Lexington is a good place to start a tour. It’s where we started our first one back in fall 2023, and we were happy to kick things off in front of a raucous crowd of University of Kentucky students. As we headed out on Friday, we were pumped to get some more good momentum rolling for the next week of shows.
FTFTFTF #6: Felix Tandem technically played a tour kickoff show at The 5 Spot in Nashville on March 6 alongside local acts OK Koala and Hussy Fit. We went home and slept in our own beds that night, though, so does it really count as a tour date? Maybe! We included it on our tour posters, anyway. Email us your thoughts at felixtandemis@gmail.com using the subject line “Poster thoughts.”
We rented yet another Chrysler Pacifica for this tour. We thought about naming it “Felix Vandem II,” but then I heard Max say, “Oh wow, the windshield is kind of warped” while inspecting it. I am thus calling it the Warped Tour Van for the rest of our time together.
I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather the past week and spent most of our short-ish drive trying to sleep. This of course helped the drive pass more quickly, and we made it to our venue, Girls Girls Girls Burritos with lots of time to load in.
FTFTFTF #7: We are playing at two different burrito restaurants during this tour: Girls Girls Girls Burritos in Lexington, Kentucky and Banditos Burrito Lounge in Richmond, Virginia. We all really enjoyed our dinners at the first one. I ordered a Vegan XOXO Quesadilla and was impressed by how tasty the vegan cheese was. Joel got a custom Boss Bitch Bowl, so we called him “Joel ‘Boss Bitch’ Murray” for the rest of the night.
Girls Girls Girls is a cute little spot near UK’s campus. Appropriately, the bands joining us, Maybe Next Year and Foolsmate, had many current or former Wildcats in their lineups. Maybe Next Year even had a member from Topsoil, the band that hosted our first Lexington gig a year and a half ago. Setup went smoothly aside from one acceptable hangup: Girls Girls Girls is a pretty popular restaurant, and there was a family with small children finishing up their meal at the gig’s original start time. We delayed our loud rock show until they left so we wouldn’t assail their young ears with loud guitars, which I thought was a strangely wholesome move.
Speaking of wholesome things: My partner Serena — whom Felix Tandem True Fans will remember as the author of our tourist trap brochures from last tour — also made the drive for this first night of tour. She is the best! I’m so excited to see more familiar faces as we tour
Maybe Next Year opened the night with a set of Midwest emo-tinged songs. They had a pleasantly goofy aesthetic: One of the members used a star-shaped Daisy Rock guitar for half the set, and since there was a TV right behind the stage, they pulled up a compilation of Minecraft obstacle course clips to play during their set.
We couldn’t think of anything else to play behind us, so we kept the Minecraft clips up as we took the stage. It was a solid set! We recently started doing a brief requests portion during our set where people call out songs and we try to figure them out live. It doesn’t always go so well, but that’s part of the fun, right? In any case, it went well in Lexington. We asked for “girls-themed songs” and ended up fumbling our way through “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “I Kissed A Girl” before finishing off with a surprisingly inspired version of “Pink Pony Club.” Nice!
FTFTFTF #8: Oh yeah, we played some of our songs too. According to Serena, at least one person said, “These guys shred!” during the set.
It might be a copout to say that Fool’s Mate had a very “college indie rock” sound, but that’s the best way I can describe them. They brought lots of energy to some covers of their own, including “You Belong With Me,” “Float On,” and, believe it or not, “Pink Pony Club.” (Apparently it was pre-planned.) The highlight of their set came when I noticed a weirdly trumpet-like guitar tone during a solo. As I looked around, I realized they’d actually invited a friend up to play trumpet during their set. That was a first for me, and I liked it. If you’re a trumpeter who wants to join us onstage during our tour, please email a clip of your audition to felixtandemis@gmail.com with the subject line “Felix Tandem brass ensemble audition.”
We wrapped the gig up, said farewell to Serena, and headed to our accommodations for the night. In a fun twist, we ended up staying at the house where we played our last Lexington gig, where most of the members of Topsoil live. We had a nice time catching up and talking about music we’ve been listening to lately before hitting the hay a bit after midnight.
I’ll say it again: Lexington is a good place to start a tour.
Looking regal
The basement at Final Frontier where we played last tour
Signing a poster for a fan
Feline friend
his name is rondo
