Road Report: Cloud Cult Wrap Up Their Mimicking Birds Recap

Posted on Oct 19th 2010 10:02AM by Cloud Cult
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Cody York Photography

Cloud Cult have just released their eighth studio album, 'Light Chasers,' and the Minnesota outfit has been busy traveling the country in support of it. Inspired by rebirth, this concept album takes listeners on a journey through love, loss, life and death.

But Cloud Cult have recently wrapped their own physical journey on the road with Mimicking Birds. Read about their midwest and west coast adventures -- including memorable gigs, frisbee sessions and getting denied at In-and-Out -- and check out more photos from the second half of their two-part recap after the jump.

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Bozeman, Montana
Things got off to a little bit of a rocky start -- the battery had lost its charge over the night and it took some time to get on the road.

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But it happened and we made our way through Northern Colorado. South of Loveland, we were passed by a motorist waving furiously and pointing at our van. We were certain either our engine was on fire or we were dragging a phone booth or something similarly awful. Turns out the flap covering our gas cap was open. Crisis averted, we soldiered on through southern Wyoming. And central Wyoming. And northern Wyoming. We got to Bozeman, stretched for about five hours, and turned in.

We all split up in the morning -- a few folks took in the town and the mountain air with a jog, the workhorses were on their computers at the hotel, and Arlen and I walked downtown. We spent a couple of hours in a music shop, playing songs accompanied by a fountain in the acoustic guitar room. We all met up for lunch and had some of the freshest Mexican food you can imagine at a spot open from 11 until 2 p.m. I know I spent the rest of that trip trying to find a similar queso fresco taco, with no luck. Lunch finished, we played some parking lot frisbee and headed to the Zebra to load in. It looked like a storm was building as we were driving through town, and man, did it open up as soon as we got the van doors open. We raced in with our gear, soundchecked through just a bit of hail, and were greeted by the Mimicking Birds.

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This was our first show with them -- we got to share the stage the rest of the tour. Nate, Aaron, and Ian make some beautiful music for driving through mountains or just about anything else. We listened to their music album, conservatively, ninety times during the rest of the trip. Craig called the show at the Zebra a basement party, and it certainly felt like one. After witnessing some truly stunning karaoke in the lounge next door the night came to a close.

Missoula, Montana
Sarah Jane, Sarah, Arlen, Jeff and I headed out to the M trail outside of Bozeman the next morning -- the Sarahs to meet a friend that assembled snowboard bindings at the foot of the trail, and Arlen, Jeff and I to see how far up the mountain we could get in 20 minutes. As we were walking up, a paraglider made the leap off of the crest. He flipped intentionally, though, for a second it appeared otherwise, and sailed to a smooth landing at the base of the mountain to the applause of fellow paragliders waiting to greet him. Quite the start to a day. Our 20 minutes of sprinting up and sliding back down the mountain over, we all piled into the van, stopped by one of the most beautiful cooperative groceries you've ever seen, had a little picnic, and headed west to Missoula.

The bar we were playing, the Top Hat, smelled like the 1880s. Sawdust, maybe whiskey, and more sawdust. The bar itself was ornate and, we found out, brought in by train from a saloon in, I think, Texas. The club had also done a unique job of sound proofing the area around the stage, using hundreds of Crown Royal bags to perform the task. After sound check we took in our favorite Missoula spots with an evening walk and returned to hear Ian and Nate practicing behind the club. I wish I had a tape recorder to share what those two were doing in just rehearsing -- it was incredible. Instead, I hunkered down by the back door and listened. They were on, we took in the show, and played to a fantastic Missoula crowd. We met so many people after the show, including a carload of showgoers who made the trip from Whitefish. Such a good night!

