Pitchfork

As the legendary Mission of Burma make their way down the West Coast on a week-long trek, guitarist Roger Miller shares his tour diary with Pitchfork. Stay tuned for daily entries ("Of course, it depends a bit on free WiFi," Miller says.)

Here's part three, in which Burma plays Portland, Oregon.

Read part two here.
Read part one here.

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Saturday, September 16:

Another well-rested day. Is this really a rock tour?

Sunny, we all wandered our own way. Some got grilled salmon sandwiches at Pike's Market, others happy with coffee and some composite carbohydrates. Croc. Café had WiFi, so I sent off yesterday's blog blurb.

Van ride down the rain-forsted coast to Portland. All in good humor. Hey, look! The rain stopped and it's sunny again!

The glamorous life of a touring band.

Doug Fir, our venue in Portland, has a very Twin Peaks ambience. A mix of real log cabin wall-ery and cushiony material made to look like pine logs. Where does the hallucination start and where does it stop?

50 Foot was tighter than last night. Maybe the sound was better, but Bernard's bass playing bordered on mind-blowing coupled with Rob's relentlessly energetic stylizations. Kristin was in great form, ripping the vocals full-out and letting her Gibson SG sound itself out to the fullest. The crowd was into it.

Our sets tonight were overall better than last night, as we start to lube into our "thing." At this point (end of the night), I honestly can't remember what songs we did, but the crowd was thick and deep into it. Slamming towards the end of the second set threatened those in the front row, but no one was damaged. Hold it-- it's starting to come back to me: "Nancy Reagan's Head" into "Einstein's Day" in the middle of the first set was quite curious, and seemed to work well. Pete's drums kept moving on him the second half of the second set, which didn't increase his pleasure quotient. However, we all agreed it was a pretty good eve.

They sure seem enthusiastic...

So everyone's cooling out now, as Jimmy and Sharon commando the gear into some obscure corner, the other guys help out and I sit here taking advantage of the free WiFi.

Ummmmmm...talk to you tomorrow...

Remaining Mission of Burma tour dates:

09-17 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall *$
09-19 Sacramento, CA - Harlow's *
09-20 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
09-22 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour *
09-23 San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick *#

* with 50 Foot Wave
$ with the Tunnel Kings
# with Kill Me Tomorrow