the mighty mystiqueros did 5,000 miles, 15 states, 19 gigs in 22 days in june, and i could have stayed on the road a while longer, i was having such a great time playing for new faces, and making new friends out there.  there were so many highlights, and so many cool gigs – the rochester jazz festival & nyc & d.c. &  bowman’s in atlanta & the bluebird stand out for me at this moment, but the best part was the folks we got to see & hang & play music with, all along the way.   patterson barrett played with us at the 1st gig in houston & the last one in nashville.   billy’s old friend lou mondelli played percussion with us in charlotte & made us better, as did mike daly & brian langlinais & danny shirley & jon byrd in nashville.   monty russell in ruston, brother jimmy davis in memphis. damn, we’re lucky. and the friends:  billy’s colleague bob doyle in atlanta treated us like kings.  art bowman hosts a house concert in atlanta that has a sterling reputation with traveling folks like us & we found out why. gary anderson & chris thomas in chattanooga – great gifts & we weren’t ready to leave.  homemade kolaches in greenville, s.c. by my friend barry ray. brian deal in charlotte, who’s a texan in spirit.  a beautiful dude.   and the staff at ommengang brewery.  we wanted to live there. at the brewery.  dwayne at sportsmen’s taver in buffalo.  wish we had a weekly gig there. and then: gary & christy colvin in western new york - hosted us with a party at their home, with bar-b-que & wiffle ball & laundry & friends…what a day! and H & ted at the mansion in d.c….wow.   possibly the coolest place i’ve ever hung out. everywhere we went, we had a great time & met great new folks. to be a mystiquero means being on a circus train of cool pickers & poets & great big hearts, and we thank each of you who made our trip so deeply satisfying and so worthwhile. if we saw you up &/or over there, come visit us in texas (when it cools off a bit). and to texas:  always good to be home, with our homefolks, and luckenbach on the 4th felt like the last great gig on this beautiful trip……

gracias gracias gracias.

-WW

I learned my lesson last summer, and just like when I came to NYC for a show with Brian Langlinais this past February, I booked us a hotel over the river in NJ for our 2 night stay in the NYC area. Our first night was night off and I finally got a workout in as well as some hot tub and pool time. The hotel was really nice, but the restaurant there was pricey so I took the boys to my old upper west side haunt for some spanish / asian food and a bit off jazz. Yes I said spanish / asian food. When I used to play gigs in the neighborhood there was a great place that we frequented called La Tasita De Oro. The served both spanish and asian fare and it was all really good. I couldn’t find de Oro on this trip and think it might be closed for good, but there was another similar joint down the street that was just great. I ordered the Dominican Chicken, which was served in a piping hot pot filled with yellow rice, peas, onions and chicken. Along with a beautiful plate of fried plantains, I ate way too much and loved it! We stopped at “Smoke”, which back in the day was a place called “Augies” where I played many a show. We just sat for a beer and a quick listen and then headed back out to NJ to rest up for our Hill Country BBQ show the next night.

Our second trip to Hill Country NYC didn’t disappoint. We were treated well, the BBQ is still pretty darn good and we had a really nice crowd. A before show walk around the block allowed my to snap a pic of the nearby flat iron building. It’s always fun for me to get back to NYC for a day or 2. I really appreciate how much time I spent as a young person there, learning my way around. It comes in handy.

We were back on the road the following morning, stopping at the airport to drop off WW so he could fly to a one night gig in Houston and then heading down to DC. Back home to the Mansion. I truly love it here and will refrain from rambling on about it. Let’s just say I feel quite at home. It was Marcus’s first time at the hotel, so we spent some time exploring and watching the amazed look on his face and then the three of us headed out to a pick up gig at Kybecca Wine Bar in Fredericksberg, VA. I don’t think they get a lot of experienced touring artists at Kybecca. Upon entering we were kind of assaulted and a bit put off by head chef and co-owner Kyle’s attitude and list of do’s and don’ts. We were also told that the microphone and stand that were supposed to be there, had walked off. Something it would have been nice to know yesterday! Being Mystiqueros and professionals, we weathered the storm long enough to start playing a few songs and by the end of the 3rd tune we had the place won over. It was a bit stressful at first, but it all worked out and we had a really fine meal there as well.

It’s a treat to be in the same city for a few days, especially one I like as much as DC, and Ray chose a great spot for lunch the next day. Panos Gourmet Empanadas. It reminds my of a Chipoltle or something. You order at the counter and then take your food, but what food it is. we tried as many different types of empanadas as we could manage, but for me the stand out was the Chipoltle Steak. Really well seasoned, tender steak inside a perfectly baked shell. Along with their spicy Aji sauce and a really nice mixed green salad, we were all fat, happy and ready for our show at the new Hill Country BBQ location in DC.

They might still be working a few kinks out in the new DC Hill Country, but all in all it’s a great place. The staff was excellent to work with, the BBQ pretty consistent with NYC and it was packed! Our show was packed with people. It was a really fun night and we let our hair down a bit. The stage doesn’t sound quite as good as the NYC location and I got some complaints about the front of house sound, but the production staff is doing a fine job and with a little support and a couple of adjustments to the stage and the gear, they’ll have a great sounding little room. Our last full band electric show of the summer tour went swimmingly and I’m already looking forward to coming back.

When WW and I started putting this trip together, our friend and chief support in the Northeast came up with a plan to get the Wilkins family together in Cooperstown, NY on Father’s Day. I mean what baseball loving family wouldn’t dig being at the Baseball Hall of Fame and seeing a Hall of Fame Baseball game? Well, the rest of the band wanted in on it and we figured we might as well try to find a gig in the area as well.

We pulled into Cooperstown still reeling a bit from the beauty of the drive down highway 28 south from the NY Thruway. Lush and green valleys. Picturesque farms, beautiful homes, and a little lake that made me want to stop and jump in. Main street in Cooperstown was packed with families enjoying Father’s Day baseball getaways. Did I mention that we got scheduled to sing at the Hall of Fame Classic that day? We did alright. They had passes the game and lanyards to get us on to the field when we got there.

I got to watch one of my favorite all time ball players take the mound in the first 2 innings. Goose Gossage. When I was 12 he was a big part of the 1978 Yankees World Series winning team. I wanted to pitch just like him. It was really cool to see him out there again. And of course no game is complete without a hotdog, so with dog in hand we watched the first 2 innings and then I headed back to the car to change clothes and get ready for our 5th inning stretch song.

As we stood in the tunnel waiting to go out to the field, hall of fame ball players were passing by and the excitement began to mount in all of us. We took the field at home plate and sang “God Bless America” in all of our Mystiquero 4 part harmonic glory. The crowd went crazy and my heart was beating so fast when we got back into the tunnel I couldn’t stand still and Ray, Mertis and I took off for the nearest bar to celebrate our singing victory.

We all met up for an early dinner, where I had a really fine knockwurst sandwich with bacon and a homemade spicy relish, sow more beers and a recap of the days fun. After a good night’s rest, a visit to the Hall of Fame and a bit of shopping, we headed out to the Ommagang Brewery for our Monday Happy Hour show. What a beautiful place. The first thing we were told upon arriving was that it looked like we were each missing a beer. We were treated very well and played a nice set on the new patio behind the cafe at the Brewery. Surrounded by forested hills the sun went down and I think we all knew we found yet another new home in upstate NY. So now it’s on to Pennsylvania and then up to NYC ??  se ya there

MQ’s at the ballpark: