Beth’s Music Moment: A Live Twofer

There's just something

In that music that makes us

Do that dance

In that special brew of tears and

Beer and fear and romance

~~ “Another Guitar” by The Rainmakers

The amazing Richard Butler

Hey, pals! It’s been a while, but I’ve been busy with stuff like going on vacation, getting ready for a party, and just generally trying to take care of business in a world that seems to have gone quite mad.

But I’m still here and most importantly, I am still rocking out.

This is not in chronological order because I’m saving the best for last.

This past Wednesday, we went up to Chicago to see The Psychedelic Furs at Thalia Hall. I’ve been a Furs fan since the early ‘80s, and like many of the ‘80s bands, I took a hiatus over the years but revisited them recently and loved them all over again. When I saw that they were playing in Chicago, I knew that I had to see them live. I’m happy to report that they absolutely blew me away. Ken wasn’t a long-time fan like I am, but he was blown away, too. He agreed that we’ll go see them whenever we get a chance!

Richard and Tim Butler

They sounded incredible—one of the tightest bands I’ve ever heard live. They looked fantastic, with the Butler brothers, lead singer Richard and bassist Tim, wearing these super cool military-style frock coats. They looked just as cool as they did back in the day! And Richard Butler...good lort. I’ve always loved his voice and it was as powerful as ever. He has that deep-edged baritone with a slight raspiness to it, but still smooth as silk. And what a frontman! As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he owned it. There wasn’t a lot of banter with the audience beyond “Hello, Chicago!” but his presence said everything that needed to be said.

The best part, and something that I always notice whenever I see a band, is that they all seemed to be having a good time, especially Richard. The camaraderie and affection seemed genuine to me, as did Richard Butler’s smile. He has that elusive quality of stage presence and talent and he worked us all for everything he could. I was mesmerized!

Absolutely in my top ten concerts (I should probably try to make that list again soon) and I look forward to seeing them again!

Speaking of stage presence, I’ll go back a few days and talk about our fourth house show with Bob Walkenhorst, the Kansas City musician and artist. He is the frontman for The Rainmakers but also travels to do house shows. We have enjoyed these shows so much that this was the fourth in a row and this one was so amazing that the bar is set really high to top it!

Bob Walkenhorst (Photo by Jenn Riches)

We have a crew who usually attends these shows and they were in full force on Saturday. It was a full house. I told Bob the next day that I’m not sure if it was just the atmosphere in the country, or what, but it was like we were all primed for something special. Planets aligned or some shit like that. I don’t know, but everything converged to result in one of the most amazing evenings I’ve ever experienced.

Bob sang his heart out (including a couple of my requests), he told stories about the songs, he talked about my experience seeing The Rainmakers way back in the late ‘80s, he welcomed us all and made us a part of his world as much as we made him a part of ours. As he wrote in the song quoted at the beginning of this entry, it was a special brew. It was certainly an intoxicating one. I wrote him a letter a couple of days later and said that it was that amazing dynamic between a performer and an audience where we feed off of each other. It’s nothing less than synergy! The very day that letter went out, I got an email from him in which he said that it was one of the best nights he’s ever had playing and that he was in heaven. I believe him because after four years, I know that Bob is not a bullshitter (and I have a pretty good BS detector, anyway). He said it wasn’t just him, it was US, and the “common desire to FEEL something.”

That is it exactly. That connection is amazing and it is one that I treasure. I feel music so deeply and it means so much to me. What a wonderful thing to enjoy a performer like Bob who connects on the same level and is able to bring us all to the Promised Land. (I’d dare to say that based on Richard Butler’s performance and demeanor, he feels that same connection with his audience.)

We also had a little dance party after Bob’s performance and let’s just say that booties were shaken and selves were gotten down! (A lampshade may or may not have been worn. I can neither confirm nor deny that. But it wasn’t me!)

