The Special Goodness tour diary - 2003-2004

:Written by Karl Koch and originally posted to thespecialgoodness.com. Images are included in their highest available quality; missing images are file links with their original filenames.
'03 part 1: Feb-April
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April 17, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - Universal Amphitheatre - supporting the Foo Fighters
Last SG show for a li'l while, and a heavy duty show to boot. This was the last of 5 Foo Fighter shows the SG was opening for, but that may change - keep your fingers crossed! Anyway, Los Angeles shows are notoriously stressful, as there is a disproportionate amount of friends/family/industry/etc people in town, plus the high profile "all eyes are watching" effect of doing a big L.A. show. Things started out pretty mellow, loading in, setting up, taking care of biz. But somehow lots of little things got the boys a bit off center by showtime, and while it looked and sounded pretty good from the audience's P.O.V., the SG men all agreed that it felt a bit odd onstage, with each band member alternating between stoke and frustration as the set progressed. But thats the way things unfold sometimes - soundcheck can be a breeze, then out of nowhere its a tough show. In any event, the audience was filling in during the set and made some respectable noise for the Goodness, so in conclusion, rock n' roll. Then post show the craziness began - what was Daryl Hannah doing there? Kelly Osbourne? Slash?!? A jam packed backstage L.A. schmoozefest in full bizarre swing. Also, somehow Atom was accosted by some huge dudes who bumrushed the backstage security gate and accused him of not letting them in! A short scuffle later, an army of security dudes forced the nasty meatheads into a side room and locked them in for the police to deal with! Anyway, you never know what to expect at a huge L.A. show... Anyway, HUGE props to the Foo Fighters and their crew for being SO nice and cool to the SG! This was a fantastic li'l tour!
...Laura Scudder's creamy PB on soft wheat bread...mmm...
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April 16, 2003: San Diego, CA - Fox Rox taping + radio action
Today was a long day of media action, which started at the Fox channel 6 news studio, for a taping of the "Fox Rox" show. We set up the gear opposite the news anchor desk and the guys ran thru "Kisses" and "Life Goes By" numerous times till the cameramen had what they needed. Then Pat and Atom did a really good interview with the Fox Rox host, who oddly enough happened to be someone Atom had gone to high school with. We blew outta there after 4 hours of heavily air conditioned tv studio fun, and made a beeline for the best Mexican food place we know of on earth. After a healthy lunch it was on to 94.9 for an on air interview, followed by yet another one over at 91x. Atom took to answering the phones wherever we went. Radio stations get a lot of strange calls! Finally, by early evening we paid a quick visit to a 3rd station, KFSD in Carlsbad. This visit was pretty goofy, as the guys were getting loopy by this point and the station didnt even have the SG cd to play a track. Ah well... At last, we wearily cruised back up the ol I-5 to LA, whereupon much rest was had.
...secret SD Mexican food hookup!
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April 15, 2003: San Diego, CA - RIMAC - supporting the Foo Fighters
Another pretty desert drive, this time on the mellow I-8, to the UCSD campus's RIMAC supersized gymnasium. Good goofiness with the Foo's Taylor H. during soundcheck - there is some definite shared love of dusty classic rock gems going on here! 4th show outta 5, and we all hope there can be more to come later! The SG men all commented that tonight was their best feeling set so far, and definitely the best sounding up on stage for them. And...it didnt sound too shabby out in the audience either! Then continued punk mayhem with the Transplants, and another stellar Foo show. Its really been a huge pleasure so far, and it will be sad stepping off the Foo train in a few days. I, for one, wont be tearing up my train ticket!
 
leftover mini fudge stripe cookies + Wetzel's Pretzels [odd combo!]
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April 14, 2003: Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater - supporting the Foo Fighters
3rd show with the Foo men, and all is well. Atom sez: "I had a great time. I broke lots of sticks and handed them out after the set. However, I wish our banner hadnt been hung crooked." Pat says: "the dry cool desert air transferred sound in a clean, clean way, and the zucchini at catering tasted a little funny. Also, too many Budwiesers can slow you down." Jeb says "Now, lets keep the rock alive. Also, The Diamond Age is a great book." Inexplicable Lord of the Dance mural and a wild candy assortment in the dressing room led to some silliness. Actually, on this tour, just about everything leads to some silliness.
 
