Pitchfork

It ain't easy being a folk collective in the tumultuous twenty-first century. Philadelphia's Espers discovered that sad truth firsthand this weekend as they attempted to fly out of Los Angeles' LAX airport following their performance at the city's Arthur Nights festival. While the band members emerged unscathed, one of their treasured instruments did not. Understandably infuriated, Espers bassist/percussionist Chris Smith told all in a recent MySpace bulletin.

According to Smith, airline policy allows a musician to carry on a guitar, provided it's in a soft case. The band have done so numerous times so far this year. "Sometimes we have to assure folks that it is 'cool,'" wrote Smith, "as the agents at the very front gates can be unaware that it is OK to carry on, but it always works out. We always confirm this when tix are purchased as well as day of flight via phone call."

"We did all of this with Delta," the airline in question for this trip.

While Espers had no trouble flying out of Philadelphia for the Arthur gig, flying home was a different story.

"At LAX they would not even let us enter the terminal," Smith continued. "We were told that the folks at the desk would have to clear it. So we went back and the agent said we'd have to buy a seat for a guitar. I asked to speak to the manager on duty and he came down and said that the only option was to check it in and put it under. I explained that we travelled many, many times per year via air and this had never been the case.

"He said, 'It is a dark world these days and policy like this is a result of it,' and refused an alternative.

"Meg [Baird], the owner of the guitar, was in tears as she handed it to him," wrote Smith. So the instrument, which can be heard on both Espers albums, was put into the luggage compartment protected only by a soft case. Sure enough, when Baird and her guitar were reunited in Philadelphia, it had "a large hole in it."

Unfortunate, but matters worsened from there. While the Delta manager at LAX had assured Espers that their guitar was insured for "up to $2500," Delta agents in Philly gave the band the run-around, claiming it might not be insured because of the soft case. After a drawn-out, red tape disaster, Baird was left with a broken guitar and nothing to show for it.

Espers head off to Europe next month for a tour with Edith Frost. Might we suggest travel by boat?

Carrying on:

11-17 Antwerp, Belgium - Trix *
11-18 Brussels, Belgium - AB Festival
11-19 Bristol, England - Cube Cinema *
11-20 Edinburgh, Scotland - Cabaret Voltaire *
11-21 Manchester, England - Klondyke Club *
11-22 London, England - Bush Hall *
11-23 Paris, France - La Fleche D'or *
11-24 Clermont-Ferrand, France - L'Escapade *
11-25 Durango, Spain - Plateruena *
11-26 Castellon, Spain - Theater Conino Gurillo *
11-27 Toulouse, France - Son'art *
11-28 Casalpusterlengo, Italy - Teatro Comunale *
11-29 Fribourg, Switzerland - Fri-son *
11-30 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Palace *
12-01 Berlin, Germany - Festaal Kreuzberg #
12-02 Utrecht, The Netherlands - Ekko *
12-03 Rotterdam, The Netherlands - Rotown *

* with Edith Frost
# with Bardo Pond