New Haven, CT

It was good to be back in CT! Toad's Place was our homecoming/home town show. We had been looking forward to it all tour and Reel Big Fish and Streelight both knew we were excited..

We had played there only a few weeks prior, with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but the venue had changed in that short time. Gone was the giant circular bar that never seemed to be open. This freed up extra room on the floor so the capacity could be greater. New bars were also built in spots of the venue rarely used. Even with that extra room, though, the show was sold out. A lot of our friends and family couldn't get in because they didn't buy tickets in time. I think incrediblyfrigginpacked is a great way of describing how many people were at the concert.

When we arrived at the venue, we were informed by Milo, the tech for Reel Big Fish, that we wouldnt need all of our amps because the stage was so shallow compared to the ones we had been playing. That saved us some heavy lifting and made loading in much easier. Upon arriving inside, I saw Chris Rhodes from the Bosstones and J.R. from Less Than Jake hanging out with various people from the tour. I've noticed that the ska music touring scene is a close knit group of friends.

Our green room was stocked like no other for this go around. I won't even tell you the difference we experienced between being the local opener and being on the tour, but I can say that I enjoy being on tour far more. Before going on stage, I saw a lot of friends and family. I'll be honest, it began to psyche me out since I was now performing for a whole slew of people I knew instead of strangers. Luckily, we all have our pre-show rituals and I calmed myself down before I set foot on stage.

We walked on stage to thunderous applause and cheering. From the first note people went crazy. The crowd was shifting and swaying like the sea during a turbulent storm. Everywhere I looked I saw people singing the words to our songs. People even knew the words to music we had put up on myspace right before we left for tour. I could do nothing but smile. It was great to see friends from school dancing and becoming part of the liquid crowd.

I spent the rest of the show with friends friends and family

Later that night, TTV, RBF, and SM all went out to Rudy's in New Haven and when we were kicked out at last call, we headed back to the tour buses to party. Upon arriving on Reel Big Fish's bus, I found my two cousins, Lindsay and Kimmy, hanging out and talking with the band. Small world.

We would all like to thank our families and friends friends for coming out. If this was your first show, I hope you enjoyed it and hope it wont be the last.

Thank you, also, to all of our fans in CT for coming out and supporting us all these years. You made this stop of the tour extra special for us.

-Dunnigan TTV