In the space of a few short days, I got to enjoy two utterly amazing performances from two amazing artists, Bob Walkenhorst and the Furs, and it renewed whatever passes for my soul. This is why live music is so important and absolutely vital for me. I am often moved by recordings that I listen to, but nothing—NOTHING—beats seeing a band or performer live. Other planes and other dimensions are reached. Hearts are touched, minds are sometimes changed, and as Bob said, we “FEEL something.”

Support musicians, especially your local musicians, by going to see them live! And as I always say, be sure to show the band some love. Chances are good that you’ll get some back and everyone benefits from that.

Rock on, Warriors!

Under the same sun (and moon)

Peeking through a pinhole, the eclipse has begun

The shadow tag of sun and moon washes over us and everyone

Lives that overlap without ever seeing that it's so

And you say hold me close

Don't let me go

~~ “Eclipse Has Begun” by The Rainmakers

Like millions of others across North America today, I spent my afternoon watching the eclipse. We were not in the 70-mile swath of totality, but we did okay at 86%, which still promised to be a helluva show. I recall seeing other eclipses over the years, but none that were this extensive. I was genuinely excited about this.

I got my glasses a few weeks ago, thank goodness, when they were cheap and plentiful! It was amazing to hear that they were selling out and the ones that were available were going for ridiculous prices. I guess price-gougers will never stop plaguing us, huh?

I knew the exact time I needed to be outside, so I got my necessary chores done well before that. I got my chair and my table all set up and made my eclipse cocktail, which I decided to call a Nutwood Nocturne. Two parts orange juice with one part dark rum poured on top so that the darkness floats on top of the orange juice. A similar drink is called a Cuban Screw or simply a Rum Screwdriver, but I liked my variation with the dark spiced rum. So I sort of made it up. It didn’t look as pretty when I mixed it all up, but it tasted really good!

The Nutwood Nocturne

I settled down for the long haul and got my glasses on. It started exactly when they said it would, to the minute, because science! It was thrilling to see that first little bite taken out of the side. The moon’s movement was almost imperceptible to track but that shadow kept getting bigger and bigger.

I had no idea that it would be as fascinating as it was. I was almost mesmerized. It was a hot and humid day and I was sitting right in the sun, so it made me feel drowsy...but I was still wide awake, if that makes sense. The glasses gave the sun an almost sepia tone, so it felt very dreamlike. We have some tall cottonwood trees that the sun had to pass behind, just the tops of the branches, and I remember looking at those cottonwood leaves fluttering against the disc of the sun and thinking how lovely it all was. I also remember thinking, “I feel like I’m tripping.” Haha!

A couple of times, the scene almost seemed to skip, like a movie frame catching on the reel for a split second. It was surreal and somewhat disorienting, especially to watch the entire thing happen so slowly and gradually. The birds were very active around me, with hummingbirds checking me out, and a downy woodpecker even brushing against me as it flew from one deck railing to another and I happened to be in the way.

Eclipse CentComm

Because we still had 14% sun remaining, it didn’t get dark at all. I was amazed that only 14% of the sun still cast shadows. But the quality of the light changed. I made sure to look around me to see if I could notice a difference, and I definitely did. Things had an odd, flat tone to them, and although there were still shadows, they weren’t as definite. The colors of things seemed somewhat washed out.

The birds did get quiet for a while as we reached the peak and it was amazingly quiet. I could hear a few birds chirping in the distance as well as a squirrel chattering, but even the sounds seemed muted, too.

Because it was so hot and humid, the biggest difference I noticed was the drop in temperature. It felt very comfortable during the peak time and I cooled off considerably. It was hot in the sun and I think I even got a bit of an eclipse burn!

Our mail carrier, Chris, came by to deliver some packages, and it was right during the peak of the eclipse. He saw what I was doing and said, “Hey, you’ve got the glasses! Do you mind if I take a look?”

I said, “No, not at all!” I handed the glasses down to him (we have a raised deck) and said, “This is exactly peak time, too!”

