Lollapalooza Trip with Manchester Orchestra, Day 2

 

by Dan Hannon

Jeremiah (MO’s drummer) and I started off Day 2 by heading to a local favorite greasy-spoon-breakfast-joint called Jack and Benny’s.  Jeremiah had the ‘Eggs Benny’ with a potato pancake and a Nantucket Nectar OJ. I had the ‘Max Meat’ omelet.  I had recently given up sodas and drinks with caffeine in them, but a roadtrip like this calls for cruddy, greasy, fatty, trans-fatty grub with an ice cold ‘pop’. So, I had a Pepsi and savored the freedom of a guiltless meal.

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn on West Lane in downtown Columbus, which happens to be located about 100 yards from the Lane Avenue Bridge. The Lane Avenue Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge over the  Olentangy River and it’s actually quite a marvel of engineering.  Jeremiah and I snapped some pictures of the bridge and headed back to the room to wake the rest of the bunch.

 

We loaded-in to a club called The Basement at 4 pm and the venue was already sold out with a line of dedicated fans sitting along the wall starting at the door and stretching out into the open concrete common  area.

 

Manchester Orchestra soundchecked with 4 new songs that they’ve written for the upcoming release tentatively titled “Mean Everything To Nothing”.  Let me just say that the new material is unbelievable  and will represent a landmark shift in the band’s maturity as a musical brotherhood and as a serious ROCK band. A lot of the material is based on REALLY memorable melodic guitar riffs and finely-penned  lyrical intensity.  I can’t wait for the world to hear this new and improved Manchester. The 5 people on staff at the club were riveted during the rehearsal and clapped and whistled after each song.

 

The crowd was amazingly engaged (even throughout the frayed performances of the new material) and the band treated them to an energetic, indie romp that would make a Kid Rock concert look like Wii Fitness at a nursing home in Russell, Kansas.

 

Lollapalooza Friday at 1:45 pm. We have to leave Columbus after the show and drive overnight to Chicago.

 

I miss my kids. I miss my wife.