To punctuate the release of And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, we undertook an 11-city U.S. tour, playing (mostly) quietly in sit-down venues. Lambchop opened all the shows, and our lineup was expanded to a quintet with the addition of David Kilgour and Mac McCaughan on guitar, keyboards, vibes and percussion. It was an ambitious affair all around, not without its hiccups–Lambchop drummer Allen Lowrey picked the wrong moment to grab some fresh air, got accidentally left behind, and took a bus to the second show in Philadelphia. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Opening night, 14 years ago today at the 9:30 Club in D.C., was also Georgia’s birthday, so we threw her a surprise party. Without her knowing, the rest of the band learned Gary Lewis’s “Count Me In” and played it for her during the encore. A bunch of our friends drove down and stayed out of sight till after our set. Well, most of them did. Our niece was there, and was having trouble with rock ‘n’ roll hours. While we were on stage, Joe brought her up to the dressing room, where she could take a nap. When a surprised Georgia discovered her there, she leaned over to say hi, and got a second surprise. Assuming it was her older brother trying to wake her up, our niece, eyes still closed, led with a sock to Georgia’s jaw. Luckily she was cuter than she was strong.