He put them on and stood in the yard and looked up. “WOW.” He looked for a moment and then handed them back. “You know, I wasn’t sure this was going to be any kind of a big deal, but that is really cool.” He said, “Thirty years from now if someone asks me where I was, I’ll remember that I was delivering packages at your house!” So it was a genuinely nice moment. We bonded over the eclipse.

And that is the main thing that I took away from this. I mean, the science of it all is mind-boggling, to think of how many miles away this was and how fast the moon was moving through space, but how slowly it encroached upon the sun...man, that just blows my mind. But as I lay there watching it, I thought about all the people who were watching the same thing. Family, friends, strangers...they were all watching the same moon and the same sun, sitting on the same planet Earth as I was, at that very moment or at some point during the day.

It made me feel small, but in a good way. A small part of this vast, amazing universe, someone who can still be awed by its beauties, its wonders, and its mysteries. It made me think that we are all small parts of this immense machinery but that doesn’t mean that small parts can’t make a difference. Small parts can work together to make big changes. Those changes can be good or bad (think climate change...or the efforts to mitigate it). I know what side I want to be on.

Or maybe I just thought about it too much. But when you’re laying back staring at the sun for three hours, your mind does start to wander! I also like to think about things. There are always lessons to be learned and things to ponder.

Some people say that seeing an eclipse is a life-changing experience for them. I wouldn’t go that far (although I might feel differently when I see totality in 2024), especially because I have pondered these things before. But I will say that it was an emotional experience for me and seeing the photos of people—especially kids—watching with smiles and awed expressions on their faces was pretty damn cool.

It’s dismayingly hard to find things to agree upon these days. I think today we all agreed that the universe is really freaking awesome.

Integrity deficient

You’re the kind of man who wants everyone to think

that he’s successful

So you talk about it, and you write about it,

and blah blah blah blah

But way deep down inside you’re afraid that you’re a fraud

~~ “Like Dogs” by The Rainmakers

Check one!

Instead of focusing on the Yam threatening to blow up North Korea, I’m going to write about something else. But that is really, really bad and someone (paging General Kelly!) needs to yank that goddamn phone out of his hand and smash it right in front of him and then rub his face in it until he fucking GETS IT ALREADY.

[deep breath]

I’m not going to write about that, though. It’s a little too horrifying for me to contemplate right now, anyway.

I’m going to write about another story I saw about how the Yam is “sending messages” to special counsel Robert Mueller, telling him how much he appreciates what he is doing. At least according to the Yam Legal Team (The Yamteam? The Yamyers?), anyway. Who knows anymore? They all lie like rugs. It seems pretty obvious that the Yam is very worried about this investigation and about what Mueller might find out. And well he should be.

So if he really is sending him notes (I made a joke on Facebook and Twitter about getting a leaked copy of one of the notes, seen above), it is probably part of an effort to butter Mueller up, suck up to him, and flatter him in a clumsy attempt to get him to go easy on him. This tells us a lot about the Yam.

First, he has no concept of personal and professional integrity. We saw this with James Comey (Jaaaaames). He tried to wine and dine Comey at the White House, calling him up just to see how he was doing, and then in return, expected a pledge of loyalty. When he didn’t get it, and when Comey continued with the investigation about Russia, he fired him.

Another gratuitous picture of James Comey

Second, and this is related to the first item, he also does not understand the concept of swearing an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution rather than pledging loyalty to any one person. As a businessman, he expected unfailing loyalty, and he just can’t grasp why he is not getting it from certain people in the FBI or the Department of Justice. They are not there to do your bidding, you tool, they are there to uphold the Constitution.

He just doesn’t get it. He doesn’t get the mission of the FBI and why they are and must be above partisan politics. (Some would argue this point, and I will debate that all damn day...but not on this day.)

All of these things are beyond his comprehension. He has no integrity so he does not understand it when he sees it in others. He expects loyalty from others but is incapable of exhibiting it himself. He loves the power of the presidency without understanding the great responsibilities with which it comes. (Someone slip him a Spiderman comic book, please.) He is stumbling through his presidency like a wounded bull, clueless and in pain, wanting to harm whatever stands in his way.