see picture #7 for the candy/treat plug 'o the day...
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April 12 and 13th, 2003: off
....nuthin'. Well, nuthin' resembling a show! catch up on laundry, work, play.
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April 11, 2003: Oakland, CA - Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Arena - supporting the Foo Fighters
Second Foo-tastic show. Cruised up from Bakersfield across the dusty Central Valley, to the Henry J. Kaiser. An important discovery was made about this venue today: it has ramps! In a fashion similar to Detroits Cobo Arena and Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium, this place was built a long time ago when long sloping pedestrian walkways were the hot new thing. Pat got some skateboard luge runs in, needless to say. Today Atom decided to ditch the drum riser, which was sorta gigantic and was getting in the way of the band's ability to connect. The benefits were immediately apparent and the guys all reported things feeling better during the show tonight. The Henry J. was filling as they played and the response was pretty good! There were pockets of SG fans there who had been to some of the recent Bay area SG instores and shows, and they were making themselves heard.
 
Juicy Fruit gum, tossed onstage to Pat with keen accuracy!
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April 10, 2003: Bakersfield, CA - Centennial Garden - supporting the Foo Fighters
First show of the tour! Today we finally saw actual Foo Fighters, and the air was thick wth many many drummers! Between Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Wilson, Atom Willard and Travis Barker there was an unbelievable amount of potential drum power going on. Chad, Travis and Atom are the actual skin-doctors with Dave n' Pat doing the guitar thang. The first show was epic wth Bakersfield's youth going wild! By the Foo's set they could not hold back anymore, and one dude got on the stage somehow and made a heroic leap back into the pit.
Naked Food-Juice! & big ups to the epb alliance for special hook-ups!
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April 9, 2003: Bakersfield, CA - Centennial Garden - Production Rehearsal
today we cruised up to Bakersfield to the Centennial Garden and loaded the gear in for what is known as production rehearsal, where they go through all the stuff that goes on in a show, only without the fans there. This is so they can practice all the set changes and stuff and so everyone can get to know who theyre working wth. There are several guys in the foo crew who we knew from past weezy adventures so it was many happy reunions.
the search for the "grilled cheese" at In-N-Out!
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April 5, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - Ground Zero [U.S.C.]
a stokeful 4 band all ages free show on the U.S.C. campus. what more could ya want on a Saturday night? Thanks to all who came to support good rock n roll, including a few who came very far! Also thanks to the real flying squirrel for being so fuzzy and rad! Tonights set was capped with a cover of a Queens of the Stone Age jamb. I forget the title but it wasnt the big radio song. Todays bass duties were done by SG vet Chad, who subbed for Jeb whos sorting his shiznit out up in Seattle still.
 
