YBR? - Recovery for theft on tour!

 This is an update that we've always been dreading to write... You Bred Raptors? is on a two week tour in the Midwest and last night, while playing Chicago, our tour van was broken into and robbed. We arrived early at the venue to secure a parking spot but was told by the staff that we couldn't park there (contrary to what we were told earlier). They told us to park on the street and assured us that it would be safe. We were hesitant but relented as the neighborhood didn't seem shady.  As we always do, we periodically checked the van and surroundings to make sure it was intact. The break-in happened during our set so luckily most of our imperative equipment was inside the venue being used. But everything else left in the van was either ransacked or stolen. The thieves used some kind of tool to puncture the van door and pop open the lock. The CPD hasn't been very helpful outside of us filing a police report and being told to check in in about a month. And barring us staking out pawn shops or scanning Craig's List, there's not much more we can do here.  We ended up losing lots of personal items, custom band equipment, lighting rig, Peat's custom bag and juggling equipment used for teaching, ALL of KC's clothes, GoPro, Tablet, extra instrument strings and accessories, Jurassic Park bookbag (our mascot), guitar pedals and some merchandise among a slew of other things.  The van was trashed and any semblance of order is gone. We've been able to secure enough equipment from other bands to last through the rest of the tour. Past that, we are out of luck. It's unfortunate that it's not a question of IF but WHEN this happens to a touring band on the road. Tours are always expensive and you barely break even. So, this development has now put us firmly in the red. Besides this and some nasty weather last week, the tour has been great. We've met some amazing people and been treated so warmly at most of our stops. We will chalk this up to the universe maintaining equilibrium. This band is a workhorse that has never been given a shortcut. We have performed over 1,000 shows in 8 years, most of them grueling busking shows. We don't shy away from the difficulty that comes with this lifestyle. We've done our best to showcase how different and interesting music can be while still being accessible and fun. We take what we do very seriously but never hesitate to poke fun at ourselves and keep things light and entertaining for y'all. It's not easy for us to ask for a lifeline. As a band, we've been heavily touring for 3 years and hitting about 50+ cities per year. This might have been inevitable and it could have been much, MUCH worse, but now here we are, asking for your help to get us home. We've estimated cost at over 4k USD. We aren't trying to make a payday from this. We just need to finish the tour and get the van fixed so we can prevent further break-ins. Any help is appreciated. Thank you and see you on the road. HOW YOU CAN HELP! -You can finally getting around to buying any and all digital music from us. It's a pay what you want model on most out stuff on our Bandcamp Page. This goes right into our bank account so we can use it right away. -You can donate here on this page and get some updates on our situation and follow us on the road.  -You can share this to your friends on social media, music groups, DIY touring pages, Chicago based businesses or any screenwriters for Law & Order in case they want to make an episode out of our ordeal.