This is the fourth from Venice Is Sinking’s Summer 2009 tour diary, by VIS member and Drive A Faster Car contributing writer, Lucas Jensen. Let us know what you think of these and if you’d like to see more tour diaries in the future! — Tessa, DaFC Editor-In-Chief

We woke up that morning, ate some bagels from the Polish bakery, argued about James taking too long to get ready, and then headed out, saying goodbye to our gracious hosts Dave and Alex. Getting out of the city, via the Verrazano bridge and Staten Island, wasn’t too bad. Then came the Jersey Turnpike. Listen, Jersey is a lot nicer then it gets credit for, but the Turnpike isn’t doing anything to dissuade people of the notion that “New Jersey” is code for “everything that is nasty about America.” An example: At one of the price-gouging travel centers, Daniel encountered a pile of used batteries in the toilet.

We had to get to Durham by 9 that night, so it was another day of driving, driving, driving. There ain’t much to report other than I-95 hangs out with I-85 in the Sucky Highways Club, and that we really need a booking agent, so we can stop taking undertaking fool “weekend” excursions like this.

We played at a house show in Durham with two great and unusual bands, Waumuss and Polynya, as well as the estimable Kurt Heasley of the Lilys (one of my faves of the 90s). It was a nice change of pace after the genius of Permanent Ability. Craig’s house is a fabulous 1920s bungalow that made me extremely envious. It’s shower was one of the best I’ve ever showered in, and he was a totally gracious host.

Of course, right as we were about to set up and play… the cops showed up. This happened to us a month ago! Seriously, we were about to hit our first note and they arrived and told us to quiet down. We decided to soldier on with me playing brushes and everybody playing quiet. It went okay, starting pretty soft and then getting louder and louder. There was a nice crowd of people who stuck around to watch us play, including tons of rad girls. Durham, you’re alright! Except for you, Mr. Harass Me About My Brushes In The Kitchen. You, sir, are not all right.

We stayed up pretty late that night partying, so the next day was spent in full-on recovery mode. We left Craig (and his amazing shower), and hit the road to Columbia, SC, where a fateful Sunday show awaited us. Along the way, we stopped at Christian North Carolina fast food chain Cook Out, where we had weird milkshakes (Fresh watermelon! Cheerwine! Banana pudding!) and a 99 cent BLT. When we got to Columbia, SC, the venue was surprisingly crowded. Load-in was breezy, and all of the bands we played with were good, especially Dignan, a Texas band we’d played with at SXSW. They matched up with us perfectly (and maybe made us a little jealous!), and it was great to see them again. 77 people paid! On a Sunday! It was nice to end the mini-tour on a up note like that. James drove us home that night and made it from Columbia to Athens in 2 and a half hours. It was a harrowing trip, to be sure, but it was nice to be home in the Georgia humidity.

Daniel can’t find his iPod, though.