huge ups for the PB Twix super-pack box from out of towner FMGreenRedux!
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March 23, 2003: drive from Seattle to L.A. in one day
I-5: no change!
now theres a wee break from SG shows.
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March 22, 2003: Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater - supporting Audioslave
well, its over all too soon for this mini-foray into the world o' Audioslave. Huge thanks to Audioslave, The Burning Brides, and all the wonderful crew members who made it such a pleasure to do the shows! We wish we could stay out on this one, but its headed to Australia, and that aint in the cards for the SG just yet! This also concludes our initial dip into the touring pool. Stay tuned for them Foo shows and hopefully some more fancy suprises!
...pic #8: "How do I ask that girl to dance, guys?" "Now, Stormtrooper #504, you just have to go up to her and say..."
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March 21, 2003: San Francisco, CA - drive from SF to Seattle
well, the I-5 looks exactly like it did last week.
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March 20, 2003: San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater - supporting Audioslave
lotsa crazy action in SF today. we wandered around a bit, taking in the sights of protest and clampdown. Outside the Warfield was chaos personified, but inside was pretty mellow, as the gear and stage was already pretty much set from the day before. The guys decided to do "Kisses In The Sun" today, replacing "A Day In The Autumn" in the set. The crowd tonight seemed a bit more into it, and everything went pretty darn good. Good video shot tonight from the balcony, a sweet clip could be forthcoming.
...PB Twix wins again
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March 19, 2003: San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater - supporting Audioslave
Got up early and drove to SF, parked at the Warfield and got aquainted with the sitch. Mr. Cornell, taller than ever, explained humorous new rules that are difficult to extrapolate. TSG soundcheck was smooth again, and everyone in the Audioslave, Burning Brides and Warfield camps were super nice and helpful. Its a shame theres only 4 of these Audioslave shows for TSG! Anyway the show went well, there was some stonefaced folks in the audience, but a good percentage bobbed heads and cheered after the songs. I dont think there were any SG fans coming into the gig, but hopefully there were some at the end! During the show the war started. However, the rock was unaffected. Tommorrow is a repeat Warfield experience, we are hoping for safety and stability, so the trifecta of rock can endure.
...late night pizza delivery!
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March 18, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - chillin' out and catching up on laundry
...also naps and work!
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March 17, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - Palladium - supporting Audioslave
The ooool' Palladium on Sunset Blvd... Still big, still boomy, still ought to be an indoor skatepark, what with its silky smooth wood ballroom floor. We got there as Audioslave was soundchecking. Happy reunitings for old buds Atom and Tim C. of Rage/Slave. The Audioslave crew were super cool to the SG boys and our soundcheck was a breeze. The SG opened the show with an action packed 6 song 20 min set, which went over rather well. Now that's big time football! The LA peeps' heads nodded for "Life Goes By" as recognition spread. The Burning Brides were next with a crazy sonic assault, and finally Audioslave blasted the ecstatic crowd with their brand of the big huge rock. Chris Cornell sounded as powerful as ever, and did well with his solo acoustic Elvis Costello cover. These are gonna be some fun shows this week!
Togo's subs: post show choice of hungry champs!
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March 16, 2003:
nuthin'. well, sumpthin' - reanointed the rackmount gear system: full reconfig.exe.
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March 15, 2003: drive from Portland to Los Angeles
ugh! made in 15 hours, though!
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March 14, 2003: Portland, OR - Dante's Inferno
More van switcheroo this morning in Seattle, which led to a breif Enterprise parking lot skate session. Then we re-packed the van...again...and hit the busy busy I-5 south to Portland. Dante's is a decidedly non-all ages joint replete with a sinful brimstoney vibe. A thrill seeking friday night crowd came looking for rock and other delights, which My Regrets, Loudermilk and the SG did their best to deliver. This was the last show with Loudermilk so goodbyes were said and best wishes exchanged for good rock fortune. And props to the expatriate Buffalo crew!
Chips Ahoy w/ peanut butter
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March 13, 2003: Seattle, WA - Sonic Boom Records (Free in-store)
AND Seattle, WA - Graceland
The VAN died! We had a sort of stressful time sorting out a replacement van, coordinating with the load in and souncheck at Graceland, and the in-store at Sonic Boom. But! we did it. The in-store was really well attended, and despite using a hodge podge of borrowed gear and bits of the bands own stuff, it sounded good! Thanks to Sonic Boom for the hospitality and chips n' salsa! Then we had to go dump the extra van seats, and grabbed sandwiches at the Honey Hole. Good sandwiches! Back to the Graceland, to find that many many people showed up! Openers Priss rocked it, Loudermilk freaked out for a semi-hometown crowd, and the SG had a good time up there, finally letting loose on stage after a day of strange challenges.
fan-supplied jumbo Peanut Butter Twix!! score!
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March 12, 2003: Seattle WA - KNDD
We drove to Seattle and the rain came right on schedule. Now, special recordings were made at KNDD today. If you are in the Seattle listening area on the 13th, tune into 107.7 The End at 7PM!
Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies!
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March 11, 2003: Eugene OR - The Wild Duck
Okay we drove a loooong time today, and that was after driving till 4:30 AM after the SF show. Finally got to Eugene a bit late, and immediately took some wrong turns on the oddly overly infrastructured Eugene road system. Finally got the the Wild Duck, set up lickety split and got the show underway. Local metally crunchers Conception did their thing, then the good ship Loudermilk rocked clean and tight, and the SG rocked it out right. The Wild Duck has a pretty cool space, and the sound system pumps it out good. Then the guys said goodnight but the crowd demanded more! And so the guys came back out for their first ever encore. The dust settled and the Eugene folks reluctantly returned to their exam 'crunch weeks' at U of O. Good jam on a Tuesday night!
Chips Ahoy!
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March 10, 2003: San Francisco, CA - Amoeba Records (Free in-store)
AND SF, CA - Bottom Of The Hill
more Cali cruising thru the picturesque hills, and into the Bay area. Somehow we got to Amoeba early, which is kind of cool because we can wander the store a bit. Todays selections: N.E.R.D. "In Search Of" for Atom, Jon Wayne "Texas Funeral" for the van, Fela Kuti for Jeb and a Black Sabbath DVD. Anyway, Amoeba has this nifty stage built right in, and rock and roll was made available to all who desired it. Then we had to pack up fast and book over to the Bottom Of The Hill on 17th st., to get the gear up on stage for the soundcheck. Then they fed us with fine veggie lasagna and bow tie pasta cooked right in the B.O.T.H. kitchen. Then it was time for loud rock again, tonight with The Substitutes and tour mates Loudermilk.
