Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.
Well, here we are. They’re near the end of their journey and we’re near the end of the comic. Last time Pocket Vinyl completed the lower 48 states and even Alaska, leaving Hawaii to go. That’s one more show and two more chapters, with the next chapter being the aftermath.
We can kind of guess they mentally survived the experience. After all, they’re still alive to make this book and continue performing. The last video on their YouTube channel was three weeks ago writing time. They’re doing a house show tour (that’s the one done in actual homes) that started in early May, with less than 50 stops going to July 5th. It’s at least nice to know this didn’t kill their performing spirit, and they found enough good moments to include them in this book.
So how did the last leg of the tour go? This chapter is only 14 pages so, compared to some of the previous pages, this should take less time. Let’s see how this all ended.
Hawaii was probably the best place for the to end the tour on. For one thing…it’s Hawaii. The place is beautiful and Elizabeth captures it as best she can in this comic’s style. What really helps is their host, Mike, who picks them up at the airport, gets them a wonderful place to stay, drives them to get the rental piano and to the show because they’re clearly so tired…good job, Mike! The booker quit and isn’t even on the island anymore but someone in the bar lets them in. Apparently they’re very trusting there. They’re performing in Honolulu and despite the very small turn out (seven people), it counts. The unofficial record is…..
44 Days, 13 Hours, 50 Minutes
50 shows in 50 states in under 50 days. In the latest fourth wall advice break…they just want to go home. I can’t blame them, can you? And yet, there’s one more chapter to go. I guess they forgot there’s also the aftermath. You can’t leave the audience hanging, you know. We have to see how they were after. I’ve seen movies end at the victory, but usually the epilogue is recommended.
The only complaint is once again we try to do a song in a reading media form. They don’t even name the song or I’d post a link or embed or something to it. (I did link their YouTube channel in the reveal.) Imagine if you could read along with the words dancing around the page as Eric performs his last song of the tour and Elizabeth makes her last painting of the tour? It would have made for a nice reading experience. I guess they were too tired to think of it. -_*
Otherwise, it’s a well done penultimate chapter, with the same fun tone as the rest. That means next time we complete the final leg of OUR journey with the last chapter of this comic, the infamous “misprinted” section that made my copy free, and see how they pulled themselves together.
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