Portland, Oregon
We made the drive from Missoula to Portland the next day -- it's an almost unbelievable trip. Two hours of mountain scenes that were oohed and ahhed by everyone in the van, followed by some high desert views of eastern Washington, and about seven hours along the Columbia River, passing from another planet to fog-shrouded islands in the Cascades. At some point in this stretch we were passed by the Mimicking Birds. Ian had his head out the window, waving, when his sunglasses flew from his face and hit the pavement. Hard. We resolved to get him some new ones. We stopped at what we thought was a gas station somewhere in Central Oregon. Turned out to be some unattended pumps and a port-a-potty. And, as luck would have it, some kind construction workers who had more watermelon than they could handle. We traded some cookies given us by Connie's mom for huge slices of melon. It was, without question, the best rest stop of the trip. We got to Portland that evening and took in the town with friends who served as some sweet guides to the city.

The next day we woke with two goals in mind: find some sunglasses and play Portland. Both occurred- after a few different spots Arlen and I found the glasses that were meant for Ian. Mission one accomplished, we headed on to mission two, playing the Wonder Ballroom. It's a venue that lends itself to playing frisbee with the resident pooch- big and open and friendly. It's also the hometown of the Mimicking Birds, and we were excited to see the reception for the home team. It was a beautiful night all around.

Seattle, Washington
We woke up bright and early to make a one o'clock in-studio at KEXP (thanks so much, guys!). A former roommate of Sarah's joined us on the trip and brought along some truly delicious homemade breads- the tray was nearly gone by the time we pulled into the KEXP parking lot. We set up with the assistance and guidance of the staff there -- no small feat given the size of the studio -- and played three songs off of 'Light Chasers' for the broadcast. After the in-studio we walked into a beautiful Seattle afternoon and had a few hours before soundcheck at the Showbox.

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This show was a big one for us -- we'd never played the Showbox. We all knew about the Showbox. And more than a couple of us were just a little bit freaked out. We were welcomed to the venue by our manager (and sight for sore eyes), Adrian, and the night just kept getting better. It was a great show -- there was such a tremendous amount of energy in the room. Seattle treats us so well indeed. We got to spend a day off, some staying with dear friends, some reunited with family for a couple of days, some taking Seattle in for the first time.

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San Francisco, California
We made the drive from Seattle to San Francisco in two days, staying on Interstate 5 for the duration. We made it to a little town in the shadow of Mt. Shasta and, no doubt, Sasquatch after a LONG day of driving. The morning views across Lake Shasta and Shastina were as we remembered -- jaw dropping. We made it to San Francisco and the Independent later in the afternoon and got ready for the show by spending time with friends around the neighborhood. The reception was, once again, so dang big! The feeling was so dang great! We were so dang happy! San Francisco was a joy.

Los Angeles, California
Our last show for this short swing was the the Roxy. The same Roxy you remember from the heyday of MTV and hair bands and motorcycles being featured almost too prominently in music videos. The drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles was A-OK. We were, sadly, rebuffed from stopping by the one In-and-Out Burger between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We walked up to the door and were told, in no uncertain terms, that 1.) the line starts here and 2.) there was a gas leak the patrons in line were waiting out. We settled for trail mix and went on our way.

We pulled up to the club, and in one of the luckier parking moments of the trip, found two meters for van and trailer. We unpacked our gear and looked for a spot to put our empty cases. Usually there's a designated area, close to stage. Here there was a parking space outside the club set aside for this purpose. It was novel. We spent the time before taking in the various posters and signatures in the green room and back hallway. It was nuts. B-52s and Snoop Dog set lists framed together? Check. Jonas Brothers tour lanyard? Uh huh. More pictures of Travis Barker than would be believed? And how. We also met Josh Radnor, who was kind enough to come say hello before the show. He wrote, directed, starred in, titled, edited (I'd bet) a movie called happythankyoumoreplease and used a couple of our songs in the movie. thankyoubigtimejosh.

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This last show exceeded our expectations. First off, we got a curtain -- a curtain! -- and got the hazers going early and constantly. Fog was everywhere, and those in attendance comprised the best Los Angeles audience we've ever played for. We had to work hard to sing over the voices on the floor, and we had the benefit of amplification. We said goodbye to one wonderful crowd, the curtain closed, we said goodbye to one wonderful band, and we were back across the desert, home in time for the fall. See you soon, Atlantic.

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