"the lack of rain was a welcome sight to the load in and load out of the night.
The show went well, all was swell, the third band was really tight.
When the dust settled, and since no one had mettled, we sold cd's for gas.
On the way out of town, we were feeling alright, except for Atom's damn dusty raps." -- collective van poetry assessment.''
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March 9, 2003: San Luis Obispo, CA - Boo Boo Records (Free in-store)
Up the lovely coast to the S.L.O., while Jeb gave us some special Spanish lessons via instant radio translations. We left a bit late but made it exactly on time. A quick set up and it was off to the races for a sizable crowd who seemed pretty stoked. The always pleasing Cissy Strut was unfurled in the set list. Then it was time to meet the fans and do some interviews with some roving reporters. The super nice people at Boo Boo records were awesome, and the fans were cool. Post show it was off to the Big Sky for tasty treats, and then to the hotel for a much needed quiet evening of catching up on biz.
fresh hot beignets!
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March 8, 2003: Encinitas, CA - Lou's Records (Free in-store)
AND Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
another busy busy day! O'er and down to particularly pleasant and mellow Encinitas, to Lou's records. We were a tad bit late, but it worked out good- we just parked, set the stuff up next to the van in the parking lot, and rock was born. A healthy sized crowd came to partake. Then a visit to a secret land where the shirts and the hoodies were shared in spades. Gratitiude to Redsand the gods of swag! Then a quickie stop at the tasty Mexican food stand, and off we went to Costa Mesa. The Detroit Bar was once "Club Mesa", where the [old] SG shared a bill with the Space Twins and Eureka Farm waaay back in early 2000. The place done changed since then, much nicer. But a 21+ situation made it a bit of a Saturday night drinkin' crowd. But they came, they saw and they were rocked either way. Everyone was sort of tired today, despite the day off yesterday. So it goes. Jeb found cool stuff in the dollar store next to the club.
post show: Peanut Butter Twix, salted cashews, fountain cola.
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March 7, 2003: nuthin'
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March 6, 2003: San Diego, CA - M-Theory Records (Free in-store)
AND San Diego, CA - The Casbah
A very busy day indeed. We cruised down the coast to the big SD, and located M-Theory records. This is a small but well stocked indie shop, and the guys tucked into the corner with a minimal amount of gear and let it rip in a gentle way. Another attempt at "True" petered out about a minute in. Theyll have to work on getting through that one. But "Cissy Strut" did the trick. Oh yeah, they did some TSG songs too.
Then we went to the studio of 94.9 FM, where the guys did an on air interview and the DJ played 3 tracks off of Land Air Sea. Very cool. Atom was on fire!
Then a quick stop to pick up some awesome El Cuervo food, and to the Casbah, for load in and rock out. This was a 21+ show so we were concerned at first that there would be a sparse turnout, but it was healthy and robust.
On the way back to L.A. we stopped for gas and snacks, to discover it was one of those places where they dont let people late at night and you have to explain to the guy in the window what you need. Pat had a tough time getting the somewhat befuddled guy to zero in on the correct breakfast bar flavor.
guy: "UHH....RASPBERRY CHOCO CRUNCH? EH? WHAT?"
pat: [doubling over, out of sight]
no PB Twix? then Three Musketeers!
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March 5, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
The first club show of the tour just had to be the crazy L.A. one, huh? Well the men delivered the crisp rock, with style, finesse and grace. The set included the entire Land Air Sea album in a different order, plus some cover song action. Covers included a ripping rendition of "Hot For Teacher" that blew everyone away, but it was cut short for reasons of safety. Many special guests tonight including Mr. Scott Shriner, and Mr. Brian Bell. Also checking things out were Rod Cervera, Chad Bamford, Joe Barresi, and piles of cool fans and folks from all over. Loudermilk also rocked the house as did Psoma and Slow Motion Audio. Thanks to everyone!
Gardenburger from Hamburger Hamlet - not candy, but good stuff!
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March 4, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - Rhino Records/Westwood (Free in-store)
Well, we packed up the VAN, which only gets a C+ for now, due to it not being a Ford. We all know that the Chevy performance muscle car of the late 60's is best, but they should not try to make vans anymore. And it wasnt cleaned out either, yech! Classic rock was played enroute, a proper listening of Boston is crucial to ignite the rock feelings. Rhino was just doing its thing when we rolled in around 4:30. The stage was micro sized, but ended up being just right. About 50-60 peeps peeped the show, which included covers of the Meters and Spandau Ballet, as well as the first several tracks off the album. It was excellent seeing Land Air Sea on display at last. The best part was how the DVD wall display behind Atom slowly crumbled during the set, all over Atom, due to the slow pounds of core emanating from the loud musical instruments.
Korean hard candy: "Plum" flavor
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February 26, 2003: T minus 7 days and counting
The Pat and the Atom are gearing up. In about 24 hours I'll be on the scene. Expect more media content. Dang tour schedule changed agin'!
no candy available today.
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February 24, 2003:
what didn't happen after all was that the guys [con el Chad] once again slipped into the Lava Lounge and let it rip. No one saw it because it didnt happen. However, the crusty ol guy in the corner insists he saw "sumthin'".
its all about the homemade c.chip cookies today
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February 11, 2003: T minus 21 days and counting
nobodys doin nuthin. get back in your car and start frontin. the saddles haint yet been stitched, nor have they'n hitched'n'hn.
Peanut Butter Twix: still the choice of champs!
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February 10, 2003: Los Angeles, CA - Lava Lounge
okay okay, it was a secret show and I couldnt say nuthin'! Plus I wasnt even there. But this guy was. Who knew Chad could rock the bass? Well, it stems from his days as a long haired hippie stoner metalhead librarian barbeque man. Rumor has it Moso was doing their sound.
Peanut Butter Twix: the choice of champs!
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Tour Diary page 2 - May '03 to present
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February 6, 2004: Hollywood, CA - Troubador
The rock was finally reanointed at the Troub with the Shrinemaster on bass. Big rock time, with clever new parts and intros galore, and a real attention to craft and getting a massive devastating sound. The crowd roared like a lion.
 
