art. Do you believe in you ... Cuz no one else can do that for you - Are you ready yet? Are You Ready Yet? How often do you get to live the words of a beloved tune with those who created it?! And in the place rock and roll first swept you off your feet! Yeah! A shortened set was quality from beginning to end and was followed by Land of Talk.

So many favourite songs made new and a beautifully receptive fellow audience and light rain and windows thrown open to the street and the prospect of many roads yet to travel and the comforts of home made this an incredible day - I hear the band and crew really enjoyed it too! Thanks everyone!

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Dan Greenwood, Cloud Cult's drummer)
I sleep most of the drive from Toronto to Montreal and when I wake up, the Montreal skyline is before us. All the road signs and billboards are in French. I knew that French was the official language of Quebec, but I guess I thought is was more of an element of pride and cultural heritage rather than a requirement here. It turned out to be the opposite. People speak in French first and foremost and English is definitely a far off second. All the newspapers are in French. I go to a coffee shop and try to remember the stuff I learned from a French class a few years a go and end up pointing at what I want like a caveman and grunt out the pathetic amount of the language I know. I say merci after I get my coffee and then start to question if Merci actually means please instead of thankyou. Everyone seems way more hip than we are here. Most of us in the band know only English and it makes me feel like a fool. The venue is La Salsa Rosa and is very nice. It's got chandeliers and the headliners and our tour mates, Land of Talk, hail from Montreal. They recommend a great vegan restaurant nearby. The show turns out well, and I am thankful that we are the openers tonight as most of the crowd is there to see Land of Talk. After the show we opt for the border. Everyone is expecting it to be a huge ordeal and we plan for the border guards to tear apart our van in search of drugs and bombs. But it turns out to be very smooth. We literally spend five minutes at the checkpoint and are waved through. We arrive in Burlington, Vermont for the night and get to sleep until noon. Yee Hah! Shawn, Jennifer, John and I watch a little Adult Swim and crash out at 3:00am.

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Scott West, a Cloud Cult live painter and artist)
Boston what can I say... we love it! When we arrived in Boston it felt like a welcome home back in the states. I got the chance to meet up with my friend Candice and hang out for a bit. It is always wonderful to see old friends and that is how we all feel about the city. Boston is a friend to us. Thanks everyone for being so kind.

As for the night’s performances, we were able to share the stage with Land of Talk for another night, who we’ve had the pleasure of touring with for the last few shows. They are a fine bunch of folk! Elizabeth’s vocals are gorgeous and the power and creativity in their music is undeniable.

Our show was another fun one. The crowd sang along and people were into the music. Overall it was a good night once again. Thanks Ridgewood and the Blend Bar for making it more enjoyable.

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Craig Minowa, Cloud Cult's singer/songwriter)
As is always the case, coming into New York City had me pretty overstimulated. Connie and I live on a quiet little hobby farm, so we can go days or even weeks at a time without hearing much more than the occasional car on the small rural gravel road. NYC is exactly the opposite. If I sit in one spot on the sidewalk, I'll have as many people buzz by me in 5 minutes as we would have pass through the farm in an entire decade. I found out if I wear ear plugs, it reduces the sensory input to a level that I can actually function. I think I'm pretty lame on that level, but it's always how I've been, so I suppose that's why we chose to live the hermitic life in the middle of nowhere. But then the music took off, and we were fortunate to have people want to have us perform live. Occasional touring is a necessary part of trying to promote music that you write and record on the farm. Hence, here we are in NYC.

The Bowery Ballroom is an incredible venue, and we're really honored to be gracing the stage that so many incredible artists have walked on. I stand here, and I can feel everyone from Kurt Cobain to Arcade Fire standing in this same spot.

When the crowd arrives, I somehow feel a lot more relaxed, because everyone was so nice. They are so warm and supportive that I feel like if my body exploded from urban overstimulation, they'd tape me back together, and I'd do the same for them. I realize that in that moment of empathy for everyone in the crowd, this place becomes as peaceful as the farm.

