Songs & Strings Tour Journal

Autumn 2002, West Coast
Michael DeLalla & Andrew McKnight

October 29, 2002: Crossing California, Part 2

California sure is a wild and enormous place. We have seen so much between our January tour and this one, and yet have seen so little. Today we landed a good cup of coffee in Redding (unlike the last time we drove through!), and headed west through the winding mountains and river valleys of the Shasta-Whiskeytown-Trinity National Recreation Area along Highway 299. We passed through some cool towns like Weaverville, through a lot of dry and beautiful mountains, and particularly enjoyed many miles of driving and a short walk along the Trinity River. Splendid scenery to guide us to the coast.

Eureka is a funky place. I'm not sure I gathered it all in on first glance, but it is intriguing; a blend of the rural lumbering of the West Coast, the eclectica of artists, musicians and dreamers wherever they gather, and a bit of the old Victorian resort charm that one can find dating back to the late 1800s along much of California's coast. I could have sat people-watching for quite awhile. Humboldt County in general is a place where people go to get away from the hubbub of "down south" (meaning San Francisco as well as LA!). Some places take awhile to take the pulse of; I look forward to my next encounter with Eureka.

And for the second night in 3 days, here we were in an incredible venue and lodging. The Eagle House was built in 1893, and Michael and I had adjoining rooms on the second floor that looked out over the town one direction, and out the door the other to the interior balcony which looked out and down over the theater on the first floor (where we performed). I enjoyed sitting outside my room watching the audience enjoying Michael's music while he was onstage. It was very cool, and with a top-shelf Japanese restaurant in the hotel to boot. A great teriyaki dinner and even a little California roll sushi set us up for the show. I am famous for not being a sushi eater, but this was the good stuff. We also managed to sneak in a little time at a local internet cafe to get our journals to you - enjoy!

Andrew

Set 1
Le Marchais du Malaucene - Michael
Merrily Kiss The Quaker - Michael (Trad. Celtic)
Piece for Steel Drum - Michael
Wear A Tie So I'll Know You - Michael
Catnapping - Michael and Andrew (guitar duet)
Western Skies - Andrew and Michael
When I Grow Up - Andrew
The Other Way - Andrew
I Can't Understand the Moon - Andrew
Dancing in the Rain - Andrew

Set 2
Poem "Where The Four Winds Touch the Soul" - Andrew
Arise - Michael
Se Ne Bado C'et Atao - Michael (Bretagne Gaelic a cappella)
Shebeg Shemore/Celtic Medley - Michael
Infinite Loops: See Loops, Infinite - Michael
For This Time - Andrew and Michael
Gatlinburg - Andrew
Bad News - Andrew
Company Town - Andrew
Shenandoah Moon - Andrew and Michael
Da Fully-Rigged Ship/June Apple - Michael and Andrew (trad. guitar duet)