 
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June 19, 2003: Hollywood, CA - LifeBeat Fundraiser
Todays show was held at the beautiful and venerable Henry Fonda Theater, which housed some of the 20th Century's primo productions way back in the day. Theyve done nicely in the way of keeping the place in original shape, so the rock was all gussied up tonight for the KCRW LifeBeat AIDS benefit show. We got in mid afternoon, and were told the SG soundcheck was right after the Hanson soundcheck, which was to start the moment the Hanson brothers showed up. In short order, there they were, and their rabid fans somehow tracked them to the backstage door as if by radar. The Hanson boys came prepared to showcase their musical talents, which they did - these guys can sing, and are adept at every instrument they touched. So what can ya say? We hope they are someday able to shed some of that ultimate teeny bopper vibe their fans thrust their way at every opportunity. Anyway, we'd see plenty of those dudes all night, along with the likes of the intense Calexico [who covered Love's "And Alone Or"!], Matthew Sweet [playing in acoustic supergroup The Thorns], the rockin' Blue, the Veruca saltine-ish The Like, Wilshire, and of course the other teen hearthrobs Phantom Planet [unfortunately without Jason S. on drums tonight]. The SG only was given a 20 min set, so they cranked up the rock to the max despite some weird sound system issues. The peeps seemed pleased. Unfortunately there werent all that many peeps. Perhaps the steep ticket price [all to AIDS charity of course] kept some away, but at least several hundred came and had lots of fun for a great cause.
This may be the last SG show for a while. Murmurings are afoot for possible future dates, but at this point theres nothing confirmed on the docket. We sadly said goodbye to Jeb, who headed back up to his hometown o' Seattle. We all hope the SG family is reunited again asap!!!
 
