Cleveland

What a city! What an experience! Bizarre ...

We were running about four hours late to get there .. I kept wondering why we hadn't left earlier if it were such a big deal...

Rolling in to town, I was amazed to see that the city itself was quite pretty. Raining, cold as hell, but also a pretty city skyline. We'd been told a few times by people we'd met along the way that Cleveland is a former steel city, and like nearby Detroit, had a similar fall from Industry Grace. Prior to that there was a lot of money in town, and you can definitely see it in the beautiful buildings. We were told it's been quite depressed in recent years, and a lot of people have left.. and of course, there's high unemployment.

Going to Cleveland received a similar response to when you say you're going to Canberra... "why!?"

ID and I stayed at a Holiday Express in Euclid Avenue. When ID went down for a ciggie, she chatted to some boys out the front who were on a bucks night.. she came up absolutely delighted- they'd never met an Australian before- she was their first!

Our room- we almost needed binoculars to see the TV!

We called a cab to get to the venue, and low and behold what turned up - a LIMO! A limo that charged like a cab! We were hysterical. My first time in a limo and noone to see it (to laugh at me!). We laughed the whole way there... I was even more amused when some patrons saw us out the front, looked confused, then I think realised we were in the Aussie band headlining. Yes of course, we get a LIMO SIZED BUDGET! ahahah.

We're in a LIMO !!!

The Beachland Ballroom. This is a famous music venue in Cleveland (it comes with a huge rep, and a lot of praise) so it was quite exciting to play a show there. There was also a vintage market downstairs!

At one point before we played, I was standing outside when IT STARTED TO SNOW!!!! This is the first (and now ONLY) snow that I have ever seen in my life. I was literally screaming my head off with excitement!!

Believe me i am really screaming!

Beautiful!

Id catching snowflakes

Little Scott enjoying the snow

The crowd was reasonable and the set up was awesome (the band were on a low stage in the middle of the room, more or less surrounded by people) For some bizarre reason I didn't take a single pic of the other bands (nor ourselves, for obvious reasons) so this is impossible to illustrate. I did however manage to capture a photo of our show poster in the toilet.

I was drinking a lot of ...

...this!

And we all signed a fair bit of Merch.. how hilarious!

Then things got weird. I was at the bar with ID when i met an odd couple who insisted on shouting us shots.. we obliged, I drank disgusting spirit conquoctions (I am only good with beer!)
It all gets a bit hazy, but I do recall the barmen arguing with them about nor paying for their drinks. Then, Im not sure how we left but suddenly we were in the carpark with ID arguing with the boys. Once back at the hotel, Id then wanted to book a flight back to Australia.. it all got quite surreal.. and I was too drunk to figure it all out!

Luckily that didn't happen, but rather than doing a 14 hour drive to Boston, we decided to stay on an extra day.. rest. recouperate, and see Cleveland. We'd fly out and meet the boys the following day. So we did, and this is what we saw:

Zero people on the streets.
Zero shops open (if even occupied!)

Zero cars on the road... very very eerie!

Public Square
Walking towards the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.. it was One degree Celcius here.
Trying to find a coffee... Mission impossible.

there was NOTHING open.. nothing!!!
I have never seen anything like it.. the random people we did see were homeless and asking for money. We were reccommended to go to a Mall.. the mall was open- but all the shops inside were closed!? So is this the "real America"?

The only thing we did find open was the Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland... So we had dinner there.