Road Trip, Day 2, Boise to Missoula
I started my morning a little late. I took a quick shower, packed up my things and headed to towards the nearest gas station to top off my tank. I also found a Dutch Bros. Coffee drive-thru. I finally left Boise around 7 a.m. Even though I only had about 400 miles to drive today, it was going to be mostly on two lane highways, so I needed to limit my stops and just keep pushing myself to get to Missoula by 3 p.m. Traffic was pretty minimal out of Boise. I was able to make really good time to Payette where I caught Highway 95. I was surprised that the speed limit was 65 mph except when going through small towns. That helped with making better time.
Once again, the scenery was breathtaking. Starting with farmland and ranches, as I worked my way north, it turned into rolling mountain ranges on both sides with snow-capped peaks. I was in the middle of the Hells Canyon area, at one point, following the Little Salmon River for miles. Eventually I made it to Kooskia, ID and caught Hwy. 12, one of my all time favorite roads to drive on! It follows the Lochsa River and it is seriously the most scenic road I have ever been on. At one point the traffic stopped for a bit due to road construction, so I was able to get out and take a few pictures of the river. As I made my way closer to Missoula, I eventually crossed over Lolo Pass. There is still A LOT of snow up there. The roads were clear but there was a good 8-10 feet of snow in the parking lot at the visitor center, which was closed. :(
Favorite Signs Seen Along the Way:
Adopted Highway Road Sign- Yahwehs 666 Warning Assembly
Seen at a hotel- "Since Jan 1 we have served 503 happy guests and 1 grouch"
I made it into Missoula around 2:30 p.m. and called Sharon, my couchsurfing.com connection. I left her a message and made my way downtown to find a coffee shop with wi-fi and caffeine. Parking was easy and cheap in downtown Missoula, just off Higgins. I went into Butterfly Herbs and ordered some food, some drink and sat down to get caught up on internet stuff. I left there after about an hour and made my way to Rockin’ Rudy’s, which used to be the best record store in town. I was sadly disappointed to find that their music selection was very limited. They used to have a lot of music and a little bit of “gift shop” stuff. Now, they have a lot of “gift shop” stuff and very little music. While I was there, Sharon called me and it turns out her house was right around the corner. I went to the house and got settled in. I managed to get a little nap in and also make contact with bcfan, one of my friends from the AgainToday.com fan forum for Brandi Carlile. We have been to many shows together and I was really excited to have a fellow ATer to share the concert experience with.
I met up with bcfan at the Wilma Theater at 6 p.m. We started the line and it quickly grew to over 50 people by about 7 p.m. For most of the people in line, this was their first Brandi Carlile experience, so it was a lot of fun to talk to them. We met some cool girls who I ended up hanging out with for a bit after the show. I think I may have convinced two of them to go to the Spokane show in two days! When the doors opened, we made our way to the front of the venue. We sat down in the middle front row. The Missoula girls told us that after Angel Taylor’s set to be prepared to go to the front of the stage (there were barriers still, but OMG, we were so close!) and the rest of the show would be standing. I really appreciated their tip. I asked the security guys about the photography policy for the night. Cameras were allowed as long as there was no flash or videotaping. Yes!!! I am sad to say that my attempt at bootlegging the audio failed miserably. I got the show from “Turpentine” on. I don’t know what happened. I was really hoping to get “Creep”. Oh well. I did get Angel Taylor’s set, this time.
Angel Taylor came on and once again wowed the crowd with her amazing voice, sensitive lyrics and catchy music. This girl is going to be huge and I feel fortunate to say I saw her open for Brandi. She played a new song tonight that doesn’t even have a title yet. It was very touching and I can’t wait to listen to it again. I was able to get a picture with her after the show. She’s very cool. She actually remembered me from Boise!
We all had a great time at the show last night. There was great energy in the crowd, and there were a couple annoying token drunk girls. One was just behind me to the left. She was the “It’s my Birthday!” token drunk girl and she was ANNOYING! I told her to shut up at one point because I was getting tired of her yelling stupid stuff. She actually did quiet down for a bit, which was nice. bcfan had an equally annoying token drunk girl to the right of her who kept pushing her around. Our new Montana friends were great, and were really excited to hear “Creep”, “Josephine” and “Hallelujah”. I had told them she might not play those songs so they were pretty stoked when she played them.
The sound in the Wilma Theater was a hundred times better than the Knitting Factory and I think it made a huge difference, especially when playing songs like “Oh Dear” and “Dying Day”. I really love the “Jackson” prelude they’ve been doing, too. Tim just jamming on his guitar, which makes a great build up to “Jackson” and then “Folsom Prison Blues”. I tried my darndest to get a picture of Josh doing the cello spin but had no luck. It was just too fast. I think my favorite part of the night was the encore of “Let It Be” with Angel Taylor. Both of the twins did a verse or two and Angel did the chorus a few times, too. It was amazing! I actually had chills from hearing it. During “Hallelujah”, the cat-calling and annoying, loud drunk people were in full effect. I am not a huge fan of this song (having heard it a lot during the 2007 Tour), but at the same time, I really like it when the crowd quiets down and is respectful. This did not happen at all. They were talking and shouting and hollering and carrying on throughout the whole song. Grrr…..