...billions of M-and-M's backstage...
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June 15, 2003: San Diego, CA - 91X Fest
Todays show was held at the very new, very big, and very way out in the middle of what really ought to have remained incredibly-beautiful-coastal-scrubland-but-didnt-so-now they-have-concerts-there Coors Ampitheatre. We rolled in late morning and loaded the gear into a small tent by the side of the side stage. With one very notable exception, to be expounded on shortly, the stages were roughly divided into the "Happy" [small] and "Angsty" [main] stages. [Actually there was a 3rd stage somewhere, which we werent even aware of - did we mention that this place is big? We'll just call that one the "Neutral" stage.] Our happy little stage was the home of Trainwreck [KG of Tenacious D's hysterical pseudo country outfit who include a cover of "Major Tom" in the set!], Hot Hot Heat, Rooney, The Special Goodness, and Pete Yorn. The Angsty stage had Staind, Finch, Cold, The Transplants, The Used and Blur, who were a decidedly un-angsty exception to the rule. We blissed out to Blur's "Tender", "Song 2", "Beetlebum", and many more before packing up and heading home that day. The SG set was very well attended by a pretty stoked crowd! Though overall attendance for this festival looked somewhat lacking, the side stage acts couldnt complain about the hundreds of spectators taking in the happy rock.
...secret location best in the world Mexican food!!! score!...
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June 14, 2003: Anahiem, CA - The Chain Reaction
After a pair of totally unavoidable and deeply regrettable cancellations, the SG picked up the slack in lovely, flat Anahiem, CA, at the all ages punk rock club The Chain Reaction. This place is an example of pretty much exactly what indie bands need to thrive, so we wish it well, and thank it for a fun night of rock with the crucial all ages crowd activity. It was very nice to see some staunch early SG supporters in the crowd; thanks to everyone who came out. I think the consensus is that they got rocked. Openers the Matches and the Waking Hours were in top form as well, making for a sweet triple play. Post show the SG posse seemed to reconvene a little ways up the congested I-5 at the very popular Buena Vista In and Out Burger, and there were laughs, pix and a few autographs given to the fans who had followed their stomachs as the SG did.
 
