(All photos by @cirdecsongs)

It looks like 2025 is the year of two weekend music festival for Yours Truly. And the start of three road trips in the next three months.

My first adventure takes me to Indianapolis and the POST. estival. Here’s an account of the trip.

AUGUST 24, 07:31

Union Station, Chicago

I hate buses.

I’ve ridden a few here and there since an adventurous 22-hour journey from Washington, D.C. to St. Louis in 1987. I vowed them and there to avoid buses on road trips. I’d rather be dragged across carpet tacks and dipped in rubbing alcohol rather than ride a Greyhound bus.

But a bus is what’s necessary in order to get to Indy. But it won’t be via Greyhound.

Mercifully, Flixbus will be the way to go.

If this is anything like my MegaBus experiences, everything should be fine. Or, at least tolerable.

I’m excited to go to POST, but there is trepidation. My benefactor hasn’t sent me my pass yet. I’m treating a plus-one tonight, so it’s a bit of a scare. My benefactor tells me not to worry. But that goes against my nature.

I’m most excited to take in We Lost the Sea tonight and Saturday. I didn’t want to know about the setlist, which Mark Owen — one of the band’s guitarists — would’ve given me. I like to be surprised. Alas, James — my concert buddy for this gig — can only come for one day, and he wanted to know when WLTS would be playing the whole of Departure Songs, our favorite album. That happens tonight.

I have no idea about Saturday, though I suspect “Towers” is in the cards. That’ll most likely cover a quarter of their set. I hope they play new stuff after that. But to have the band in front of me is thrill enough.

My internal clock woke me up at 05:45, 15 minutes before my alarm. There’s something about travel that very, very rarely allows me to oversleep. All the better for early morning flights like the 07:00 to Newark I still have to look forward to.

I kinda hate that I won’t touch my guitars for four days. It’s starting to feel automatic to pick one up, even if just to run a few scales. And the concert is shaping up, slowly but surely.

08:02

The bus is late. We were due to push off at 08:00. We’ve been sent to our gate finally announced over the PA. I thought I’d missed it, but the bus is either driven by Wonder Woman (making it invisible) or not yet present. And so, we wait.

One guy is already grumbling out loud. I’m not there yet. Even if I was, said grumbling would be internal.

I’m sitting on the floor. I’m medicated, but my glutes are still singing me a song of woe and pain. I can’t wait to get the next shots and (hopefully) the damned ablation procedure. But that’s for later.

08:17

Bus 2515

We’re off! Whether or not our driver works to make up for lost time remains to be seen. Just getting out of Chicago can be an adventure.

One good thing about these buses is reserved seating.

I have the row to myself for now, which is just fine.

Time to read for a bit. And/or doze off.

12:06

Leaving Lafayette, Indiana

A quick stop for fuel and munchies. Truck stops are interesting places. They provide a little bit of everything.

I haven’t been very hungry, but I got a snack anyway. Gotta watch that blood sugar.

I try to avoid music from the bands I’m about to see. So, personal playlists from Jeff Beck and The National are keeping me company.

Got in touch with my benefactor. He hopes to have things sorted out in a couple of hours. Still a few nerves remain.

Meanwhile, James is stuck in traffic because of what he called a “massive police pursuit.” Given that he’s still on the Job and I trained him, we know what goes into that kind of thing. He’ll get free when he gets free. There’s no way around it.

Honestly … criminals have no respect for our schedules.

I’m in quite a bit of pain today. I hope I can get somewhere to stretch before the gig.

And I actually remembered the time change! I’m rather proud of myself.

13:16

Transit Center, Indianapolis

I have arrived, and only about 12 minutes late. I await my Uber to get me to my hotel.

The weatherman said it would be warm. He was right. And it’s quite muggy. Basically, I’m back in St. Louis, where I’ll be for three weeks in August.

14:30

Room 237, Imdianapolis

It’s a very modest room. But since I paid a very modest price, I’m getting what I paid for.

I asked the hotel clerk to put me as close to the front office as possible, so I could conserve my back. Where do I wind up? At the complete point opposite end of the complex, on an upper floor with no elevator.

I believe Led Zeppelin would call this a communication breakdown.

JULY 25, 14:28

Room 237, Indianapolis

My mind remains blown.

It’s one thing to listen to We Lost the Sea on CD. It’s still another to see them perform on YouTube. But after nearly a decade of fandom, I finally got to see them live. And they were literally ten feet in front of me!

They played the whole of Departure Songs, my favorite WLTS album. I’m speechless, yet I want to go on forever about the performance. It was near perfection.

And I finally got to meet my WLTS pen pal, Mark Owen. He’s every bit the cool guy I knew he would be.

The rest of the band was equally cool. It was great to get to chat with them before and after the show.

I got a copy of Departure Songs signed. It will never be played. I’m going to put it in a small frame along with my wristband and a pick Mark handed me during the show. What’s funny is that said pick is identical to the one I use with one of my guitars. That’s the second time this has happened. Go figure.

In this very moment, I’ve decided to put together a separate piece featuring photos from this festival. But here are a couple of other favorites from We Lost the Sea

And I get to see them again Saturday. I don’t know what to do with myself!

What really made me happy was seeing how many people came out to see the band. It was like thinking you were the only one in on a secret until you find out how not alone you really are.

There was great energy coming from the crowd. A personal highlight for me came after the band finished playing the first part of “Challenger,” which is a rather long piece. Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Play it again!” after the applause died down. Matt Harvey smiled and gently shook his head no. Someone else understood Matt’s sentiment and yelled out “fuck that!” Matt kept smiling while nodding in agreement. I certainly sympathize.

Let’s no sleep on This Will Destroy You, whom I saw for the second time in less than a year. They played an incendiary set as well!

The sweat coming off the stage was much appreciated by those of us sweating in the audience (and in the photo pit, as well).

23:49

Room 237

This was a good evening. Unfortunately, the pain is restricting my movement, and getting worse by the minute. I might be forced to limit myself to seeing the bands on the outside stage only. This sucks.

Off to medicate, sleep, and hope for the best.

#cirdecsongs

If you would like to have your music reviewed or have your band photographed while you are in Chicago (USA), please contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com