City: East Lansing, MI
Distance travelled: 190 miles
Total distance: 937 miles
Theatre: Wharton Center Great Hall
Seats: 2420

Again, it was only a short ride to our next city, 3-4 hours.  Again, I tried to stay away on the bus until we got there but I didn’t last!  This time our hotel had a full kitchen so it meant I could do some cooking instead of eating out.  That said, before I got a chance to go to the grocery store Mike, my fellow Blue Man, and I spent an hour driving around the morning we arrived trying to find a place that was actually open.  We came across a diner eventually and stuffed our faces.

We played 3 nights in East Lansing and the shows went really well.  One of the things I love about playing these large houses is looking out from the stage at the end during the finale.  It is incredible to see everyone up on their feet joining in.

After the first show we ended up in Lansing and stumbled across a great band, Lincoln County Process, playing at a local bar.  It was perfect for us after the show.  Great songs and not too loud!  We got chatting with the Jen (singer/guitar/banjo) after their set and she ended up coming to see the show with her boyfriend, the drummer.  You should check out Jen Sygit and Sam Corbin if you get a chance.

I had been having some back trouble this week so I tried a long shot and sent an email to the head coach of the Michigan State gymnastics team to see if they had a physio they could recommend.  They were so incredibly helpful. The Coach, Kathie Klages, put me in touch with Dr Larry Nassar who, it turns out, is the USA Olympic and National gymnastics team doctor!  Larry was so helpful.  He came into his office on his day off and spent over an hour with me working on my back and giving me some really useful advice.  He really went over and above.  I could not have landed a better Doctor if I had tried!

Before the shows on Saturday morning, our string player, Tony, and I snuck out to see a great local music store, Elderly Instruments.  I had heard of this place online before.  They have been open for over 40 years.  Apparently they started in just one building and ended up buying the whole block.  Tony and I were like kids in a candy store and it was all we could do do make it out of there without spending all our money!