...post show 'grilled cheese' at In and Out Burger...
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June 11, 2003: Sacramento, CA - Memorial Auditorium supporting the Foo Fighters
Last day with the Foos and Pete Yorn! ...sniff... Seriously, what a fantastic bunch of guys. What a cool ass tour. HUGE ups to The Foo people for inviting us back for this additional stretch of dates, it really was just about the most fun set of shows in anyone's memory. So thanks to all the Foo Fighters, the Foo Fighters' awesome and helpful crew, and Pete and all the Pete Yorn peeps, for collectively just kicking ass and being really cool to the SG. Now we're all sad, wishing it could just keep going. But several other [non-Foo] shows are coming up in a few days [we've just learned that the Fresno show has had to be cancelled, a big apology to all who were planning on attending!], so the SG action continues!
 
 
 
...German chocolate cake!...
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June 10, 2003: Day Off - drive from Redding, CA to Sacramento, CA
We woke up in Redding and had time to kill so Pat went and got a new cell phone to replace his ailing one, and then we went to see X-Men 2. We liked it. Jeb: "I was into it" Pat: "I was into it too." J: "I wish there was less psychology and more bad ass battle action". Pat: "I liked the psychology aspect though". Then we drove down to Sacto, and searched for a good long while for the land o' love, but ended up in West Sacramento. Where there was little love. Striking out at the Holiday Inn Express [sold out?!], we settled for a Best Western that wasnt really near anything. Our foray out to locate a good place to eat degenerated into a visit to Safeway for supplies and a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut drive thru. Grub in hand, we hunkered down back at the mo' for computations and Dave Letterman. Tomorrow we play our last Foo show, and we will be sad to leave such a fun tour.
...Smarties...
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June 9, 2003: Vancouver show Day Off - drive from Kennewick, WA, to Redding, CA
well hell, we thought we were driving up to Vancouver for another show today, but last night the word came down that the show was being cancelled and rescheduled in July sometime. So no SG in Vancouver... at least not with the Foos, anyway. Apparently Daves voice was starting to go out so they decided to give it a rest, doctors orders. Anyway, we now suddenly had 2 days off in a row, only we had to make our way toward the next show in Sacramento, CA. So today we drove a long way, stopping at this crazy fish hatchery place on the Columbia river, and eventually making it down to Reading, CA, where an In-and-Out Burger and another low-to-mid priced motel/hotel awaited our delerious van-ned out brains.
 
..El Burrito Loco on 82nd in Portland!...
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June 8, 2003: Spokane, WA - Convention Center supporting the Foo Fighters
Todays show shared a building with some sort of major graduation ceremony for the local college. Touring makes you forget when it is... June: graduation time. Check! Anyway, today there was a perfect ping pong situation, and the championships were on, with numerous matches between SG folks, Yorn people, and especially the daddy-mack Dave G., who was very difficult to beat. I sure couldnt do it. But Pat gave him a scare with his kung-fu pong styles. The guys thought they were a little crunkified on stage tonight, but from out front there wasnt a hint of crunkification.
 
...reg'lar ol' chips n salsa...
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June 7, 2003: Salem, OR - Armory supporting the Foo Fighters
After a short drive down from Troutdale, during which we stopped in Tigard to see Pat's old house, and to visit electronics supercenter Fry's, we made it to the National Guard Armory in Salem. To this date, we've somehow escaped any summer heat, but it caught up to us today in the sultry armory building. Steamy! Tonghts SG set included a nice rendition of Tenacious D's "City Hall". Random Army folks were on the scene. The Salemites were stoked and loud for the SG. Post show we had to make tracks once again, cruising up to Kennewick, WA to another late night Days Inn check-in.
 
 
...Mrs Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies...
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June 6, 2003: Day Off - drive from Twin Falls, ID to Troutdale, OR
UGH! more damn driving. "more more more, how do ya like it, how do ya like it?" Said the Andrea True Connection, and our answer is "well, uh, sorta. I guess." Idaho and Eastern Oregon are alternately gorgeous and utterly boring, and the frequency of Wilson-Willard spontaneous inter-van karate attacks increased to an alarming rate as the day went on. Pendleton, OR: excellent Mexican food located. The Columbia River Gorge provided a nice view for the end of the day, but we were priced right out of Hood River for lodging, finding true hotel love down the road a bit in Troutdale.
..aforementioned excellent Mexican food...
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June 5, 2003: Salt Lake City, UT - McKay Center - supporting the Foo Fighters
Today we woke up in glorious RAWLINS, Wyoming, and quietly slipped away from the place under the dark stares of angry looking fellows in really loud pickup trucks. We made tracks across the trackless wastelands o' grandeur n' beautyfulness, stopping only to move various organic and inorganic materials in and out of our collective van system. The McKay center [the "mmmm-kay?" center] was a big arena type place, and the Utah peeps were hungry for real rock as usual. The SG continued a run of consistetly solid performances, and inexplicably slipped in a bit of "Dont Fear The Reaper" for the second show in a row. Post show we had a small side mission at the nearby Wal-Mart, where extra socks and tshirts were aquired to ease our weak laundry situation. Then we had to hit the road once again, driving a long way out to Twin Falls, ID, into the welcoming 3AM arms of the Days Inn. Sweet!
 
