You know what’s easier than following around your fave pop stars, day in, day out, to see what they’re up to right that minute? Asking them. This month, we nab Bret Kaser from Lip Critic.

10:00am → Connor drives the van to Greenpoint to pick up a sound system we’ve rented which includes four 18 inch subwoofers, and 6 other speakers. We are playing a laundromat with a 75-person capacity, and this system would be more than enough for a room three times that size.

10:34am → We get a call from the promoter asking for the specs of the sound system. When we tell him what we’ve rented, he starts begging us not to bring everything, as he thinks it will get the show shut down due to loudness. We say we will bring it all and see what we need. He reiterates a few more times that we definitely won’t need it.

10:45am → We meet at the rental spot and can’t fit everything in our van. We elect to leave two of the subs and bring everything else. An old man on a bike passes us with a grin and shouts, "Where’s the party?"

11:41am → I get back to my apartment and start packing up all of my screen-printing stuff with Izzy. We are printing shirts at each show that read “I survived Theft Saga at [address of the show].” Tonight’s show is at 543 Grand St, Izzy points out that I’ve put 534 grand St on the design. I usually make 1 significant mistake like this in every project. I shed a tear and move on. No one will notice.

11:45am → I’m watching a compilation of the Toronto Raptors' mascot falling down, laughing like the Joker.

1:00pm → Joe (our sound engineer) is in Staten Island packing two drum kits and all our merch into his Volkswagen Tiguan.

2:21pm → We get a call from the promoter telling us we can’t load in until 6pm. The show is supposed to open doors at 7pm. We have to build a sound system and lighting rig, soundcheck and get screen printing set up before then. With some haggling, we get them to let us in 15 minutes early and start 15 minutes late. We are still fucked.

3:15pm → I’ve called Mikey and Danny about 3-4 times each and have gotten no response. Mikey finally calls me, telling me he and Danny were getting a deep-tissue massage in Flushing. I tell them they need to be in Williamsburg at the laundromat by 5:45. He says he’ll be there at 6pm.

5:05 pm → All of us, minus Danny and Mikey, pull up to the laundromat and begin unloading the gear.

5:15 pm → The gear is sitting outside the laundromat, and I go in to talk to the owners. I talk to two different people who only speak Mandarin and who seem not to know a show is happening. Just as a small ember of fear ignites in me, a man walks through the door with a distinct confidence. “I am the translator,” he says.

5:30pm → With the help of the translator and our agent, Lindsay, we are able to get in early and start setting up. The space is a narrow shaft flanked by washers and dryers and full of tables for folding laundry. We quickly realise there are almost no outlets. The few that are accessible have things plugged into them that are hot-glued in place. I pull one plug out and notice the light has gone out on one of the two large fish tanks at the front and back of the room. I quickly plug it back in and go get the translator.

5:38pm → We are able to get in contact with the owner and ask him about getting power. He quickly jumps on top of a row of machines and begins pulling wiring out from the backs of the dryers.

6:07pm → Izzy sets up the printing rig, and our friend Will sets up the merchandise. We use all the laundry carts and folding areas to display merch, and it looks mad cute.

6:30pm → The system is fully built, and we are able to get it powered on and all of our electronics for live. I hit one bass note on my MPC, and everything shuts off.

6:42pm → We split the total load of electronics between multiple circuits and are able to get a short soundcheck in. We all breathe a sigh of relief.

7:15pm → 'Pop Music Fever Dream' rips a very hard-to-follow set of rock music.