Another gorgeous day before the heat and humidity start creeping back in. Last show in the stretch before 2 days off, then shows for the rest of the week.
This tour is now winding down. Wow. Home stretch.
Seems like we just left. On month + runs you hit your stride 2 weeks in, then whatever length of time you are out just melts into about 3 weeks it seems. I remember coming home from a crazy 2 1/2 month run with The Mother Truckers, and my brain literally could not wrap itself around the fact that I had been gone that long... Almost 3 months had felt like three weeks. Crazy.
But a month isn't long enough for the real information overload of being in a different city every day to set in, and since we've been basing ourselves in one spot for 2 weeks at a time, we keep playing different cities/towns but coming back to roost in the same spot. That has helped.
Anyway, this day started out really good for me, but turned sour right before Rick and I headed to nearby Stonesboro for the OK Corral gig. Again, don't want to get into it on this blog just yet. But it sucked, it was eventually resolved later on, but I don't like being so frustrated I become reactionary and angry. Wasn't to any bandmates or fans in attendance, so that was good.
But still, it's generally not in my usually easy-going nature to snap and lash out. Rick has repeatedly commended me on being easy to travel with, although he knows what's been going on in my life. So that's good as well.
Anyway. You can tell the days I am preoccupied because I don't take very many pictures or post on my FB music page. This was one of them. Which sucked, cause OK Corral was one hell of a weird/cool place.
Done up like an Old West saloon in architecture and decor. Apparently in the 70's there was a train station nearby, and many of the big name country acts (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, etc) would perform there as a routing date, playing in the back dance hall which has since fallen to disrepair.
Cool place indeed.
We loaded in and set up our PA and lights, ordered food. Then I had to attend to some things while I was trying to wolf down my dinner before our set. All I wanted was eat in peace and have some quiet to decompress before playing. That sucked. Dealt with it, did what I could to resolve it but not in the best manner, and then later apologized for my behavior/reactions. But it is what it is.
But the show was really really good. James the lead player was recording it, and I am curious to hear the playback. Had a flub or two as a band and his amp was acting up a bit, but we laughed it off and kept going. Other than that we were on fire.
Good crowd, again lots of friends and family in attendance. Early shows on Sundays are a family night there, so several little kids there too dancing with their parents and having fun. The owner Doc even threw some sand onto the dance floor to get that real honky tonk feel. Fun show all around, and I definitely felt much better after playing and a few Yeunglings. That was good.
Got some great video of the end of the show. We played our last song, and again the crowd was demanding an encore. So Rick led them in a sing-along of "You Don't Even Call Me By My Name." Good times!
We loaded out post haste, as there would be karaoke after our set. Said our goodbyes to Steve and James, as they usually head out after shows and go home to their respective nearby towns, wives and lives. Rick and I quipped that they must have had a math test to study for, as they never close the place down like we seem to, heh.
Which is exactly what happened, but I jump ahead of my tale.
Plan was to have a beer or two, hang out with some friends and locals, Rick might get up and sing, but we'd head out early. Boy, that didn't work.
Turns out there is a very good pool of Karaoke talent in Stonesboro! A majority of the people who got up were pretty damn good, and seems like they are the usual crew on Sunday nights there. One guy nailed a Violent Femmes classic. There was an older lady who was knocking shit out of the park left and right, from Mammas and the Pappas to Janis Joplin. She was amazing! One guy's girlfriend was also an amazing singer, but she was too crowd-shy to do anything with it. That is sad.
Lotta good people I shot the shit with. But also some small town weirdos and drunks. And boy, there are some weird creepy people in some of these small town bars. Who were weird enough at the beginning of the night, but throw in a dozen-ish beers and good fucking lord... One older lady I had to hide from a few times to get her to stop weirding me out just trying to talk to me. Then she wanted to dance... CHECK PLEASE
But Rick and I stayed all night, had a blast, and left after the place finally closed down for the night. Then the party crew were going to walk to a nearby lake, hop the fence and go swimming and drinking. We were invited, but declined. It was already way past 2am, and we were tired from the weeks' shows, and I had had a trying day and just wanted to get some rest and decompress.
Again, Lemmy would not have approved. Sorry Lemmy...
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