Chicago, IL (House Of Blues)

Last night's show was at the House of Blues in Chicago. This was the
last show of our six week tour. We had been looking forward to this one
for a long time! The show ended up being everything we hoped for and
more.

The guys played in front of a crowd of at least 800. This way by far the
biggest show on tour! They had never played Chicago House of Blues, so
this was a pretty big deal for them! A lot of friends and family came
up for the show.

The guys played well and kids were really into it! We ended up doing the
most in merch sales (out of any show on tour)! The sound was awesome
and the whole performance was just sweet! I stood sidestage during their
set. Corey actually brought me on stage part way through their set and
thanked me for all my efforts. It was really cool.

I don't mean to get all sentimental, but I was really proud of the guys
last night. Playing at that venue was a new landmark for them
(especially in front of that size crowd). (There ended up being about
1,000 people there by the end of the night.) We have always wanted to
break into the Chicago scene, and it seems like that is finally
happening.... The show was a perfect way to end the tour.

Overall, I had a great time on this tour. We all experienced a lot of
new stuff and saw some new sights. We met some great people that I hope
to tour with again. We've got some exciting things coming up in the next
few weeks, so I'll make sure to keep this thing updated!

Detroit, MI (The Magic Stick)

We played in Detroit at The Magic Stick on Friday. We actually played
this venue a few months ago (on our last tour). The show ended up being
pretty good. The guys played well and the kids seemed into it.

We're not a fan of Detroit because there are always a ton of bums and
thugs to deal with. Actually, Monty Are I (one of the bands on the
tour) got their van broken into when we were at the show. The had two
laptops, an ipod, and two bookbags stolen.

We had someone sitting in the van almost the entire show (just to make
sure no one messed with it).

Anyways, the show was pretty good. We drove to Chicago right after it.
We stayed at Jared's girlfriend's place.

Edinboro, PA (The Hangout)

Last night's show was at The Hangout in Edinboro , PA. We played this
venue on our last tour. The show ended up being great! It sold out
(415 kids)! This was our third sold out show on this tour...pretty
sweet!

The guys played well and got a way better crowd response than the last
time they played there. The sound was ok. We did really well in merch.

After the show, we drove to our hotel in Cleveland. We drove the rest
of the way to Detroit today. I'm now at our show in Detroit...

Day Off - Driving Day

We had yesterday off. We went to Niagra Falls (on the Canada side). It
was awesome! The scenery was unreal. I had never been there, so I'm
glad I finally got the chance to go. We hung out there for a while and
then went to a cassino right by the falls. I just spent $15 on slot
macines. (I'm a high roller, haha.) It was a good time though. Max won
$50 (and it was his first time at a cassino)!

After that, we made our way back into the U.S. We went to Erie, PA and
stayed with our friend, Matt. We're now eating at a diner in Erie.
After this, we're heading to our show in Edinboro, PA. Tonight should
be a good one!

Toronto, ON (El Mocambo)

We played in Toronto a few days ago. The show ended up being awesome!
We got to Toronto early and hung out. Most of us went to a local bar
for a while before the show. It was a good time!

Canada seems a lot different than the U.S., but it was pretty cool!
Everything seemed to be a bit more expensive there. The people were all
really nice. Sort of random, but I realized that not many people smoked
there. I really enjoyed that.

The show was great. There was a decent crowd (135 kids). The guys
played well and got a good crowd response. We did awesome on merch.
The sound was decent and the staff was nice.

After the show, most of the tour went out to a bar. We had a lot of
fun!

CORRECTION

The link to vote for The Graduate's video is:
www.mtvu.com/music/freshmen

Boston, MA (Axis)

Yesterday's show was at a club called 'Axis' in Boston. This was our
third time playing Boston, but we've never played this place. It was
really cool. It was definitely the largest/nicest venue we've played in
Boston.

The show ended up being pretty good! There were at least 200 kids
there. The guys played well, the sound was good, and they got a pretty
good crowd response. We did really well in merch.

After the show, we stayed at our friend, Karen's, new apartment. We
hung out in Boston for a while today and then started heading for
Canada. We just crossed the border. It went pretty smoothly. We were a
little nervous because Matt misplaced his passport today, but it wasn't
an issue. There was also a $450 fee that we wanted to avoid, and
luckily, we avoided it. We're now about an hour and a half from our
hotel.

Our show tomorrow is in Toronto. This is my first time being out of the
country, so I'm pretty stoked!

*The Graduate is in a contest (called 'Freshman') on mtvU this week.
They're currently at #1 (the contest goes until Friday at midnight).
Please go to the following website and vote for them as many times as
you'd like!

www.mtvu.com/music/freshman

If they win, the video could get added into rotation on mtvU and
possibly mtv2!*