If you thought Miami summers were wild, wait until you dive into the latest journey of LAS NUBES. Three months post-release of their sophomore album, Tormentas Malsanas, Ale Campos (guitars/vocals) and Emile Milgrim (drums/percussion), and their live crew including Alumine Soto (guitar), and Cuci Amador (bass/vocals), hit the road again, bringing their hurricane of garage pop energy to the West Coast.
This tour diary is an unfiltered look at the highs, lows, and everything in between as they traversed from San Diego to Seattle, with stops that were both legendary and lonely.
Being a nod to Miami’s bipolar weather, Tormentas Malsanas (“Unhealthy Storms”) is a raw reflection of the turbulence we all face, from existential dread to fighting the good fight in an increasingly chaotic world. And just like their music, this tour was loud, sweaty, and unapologetically real.
Whether they were crashing at a Motel 6, sweating through outdoor gigs in Mexicali, or playing to a handful of diehards in Seattle, LAS NUBES kept it as authentic as ever.
Their new album has them navigating through these “unhealthy storms” with the same intensity and vulnerability that has made them one of Miami’s most vital bands.
Now, as they gear up for their October East Coast and Southeast tour, we invite you to join us on this wild ride.
Read on for the full tour diary, where every day brings a new adventure, a new story, and a reminder that sometimes, even in the darkest of times, you just gotta keep playing.
8/1/24
We flew into San Diego last night and got to an extra-stained Motel 6 around midnight.
Looking California but feeling Miami, so like 3am. Ate Taco Bell anyway because it was across the street.
Not sure how everyone else slept, but for me it was barely. Maybe it was black tea on the plane? Let the tour fugue state begin! Got breakfast at a cute Mexican spot even though we’re on our way to Mexico, but still better than IHOP/Denny’s-ish.
Picked up all the records we’d shipped to our friend Laura, and then headed to Tijuana to pick up our shirts. Some of the best prints ever from Serijuana! Writing this now on a one-lane highway that winds through seemingly endless rock quarries. We’ll get to Mexicali at some point. The Air BnB the promoter got for tonight looks like someone’s quinceañera exploded in an apartment, well, according to the photos at least. Stay tuned!
8/2/24
Incredible show in Mexicali. Turns out the “quinces” room in the air bnb was spray painted with silver fleur-de-lis, making it even more amazing. Show was outside and it was HOT (like 103) when we sound checked. Sound person didn’t want to communicate with us directly for some reason, but the folks in Ola Magenta helped give feedback about the mix.
Also, Ola Magenta is leading the twee pop revival, so look them up if that’s your thing. Spent a lot of time chatting with folks and taking pictures after, so didn’t get back to the rental til 2am (bodies feeling like 5am). In the morning Omar, the promoter, treated us to breakfast at a place I was affectionately calling “pan con pan” – if you get that joke we should probably be friends.
Crossed the border in a moderately annoying fashion where they searched our car while we waited in a holding cube. Could have used some music in there.
Everyone loves Sade, so ya know… House show in San Diego with Memory Leak tonight!!!
8/3/24
When we got to Memory Leak’s house they told us their drummer canceled. BUT, they’re so brilliant that they programmed some backing tracks so they could still play the show. Pro AF. Show was in the backyard of a communal house and the hosts were incredibly welcoming. There was pizza and I ate like a monster and stained my favorite shirt.
Stains of Gluttony would be a good name for an anarcho punk band, right? Chill show (aside from a moldy amp that crapped out), then back to get some rest. Made breakfast, jam-packed the car, did a quick t-shirt and currency swap and on the way to LA now.
8/4/24
First time we ever play LA proper and couldn’t have been a better show. Absolutely righteous folks at The Redwood Bar and all the bands were great. I’m a little obsessed with Globelamp’s IDGAF attitude and stylistically whirlwind-esque performance.
To have another femme power trio (Space Queen) on the bill was brilliant as well. Bonus points for a loosely pirate-themed bar with actually delicious bar food.
Our friend and SoFL punk scene royalty Rob Elba came out to see us too, so it was like having family there. His podcast is one of the best around, so if you’re reading this, check out That Record Got Me High.
