Cactus Trailer, Squishing Pears all over Town!

We’ve been incredibly busy this week with the campaign to bring cacti and tractors together at last.  Incidentally we met a “real” cactus tractor last night at the source.  In this photograph you see Steve operating the cactus tractor, and together they are squashing prickly pears into fuschially teeth-tinting cactus juice.  Our proposed tractor doesn’t promise to squish anything (especially not a cactus!) but it will definitely deliver some sweet juice to your ears.

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Ya, ya, ears don’t drink juice (or anything) I know!  My metaphors are getting sloppy (slimy, slick, sloshy) because I’ve been riding around on a cactus tractor—or as our host this morning at the Local Food and Field Day announced us, a cactus trailer.  After he said it I realized I really like the name Cactus Tractor.  Not only does it feel fun to say, it’s also fun to imagine.  It could be the juicing machine above, a vehicle made entirely of spiny fleshy plant matter (farm equipment adapted particularly well to surviving in the desert!), a bunch of cacti growing unexpectedly out of a metal tractor, or, if you heard it wrong, a device designed for distracting cats.   When I hear the phrase cactus trailer…  Eh, maybe it is better.

Here are some pics of the band at Sister last Wednesday when we played with the lovely Memphis Dawls!

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Cactus Smusher!

ImageBirds shredding.

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The Memphis Dawls!

ImageSpiny leaf wagon!

ImageI like Stef’s boot in this one.  And Paul’s face.

That was last Wednesday.

On Saturday morning the gang got up bright and early to play at Zendo for a our favorite kind of audience (one with plenty of kids!).  We played for a couple of hours enjoying the beautiful light, the awesome coffee and the gorgeous people that come into Zendo for both (the light and the coffee).   We then took a brief respite and headed over to the Source for ArrbiZZarr (where we met the cactus squisher).

ArrbiZZarr, like CT, can also pride itself on having an unusual name (the kind of name that’s forever being mispronounced or misspelled even though it’s well meaning parents tried really hard to make it easy: “you know ‘arr’ like pirates and capital Z’s in the middle, and more pirates at the end!)  Anyway, ArrbiZZarr was AwwSSome!!!  There were a plethora of local vendors selling jewelry (I procured some fantastic feather earrings), herbs, foods and more… and everyone was willing—no, eager to dance!

I can honestly say that I’ve never enjoyed seeing people dance as much as I did last night.  One moment stands out as particularly impressive.  We were playing one of Paul’s songs and the entire audience started to jump on the beat.  It was a little like everyone was having a tantrum.  It was that kind of stampy two-footed jumping that little kids do when they’re upset.  This was, perhaps, all the more incredible because we didn’t have a drummer so there was, essentially, no beat for them to jump on in the first place!  Like I said, increZZible!

A few hours later we woke up again and headed out the Gutierrez-Hubbell house for the 6th annual Local Food and Field Day.

ImageCactus Tractor, third show in and still smiling! (At least I think Stef is smiling…)

This proved to be another completely delightful place to perform, and it was also stock full of amazing local vendors, food trucks and farm stands.  Plus we had a huge Band Tent and plenty of families.   After playing a couple of sets we went home and crashed. David woke up anxiously every 20 minutes or so and had to remind himself that no he didn’t have to get ready for the next gig.  Yet.

Yay!  Cactus Tractor!  If you haven’t already, check out our kickstarter!