Day 17: Release (Tucson to Mesa)

Part of being out here is the search for release. We endure the aches, exhaustion, and sacrifices of the road because we crave a break from the constraints of normal life.

On tour, everyone has to find their own way to let things out. Some private outlet before we do it together on stage. If you’re new to this and keep it all bottled up, irritation sets in quick. I’ve seen people snap and book flights home. I’ve sent people home.

For me, running has become my escape valve. It shakes the tension from my body, clears out my mind, and gives me relief from yesterday’s aches just in time for tonight’s. Today made three days straight I’ve clocked in a three-mile run.

Release.

I passed people doing heroin by a boarded-up motel. Most of them looked ancient. Mummified. Some looked young, maybe still with a chance. What brought them there? The same search as me.

Mid-day we drove to the Saguaro National Park. I saw petroglyphs; humans communicating from thousands of years ago. Expressing themselves just as we would be doing later that night. Perhaps for the same reason.  

We had what was arguably the best crowd of the tour today. Big room, mostly full by the time we played. People packed the front as we began. We could sense their anticipation. They could sense ours. We were there for the same reason, a shared need to let go.