Had some downtime to make some lodging and tourist plans for our day off tomorrow. The Las Vegas strip is mega cheap to stay on during the summer. Driving to Long Beach now to play at Alex’s Bar, which we played at in 2020 B.C. It was full of velvet paintings then and I hope it still is.
8/5/24
OK, so not a lot of folks at the Long Beach show, but we got to see Julia and Scott (Soft Palms) who we hadn’t seen since the last time we were there.
The opener, Sharif Dumani, had one of the best setups for a solo act I’ve seen – his backing tracks were on 1/8” tape and he had these giant cutout paintings.
Killer songs too. Soft Palms of course was excellent as well. And who else sells signed loosies at their merch table?!? Despite there not being a lot of folks there, the ones who were really friendly and chatted with us for a while before and after the show.
Decided to rent a ridiculous hotel room in Vegas at Circus Circus because it was cheap and, well, ridiculous. Just dropped our stuff there and are on our way to the western tip of the Grand Canyon.
8/6/24
After coming back from the Grand Canyon (where we didn’t see much because it was the western tip and it was late, but there were a lot of cows and bats!) we met up with our friend Diego who was in town. Hadn’t seen him since we toured with his band Joudy in 2022.
We did the dumb casino bullshit at Circus Circus and walked around a bit. Ended up in Denny’s of all places and yeah, it’s still disgusting – and yes, I realize I was disparaging it only 5 days ago.
Overall I’d say the night was SLOTS of fun (zing!).
Wandered around in 115 degree heat for a bit today to check out some tourist trap shit and quickly realized that was a massive mistake. Hanging back in the hotel room until load in at The Usual Place for tonight’s show.
8/7/24
The Usual Place is a great venue and everyone working with them is super pro. It was a Tuesday so turnout wasn’t great, but all the bands sounded amazing and the world-class Mad Alchemy Light Show was on visuals.
Bonus points for a beer vending machine – I’d imagine this is helpful when the place is super slammed. After the show we decided to drive down the Vegas strip because “when in Rome,” or rather, when in a place that really glorifies the debauchery of ancient Rome via spectacles such as Caesar’s Palace, etc.
We also went to the older part of town to visit “Vegas Vic” the neon cowboy and take a pic in front of Lil’ Darlings strip club. In the middle of a stupid-long drive to San Pedro right now, made longer by construction slow downs. It’s hot.
8/8/24
OK, so like 10 people came to the Pedro show, but it was super fun anyway. The only other band on the bill, The Mormons, are 20-year veterans of the scene and it showed. One of the best live punk bands I’ve ever seen – a DEVO meets Fear vibe with an intensely theatrical front person, all dressed like Mormon missionaries, bike helmets included.
A couple friends made the drive from Riverside to see us, which was unexpected and so special. It resonated extra, being in The Sardine, a space that honors the creative partnership and legendary friendship of The Minutemen. The whole place is basically a tribute to D. Boon and the DIY spirit. We definitely jammed econo in his honor.
8/9/24
Got to take care of some business and personal stuff during the day yesterday before heading to Palmdale for a pretty early load in at Transplants Brewing. It’s so helpful to have friends to stay with along a tour route – shouts to Rina and Eric for accommodating us on four separate nights and making things logistically and financially easier for us during that leg of the tour.
Transplants is a great spot in the middle of nowhere, and they like it that way. Incredibly clean for a brewery, tons of beer and N/A options, and they have a full-ass 3000 sq ft venue with massive stage in the back. Monstrously gorgeous murals all over the damn place too. 10/10 would play there again in the future.
One of the opening bands, Lysithea, covered a Jeff Buckley deep cut too (“Gunshot Glitter”), so that made my night. Oh, and fucking pinball machines which me and Cristy might have tilted too hard… whoops!!! En route to San Francisco to play Bottom of the Hill. Let’s see what a Friday night in SF is like.
8/10/24
Turns out a Friday night in SF is epic! Lots of heads at Bottom of the Hill, a spot we were already really excited to play. The venue is run impeccably. It was also so refreshing to be in cooler weather after the past few days of insane heat.
