Day 8: Grand Rapids, MI

Nau MaiYesterday we drove across the state of Michigan and played in its second most populous city, Grand Rapids. I awoke to find that Pearl Stormcloud was still thundering west along the concrete surface of Interstate 96, drawing ever closer to our destination, the great city astride Michigan’s Grand River. My breakfast was constructed while we were in motion and the utmost care was taken while I used the sharp knife to chop my fruit. Into a wide bowl I added sliced banana, kiwifruit, blueberries, raspberries, and Greek yoghurt, and then topped it with a big sprinkle of granola. At midday we arrived outside the venue on Ottawa Ave, just a couple of streets back from east bank of the river, and about a mile north of the downtown. We headed in to check out the venue, braving the heat and the crushing humidity of this June afternoon for only a few seconds before being welcomed by the power of American industrial air conditioning. The Big Room, as it called itself, was vast. Tall and…