This spring, B Boys went on tour with Parquet Courts. They sent us some killer shots from their adventures, and we’ve compiled their visual tour diary so you can get a peek inside their lives.
We, the musical entity known as B Boys, traversed the country to share sounds with friends and strangers alike. Here is some photo documentation of our experience, through the lens of our drummer. (drummer link to youngrodney.tumblr.com
Our tour send-off gig was on a rainy, torta-filled night at Union Pool with pals Wall and Rips. A blissful celebration indeed.
Played a house show in Providence at the Watermyn Co-Op with fellow BK band Scully and made some late night eggs from their pantry. Watched a marathon, walked by the water, danced in the park.
Our initial Boston show fell through, then fell through again. Luckily we hopped on a gig with some semi-familiar faces. Why are Boston streets mapped out so horribly?
Somehow easily managed our way across the Canadian border and played two shows. The first at Casa Del Popolo in Montreal and the second at The Garrison in Toronto. Donnie Decaf drank some Healer’s Broth and we got our spliff bogarted by Joint Custody before returning back to the good ol’ USA.
One of the shows we were most excited to play was with our favorite band Bonny Doon in Detroit. Can’t beat the vibe of Cinco De Mayo with the Grooveship Captain himself. Seeing the legendary sound-spot Hitsville was a true highlight as well.
Made our way through Chicago and St. Louis— the latter, for some reason, also celebrating Cinco De Mayo (although it was 5/7). We also played in Bloomington and Columbus, but lost a roll of film from that portion of the trip. Not pictured: deep meditation at a Tibetan monastery in Indiana, getting the van searched by police in rural Ohio and the weirdest Haunted House looking venue.
For this part of the trip we met up with longtime friends and incomparable rock-n-roll powerhouse Parquet Courts. Our first two gigs together were in Philadelphia and Washington DC respectively. Finally were able to do some laundry and enjoy a nice home-cooked breakfast by Britton’s wonderful mother.
After picking up some more merch from our label at the local UPS store in Carrsboro, we found our way to another Buddhist retreat and got recharged for the show that night. Shout out to the band who bravely covered “Baby’s On Fire.”
Next up, we played a late after show at the Earl with our tour mates and DC greats Priests. A great turnout, and a lot of fun. Our only day off on the tour came the next morning when PC played Shaky Knees. This was the first experience enjoying the luxuries afforded at some music festivals, and we indulged in our fair share of free food and drink, all the while relaxing in the sun and seeing bands like Deftones and At The Drive-In.
Our ride back up to NYC included our “Tour of the Ille’s”— Nashville and Asheville. There was an arm wrestling contest between all the members (excluding the two drummers) and Sean emerged victorious, proving himself to be the strongest man on the journey. We also found ourselves at a large trailer converted into a small bar and karaoke lounge and belted out some favorites. In Asheville, we hung in the basement of the venue, playing ping-pong and skateboarding. Someone took a well-deserved souvenir a la Face-Off and we went our separate ways.
We had a one-off gig in Baltimore sans Parkay which was at a pretty cool spot with a stage reminiscent of the Black Lodge. Donnie ate some late night Thai food and we slept in a hotel.
Finally, back in the New York groove! Traffic in the city is forever awful, but we were so happy to be back in the place we call home. We played a sold out show at Webster Hall, a true honor and dream finally realized for us. Some of us went for one last farewell drink at a bar near our rehearsal space and we got the best nights sleep we had all month.
