Atlas Genius' Tour Diary Part Two

It has been another great week of our first American tour. It started out with our arrival in Washington DC and the most unusual show of the tour so far. We were invited to play a show at the Australian Embassy. We haven't heard that many Australian accents in one place for over two months. One hundred radio listeners won an invite to watch us perform five of our songs acoustically. The Chipotle Mexican catering was the only non-Australian element of the whole affair. After the show we spent a good half hour shooting the breeze with former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Beazley. A very honest and warm individual. After that we played a sold-out show with Silversun Pickups and Cloud Nothings at the 9:30 Club. Great crowd.

Keith and Mike with Australian Ambassador Kim Beazley after their performance at the Australian Embassy in Washington, DC.

We had a day off in DC after that. We were invited to join a tour of the White House Gardens. It only opens to the public twice a year. As expected, the grounds were amazing. Even more amazing was how close we got to the White House itself. Memorable day. Made our way to New York after that. Arrived around midnight.

Enjoying a leisurely Sunday stroll trough The White House gardens.

We took a cab to Times Square early the following morning. Made our way to the VH1 building to perform a short acoustic set for their staff. New York is a unique city. We fell in love with it on our first visit in Feb. This visit would be our first shows in this iconic city.

Mike hanging out in Times Square (NYC) before a unplugged performance for the MTV staff.

The two consecutive shows at Terminal 5 were some of the most exhilarating shows we've played in the States so far. An iconic venue, packed with New Yorkers, including a bunch of our friends from the city made for two nights we'll remember for a long while. It is a huge, three-level venue which holds 3000 people. Very impressive place. 

Terminal 5 (Night 2 of 2)

After our four nights in NYC we drove over to Philadelphia for the next show. We only just made it to the local radio station in time for a live acoustic performance. Once that was successfully completed we spent some time strolling the delightful heritage streets of Manayunk. Some of the oldest parts of America. It reminded me of England. As with many of the shows we have played on the tour, the next few shows were back in these beautiful, heritage theatres. America seems to have an abundance of them. We then played Boston, Hartford, Clifton Park, and Cleveland before earning a day off. 

Sound checking in Philadelphia, PA.

So here we are in Cleveland. Checked out the amazing Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame. Highly recommended. The Beatles collection was a personal highlight. Just a few dates left and we've completed our two months with Silversun Pickups.