He is a damaged person.

And if he thinks that Robert Mueller will be swayed or softened by his platitudes about how the Yam appreciates what he is doing, he doesn’t understand people at all. A Marine and Vietnam veteran, a prosecutor, an FBI director so beloved by both parties that he was asked to stay on two years beyond his ten-year term, this guy has dealt with the worst dregs of society and humanity and maintained his sense of justice and integrity. I guarantee that Mueller doesn’t give one single fuck about your laudatory messages, Yamboy. He has lived a life of integrity and worked for the betterment of humanity and the ideal of justice for his entire career. He doesn’t need your little “attaboys” and is probably disgusted by them.

By all means, keep throwing that sop to Cerberus, Yammy...but Robert Mueller is coming for you. And I’m guessing that he is a man who does not suffer fools lightly.

Reckoning Day

And this is a call to arms

This is a call to hands

This is a call to the voices and the minds

Of the people in every land

~~ “Reckoning Day” by The Rainmakers

Today we attended a town hall meeting focused on health care with our District 2 Representative, Jackie Walorski.

Except Jackie didn’t show.

We knew she wouldn’t. She was invited numerous times and not only didn’t she have the balls to show, she didn’t even have the balls to RSVP.

But we carried on without her. It was a moderated town hall, with a panel of folks who deal with health care issues in their jobs, and I was delighted to see my own doctor there! (She had a great moment, too...more about that later.)

The most compelling part of the meeting was the testimonials from various citizens—all constituents of Rep. Walorski—that told about their experiences with health care and how the Affordable Care Act helped them. A woman whose daughter is disabled; a woman who, at a very young age, was diagnosed with breast cancer; a molecular biologist who spoke about the importance of federally-funded medical research; a woman who had premature triplets; and our friend Cassie, who despite her fear of public speaking and an anxiety attack, stood up and told her story about her own risky pregnancy and the premature birth of her son. I am so proud of Cassie for having the courage to speak about this!

Every question is being sent to Rep. Walorski and if she has a shred of decency, she will read them. I hope the organizers send her the video, too, because she needs to see it. She needs to realize that she works for us. The fact that she refuses to listen to her constituents is unacceptable. The crowd was well-behaved but there was a palpable sense of anger that we feel we are not being heard.

As for my doctor, as if I didn’t love her enough already! She has been a wonderful doctor, responsive to my questions and encouraging in my efforts to stay healthy. Seeing her there as part of the panel let me know that she is on the side of her patients and not happy with the efforts to repeal the ACA. She had one of the coolest responses of the entire meeting, when one of the mediators read a question from the audience. The gist of it was that the Hyde Amendment is already in place to ensure that federal funds are not used for

abortions; the Republican party continues to push for the defunding of Planned Parenthood, which means that thousands of Hoosiers from rural areas would have no access to basic medical care. Can anyone on the panel explain that thinking? The panel hemmed and hawed and looked at each other, and then my doctor pulled the microphone toward her and said…

“No.”

The crowd erupted in applause and I elbowed Ken and said, “See why I love her??”

If I were Jackie Walorski, I’d be pretty darn scared about 2018. Ignore your constituents at your own risk.

Rock and Roll saved my soul

August she was swinging low

Town of about a thousand-so

Out of school, ready to get out of here

Off to farm, off to State, each going our separate ways

Graduation message still sweet in our ears

~~ “Long Gone Long” by The Rainmakers

A few years ago at a dinner after the funeral of a family member, I was sitting at a table with some of my cousins, my Mom, and my sister Diana. I don’t recall exactly what we were talking about, but my cousin Curt said to me, “Since you’re the token liberal in our family, I’ll ask you this,” and my sister Diana didn’t say anything, but just raised her hand. Curt looked at her and started laughing, then said to my Mom, “What did you DO?!” Mom just kind of laughed and shook her head and said, “I don’t know.”

