Oct. 19th, 1991

Once again, awakening in the bus, which is motionless in a parking lot. An interesting constant: the groggy "where are we?" becoming a normal part of daily experience; extending one's awakening disorientation two or three or five minutes into the day.

We're in Arlington, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. This time however, we're not parked at the hotel, but rather seeking directions to get there. We meander around town, trying to find the right member of the motel chain family. The first stop is wrong; the second is correct. We're there early and the rooms aren't ready, no big deal. We're on a highway strip made more memorable to the band members not by its proximity to the Texas Rangers' ball field, but by its proximity to a growing restaurant chain making a name in Texas and other good-ol-boys territories: Hooters.

Two of our ilk are particularly excited, have been trumpeting the restaurant's conceptual merits, eagerly anticipating eating lunch amid the good-natured waitresses and their trademark tight-stretched t-shirts.

I eschew the restaurant (having had enough bizarre experience in the last couple days) and devote the day to conserving energy for the gig (i.e. veg-out).

The gig is at a local rock'n'roll and blues bar, Fatso's Burgers and Blues opening for Austin blues semi-legend, gravel-voiced veteran Lou Ann Barton. Strip away Janis Joplin's drug-induced haze and 1960's pretentions, throw-in some hot peppers and Texas Bar-B-Q, and you have Barton. I'm excited about it; Danny and the others don't seem to know who she is. More to the point, they seem less-than-thrilled to be relegated to opening in a beer-soaked joint distinguished only by the easy load-in and a cooler full of bottled beer.

Maybe they're put-off by Fatso's Texas-honest motto: "Fatso's: Where Grease Is Still King," and its ominous bastard cousin hanging in the kitchen, "Where Grease Is Still Kin." (Maybe I should've eaten at Hooters!)

Our 90-minute set goes fine, even though I count-off one showcase number ("Gold Rush") way too fast. (Oops!) All are magnanimous; fast tempos do not scare this group.

Another day gone, the remainder is spent sleeping in a non-moving, solid, delightful, actual bed.

Next: Day 5—a roller coaster and free chow courtesy of The Allman Brothers Band and Little Feat…