Que Sera & Aminals – 1st ROAD BLOG from their Summer 2015 U.S. Tour

The New England-based bands, Que Sera (pictured left) and Aminals, are currently on their summer 2015 U.S. tour together. While they’re on this tour, they will be doing a blog for us. You can check out the first entry, written by Que Sera, after the break.

Day 1: New York, New York (Fat Baby)
Today we kicked off our tour at a venue called Fat Baby in the great city of New York. On our way there, we picked up our friend Kevin from a local watering hole and decided to make him our merch guy for the weekend. Once we finally found parking, our first priority was, naturally, to buy some sweet sunglasses from a street vendor. With our newly protected cornea, we wandered the streets of the Big Apple, searching for solace among the neon signs of the pubs and pizzerias. We took refuge at a bar during the happiest of happy hours, indulging in the finest sandwiches and craft beers the city had to offer.

At last, the Fat Baby opened its doors. We brought our gear down a steep set of stairs and immediately soaked in the DIY, punk-rock feel of the venue, akin to venues from back at home. After load-in we took some band photos and did a few interviews, one of which was with reps from a French music blog (who really put our foreign language skills to the test). It was right around this time that the storm-clouds started accumulating, and we were given nothing short of a full-blown shower before our set. Alas, drenched in sweat and the unforgiving rain, we ran through our set with intensity, dodging each other’s instruments in the close quarters of the stage. As the night drew to a close, we packed our things and prepared for Pennsylvania.

Day 2: Lemoyne, PA (The Champ)
Pennsylvania is really starting to feel like a second home. Our label CI Records is based out of Lancaster, so we tend to get treated very well when we’re in the area. PA may seem like an endless stretch of farmland, but once you look beyond the mills and horse-drawn carriages you’ll find a uniquely tight-knit music scene. This would be our fourth time playing at The Champ, and we received the same hospitality as always – great pizza, great beverages, and great people.

Before our set we made sure to grab appetizers and a couple drinks at our favorite local spot, Dockside Willie’s. After we had our fill of their mini-calzones, we enjoyed the waterfront view and walked back to the venue and played our set. Maybe there was something in the air, (or maybe it was the complimentary Red Bulls), but we played an especially rowdy show for our PA friends. Our friend/co-owner of CI Records, Spencer, graciously let us stay over his house after the show. He cranked the AC and brought us a sandwich platter before we left the next day. After tossing around the pigskin and playing a couple riveting games of Go Fish, we said our farewells to Spencer and started making our way to the next show.

Day 3: Vineland, NJ (The Oak Tavern)
By now I should have mentioned Jonny Costa, aka Isahermit Photography, our on-the-road photographer. He has an interesting relationship with our drummer, who is also named Jon. Like a modern-day Bert and Ernie, they bicker day and night, only to insist on sleeping in the same spot (the van), despite our climate-controlled indoor accommodations. Anyways, today’s show brings us to our second visit to the Oak Tavern in Vineland, New Jersey. The place was packed upon arrival, and we were welcomed with open arms.

We’d like to take this opportunity to give the promoter David Earl a proper shout-out. He always treats us like family, books great shows, and insisted on buying our drinks at the bar. This resulted in countless pitchers of beer and gin-and-tonics being delivered to our merch table. He requested that we play Underoath’s “Writing on the Walls”, we obliged, and the Oak Tavern lost their shit. When we see a bunch of kids piling on top of each other and singing along, it reminds us exactly why we do what we do; both the release of pent-up emotions and the unbreakable sense of community that we’re lucky to feel every single night.

We’re pumped to meet up with our friends in Aminals in Sunrise, FL for the rest of the tour. If you’re reading this, please let us sleep on your floor.

Keep up with Que Sera on Facebook and Twitter and Animals on Facebook and Twitter.

(All photos were taken by Jonny Costa of Isahermit Photography)