...mini M-n-M's!..
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June 4, 2003: Denver, CO - The Fillmore - supporting the Foo Fighters
Today we hit the Guitar Center for supplies, patronized Quizno's for fine subs, and got to the Fillmore nice n early. The Fillmore is loosely modeled after San Franciscos famous Fillmore, so theres nice chandeliers and plenty of rock photos and posters to look at. Which we did as the afternoon wore on and soundchecks got mysteriously squished to the last minute. But anyway, despite the minimal prep time, the SG show rocked real strong, though the guys werent exactly sure if they had done well untill reassured by some fans. Post show we had to jet early to make some tracks toward Salt Lake. We recieved unsolicited advice that to get to Salt Lake, a city far to the West, we had to take the I-76 East for hundreds of miles. Anyway, after disregarding the suspect advice, we made it as far as RAWLINS, Wyoming. RAWLINS! whoo. Everything was sold out except for the "Luxury Inn"....which wasn't, not by a long shot. Working phones? nah! zzzz. sort of.
 
...Fiddle Faddle AGAIN!..
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June 3, 2003: Day Off - Drive from Grand Island, NE to Denver, CO
We made good time today, and continued the schedule of approximately 1 chaotic Willard-Wilson van karate match every 200 miles. We rolled into Denver and looked for a hotel near a movie theater. After hitting several dead ends in Aurora, we ended up on Colorado Blvd and hit the Fairfield Inn at 6:30 PM. Phew! Within an hour we'd made ourselves to a nearby mall to take in the Matrix Reloaded! Later Jeb and Atom cruised to the Ogden to catch the Flaming Lips, while the Wilson - Koch contingent went compu-crazy as usual.
...Pumpkin Seeds...
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June 2, 2003: Council Bluffs, IA - American Auditorium - supporting the Foo Fighters
Today we rolled in to discover the Foo's ping pong table had been set up. Many intense matches ensued. Pete Yorn and his band Dirty Bird joined the tour today, taking the middle slot. From Petes stint on last years weez tour there are now a lot of familiar faces. Todays SG show was regarded by the band as equally epic to yesterdays boombastic launch. We drove to Grand Island, Nebraska after the show, to cut down on day off drive time and hopefully allow for some actual leisure.
 
...Blanford McGillicuddy's Chishferd Crumbles...
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June 1, 2003: St Louis, MO - The Pageant Theater - supporting the Foo Fighters
We drove from Joplin, MO, to the Pageant and reunited with the Foo Folks, and there was great rejoicing. The Pageant is a sort of modern dinner theater, except they werent serving dinner tonight! This place holds about 2500, and it was packed to the rafters [but not with dead actors]. The SG was totally stoked with their performance tonight, and had what they reported to be massive fun playing. After enjoying the Foo set, we retired to a very weird hotel that was half under construction. We played "fit the van into the 6'3" parking garage" and called it a night.
 
...Fiddle Faddle!!..
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May 31, 2003: the BIG DRIVE day 2
Grants, New Mexico, to Joplin, Missouri - loooong day of driving. Outback steak house - the bloomin' onion?!?.
'...the bloomin' onion!..
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May 30, 2003: the BIG DRIVE day 1
Los Angeles to Grants, New Mexico - In a Ford van at long last! We stumble across the "House Of Hair" radio show with Dee Snider!?!? Beautiful desert thunderstorms; dinner at Flagstaff's Cocos.
...salted pistachios...
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brought to you by your local candy council and 
==See also==
*The Special Goodness tour diary - Fall 1999
*The Special Goodness tour diary - Spring 2000
*List of Special Goodness concerts
==External links==
*The Special Goodness tour diary - 2003-2004 archive on archive.org
Category:The Special Goodness
Category:The Special Goodness tour diaries
Category:Karl Koch