After the Kentucky State Fair on Friday night we got back into the car and drove an hour north before getting a hotel for the night. The state fairs with their semi-permanent stages combined with thunderstorm season were the cause of 5 deaths in Indiana on August 13th. Then less than a week later, another festival stage fell in Belgium killing 5 people and injuring over 140 others. I have become a part of the backstage family on this tour and as I think of the lives lost in lighting and production of these two tragedies, I am reminded of the many faces I have grown to know in the Heart/Def crew. I would be deeply saddened if we lost a member of our team and am reminded that the show does not and should not always go on.
We looked to the skies on Sunday, August 21st when we arrived in Buffalo. A storm was blowing in with 40 mph winds. The stage Evan was performing on was 30 miles outside of Buffalo in Darien Lake, NY. The stage was made up of moveable rafters and a large white tent covered the seated portion of the amphitheater. Not a permanent stage, I looked up to the peak of the tent and saw the shadow of a snake like creature wriggling in the wind. I wondered if it was an essential cable that had broken but didn't stay around to test the threshold of the stage materials. Evan and I sat in the car and sipped hot tea while the storm broke overhead.
The rain came down with fiery and washed clean all the bugs from our windshield. Thirty minutes passed and took with it the heavy clouds. The sky turned a bright pink as a double rainbow arched over the stage. It was safe to come out of the car! Evan performed to a soaked crowd which was much smaller than anticipated. We scouted out the merchandise booth but no one had moved from their seats in light of the weather so without a crowd for Evan to sign CDs, we hit the road.
Earlier that day we had done a little buffalo wing taste test. We first visited "Anchor Bar" the founders of the buffalo chicken wing. The restaurant was situated in a strange part of town. Abandoned buildings and windowless churches surrounded the area but the parking lot at Anchor's was so full they needed parking attendants to redirect drivers. As we entered the restaurant an Indian family was taking a group picture in front of the building and we caught a whiff of a conversation behind us from a family that traveled many miles and were complaining of cramped leg muscles.
Evan and I choose a spot at the bar for lunch. The room decor was cluttered with old license plates, sports memorabilia, and actual motorcycles which balanced on beams along the perimeter of the room. Our waiter/bartender, John was a Buffalo native and proud of it. Loud spoken and witty, he made no excuse for his love of the New York Yankees as he wore a team shirt and cap. We ordered up a few beers and 10 hot wings. It would be our first meal of the day!
Anchor Bar's wings were fried with no breading and exhibited a dry quality to the meat which some people prefer. The sauce was not very hot in spice but definitely had flavors of habanero and cayenne. The sauce was a bit watery and sparse but flavorful. Evan and I both commented on the tastes rolling around in our mouth and decided that this was a great representation of the first buffalo wing ever created and were satisfied.
From Anchor Bar we ventured onto Duff's, the other well known wing spot in Buffalo. Out of the 3 Duff locations in Buffalo, we choose the one next to our hotel so the surrounding area was much more commercial. On the inside, Duff's had a cleaner presentation in their decor than Anchor with minimal wall clutter leaving the light stained wood exposed. Again, we sat at the bar and ordered a beer and 10 medium/hot wings as all the waiters shirts, the menu and signs on the wall warned us that Duff's hot wings were very VERY hot.
Duff's wings were fried with no breading but the outside skin was crispy while the meat inside was tender and juicy. The sauce drenched the wing making it slippery to hold and filling your mouth with the taste of franks red hot and butter. Not so spicy after all. It was a thicker sauce as well, something that is more common in the recreation of the buffalo wing outside of Buffalo. The Duff's wing is the incarnation of the modern wing and more my style. Both wings were great but different.
With our only sustenance for the day being chicken wings and beer, we decided to eat some raw vegetables for dinner. That night I had a stomach ache with no surprise but slept sound feeling like I accomplished a great feat gaining an experience in exchange for a bit of pain.
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