We got to play with our friends Facet, and Secret Secret who had a cute Fleetwood Mac vibe.
Lots of random folks came out who said they hadn’t heard of us before – it’s great to know that people still take chances on random touring bands. We stayed in Oakland with some friends, Javier and Meredith, and their incredibly cute dog Conchita. On our way to Reno now to play an all-ages show. It’s hot again though, 93 up from 69 when we left Oakland.
8/11/24
If there were more places in the US like The Holland Project in Reno, the country would/could undoubtedly be a better place. It’s an artist-run, all ages community space/venue/gallery with a small library and excellent programming. They’re building community in a big way.
Show was pretty mellow and one of the openers, Silly Little, did this chill Talk Talk meets Weyes Blood thing that’s brilliantly executed. I had a pretty sloppy time playing our set, but want to blame the poor choice of eating Skittles beforehand. I rarely eat stuff like that and probably shouldn’t in general.
Driving back in the dark was interesting. Even though it’s a proper city, it was dark and ominous. We swore we saw some sort of cryptid on side of the road. It was relatively un-creepy and generic as hell this morning when we left though. Just super corporate. On the way to Chico now and it’s starting to get forest-y.
8/12/24
Chico was a pleasant surprise. The folks in The Wind-Ups put on a great show at Argus and there was a big crowd. Seemed people were there to see them, but we played first and they were very into it. Forever about the idea that the small touring band shouldn’t play last – sandwich-style is the way to go, or first if it’s a two band bill and the local is the draw.
Got to see my old housemate Jules who I hadn’t seen since we played in Oakland in 2020. She brought a friend with her and he gave me a spare pair of shorts since I said I liked his. One of the dudes in the Wind-Ups noticed we had a Modern Lovers-inspired design on a pin we were selling and told us that Jonathan Richman lived in Chico AND that he knew him. We sent one as a gift. I really hope it gets to him. OK, now the coolest part.
We rented a place to sleep basically in the middle of nowhere, and there was a meteor shower. So, few city/street lights meant amazing meteor views! First time I’ve ever seen meteors!!! The More You Know™ vibes and beyond. On our way now to stay in an RV in Medford, OR on our day off with some lil nature stops squeezed in.
8/13/24
Chill day off yesterday. Went on a small hike near Mount Shasta and drank from a river head. Also took some fun pictures in the freezing-ass water and ate random blackberries off a vine. We didn’t die, so I guess they weren’t poisonous. We wandered around the property of the rental RV and saw deer, cats, quail, and koi.
We hung out in the RV all night, made some food, and watched Ferris Bueler’s Day Off and a random MST3K episode. I was on the floor laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe. That might have been attributed to a gas leak though…
8/14/24
Played Eugene last night to a handful of random folks who walked in off the street. Free show on a Tuesday night, so that was expected. The hotel room a kind patron booked for us was walking distance from the venue, making the back and forth was easy. Venue had skee ball and pinball, so bonus points for fun diversions. Really incredible stage design as well – a massive frame sculpted from wood and textile that was a maritime/forest fantasy hybrid. On our way to Portland now, a little bummed we don’t get to spend more time there. One day I’ll get to spend quality time in Powell’s again.
8/15/24
Small gig at Turn Turn Turn in Portland, but we got to add a second guitar to the mix, so it sounded massive. Cheers to Nacho (El Shirota) for jumping on this last leg and completing the sound. Also got to see some old friends from my fuzzily-recalled 20s, so worth it for that alone. Drove straight to Seattle from Portland so we’d be in the area to record a KEXP session this morning. And we did, on very little sleep. The entire crew there is so amazing – what an incredible experience.
I got to use in-ears for the first time ever and now I’m spoiled – ha! Had to get out of there to travel back down to Yakima for a gig. Not a great turnout, but the stage/room sounded good. We’re still tired and looking forward to actually sleeping some tonight. Seattle tomorrow, only two shows left.
