Last weekend we had the pleasure of playing
twice in one day, in the company of splendid
support. The adventure started innocently enough
in a gorgeous private home in the foothills of Tucson
and ended with much debauchery in a little mountain
town called Bisbee. First we played a celebratory
combined birthday party in the prettiest venue we've
played yet. It was the private home of landscape
architect, Joe Prchal and it was all in the name of
Steve Prchal, visiting from his Costa Rican butterfly
farm, and Julie Dorley, staunch supporter of
Tumbledown House from here to Boston and
most places in between. We were treated to some
great lunch, delicious sangria (perfect for the warm
day), and a very friendly, supportive crowd. Perfect
ingredients for a show.



Then we packed up and drove south to Bisbee, a
favorite spot of ours although we've only had the
chance to visit once before. Bisbee is the kind of place
that's big on theme parties and costumes (lucky for us).
The whole town might even rally for a Pajama Day and
everyone will go to work in their sleepwear and robes,
and this might be an average Thursday. They just like it.
That's what we heard anyway. It's a town full of quirky
artists, poets, musicians and hippies...and they're not
shy about drinking. It's hard to offend people down
there. And it's easy to fall in love.



So when Karyn was on board for a speakeasy-
themed party at her bar, Hot Licks, we were
excited to see if the costume-happy rumors
were true. Indeed they were. Hot Licks was
decorated to the nines, complete with cigarette
girls, handmade gin stills, old fashioned signs,
and a gorgeous staff that not only looked fabulous
but seemed far from disgruntled about having to dress up.




Our drinks were free, the bar was slammed, the sound man was
accommodating and the crowd was hot. In the world of music,
this is pretty much nirvana. Just when I thought it couldn't get
any better, we happily realized Bisbee is also big on audience
participation. Praise Jeebus. We handed out 24 kazoos (always
give 'em somethin' for free) and Bisbee joined in with a rousing,
if not patchy rendition of Cash's "Ring of Fire" (we'd never played
it before. Bisbee was forgiving).





Yep, those are fake mustaches
made of real hair on real women dressed as men.
Fabulous.



This crowd came all the way from Tucson
to join in the fun and it was great to have
some familiar faces in the crowd. Once we
were sufficiently sweat-soaked, feathered,
and drunk, we headed over to St. Elmo's
down the way (since Bisbee is built directly
into the sides of mountains, everything is
down or up a steep ramp or stairs from the
next thing. I don't think even Mormons could
pass for sober when navigating these alleys).
St. Elmo's is the kind of place where 4 out of
5 dreams go to die. So I refrained from posting
those pictures.

By morning we were ready for some hang-over
cures. Turns out the best place to relieve the devil's
symptoms is Dot's Diner.





Dot's (max. occupancy: 10) is connected to
The Shady Dell, whose proprietors were in
attendance the night before. We got some greasy
breakfast in us, complete with a perfect strawberry
shake, and then we strolled around the Dell, which
is a motel of sorts made up of antique trailers, a
bus, and a boat, all of which hold true-to-the-era
records, record players, tvs, magazines, board
games, etc. that you can enjoy throughout your
night's stay. It wasn't last night's booze talking;
I fell deeply in love with this place and promised
myself it would be mine someday, if only for a night.






We just can't seem to have a shitty time in Bisbee.
And we have the makings for a shitty time, believe me.
So thank you, Bisbee. We'll see you again at Hot Licks
on April 30th for our west coast tour kick-off!