If any of that sounds mean-spirited, it wasn’t, not at all. It’s something I still laugh about, and Curt and I have been having interesting and respectful discussions since our college days. We still get a chance to have an occasional chat and I always enjoy them immensely.

It leads to something that I have pondered quite a bit: since I come from a conservative family, in a conservative state, and grew up in a very conservative small town, how the heck did I end up a flamin’ liberal?! Same with my sister Di and with Cousin Shane. This is something I’ve even discussed with Di and Shane, just because I’m curious about how that could happen. What was different about us?

A few things spring to mind.

Music

To continue to use the three of us (me, Diana, and Shane) as examples, we all got into music at an early age. Diana was a Beatlemaniac and I was listening to her 45s and albums from the time I was probably six years old. (She taught me how to do the Monkey.) Shane and I really started getting into music even when we were in grade school and things really took off when we got into junior high and high school. I think it’s fair to say that we were obsessed. We started off mild, with stuff like The Eagles and Journey, but then we discovered bands like Queen and Cheap Trick and Heart and then holy mama, PUNK ROCK hit us like a hurricane! I subscribed to Creem magazine and I think I subscribed to Circus for a while, too. We read about these crazy music scenes in New York and London and pored over lyrics and obsessed about the music as well as the musicians.

I grew up in a fundamentalist religious household and rock music was often seen as something satanic or evil. I was never forbidden to listen to it—that train had already sailed—but there were always sermons at church, or books laying around, about the dangers of rock music. I used to laugh about it at the time, but you know what? I look back at it now and I realize that there really was an inherent danger in the music.

Not that it was satanic or evil or contained occult messages—that’s just silly. But there was definitely a message there about thinking for yourself, questioning authority, being anti-establishment. And there was plenty of stuff about sex. I mean, hey, it’s rock and roll! So yes, that is dangerous to the conservative, religious atmosphere in which I was raised. Even beyond all that, it gave us a glimpse of a lifestyle other than our small-town Midwestern existence. There were big cities where things were happening, people were doing their own thing and being themselves, people were going out at night and just totally rocking out! Music was a taste of other things out there. Things we wanted to experience.

Intellectual curiosity

I was going to make that heading “books,” but I realized that Shane doesn’t read a lot of fiction books. I changed it to what I did because while being a reader means that you are undoubtedly intellectually curious, you can still be intellectually curious without being a reader. (Does that make sense?) Di and I have always been avid readers, both of nonfiction and fiction (and the occasional science textbook for me), but Shane has his own way of being intellectually curious. After a recent trip to Europe, he is currently working on learning some phrases in Polish. Just as with music, reading and continued learning allow us to get a glimpse of other worlds, other cultures, other ways of life. Shane and I also took a lot of German in high school (and I took some in college), and we agree that a second language should be mandatory in high school. It taught us so much about a different culture and really opened our eyes to a bigger world.

Travel

When we were kids, we went on a lot of trips with our parents. My family usually split our summer and winter vacations between Minnesota and Florida, respectively. Not a lot of variety there, but on the drives up to Minnesota or down to Florida, we stopped at a lot of places along the way to learn about history. Shane went on a lot of trips with his Dad, to places out East and to the western states. We all still love to travel and we all seem to have that same urge to learn things when we go to places. I always joke about how when I go to someplace new, I end up buying a half a dozen books about it! (I’ve got plenty of books about New Orleans and Las Vegas if you want to borrow some!) This is also related to the above categories because when you travel, you get to meet people and see cultures that you aren’t familiar with. You get to see that there is a lot more to the world than what is in your little local bubble.

