March 16 Norman Oklahoma

The bar we played reminded us of the classic scene in Blues Brothers...minus the cage. 1/2 the crowd was made up of students taking part in the Oklahoma U "UniverseCity" concert series—1/2 the crowd were the locals. To quote Ben Stiller in "Heavyweights," we could feel a "life force" in the room. Sometimes touring with another band just means that no matter what city you end up in and what kind of energy the crowd has, your better half is there to sing along, hoot and holler or just clap louder than anyone in the room. And in turn, even the locals start wondering if they're missing something in those moments. "This doesn't sound like Kid Rock, but all those kids up at the stage sure seem to be having the time of their lives. Maybe we should get a little unruly too." And next thing you know a mismatched audience has turned into one of the funnest shows of the tour. We made some friends, made some fans and left just before what looked like was going to end in Nate getting his ass kicked for reciting Edgar Alan Poe's "The Raven" from the stage and playing "Don't Stop Believing" two times in a row on the juke. Some choice words were shouted by a few guys at the bar who apparently had had their fill of the shenanigans. The night ended with a $58 Taco Bell order (between our two vans) and a full night's sleep.