I've been spending a lot of time on this tour thinking about how, based on quantum physics, light experiences no space and no time. The idea that everything is all happening at the same place and the same time seems abstract until you assault your senses to the degree that everything starts to overlap. I'm in NYC, I'm in Canada, I'm at the farm, I'm with my child, and I've lost my child, and I am a child all at one time. That's the reality of the bigger picture, but my frontal lobe tries to trick me into perceiving otherwise. Once I get around that thought, the stress I felt coming into NYC this morning suddenly seems pretty silly. NYC is always and everywhere, just like the farm… at least according to modern science (quantum physics), Eastern mysticism, and the world's oldest religions. This moment of chaos is as temporary as it is permanent and that's not just some abstract thought, it's something that feels like reality to me at this very moment. I start to question that for a second, but moments later I'm in West Virginia and a couple of shows have gone by since NYC, and it's hard to argue with the idea that It's Everywhere and All At One Time…. It's really just a matter of where you put your attention.

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Shannon Frid, Cloud Cult's violinist.)
The plan was to fly out and meet up with the band in Philly. I had missed the first week of the tour due to work so I was really itching to play music again. My flight arrived at about 9:30am and I took a cab straight to South Street where Cloud Cult was playing for Greenfest. After seeing the stage and setting I knew right away the show was going to be a blast.
The stage was set up outside in front of a bunch of cool little shops and the weather couldn’t have been any more perfect, it was nice and sunny and warm.
I saw the van pull up and the band greeted me with warm hugs and hellos.
It was my first time seeing John, our camera guy, following everyone around to get footage for Cloud Cult’s upcoming documentary. I’d be in the middle of a sentence, not thinking the camera was around, then he’d sneak up with the camera recording and I’d freeze! It was hard to get used to at first.
We played our set and it was indeed a blast. It was neat to see people standing out on their balconies to cheer us on. It was really exciting to be playing music with the band again. Our next destination was Columbus, OH and to be honest, I couldn’t wait to ride in the stinky van again!

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Jeff D. Johnson, Cloud Cult's touring sound engineer and musician opening some of this tour's shows)
There's something about Ohio people… they are just so darn supportive and nice. I felt that when I played and watched the show in Cleveland, and the people of Columbus did not disappoint the Ohio reputation. Everyone was not only hospitable and fun to talk to, but one of the most energetic crowds that I've seen Cloud Cult perform to. Columbus was also fun for me because of the fact that it was the first time on this tour that Sarah Young sat in on my set. What a blessing she is to play music with! Thanks to Columbus for such a great night. Now it's off to pull a deer-dodging 3 hour drive to our hotel on the way to Memphis tomorrow.

(note to reader: This blog entry is from John Burgess, a videographer on tour with Cloud Cult)
Cloud Cult made their debut in Memphis, TN last Tuesday night at the Hi Tone. And for those reasons-they had never been there, it was a Tuesday night and no on in the band resembles Elvis-little was expected of the show. At most, they thought, they'd play to an empty room and then retire to find the tour van graffitied with anti- "Cumulous Club" / pro-Elvis slurs. Such was not the case, however. Pulling up to the venue about 4 hours before stage-time, the band was greeted by a small gathering of local kids armed with Sharpies and posters, angling to get the band to fuse the two. After the signatures were out of the way, the kids did one better and began hauling in equipment for the band. Welcome to Memphis.

Though the place didn't exactly sell out, those who did make it out to the show to endure the late set thoroughly enjoyed themselves. From my vantage, many knew the lyrics and at least one guy slam-danced to Chemicals Collide-a feat all its own considering the song's chill tone (in the interest of full disclosure, that "guy" was me). For the band, sometimes it's these shows that are most gratifying. When a collection of enthusiastic fans make a small room feel big-preferably by shouting "more like 1:30 in the awesome!" at the close of the set at 1:30 in the morning-it's a lot like playing to a packed club. At least, that's what I've deduced. I'm just along to film the tour.

