The Believers, Magic Markers @ The Garage 5-30-03

The show was a shoving off of the grand Astral Blessing Wedding Tour. They were heading to Alaska and the rest of their lives.. The Believers were joined by Meara O'Reilly on keyboard and guitar. Two new songs were unveiled and the sounds hunkered down into the garage storage facility. The whole building absorbed and beamed out the Believers core.

Pete in the Markers' Tour Diaries in Bejeezus:

"Me & Elisa drove 15 hours up to CT last night/today. I jammed tunes while E slept most of the way. We got to CT, cleaned up, and went to Belchertown. We were both real excited. It's been a year since our last tour. Elisa quit school and we moved to Louisville in search of a chilled out Cheap place to live so we could concentrate on diving into our respective things. I've been jamming in basements and caves and she's been cutting her teeth in various stand up comedy holes. Now we're heading back to our old homeland for the return show we never got last year. Almost to the show, I dis a song on her otherwise perfect mix tape and get a coke thrown at me. I hate being sticky & this sucks.

"We get to Paul and Val's house in Belchertown and I'm surrounded by old pals Matt Krefting, Willie Lane, Jess Goddard, John Shaw, Johnny T & Jake. It's pretty fucking cool. 99 Balloons, Led Zeppelin and the Fall are jamming from the old time jukebox in their 70's porn style livingroom. Leah's out on the patio hard chillen with Jess and eating the food like she owns the place. After a bit, Leah and Elisa disappear to the car for a long conference and the Bears start off the show with some good rocking stuff. They're super nice guys. Next up Johnny T and Jake (who were nice enough to share their Dominican Rum w/me) are doing the Slaughterhouse Percussion Duo. They furiously pound out some high energy dope ass interweaving beats. A short but intense and satisfying set. In between bands I go out and taunt the girls in the car with a shirt for a rain tent over my head.

"Next the fantastical awesome drone garage glam band "The Believers" starring Matt Krefting, John Shaw, Jessi, Anna, and ---- [Meara] on keys. They had their skin tights and shades on... they looked cool and Shaw played some smoking guitar. Leah and Elisa crept in for this set smiling and nodding along.

"Next up... US! We muddled through the confusion of getting the amps to work while being electrocuted pushing the other bands drums aside and setting mine up. There was an air of imminent rush floating around. In the confusion of setting up the room flooded with people and we began some intensely high energy shit. It felt good to play as a full band again... Hurrican/Confusion/Power/Energy... as the first song ends Elisa announces that she's killed Kimberly. I laugh until I see that she's holding her guitar in 2 pieces. My stomach drops down to my shoes. Krefting lets us borrow his guitar to finish our set w/ a new sound but the same energy. The crowd's been rockin and they seem to dig it.

"Afterwards, Elisa starts going through the crowd hawking t-shirts like beer at a ball game. George of Viking Funeral buys an Elisa (shirt) and wears it as they play their set. I pack up and hurry off to Easthampton to meet Thurston Moore who's playing with Kim Gordon as Mirror/Dash and Hanway Toof at the Flywheel. A bit of a drive, but the Ramones help pass the time. Thurston's chilling at the juice bar of the Flywheel. I toss him some shirts and a cd and we discuss when we're gonna mix shit for the record. I meet Kim Gordon who says she's a big Magic Markers fan and I almost fall off my stool. Back to Belchertown to pick up some gear and then to Hartford like some kind of half dead zombie I arrive and pass out at Paul Ambrogio's house."