On The Road Again: William Beckett, Part Two
Former the Academy Is… frontman William Beckett is currently on his first solo tour of North America in support of the Walk The Talk EP. He'll be sending AltPress.com sporadic updates from the road; the second update can be seen below. For Beckett's tour dates, head here.
5.10.12
Cleveland, OH.
The day started with a visit to the Alternative Press offices to record a song on video for them. Cara was there, so we decided to play our Ryan Adams cover of “Come Pick Me Up.” It's always a pleasure stopping by to see everyone over there, and I'm not just saying that because this tour diary is for AP either. The show that night was at Grog Shop which I haven't been to in quite some time. After the show we were STARVING so we went to Jimmy John's and discussed political opinion and current events with Mr. Mike Shea. Good night.
5.11.12
Buffalo, NY.
I didn't really know what to expect with Buffalo, but I was very pleasantly surprised with the crowd. A rowdy, loud lot, they were. I shared my affinity for smoke daddies and my fear of juggalos, which in turn made this a fairly therapeutic show night for me. Its always good to let the air out once in a while, right? We packed up and stayed in town to prepare for the border crossing the next morning. Toronto, here we come.
5.12.12
Toronto, ON.
Border crossing! For some reason, every time I cross the Canadian border I get really nervous. Literally every time. It's not like I have a warrant out for my arrest or anything (at least I don't think I do), but something about border patrol officers just gives me the creeps. Low and behold, we crossed without a hitch in the plan and onward we went. We played a place called The Mod Club that I haven't been to before. It was a fantastic venue with great sound, so I decided to cover this Damien Rice song called “Elephant.” Its a very dynamic song vocally, and the venue setup was conducive to that kind of tune. After the show we had to hit the road right away for Burlington, VT. which was unfortunate because I love this city and wanted to hang out a bit. Next time.
5.13.12
Burlington, VT.
My dear friend Adam Siska's hometown! I was really pumped to see him, but we had an eight hour drive ahead of us from Toronto to conquer first. The route we took was predominantly through the hills of New York state, and we were nearly attacked by wild turkeys. When we finally made it to the venue, Higher Ground, we were graced with some of the best backstage food of the tour thus far. Seeing as we are pretty much eating once a day out here, we were all quite pleased by the catered hospitality. Adam took me to see the sunset and show around Burlington. Vermont is gorgeous, that's for sure. It was amazing to see Adam again. The one and only Sisky Business.
5.14.12
Philadelphia, PA.
I love Philly! And I love my tour manager's mom. We stopped over at Dennis' house to do some laundry and I met Mrs. Keenan. Wonderful lady. Huge Phillies fan, which amused me greatly. We showed up at the venue, World Cafe Live, and I knocked out some interviews before soundcheck. The food was awesome as well. The vibe in the place was very laid back, candle-lit tables galore, so my stage set up fit the scene nicely. After the show we went out with Dennis' friends, who are awesome, and had a couple drinks. Overall, I was able to put the Bulls' loss to the Sixers behind me and I had a nice time in Philly.
5.15.12
Secaucus, NJ
(Day off. Stageit show.)
After my show on Stageit.com was finished I had a Netflix movie date with my darling lady. Around midnight I got a phone call. When I talk on the phone I tend to pace around incessantly, and tonight was no different. I ended up walking around the block a few times and was on the phone for a couple hours. Meanwhile back at the hotel, Dennis is in panic mode. He looked everywhere for me, tried calling a dozen times, and even checked the dumpster for my possibly dismembered corpse. When I walked back into the hotel lobby, I saw a sweaty Dennis talking to two police officers about to file a missing persons report. Poor Dennis. It was an eventful day off to say the very least….
5.16.12
Boston, MA.
One of my favorite shows so far on this tour. The venue, The Middle East, was awesome and the perfect size for a show on this tour. My friend Andrew Cook's band The Receiving End of Sirens was playing downstairs from my show, and schedules worked out to the point where I was able to see them. Good show. My buddy Nick Santino was there too. Always great seeing my favorite ginger. Back to Jersey tomorrow, and then we are smack dab in the middle of the tour. So far so good. alt
– WILLIAM BECKETT
www.thewilliambeckettblog.com
www.twitter.com/billbeckett
www.williambeckettmusic.com
