We Are The Union – 6th ROAD BLOG from their Summer Tour With I Call Fives

The punk/ska band, We Are The Union, from the Detriot, MI area is currently on their summer tour with I Call Fives, Handguns and The Story So Far. On this tour, the band will be writing periodic updates for your reading pleasure. The sixth of those updates is available after the break.

Wednesday, June 29th
St Paul, MN
Day 20

We got up and went straight to Guitar Center to get new tuners put on my guitar. I’m so lucky that was the only thing that broke. The staff there was super helpful and rushed the job through when I told them I was supposed to be at load-in in an hour.
Half an hour after I dropped it off, we picked my guitar up and drove to Station 4.
Every time we play St Paul, everyone tells us to play Minneapolis and avoid St Paul. I’m not sure how we’ve successfully failed to heed that advice every time, but I think we’ll make sure it happens next time.
St Paul closes at 5pm.
We headed back for WATU/I Call Fives/Handguns slumber party round two after the show.

Thursday, June 30th
Des Moines, IA
Day 21

Load-in was super early (2pm) so we had to leave at like 9am from St Paul. We groggily rolled out of our sleeping bags and into the van.
It was insanely hot in Des Moines. Nobody wanted to leave the venue all day. Even the locals were visibly upset at how hot it was.
After the show we drove to Lincoln to stay at a recording studio some courtesy of our friends in JV Allstars.

Friday, July 1st
Lincoln, NE
Day 22

I Call Fives went to the local YMCA to shower,
While they were there, we found a Guitar Center to kill some time before the show.
After we loaded in, Kyle, I Call Fives’ resident videographer for this tour (who didn’t wake up in time to go to the YMCA), took a shower using bottles of water in the alley behind the venue. It was completely ridiculous.
The show was in the front lobby of one of the bigger Lincoln venues, and after our show was over there was some sort of art and dubstep show. We had to scramble to load out, as the show ended at 8:45 and doors for the art/dubstep show were at 9. Not the most fun we’ve ever had loading out, but the show was really awesome so I can’t complain too much!

Saturday, July 2nd
Denver, CO
Day 23

I woke up in the van 20 miles from longtime friend Finney’s apartment at around 7am. We dragged ourselves into his apartment where I promptly fell back asleep.
We spent the day hanging out with Finney and his girlfriend, who some of the other guys knew already, Haley. Those two are awesome and definitely showed us a good time. We went to Illegal Pete’s and enjoyed amazing burritos courtesy of their Starving Artist program. They really know how to take care of touring bands.
Haley is a fellow coffee snob, so we were able to convince everyone to make a stop at Dazbog’s coffee.
After that, we headed to Blast-O-Mat and loaded in.
Right at the end of our set, I seriously fell again. I thought La Crosse was a once-in-a-lifetime thing but apparently I have no coordination anymore! I stepped on a crevice in the stage and rolled my ankle. I was able to finish the set after walking it off for a minute, but man it hurt.

Sunday, July 3rd
Salt Lake City
Day 24

I woke up to find my ankle way more swollen than it was the night before. I tried to walk it off again but I could barely put weight on it. I decided I had to go to the ER and get it checked out. Jim and Weber drove me to the hospital, and I hobbled my way inside.
After some x-rays and about an hour and a half, I found out my ankle was definitely not broken, just badly sprained. They gave me a brace to wear so I could walk and sent me on my way.
After all that time lost, we had to high tail it to Salt Lake City to even have a hope of making our set.
About four hours into the drive, we got pulled over. They said we were going 74 in a 65, but I’m not convinced our van can go that fast. We were all kind of dumbfounded. Not wanting to spend any more time sitting still than necessary, we just took the ticket and continued the drive.
Even with all of that, we still made it to Kilby Court with half an hour to spare! It felt good to be able to play, even if I had to stand still the whole time. I’m really lucky I just sprained my ankle. That set made me realize how lucky I am to have a relatively mild injury.
After the show we went to Denny’s with I Call Fives and Handguns to say goodbye to Handguns. We’re gonna miss those guys! Once we finished our goodbyes, we started to caravan with I Call Fives to Reno, NV. I slept on the back bench with my leg elevated to reduce the swelling. The bruises on my foot are pretty impressive.

Reed
We Are The Union