Going off to college

This is the only one that applies just to me, and I think I might be the one who needed it the most. (Di and Shane both attended our local Indiana University extension.) I went off to the big city of Muncie, Indiana (haha) to go to Ball State University. Ball State is a good-sized state college, with an enrollment of maybe 20,000 when I was there. I lived in dorms my first three years and then off-campus for my senior year. What an eye-opener that experience was! All of it. I was around people from all over the state and some from other countries. There were party kids, there were studious kids (I tried to dabble at everything!), there were frat boys and sorority girls (we didn’t hang out much with them, although we partied a lot at the “Animal House” type frat), there were rich kids and there were kids like me. Not only did I get to meet all kinds of people I had never met before, it broke me out of that mold that I’d been stuck in when I was in high school: the nerdy bookworm type. I realize now that that isn’t a bad thing, but when it’s your senior year in high school and you don’t get invited to the prom, it’s kind of like, “Well...fuck.”

Anyway, all that changed when I got to college. People liked my weird sense of humor. They liked that I was into music. The guys at the local record shop got to know me and always had suggestions for me. I dated the drummer in a band called The Generics. I went from being an unpopular kid in high school to being voted Resident of the Year on my dorm floor my junior year. (I still don’t get that! I also got the Foulest Mouth award. THAT I understand! Some things never change.) I’m not sure how much anyone other than the professors were interested in my intellectual capacity, but that was okay. I got a good education but I also got the opportunity for people to like me for ME, and to not judge me based on what they had heard from someone else in a tiny school. As a painfully shy kid, I really needed that. I still remember the name of the first boy who told me I was beautiful: L*** V. R*****. Okay, fine, he was drunk...but it was stunning for me to hear that for the first time. So much so that I still remember his name after all these years! Like, “Hey, wait a minute...you can be smart AND pretty??”

(Aside: Holy shit! I just looked him up and he’s an accountant in Indianapolis! That’s why I redacted his name. Not cool to put someone’s name on a blog entry, even if it’s for something nice. Cheers to you, sir. Your words are a nice memory for me and made a difference in my life.)

Honorable Mentions to:

Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Second City TV, Beyond Our Control (a local show), Saturday Night Live, Fridays, Midnight Special, American Bandstand, Soul Train, and what the hell, even Dance Fever with Deney Terio!

I really don’t know if all of this culminated in me being a liberal in a red state. I do think that much of it had an effect on me. I read something a while back that I found shocking. There are a lot of people in this country who have never left their home state. I wish I could recall the exact percentage, but it was shockingly high to me...maybe 20%? When you are exposed to nothing other than the same influences you have had from your first moment, how can you learn and grow?

I hope this doesn’t come across as “elitist.” Heck, I live in the heartland...how can I be one of those coastal elites? Ha! And it’s not to say that those who didn’t do any of these things didn’t end up with the same outlook that I have. However, I do feel that my worldview is different from a lot of the people in my area. I don’t know the exact combination of factors that set me on a different path, but I’m glad it’s the one I took. I’m happy with being me.

And even though I never got to go to prom, I had plenty of chances to work it out on the dance floor later!

Still kickin’

Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this

Brand new beat

This here music mash up the nation

This here music cause a sensation

Tell your ma, tell your pa, everything’s gonna be alright

Can’t you feel it? Don’t ignore it

Gonna be alright

~~ “Revolution Rock” by The Clash

Well, howdy, strangers!

Whew, I don’t know about you guys, but it’s been super hectic for us lately! Some fun things happened.

We had a very nice Christmas and got to spend some time with family, including Niece Jen from San Diego.

We spent New Year’s in Kansas City and had a blast! (More about that in a moment.)

We got an Amazon Dot and enjoyed it so much we decided to get an Amazon Echo. I’ve basically turned off the TV all day and just listen to music while I read or do chores. You can get Amazon Unlimited Music for $3.99 a month with the Echo and it’s a vast catalog. I’ve heard unfamiliar songs even from bands that I love dearly.

We attended South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s Christmas party that he threw for supporters and had a nice time talking with Shane and Matt, and Mayor Pete chatted with everyone. He talked with us for a good 10-15 minutes and he is absolutely impressive. He recently decided to run for the Democratic National Committee chair and has gotten some very positive coverage from the national press. I don’t know if he’ll win it (he’s considered a dark horse candidate), but it’s obvious that he has a future in national politics. Personally, I’ve always said that he’s going to be President one day. I know he is a ways off from that, but get to know him, because you’ll be seeing more of him! (And learn to pronounce his name: it’s boot-a-judge.)