That's right: Assuming all goes to plan, y'all in Memphis (and everywhere fine CDs are sold) can expect to pick up Cloud Cult's next album with a bonus DVD comprised of footage from the road, jam-packed with all the drama (will the venue allow the van to park within a mile of the club?) and action (Can bassist Shawn Neary survive Cloud Cult's dreaded "handshake" initiation?). We're thinking of calling it "Cloud Cult: Somewhere it's 1:30 in the Awesome."

For more of my observations and thoughts as an outsider on tour, visit my blog, ARTicles on http://www.metromag.com.

~John Paul Burgess

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Jennifer Kiel who is traveling with Cloud Cult on this tour selling band merchandise)
I quickly learned that peddling musical goods for a band is a tough job, one that requires a passion for sales, tedious organizational skills and a suave communication style. The daily challenges faced by a "mercher"—one who sells merchandise—are endless: displaying sales items in a pleasing fashion while leaving room for the other act's merch (merchandise, to the layperson), doing math on a solar powered calculator in the dark, standing guard over the thousands of t-shirts and cds while maintaining a "cool" demeanor and still trying to enjoy the show, answering the same questions over and over ("no, we're not from Seattle") … I could go on forever! However, there are certain things that can make life a little easier on a "mercher," and the folks at the Revolution Music Room knew this.

The merch table in Little Rock was glorious. Spacious and covered in the finest black silk, the table was positioned with both the customer and "mercher" in mind. Located just off to the side of the stage, the merch table was easily accessible to the audience, and placed so that the customer and "mercher" could function and not miss a beat of the show. Finding space to store hundreds of bins filled with t-shirts is always difficult. The bins need to be out of the way so the "mercher" can move freely from customer to customer, but also easily accessible. Not only was there room for the merch bins, but I even found myself able to dance freely behind the table. I was also pleasantly surprised to find an outlet within close proximity to the table, as often times it's necessary to use a table lamp to light up the rock-n-roll goods.

Besides a lovely set up for the merchandise, The Rev Room also provided the band with a divine meal from its Mexi-Cuban kitchen. After dinner, a small but energetic crowd began to form. Opening performers Jeff D. Johnson followed by Winter Furs greased the tracks and made way for Cloud Cult, who rocked it in their standard fashion. Once again, I was completely amazed with the energy and passion put forth by the entire band (and painters). The whole venue was captured by the presence of Cloud Cult, and the small but appreciative crowd sang along and showed their support by making their way in my direction soon after the band took their final bows.

(note to reader: This blog entry is from Adrian Young, Cloud Cult's Manager)
Well, the stars and planets alligned for this show...
Early show + non-smoking venue + hotel 2 blocks away + new decibel reducing ear muffs = our son Micah gets to see his first cloud cult club show.
Not sure if you're familiar with this equation, but it allowed me to take in a Cloud Cult show with our son Micah. He loves the band, sings along to several verses of songs and can't take his eyes off of Dan the drummer. This was a great show, the crowd was a little thin, we think due to Devendra Banhart playing just a couple blocks away. This was also the bands first time to Lawrence. What a great city and great location for the club. Everybody at the venue was in awe of our two beautifull children who arrived at the club with the band. Everybody bellied up to the stage and made the band feel welcome. There was even a hoola hoop dancer girl there. My son thought she was pretty cool.
Micah can't wait to go back to Lawrence, KS.

Performing at the Red Rock amphitheater is a dream come true for all of us. We're blessed to be given an amazing slot for our show at the end of the night right after Spoon and right before Flaming Lips. The energy level for the performance was incredibly high, as all of us were hyped up about the gorgeous surroundings and the excitement of the last night of what has been an incredibly successful tour. Prior to the show, we met some nice fellas who drove all the way from Fargo to see us. One of the guys had an "8" shaved into the back of his head. Another girl gave me an "8" necklace made out of copper. Singing to the stars and the mountainside was intensely spiritual for me. Those ancient stones have seen a lot over the past hundred million years or so, and we're thankful to be a part of that story.