[MEDIA=13]

Filmed December 11, 2007
XOXO Bar
Reno, NV

Joshua Boyden is part-owner of and booker for the XOXO Bar in Reno, a.k.a. “the Biggest Little City in the World.” Though I am a graduate of an American public high school, no teacher ever explained that Reno was so close to San Francisco. Who knew that this gambling and ski boomtown was located less than four hours from the Golden Gate Bridge, and can boast of the biggest little punk scene on in Nevada? Should friendly music enthusiasts continue showing up at XOXO—-a most decidedly un-diveish dive bar—-the venue will remain a viable detour on any band’s West Coast routing.

After my show at XOXO, I enjoyed some hours of gambling at Peppermill Casino, Reno’s premier cardroom. Later, a cab driver informed me that global warming had shortened Reno’s ski season. “You can buy a lift ticket for the season,” the driver explained, “but they only sell them in September. Who wants to buy a lift ticket in September when air temperatures so high that the season doesn’t start until December?” Though I once viewed An Inconvenient Truth, a popular film about our planet starring Nobel Peace Prize-winning ex-Vice President Al Gore, I had to admit that I was unaware of climate change’s effect on the length Reno’s ski season.