I met my personal reading goal for 2016 of 52 books and even passed it, with 54. My goal for 2017 is once again 52 books. Most that I read last year were quite good but I had a few stinkers in there, too. I suspect that 2017 will be similar!

Some not-so-great things happened, too.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks with a nasty cold virus that turned into bronchitis, so that wasn’t much fun! I’m still not at 100%...maybe 85%. But I’m feeling a lot better than I did, so I’m encouraged and looking forward to getting back to fighting form.

I have spent the past few weeks watching the Yam’s shenanigans (the Yamanigans?) with a combination of anger, disgust, horror, and amusement. It is eminently obvious to me that he is not going to be able to keep a lot of the promises that he made to his deluded followers (no, Mexico is not going to reimburse us for a fucking wall, geniuses) but that he and the Republicans will do great damage going forward. They are currently in the process of dismantling the Affordable Care Act, and millions of people will lose their health care. You know, that is something that I worry about...I truly worry about everyone that will be affected, no matter who they supported or their party affiliation. It’s too bad that the Republicans don’t care about them.

As for the latest, about the Yam’s possible probable fucking obvious ties with Russia, well, I’ll just wait and see how that plays out. And I’m sure that the other allegations about compromising videos have left the Yam feeling quite...pissed off. *cough cough* I think there is probably a lot more to this story and I’ll wait to see what hard-working journalists turn up. The rumor on Twitter is that Penthouse has video. Is it true? Who knows? Many smart people are saying so! Wheeeee! Or should I say Weeeeee!?

I’ll end on a positive note. Our trip to Kansas City was a wonderful little getaway! We got to see The Rainmakers two nights in a row, on the 30th and the 31st. They were absolutely fantastic, as always, and you could tell they were all feeling it and having a blast! Both nights, a couple of cool bands opened for them: Chris Meck and the Guilty Birds and American Slim. We got to have some amazing Kansas City barbecue, once at a place called Q39 and once at Jack Stack. We spent some time with our friend Bob (the lead singer) as we helped him tear down his December art show and then went to lunch. We were invited over to his and Michele’s house on Saturday for a soup lunch and got to chat with Pat (the drummer) and his partner Whitney.

[Note: I’m sorry I didn’t get a good picture of Pat either night. It’s always hard to get a good pic of the drummer!]

It was such a great feeling to talk with people with whom we have so much in common. I got to talk books with the super cool Michele, health concerns with the equally as cool Whitney, and music with the always cool Bob and Pat. It was a total blast for me to hear about their stories of years of making and recording music. Utterly fascinating for this music fanatic! I’m often awkward in social situations, but from the beginning, I felt relaxed and welcomed by the Kansas City gang. They are definitely part of The Tribe!

Talking with them gave me hope for the coming year. None of us knows what is going to happen (although we suspect that a lot of it won’t be good), but it helped me immensely to know that there are others who share my feelings and concerns. It is important for us to work together and oppose any and every effort to weaken voting rights or people’s civil rights. Knowing that there are warriors like them out there strengthens my resolve.

Oddly, the other thing that gave me hope was the opening band for The Rainmakers, a Kansas City band called American Slim. They are incredibly young...I guess a couple of them haven’t even graduated from high school yet! But they totally rocked! They played some covers (including an excellent version of “Sympathy for the Devil”...good enough that I thanked one of the members for not fucking up my all-time favorite song!) but also some originals. They have an EP of originals out and are apparently working on an album as well as getting gigs in the KC area. Hearing these kids play and totally rock out made me think that no matter what happens, there is always music. Go ahead and try to stifle our voices but as long as there is rock and roll, you will never succeed.

As Bob wrote to me, “Keep the music on, there is more dancing ahead.”