8/16/24
Seems the promoter from last night felt us being late “messed up” the show. Funny considering it ran 100% on time and there were only like 10 people there anyway. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. Had some downtime today and went to Snoqualmie Falls to hike a little and get some Twin Peaks energy in before tonight’s show. It’s a drought year so the falls weren’t as prominent as they can be, but still gorgeous.
Starting to get that now-familiar, liminal feeling of tour’s end. Band sounds great, we’re used to each other’s idiosyncrasies, but now it’s almost time to go home. Already anticipating readjusting. Seattle gig tonight with some friends and supposedly the pizza that’s vying for the city’s best. I’ll be the judge of that.
8/17/24
Seattle show was lovely, with the best on-stage sound we’d had all tour IMO. Clockout Lounge is a great space, and yeah, the pizza was excellent. Not a massive turnout (seems to be a theme this tour), but we got to play with Little Venom, who are incredible. Our set was probably the best/tightest of the tour, which makes sense since we’re at the end. A couple random South Florida folks were there too, which was nice to encounter. Shut the place down drinking beer and talking shit. Today is our last show of the tour in Bellingham. I think we’re all sufficiently exhausted and ready to go home, but there’s still a tepid buzzing to play in well-oiled formation.
8/18/24
So yeah, Bellingham wasn’t too well-attended, but the venue was cool and the other bands were gracious. Despite it being the coolest weather off the whole tour, I was soaking wet after the set. Messy tropical monster stuff. We played a few rounds of Mad Libs on the way home to try and occupy the time and stay awake – wholesome shit. Got most of our pre-packing done this morning after a visit to Grocery Outlet. Experiencing Grocery Outlet twice on this tour made me hate capitalism even more (was this even possible?). Super discounted stuff, like BEYOND. It’s totally achievable to simultaneously not screw folks over and to not waste food… shocker!
Went to Lake Washington to hang and swim. So different than South Florida in so many ways. No one was blasting obnoxious music and there were a ton of ducks everywhere. A few of us swam out to this diving platform in the center and dove like nothing mattered. It was kinda cold but felt great to not be sweating profusely and to see some mountains in the distance.
On the way back we stopped to see the Fremont Troll, a massive sculpture that’s holding a VW Beetle in its hand. Walked around the garden there and grabbed some apples off the ground that would be incorporated into dinner later. I feel like we did everything at a pace attempting to delay that inevitable return home tomorrow through hours of exhausted travel. Can’t not mention how fucking amazing it was to stay with Sabrina and April for four days in a row – staying with family on tour is always the best and most hilarious.
EPILOGUE:
Haven’t even been back a week and already going through the necessary motions for the next tour that starts in about a month. I think my sleep finally returned to some semblance of normal last night. I can’t tell you why anyone else does this, especially in this way. For me it’s like I’m finally getting to do the dumb shit I didn’t have the balls for in my 20s or most of my 30s.
It’s stressful, no doubt, but it’s a different type of stress than the at-home-responsibility, work, etc. stress of the daily. I think a lot about the places I’d most likely never see and the people I’d definitely never meet if it weren’t for this. Sorry virtual world, bands on tour are making connections IRL/AFK/whatever, that can never be achieved otherwise. And I’d be remiss for not recognizing that this isn’t something we HAVE to do – this is something we GET to do. Even through the exhausting drives on payouts that can’t even fill the tank, it’s still pretty fucking incredible.
Emile Milgrim, 2024.
October (East Coast & Southeast Tour + Canada Date):
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10/02: Star Community Bar in Atlanta, GA
10/03: MOTR Pub in Cincinnati, OH
10/04: Portal in Louisville, KY
10/05: Liar’s Club in Chicago, IL
10/06: Rumba Cafe in Columbus, OH
10/08: The Garrison in Toronto, ON, Canada
10/09: Bug Jar in Rochester, NY
10/10: Deep Cuts Brewery in Boston, MA
10/11: Cafe Nine in New Haven, CT
10/12: Bowery Electric in NYC, NY
10/13: Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia, PA
10/15: Cobra Cabana in Richmond, VA
10/16: Static Age in Asheville, NC
10/17: Snug Harbor in Charlotte, NC
10/18: Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville, FL
10/19: Nice Guys Pizza in Cape Coral, FL
