Last weekend was probably the most action-packed, fun-filled, jet-setting, zig-zag-zigging adventure we’ve had since the beginning of the tour. Here’s a summary.

Friday we all flew to Memphis after a 4-day break. As usual, we played our show in the evening and then went out to an afterparty. This one was kind of far though, and we only got back at 3. Here’s the twist: at 5am we had to leave the hotel to catch our private jet. Wait wait wait, a private jet, you ask? Yes, the one Dave Chappelle got us so that Kanye could play at his outdoor Block Party in Brooklyn at 2 in the afternoon. (Oh, THAT private jet.) So with 1 hour of sleep, we flew to New York and went to this Chappelle event, which boasted performances by The Roots, Common, Mos & Kweli, Erykah Badu, Dead Prez, Jill Scott and the reunion of the Fugees. And Michel Gondry was filming the whole thing for some DVD. To open up the show, Chappelle got a 100 piece marching band from Ohio to replay “Jesus Walks”. Then Kanye performed for half an hour, backed by a band that could be described as “Questlove and friends”. And I was up there scratching, having a blast.

As soon as we were done playing we had to sprint back to the airport (the private-jet-airport) and fly to Chicago in time for an 8pm concert. So we missed the rest of the Block Party. The line-up in Chicago was: Ray-J (!), John Legend, Kanye and Destiny’s Child. After our set I went back to the hotel to catch another hour of sleep, because we had another show coming up at midnight. So I missed Destiny’s Child. Or rather, they missed me. But the midnight show was incredible. There were no other performers, so we played for an hour and a half. And finally, at 5am that night, we got on the bus and left for Kansas City…
On the road again!

The morning after the MTV awards we flew straight to LA. We hadn’t performed in a couple of days so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but that night turned out to be the best show we gave since the beginning of the tour. LA gave us that California Love! Man, the Staples Center is huuuuuge. And Diana Ross was there that night.

The next day we drove to Phoenix, and on the way there the air conditioning broke down on the bus. We were stuck in the Arizona desert for a few hours while the bus driver fiddled with the fan belt and the thermostat and god knows what else. Note to self: the desert is hot.

Then we had an off day in LA, where we all did our laundry. Fun, no? And we played in LA again yesterday. For some reason that show started an hour earlier (at 7:10). I wish they hadn’t done that. But it was a great show regardless. And Diana Ross’ daughter was there this time. I’m starting to see a pattern here…

I’m speechless.