From the Road: Nicole Atkins (Part 3)

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Jem mic at the Wonder Ballroom!

From the Road: Nicole Atkins (Part 3)

Mar 12, 2014 Web Exclusive By Nicole Atkins

SXSW 2014 Note: Nicole Atkins has plenty lined up in Austin. Check her website for dates and venues.

So we finally made it to the West Coast! Yet not before getting stuck in Winter Storm Titan in Missoula, Montana. We stopped for dinner en route to Seattle. It wasn’t snowing when we stopped to eat. The waiter told us that Missoula was the Portland of Montana. (Um?) When we got back in the van it was a full bore shit storm. Trucks were sliding off the roads left and right. Cop cars and ambulances everywhere. We decided to stop at a Days Inn and leave at 5am. In the morning the staff and the truckers staying there were urging us not to drive. But the show had to go on. It was the scariest drive of my life. Through a blizzard and two mountain passes. We took it slow and eight hours later we arrived at greener pastures.

Seattle looked like the fucking Carribean to us. Green grass, warm winds, no snow on the ground. Arc Iris and my band breathed a collective sigh of relief. Had a great show at Nectar’s. A fan named Sam brought me flowers! How nice! Also our good friend Shane Nelken opened for us. He’s the funniest person I’ve ever met in my life and he just put out a really great record called “Your War is at Home.” I suggest you get a copy.

The Wonder Ballroom in Portland was a beautiful venue with a great staff. They even gave us veggies. Hadn’t seen those in a while. The place was way bigger than I’m used to playing on the west coast so it wasn’t packed, but the people that were there loved it. I sang my last couple songs in the crowd and one dude had a walking staff that I took from him. Between that and the cape I looked like Gandalf. It also was my hubby’s birthday so we played Elvira pinball and ate tapas at a really great Spanish place. I also got to have a hangout with one of my Pledgers, Eric. He’s a deputy sherif in Portland and has insane stories about the things he sees. We’re a morbidly curious bunch so it was very entertaining. It’s so nice actually meeting all the people who have contributed to helping get this record out. So many different types of people and you all are so interesting and cool.

We made a big mistake traveling from Portland to San Francisco. Natch. I had the bright idea of lets take the scenic route through the Redwood forest! It will be beautiful! We ended up leaving too late in the day though and there was a huge rainstorm. So we drove through the harrowing Redwoods in the dark, in a downpour. Super windy, deer everywhere, we felt like we were having a bad trip. It didn’t seem real. Yet again thankfully, we survived.

San Fran’s show was probably the best we’ve had yet. Slim’s and their staff were great. I had a beer with a Pledger named George and his daughter and they were super cool. My friend Lilliana came backstage early and gave me a bitchin peppermint treatment on my neck. She has a mobile spa service called Faces by Lilliana. She is a fucking genius of good smells and calm. My old friend Gillian from the Chris Isaak crew met us as did my best friend from back home Krissy and her hubby. It was all around good vibes, surrounded by good friends, and a super enthusiastic crowd. I ended up in the crowd at the end during “Above as Below,” and the crowd and I were hugging and singing together. What a great night.

LA was a total blur of activity as it usually is. Again, the sunshine was perfect. We all started to feel normal again. We played a little show at my publisher’s place and it’s getting really cool to see how well we are clicking as a band. Shit is loose. Our guitarist Dave Rosen joined back up with us. So now we have two guitar Daves. Scottish Davey and I also played in a hallway at NBC for some music supes. They brought cupcakes and won our hearts. My friend Christina Black who is a great musician and harpist joined me at the Bootleg theater show and we did a super pretty version of “Neptune City.” Here’s a video of us running it backstage:

Bootleg theater show felt electric. Like we were the Doors or some shit. It was packed and we sounded evil. Loved it. I also loved seeing some of my favorite friends that live out there then. Glen, Lucas, and Pete I’m looking at you! Also, Barry Manilow’s band came to the show. So weird and cool. My friend Mandy’s mom rejoices! On top of all this, my video for “Girl You Look Amazing!” came out that day on the AV Club. We filmed it in Asbury Park at all of the best spots like the Lanes and the Silverball. The extras were all people in local Asbury bands like Wreaths, Amy Malkov, Glycerine Queens and Battery Electric. I love the way it turned out. It’s fucking hilarious and sad. Perfect combo. It was directed by the brilliant Laurel Parmet. Watch it here:

We finally had a day off and decided to spend it in Joshua Tree at a trailer park palace called Hicksville. This is maybe one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to and I’ll tell you all about it next week.
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