Dan Zimmerman and the Great Outdoor Fight (Rowan’s behind Dan) are joined by Acacia Sears for a featured artist set at the Takoma Park Open Mic. Frank Cassel and Leah DeLano suddenly don frog and pig-wear and present me with a late birthday gift: “The Rainbow Connection” on mandolin and banjo!!! It was just about the best thing ever. I wasn’t raised in folk traditions, and so a lot of the songs people present at the TPOM that everyone else in the room sings along with are total unknowns to me – but damn it, I KNOW MY MUPPET MUSIC!!!!
We’re never late for gigs. In theory. We’ve been tight on setting up for them before, we were late enough for one in New England (was that the Shattered Monkey Circus?) that they had to rearrange the schedule on our behalf – but other than that, we’re not late. Tonight might change that. Sigh. Sheetz took about half an hour to make a sandwich and we were already tight on time. My carefully constructed schedule is blown to shit and we’re driving into the setting sun with somewhat more urgency than normal.
I hate being late. I also hate rushing. I ain’t rushin. I’m Slooooowvak. I think we can make up the time and still have a decently non-stressful load-in and set-up IF there’s no traffic. IF the load-in’s smooth. IF the place is where the GPS or where google maps places it (they don’t QUITE agree with one another). IF there’s parking… if if if. I hate “ifs”.
Over the next two weeks I’ll miss two of my Takoma Park Open Mics. I’ve got mixed emotions about that. On the one hand, I’m kind of relieved. There’s a bit of a hotbox of drama feel to open mics that I think I’ll never entirely get along with. On the other hand, it’s my baby and I’m always worried about how my open mics get run without me. On the other other hand, it’ll be in the hands of Chris Colvin, and I think he’ll do a great job… he knows the community, has a good head on his shoulders, and actually has some of the same gear as I’ve got. On the other other other hand Joy Ike is the feature thesecond week I’m away and I’m AGONIZED that I’ll miss her. She’s just so damned good.
On the other hand?
Rainbow!
I don’t think we’re in true Western, PA yet. But further to the northwest there’s been some moisture striking air and the sun’s refracting in just the right way and the very edge of a rainbow is visible. Maybe more a pillar of multi-coloured light. In the midst of the browns and greys of Pennsylvania February, it’s a striking patch of colour.
February. People keep raising their eyebrows when I tell them we’ll be in Chicago and Saint Louis and northern Ohio for February. I’m pleased to hear I’m the only one who’s crazy. We might manage to hook up with Adrian Krygowski in Chicago or Indiana. And I think we’ll miss Greg Klyma by but about 24 hours in Ohio. I wish I could even come CLOSE to keeping track of all my friends’ tour schedules, but it’s just too close to impossible. I still want my multi-musician touring Latitude app that feeds off our publicly available tour schedules – just so I can watch us careening and ricocheting from town to town all across the country.
ETA is about 7.30pm by GPS for a 7pm load-in. Judging by the speeds we’re doing I think we’ll be shaving about 10% off of that. Unfortunately, at this point I still think that gets us there at around 7.15pm at the earliest. Not a disaster by any stretch – but that’s sans if, if, if.
Well! I should hope not! No matter how difficult your server is at Starbucks, don’t immerse!