After the show, I was hoping she would sign, but I also knew from talking to her in Boise that they were driving back to Seattle right after the show to take care of business on Wednesday before heading back to Spokane on Thursday. She didn’t sign, but some of us did go to the bus and hang out for a bit. That’s where I ran into Angel Taylor again and was able to get a picture with her. She seriously is so sweet and kind. I was pretty beat from all the traveling so I said my farewells to my new Montana friends and headed back to the house to get some sleep. It was a great night
Setlist:
Follow
Closer/I’ve Just Seen A Face
Downpour
Have You Ever
Dying Day
Dreams
Before It Breaks
Oh Dear
What Can I Say
Creep (I can’t remember exactly when this was played and it was not on the setlist)
Josephine
Cannonball
Turpentine
The Story
Folsom
Encore:
Let It Be
Hallelujah
Once again, the scenery was breathtaking. Starting with farmland and ranches, as I worked my way north, it turned into rolling mountain ranges on both sides with snow-capped peaks. I was in the middle of the Hells Canyon area, at one point, following the Little Salmon River for miles. Eventually I made it to Kooskia, ID and caught Hwy. 12, one of my all time favorite roads to drive on! It follows the Lochsa River and it is seriously the most scenic road I have ever been on. At one point the traffic stopped for a bit due to road construction, so I was able to get out and take a few pictures of the river. As I made my way closer to Missoula, I eventually crossed over Lolo Pass. There is still A LOT of snow up there. The roads were clear but there was a good 8-10 feet of snow in the parking lot at the visitor center, which was closed. :(
Favorite Signs Seen Along the Way:
Adopted Highway Road Sign- Yahwehs 666 Warning Assembly
Seen at a hotel- "Since Jan 1 we have served 503 happy guests and 1 grouch"
I made it into Missoula around 2:30 p.m. and called Sharon, my couchsurfing.com connection. I left her a message and made my way downtown to find a coffee shop with wi-fi and caffeine. Parking was easy and cheap in downtown Missoula, just off Higgins. I went into Butterfly Herbs and ordered some food, some drink and sat down to get caught up on internet stuff. I left there after about an hour and made my way to Rockin’ Rudy’s, which used to be the best record store in town. I was sadly disappointed to find that their music selection was very limited. They used to have a lot of music and a little bit of “gift shop” stuff. Now, they have a lot of “gift shop” stuff and very little music. While I was there, Sharon called me and it turns out her house was right around the corner. I went to the house and got settled in. I managed to get a little nap in and also make contact with bcfan, one of my friends from the AgainToday.com fan forum for Brandi Carlile. We have been to many shows together and I was really excited to have a fellow ATer to share the concert experience with.
I met up with bcfan at the Wilma Theater at 6 p.m. We started the line and it quickly grew to over 50 people by about 7 p.m. For most of the people in line, this was their first Brandi Carlile experience, so it was a lot of fun to talk to them. We met some cool girls who I ended up hanging out with for a bit after the show. I think I may have convinced two of them to go to the Spokane show in two days! When the doors opened, we made our way to the front of the venue. We sat down in the middle front row. The Missoula girls told us that after Angel Taylor’s set to be prepared to go to the front of the stage (there were barriers still, but OMG, we were so close!) and the rest of the show would be standing. I really appreciated their tip. I asked the security guys about the photography policy for the night. Cameras were allowed as long as there was no flash or videotaping. Yes!!! I am sad to say that my attempt at bootlegging the audio failed miserably. I got the show from “Turpentine” on. I don’t know what happened. I was really hoping to get “Creep”. Oh well. I did get Angel Taylor’s set, this time.
Angel Taylor came on and once again wowed the crowd with her amazing voice, sensitive lyrics and catchy music. This girl is going to be huge and I feel fortunate to say I saw her open for Brandi. She played a new song tonight that doesn’t even have a title yet. It was very touching and I can’t wait to listen to it again. I was able to get a picture with her after the show. She’s very cool. She actually remembered me from Boise!
We all had a great time at the show last night. There was great energy in the crowd, and there were a couple annoying token drunk girls. One was just behind me to the left. She was the “It’s my Birthday!” token drunk girl and she was ANNOYING! I told her to shut up at one point because I was getting tired of her yelling stupid stuff. She actually did quiet down for a bit, which was nice. bcfan had an equally annoying token drunk girl to the right of her who kept pushing her around. Our new Montana friends were great, and were really excited to hear “Creep”, “Josephine” and “Hallelujah”. I had told them she might not play those songs so they were pretty stoked when she played them.
The sound in the Wilma Theater was a hundred times better than the Knitting Factory and I think it made a huge difference, especially when playing songs like “Oh Dear” and “Dying Day”. I really love the “Jackson” prelude they’ve been doing, too. Tim just jamming on his guitar, which makes a great build up to “Jackson” and then “Folsom Prison Blues”. I tried my darndest to get a picture of Josh doing the cello spin but had no luck. It was just too fast. I think my favorite part of the night was the encore of “Let It Be” with Angel Taylor. Both of the twins did a verse or two and Angel did the chorus a few times, too. It was amazing! I actually had chills from hearing it. During “Hallelujah”, the cat-calling and annoying, loud drunk people were in full effect. I am not a huge fan of this song (having heard it a lot during the 2007 Tour), but at the same time, I really like it when the crowd quiets down and is respectful. This did not happen at all. They were talking and shouting and hollering and carrying on throughout the whole song. Grrr…..
After the show, I was hoping she would sign, but I also knew from talking to her in Boise that they were driving back to Seattle right after the show to take care of business on Wednesday before heading back to Spokane on Thursday. She didn’t sign, but some of us did go to the bus and hang out for a bit. That’s where I ran into Angel Taylor again and was able to get a picture with her. She seriously is so sweet and kind. I was pretty beat from all the traveling so I said my farewells to my new Montana friends and headed back to the house to get some sleep. It was a great night
Setlist:
Follow
Closer/I’ve Just Seen A Face
Downpour
Have You Ever
Dying Day
Dreams
Before It Breaks
Oh Dear
What Can I Say
Creep (I can’t remember exactly when this was played and it was not on the setlist)
Josephine
Cannonball
Turpentine
The Story
Folsom
Encore:
Let It Be
Hallelujah