Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 5)

Starting the day by waking up to a rolling creek passing by, swollen with water from the previous nights rain got me in a fishing mode, so I did a little morning fishing. The Pockets arose and gathered, preparing for the Summer Concert Series and keeping an eye on the weather. Danny and Allen hiked in the morning up the side of a nearby mountain and got some great shots. They even saw a fox in his or her native foxiness.

Then, of course, you have to run the energy out of the dog, Buddy. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that Buddy is a mountain dog and we are a lowland people. This thin air tires us quicker than him.

We headed into Evergreen and ate some delicious local adaptations of Mexican food at the delectable Rio Del Sol. [ link ] I had the fish tacos and they were very delicious. Muy bien!

After a delicious lunch, we headed off to the Evergreen Lake House to start loading in for the Summer Concert Series show. It's a really gorgeous setting for a concert and we were happy to be back to rock out the residents of Evergreen.

If you watch closely, you'll see the sky start to darken. It had rained earlier in the day and we were hoping to dodge some of the weather. Mother Nature had other plans, however. The concert got a go to stay outside despite threatening weather and all the speakers were covered with plastic. It rained during a portion of the set of the opening band The Hooligans and they had tents set up over them. By the time we hit it had cleared enough to enable the tents to be removed. The tents were eventually re-involved as the rain came back for another taste near the very end of the concert.

We loved rocking out for the Summer Concert series and we hope to come back next year. We hung around afterward for a bit and met some fans, which is always a sweet time. Thanks to everyone who came out and sat through the tumultuous weather to enjoy the rock we laid out. You folks are great and we appreciate it so much. Thanks Evergreen!

Justin and Donny Fineberg rocked the night through with us and even traveled back to their fine casa in the Pocket Rocketeer, where we finished the fantastic night of with some awesome pizza and good times.

Here we go, turn the page,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 4)

Tour Day Four started with a sweet sunrise wake-up for Dan and I, having slept on the balcony for the evening. Followed by immediately falling back asleep. Sunrise is too darn early, man. The majority of the day flowed into hiking, fishing, and another dip in the creek before wrapping for lunch at The Wildflower Cafe, [ link ] a delicious spot with grandly unique flair.

Their hours tend towards the morning and early afternoon, but on Thursday evenings the restaurant brings in a certified Sushi Chef and serves fresh sushi. We're looking forward to a sample of the sushi spot of Evergreen. Yum!

The crew started setting up for our rehearsal at about 4 after having waited for some storms to move through the area. We suspended a tarp above the outdoor setup spot to ward off any further sprinkles and looked forward to playing to the Colorado wilderness.

The Empty Pockets went in for a series of meetings and to start prepping for rehearsal when the weather turned nasty and the heavens opened up, unleashing what can only be described as a torrent of water down into the valley and onto our equipment.

Can you see the rain in the above photo? It's the vertical white streaks. It was raining really hard. Thanks to the quick action of Empty Pockets crew Greg Grabowski and Crew Chief Allen Cruz, our equipment escaped with minimal damage. We hauled it all into a back room, disassembled the speakers and attacked them with a hair-dryer. We played for a bit on the amplifiers and the main speakers to test them out, but the monitors got the brunt of the damage and may be hurting. We'll see when we plug them in for a test tomorrow.

We partied with the delightful Finebergs and friends through the evening and went to sleep fairly early, with thoughts of the upcoming Evergreen Concert Series dancing in our heads.

Funkin' on the one,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 3)

Rolling out of bed and looking forward to rolling into Colorado had everyone energized in the morning. Josh was even up early enough to catch the tasty breakfast provided by the North Platte Holiday Inn Express.

I can't wait to see that car when they finally get those wheels on it! Finally, we pulled into the awesome sights of the mountains of Colorado and found our way to the uniquely beautiful Bear Creek Cabins of Evergreen, CO, where the crew will be staying for the next few days. Wow, is it picturesque and the folks staying there couldn't be finer or nicer. We're looking forward to seeing some of our new friends at the show in Evergreen!

While we were driving around Evergreen, we saw this interesting little store-front, offering a pretty specific service.

One of the gentlemen sitting on the bench in front the store said they called the particular establishment "Urine Trouble." Ha!

And now we're looking forward to enjoying Evergreen and the excellent hospitality of the Finebergs as we delight in the gorgeous surroundings and relax knowing we've reached our destination. A destination... of rock.

The water was incredibly cold, but after a bracing dip and a little hot tub action, we all felt better. A daily ritual ascribed by Nate Fineberg for all our aches and pains and it worked like a charm.

We're rockin' and rollin' and doing it like we only we know how,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 2)

Sometimes, we spend a day driving. Just... driving. That was Sunday, driving from Cedar Rapids, IA to North Platte, NE. An eight-hour drive-a-thon. We all piled into the Pocket Rocketeer and pushed our way through the heartlands.

Van time.

Ah ha!

Slipping time away in the van involves reading, listening to music, chatting about the hot topics of the day and sleeping. Food stops are always a chance for exploring local or exotic flavors. In Des Moines, IA, we stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant slightly off the beaten track named A Dong [ link ]. The food was surprisingly good and the prices were very reasonable. Selections for the table included Pho and fried squid and we all filled our bellies with deliciousness.

Onward we continued to our Holiday Inn Express in North Platte, NE and hunkered down for the final leg of our trip, into the heart of Colorado itself and into the very mouth of Evergreen.

Pushing to 'Rado,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 1)

"On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again." It's as true today as when Willie Nelson sang it in 1980. A band on the road is a beautiful thing and the Empty Pockets are excited to be back in the game. Colorado here we come!

We started the day off with a rocking good show at the Landshark Beer Garden at Navy Pier. Thanks to Crystal and the whole staff at Navy Pier for helping us put on a great show and thanks to everybody that boogied with us at the Landshark Beer Garden stage. Rock on!

So what do the Pockets do after rocking a show at Navy Pier? Why, pile into the van and drive to Colorado, of course! We're headed out to Evergreen, Colorado for the Evergreen Lakes Presents Summer Concert series [ link ] and the first leg of the tour took us to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. So we drove... and drove some more.

On our way out of Illinois, we hazard a stop for food in Moline, wondering what madness we may find. Much to our surprise, we stumbled upon an incredible German restaurant named Bier Stube. The food was authentic and delicious and the beers were delightful. If you ever find yourself in the area of the Quad Cities with a hunger for some wurst, stop in at Bier Stube. [ link ]

Tomorrow, it's time to head off the North Platte, Nebraska. Allons-y!

-Nate Bellon(bass)