I'm going to start backwards a bit. Usually I keep you up to date, like to the show to the day, but it's been difficult even amidst these huge festivals and fancy hotels. The internet is either sparse or for hire for a lot of money. I need to buckle down and just start paying for the internet, no matter how much it costs. I owe this to you! I owe you this backstage dirt and dust I'm getting keen on.. girl, it's good! It's so good! I still can't believe that this is what's happening in my life right now. It's really easy and fun and boring and amazing and weird. I met Rahzel. Very, very weird. For instance:

40 minutes ago I stood in a small stairway in the middle of a incredibly cute family outing. I was standing on the bottom step, the dad was standing right above me on the 2nd or 3rd step, the mom was right across from me and the sitter and little girl were bouncing back and forth on the steps and then across the hallway. All of this was happening during a really loud and intense Wolf Eyes set. The real punch line is that the family was Sonic Youth; a band I've totally been excited about since I was 13.

For the past two days I've been in Sweden playing shows with Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Wolf Eyes, Magnolia Electric Co. and a ton more bands as part of this three-day traveling festival called Accelerator. It's been like a summer camp. We're mostly all staying at the same hotels and going to breakfast at the same time. It really is surreal.

Our first show of the festival was in Malmo, in a park with Kangaroos. Here is the before and after shot from that show. We played outside in a tent that had a touch of circus vibe to it. As we were setting everything up on stage and doing a short "line-check" we could hear Teenage Fanclub playing. Andy made a disappointed comment about how they probably wouldn't play his favorite song off of some old record.. little did he know they had radio spy equipment hidden away in his beard and promptly played his song. Andy? What song was it? I met the nice Norman man after he noticed the K button on my shirt and told me about tour managing a Beat Happening tour in 1987. Back to the line-check; this is something that maybe you remember from the last tour.. I don't love checking the drums so much. I tried to convince our Dutch friend/driver Kelly that he should do it for me. He wimped out.

Our second show was in Gothenburg. We played outside on the nice stage with these dudes. There is something about Swedish crowds; it just feels like they hate us or are bored with us when we are playing, but then they are so over-the-top sweet and enthusiastic to us after the show. People just express themselves differently.. I need to learn this for reals. When people just stare at YACHT shows and don't move I usually understand that sometimes it's just too weird to "get" right away and that it could be a lot to take in. I think people just are a little freaked out about Devendra having a band. Joanna is freaked out about Khaela making me such an amazing beard. I'm freaked out that people have such professional setlists. I'm a little freaked out by SONIC YOUTH ONLY signs on rye bread.

Tonight is our third and final show with the band camp. We're in Stockholm and I'm really hungry. I have internet here for free, so I'll make sure to write more tonight and upload a movie for you. Girl, I'm working hard for you.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Truly,
Jona

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