Chicago New York Day 2

Up at 7am today although awoken several hours earlier by Lyndon ' Noah's Ark' Williams and his various bodily noises.

Went for breakfast at a real traditional American diner and we had a mix of hash potatoes, sausage links, omelettes and scrambled eggs all flushed down with a gallon of coffee a piece.

After breakfast Chris took us on a whistle stop tour of Chicago including the lake front, lake drive, Wrigley Field, Soldier Park and the financial district where films such as Batman Returns an The Blues Bros were filmed.

We also went to a music centre to pick up some gear for our first gig then headed out to O' Hare to collect the RV thats going to support and accommodate us during the ride.

After collecting the van we headed on to a wholesales outlet to pick up provisions and then dropped it off at a local church for safe keeping. On returning to Chris and Noelle's we decided to check and assemble the two bikes.

Both have taken significant impacts but mine is rideable and I'm able to straighten nearly everything out, Andy though needs to get a severely buckled wheel to the bike shop in the morning for truing but the match starts at 8.30 a the gig at 1pm. We stop by and introduce ourselves earlier in the day

We get to the Candlelite at 6.30pm and set up and get going at 7. Woohoo who is not drinking is straight onto the Strongbow and he's off. He instantly takes up centre stage and most of stage left, right and everywhere else...

As we work through the set he keeps calling for different numbers, most of which surprisingly, he would like to sing. Other well known numbers take on  different aspect. For instance some songs seem to need lead harmonica all the way through, others insist on screaming lead guitar from the off to the dying bar of the song and all need BFGUL upfront playing slide with a Strongbow bottle or a harmonica or both while whipping the crowd into an ever greater frenzy of What is now known in the windy city as 'Extreme Lyndon Love'.

We even get the wee man NIK NAK Jones and our host Chris up to sing Delilah and Sospan Fach with us.

We must go down OK as people put money into a hat for us and the fantastic staff at the The Candlelite, Pat, Pete and James feed us with some awesome thin crust pizza.

We get back to base at around midnight and hit the hay ready for another early start in the morning and the Wales V Italy match at the globe and then our second gig of the tour....

Happy screeching

Porkpie