Day 23: Salt Lake City, UT
Nau mai
Yesterday we played in Salt Lake City, Utah.
I awoke while the bus was still rolling, for a change. The drive from Pendleton was a significant distance and at 10:30am we were cruising across southern Idaho, still a couple of hours from our destination. The views out the window were breathtaking; farms and tundra stretching out towards snow-capped mountains and the wandering telephone lines that seem to be the perfect human expression of vastness in this part of the country.
Lavonda was bucking and rearing along the black tarmac of Interstate 84 as I put my breakfast together and I adopted the commonly used wide-legged brace position that counteracted the heavy roll we were experiencing while still leaving me able to access the fridge and the microwave. On my plate you can see a collection of leftovers from our dinner in Pendleton; broccoli, rice, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Kung Pao Tofu were the chosen dishes.
We arrived at the venue at 12:30pm; this was later than usual but still with some time to look around. It is important to remember that the city blocks in Salt Lake are huge (more than double a NYC block) and your google maps calibration will be completely thrown off. What looks like a five-minute walk when you glance at your phone will actually take fifteen minutes because you weren’t zoomed in far enough.
I thought this was a five minute walk but it was more like 1.5km.
The swingset on the southeast corner of the Gateway Megaplex (next to the “Legends of Rock” mural) was a great place to stop off and although the grass was fake the swing was solid and completely fit for adult use.
Just up the road from here was the Clark Planetarium. I didn’t have time for a session in the Northrop Grumman Imax experience but there was a free exhibit that featured a large collection of meteorites, as well as some fascinating pieces of scientific technology. The Foucault Pendulum was amazing to see, this simple device which demonstrates the Earth’s rotation, knocking over a steel peg every three minutes as its plane of oscillation changes. My brain is still slightly hurting as I try to understand this phenomenon, but the comment section is there if anybody wishes to step in with a concise and helpful explanation.
Our evening was spent at the Metro Music Hall, just west of the city’s downtown. This was a long rock room with a bar along one side and standing room for 600 souls. The space was unadorned save for a large mirror ball and a trio of chandeliers that hung above the bar. There was also an enormous chandelier that hung above the stairs leading into the backstage and although it was sad to see this light fixture being kept from the patrons of this venue it probably would have obscured the stage from the rest of the audience. The room had a great atmosphere when we played our set. Many heckles were delivered and although we couldn’t understand any of them, they contained a warmth that inspired us with confidence. Salt Lake City on a Tuesday was a great night for us.
