Crappy rainy day, going to Gold's Gym, mainly to take a shower. The guy told me on the phone that he'd give me a free trial day, but when I got there, he tried to charge me $15. I really needed a shower, so I negotiated $10. I did get some exercise in, though, and I felt wonderful afterwards, though I got lost on the way so it was 3 or 4 pm, and I hadn't eaten yet, so that was unpleasant. My original goal was to lose 10 pounds on this trip, and so far I had lost 4.
Boston traffic isn't quite as bad as Manhattan traffic, but the layout of the roads makes it much worse to get around in, and Boston driving is more aggressive than Manhattan. If I lived in Boston, I wouldn't drive, at least not in the city. I'd get a T pass, and I'd leave my car well outside the city. I mention this because part of touring is trying to decide where I'm going to live. Driving in Boston made me miss Oxford. Driving on the Merritt in CT made me remember why I loved driving when I first got my license (of course, then gas was about $1 per gallon, and was as low as 87 cents briefly).
After driving for a while, it was too soon to decide if I could live in Boston or not. I was hoping to sell a CD so I could get a T pass the next day, and do a walking tour of the city. I started leaving Boston at 4 pm, and got to the Lucky Dog in Worcester, MA at 7:30 pm. They're only 50 miles apart, but I hit rush hour, and the rain was terrential.
The Lucky Dog has naked pictures of women in their bathroom. I think they're from old 70s Playboys. I would never put anything remotely pornographic in a bathroom where drunk people are going to be.
When I was loading my gear into the club, a guy in a limo yelled out the window "Where can a guy get his dick sucked around here?" Then his female limo driver asked me where the strip club was. Classy!
The hardest part about performing is waiting to start when there's no crowd, especially far from home. I kept hoping people would show up, but there were only 3 acts slated to play (including myself, and Karate High School from California). It was a crappy rainy night, just as it was a crappy rainy day, as well, so I figured people were less likely to come out. I knew nothing about the town I was in, and I didn't have enough money for a wild night in Boston. So all I could do was wait and hope.
Well, no bands showed, nor did any patrons. There was a Guns n Roses concert that night, and apparently the whole town went there, including 5 employees of the bar. They actually shut the bar down to go to the concert, so there was no Mission Man performance that night. The cool thing is, I know the guitarist from Guns N Roses now. I reviewed his CD in an issue of Underground Music Monthly several years ago. Good old Bumblefoot.
No atlas. Almost no money. What to do? I ended up driving back to the same rest area as the night before, and talked on my cell phone.
Starting mileage: 207,603
Ending mileage: 207,757
Daily mileage: 154
Onto Day 7