Under Pressure US Tour - Day 7 - July 31, 2007

Cleveland, Ohio...

I woke up and took my first conscious breath of the morning. Hot, stale air. Then the aching pain came, running the length of my contorted body. Not what you might occasionally get from sleeping on a hardwood floor or a lumpy couch but from sleeping in a van. A full-sized van that was designed to haul entire families but can't provide me with any means of comfort. I can't even stretch out. The aches had arrived and were not going anywhere anytime soon. Next to arrive was awareness of the sweat-damp, greasy clothes adhered to my skin. I just tried to breathe for a while. That really didn't do anything; didn't wake me up, didn't cool me off, didn't lessen the feeling of being smothered in a miasma of tour filth.

I tried to turn back, to sink back into blissful unconsciousness but I was stuck. I contorted my body further and saw Cam's tangled mop of hair hanging over the edge of the loft. He was still sound asleep. I was in such a haze I can't quite recall... but I think I wandered around the parking lot for a while, then checked inside the restaurant to find everyone still asleep. I probably tried relaxing in the van for a while longer, checked a few more times for any sign that Cam might be waking up, became increasingly more bored and restless, then finally broke down and woke everyone up, which I was no doubt thanked for. It sucks to always be the first one awake on tour. I do remember Cam telling me that some crackheads had wandered around the van briefly and stared at us through the windows. I hate that shit. Fortunately I'm pretty good at blocking thoughts of being looked at in my sleep... or worse.

Once everyone was good to go, we said our goodbyes to SEA SICK--who we'd see again soon--and got out of Cleveland. We made good time driving into Wilkinsburgh, a suburb of Pittsburgh, arriving at 3:30 PM, just before rush hour. Perfect. We parked right across the street from Mr Roboto Project, one of the US's great DIY venues. There was no sign of life so we gave Andy/BRAIN HANDLE a call. He was stuck at work until show-time so he gave us a few points of interest. Joe had disappeared though, so we had to organize a search party. It was ridiculous how long it took to catch the guy. He was always popping in and out of sight, just always rounding corners a couple of blocks ahead. I was wondring if, when we finally caught up with Joe and tapped him on the sounder, he was going turn around and instead be some long-haired woman wearing a red t-shirt and skin-tight pocket-less bellbottom jeans. Fortunately, we had our man. If he wouldn't have been listening to music on headphones we would have been able yell him down.

Once reunited, we made our way across town and checked out the town's punk record store, Brave New World. I visited with Rob, the store's manager for a while. We, of course talked music, then I left him some records on consignment before joining the band in grabbing some Middle Eastern food at a restaurant located below the store.

It was back to the venue. I had a 45-minute nap in the van and woke to find people slowly making their way to the show. As I sat up and cleared my eyes I noticed that Bill and Eric of CAUSTIC CHRIST were hanging out in front. We caught up and I spoke a bit with Bill about THE PIST reunion shows and his getting married. I ended up missing the first band in the process. Then the second band went on but unfortunately I was looking after some issues regarding my laptop and computer equipment so I didn't have much of a chance to take them in.

Sometimes when I play a city and have a great time it's something that exists only in that moment, in that set of variables. Other times, I get the sense that I was fortunate to become part of something that is alive and thriving in that local scene, something that can be revisited.

After playing Mr Roboto our first time a couple of years ago I had the impression that there was a really great energy driving the local scene. There were folks of all ages in attendance and the atmosphere was really friendly and social. The old-timers at the show weren't jaded and seemed to be fueling the scene with as much momentum as the kids who were excited to get their first band off the ground. I don't think this is a very common thing and after returning to this place I'm glad that little has changed.

I love the character of Pittsburgh's old 3-story family homes; no two exactly alike. The city's winding streets that change from concrete to asphalt to brick to cobblestone in a blink of an eye, its hills and valleys which house monuments to expired industry... and I love how welcome and at home I feel here. I hope that doesn't change on my next visit, and I have a feeling it won't.

DRY ROT were incredible again. Drew climbed up on top of some high speakers again and probably got his band a little nervous. He ended up taking a pretty crazy head-first dive over Cam's head. I thought he would have injured himself. When I looked at my capture of his tumble, I can now see that Drew has the grace of a cat.

We played a great set, as I knew we would. It ended with "I Explode". Joe hurled himself through the audience and towards the back of the room. I soon after threw myself into him and we ended up thrashing into each other on the ground. Our struggle took us into a pile of garbage bags and before you knew it, plastic was torn and garbage was kicked around the room as we flailed around. Some were entertained, a few were pissed off by the mess.

After the venue was cleaned up and the bands were loaded out we made our way to Andy's apartment, introduced ourselves to his dog Lika and got some much-needed sleep in a comfortable apartment absent of mould.

"Deep Value" from My Poetry Is Out Of Control by Jason Penner

Fang boner
Yellow, right on time
Right from birth
Procrastinating upon the altar
Of the unborn
Hovering above porcelain plastered with dead sperm
Fuck karma
Fang boner


Mr Roboto Project in Wilkinsburgh, Pennsylvania


DRY ROT @ Mr Roboto Project in Wilkinsburgh, Pennsylvania



All of Jason's photographs from Under Pressure's 2007 US tour can be found here.