The post tour depression!
Two days after I finish a set of travel gigs, I feel a little dip, a heaviness or anxiety, the post tour depression!
Spencer and I got home from our short weekend of gigs, which was my last travels of the year. Sure enough, I was feeling that post tour slump yesterday. [Check out the video of us playing WNJR here.]
The arc of a musician on the road often matches the arc of a fairy tale. Vonnegut would lecture about the shape of stories’ arcs:
I love these simple ideas! Derek Sivers outlined these Vonnegut plot lines in a blog too. Let’s review one of those common story line arcs:
Yep! That’s kind of like tour life right there!
However, when we get home real life returns…
Which makes returning from tour feel like this:
Musicians get used to that strange schedule of gig life: the long car rides, camaraderie with our band mates, the peaks of the great shows, the lows of the poorly attended shows, the excitement of seeing a new place for the first time, the adrenaline rush, etc. Yet all the way, there is a schedule, even a redundancy, in the spontaneity of touring, which is shaded by the excitement of performing.
I’ve learned to expect the post tour dip. It happens on the second day of being home, but if I keep my head on straight, I can beat it by day three or four. If I wallow in it, I’ll feel a little off center for weeks.
It’s helpful to plan a post tour schedule BEFORE you get home. Get the routine back in shape, and add in a few social and creative things:
- Maybe schedule coffee with a friend to get those social endorphins
- Go on a date with your significant other
- Try to get creative right away, write a song or learn a new cover
- Exercise and eat well (Avoid alcohol!)
Most importantly, if you feel the post-tour depression, too, recognize it’s normal!
* * * * * * * * *
PS, if you’re a parent, here’s a fun anecdote of a Twitter conversation I had with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists about post tour blues:
Comments are closed.