Baseball Road Trip 2011: Day 10 (Los Angeles to Phoenix)

Day 10

June 14^th

Woke up and left James’s house around 10:30 to embark upon the 7-hour drive to Phoenix, where the Matt and Kim concert was. We decided to leave James with our samurai sword and a few firecrackers, as a token of our gratitude, appreciation, and as a keepsake to remember us by. We also wrote a short note instructing him to use them well. The driving went by pretty quickly, as we made very few stops -- only for gas, to switch drivers, and grab lunch at a Quiznos in Blythe, CA, not far from the Arizona border. Being engaged in the life of Jason Bourne, which Riley and I have been watching in the back of the van, also helps make the long car rides go by much faster. We were quickly struck by the blistering heat in the dessert area and spent as little time outside of the comfortable, air-conditioned van as possible. Today got up to 107 degrees in the Phoenix area. Don’t worry, we made sure to be well hydrated have plenty of water. We arrived at our 3 Palms Hotel, in Scottsdale, around 5:30, and relaxed in our room before heading over to the Marquee Theatre for the Matt and Kim concert. Matt and Kim are sort of an under the radar, electronic, indie, dance, punk duo, consisting of Matt, who does keyboard and vocals, and Kim, who’s on the drums. We were all really excited, as this was the first live concert for all of us. We waited in line for a while, and then once we got in, it took a long time for the concert to get to Matt and Kim, as some lesser known band from Portland opened for them, and a DJ played while they were setting up. But when they finally did step out on stage, it was worth the wait. The atmosphere and energy of the crowd was awesome and the up-tempo, high energy style and closeness of the band was like nothing I’d ever experience before. The concert was a blast and I didn’t even mind being jostled around by 1,200 other hot, sweaty audience members. I wasn’t even a huge fan of their music going in, and I still had a lot of fun. After the concert, we went back to our hotel to take a quick dip in the pool and then went to bed. Tomorrow, we have the whole day and night in Phoenix with an evening ballgame at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s supposed to be really hot again, so I’m not sure what we’re going to do, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be memorable. Each day has truly been a new adventure… and I love it.