Thursday, October 15, 2009….Somewhere in TN 

Strange thing….with all that handwringing I experienced over the past couple of days, Tuesday afternoon brought a bit of peace to my world.  First and foremost, all that could be done in my Athens basement was being done or had already been done and the expected rain that was coming looked like it was fizzling out.  My main concern was that I wasn’t there to lend some assistance – be it manual labor or just some simple, on-site, words of encouragement….or just a hug.  Certainly a lesson that life goes on just like the road does.   After a few deep breaths on both sides, we agreed that we could put off the “time to go home” decision until Wednesday morning…..just to make sure that expected rain was indeed fizzling.  That decision meant I would be getting off the crew bus and staying the night in Knoxville rather than traveling on to Nashville post show.  That was a good decision as Nashville would’ve put me another few hours away from Athens, and if I was to head home on Wednesday, I had a head start still being in Knoxville.  Secondly, after that decision, I did feel better because I did have the support of my friends around me.  They were way over seeing me obviously preoccupied with over-thinking my decisions; so, for the first time since Birmingham, they saw a bit of sunshine in my eyes.  

I know this is sounding like a broken record, but the show time came early again.  Here’s how I have begun to see this opener/closer tradeoff…in terms of how I approach the show.  If WP opens, then it is a task to get it all together for a 6 pm show time.  The last night usually being a late one, it’s tough to be done with the normal daily stuff…like getting up…before noon.  Luckily, 10 – 11 has been the norm, but by the time some semblance of lunch is taken care of, the middle of the afternoon sets in and then bam…show time at 6pm.  With a two hour WP set right off the bat, you find a way to get in that groove pretty quickly, but then with no warning, in a sense, you get the feel that the WP portion of the show is winding down.  And then it’s over….kind of.  The rest of the evening is now all about the break and the ABB set and then post show plans.  So, once you get over the fact that you’d really like to be getting another WP set, the rest of the night becomes real laid back and you get to flow freely between whatever is going on backstage and in the front of house.  And that might be a 6 – 7 hour time frame to go once WP leaves the stage…say 8pm until 2-3am.  And that’s not normal for a WP after-show experience….unless you are one of those that enjoys playing through. 

When WP closes one of these collaborative efforts, the reverse happens.  The afternoon leading up to the show becomes much more laid back and then about 8:45, WP takes the stage until about 11 pm.  Once that long WP set is over, the brain starts its trickery.  Naturally, the brain is going…ok, another WP set to go.  So, there’s this period after the show where you still want more and it takes a bit to realize it just ain’t going to happen.  Some nights this was over and done with in a minute….and a couple of nights it took seeing the crew at work for a few minutes to realize the show was really over.  Although I liked the second slot because it was dark by then at the outdoor venues and I just never really got used to WP at 6pm, I will have to say that I enjoyed the flow of the evening more when WP opened.  From a band’s perspective, maybe it’s that feeling back from high school when you did your presentation first and then had that peaceful feeling as you got to watch your classmates sweat it out…..not that I was on stage or anything close to it, but you get my point. The way I feel is that the longer before you have to eventually go to sleep after a WP show,  the better…since you get more time to bask in that show afterglow.  From the crew’s perspective, if WP plays first, it’s hurry up and flip the stage…and then wait til after the ABB set before getting on the bus and rolling….just to be able to see that clean stage.  Forgetting something in Knoxville and then finding out in Nashville…..when you need it right then….is not an option.  So, WP opening kind of staggered their day, but a WP closer show fit like a glove for the crew.  

So anyway, I digressed.  Again.  The Knoxville show was a welcome end to a long three days.  Settling in just in front of the board with a bunch of friends, it was nice being inside again.  I just love GA floors as they let everybody be themselves.  Finding out in the past couple of days that not only was the Knoxville show was going to be moved inside, but Nashville as well, I was sort of pumped that 4 of the last 5 had that indoor energy.  I had been looking forward to the World’s Fair Park as that was where Zach had an awesome 3 yr old WP experience, but given the weather situation outside, I got over it pretty quickly.  I thought the first part of the WP set was real laid back and that made for a good segue into the rest of the evening.  The band spoke to me during the whole “Papa’s Home > Stop Go > Papa’s Home > Travelin Man > Ride Me High > Surprise Valley > Climb to Safety” sequence as I had a lot of ups and downs the past couple of days but I let the set opener define the deal for me….Better Off.  Made my 45 years feel young dancing….that’s for sure. 

After the WP set, I had a little business to take care of while the ABB set was going on.  Earlier in the day, I had decided to stay in Knoxville after the show, but had forgotten to get my gear off the crew bus.  So, with the bus rolling not long after the ABB set, I had to use that time to transfer by bags.  With 1 large duffle bag and 2 daypacks, I threw it all on my back…around 40 pounds or so I guess…. and started off on a solo trip to the parking deck.  Problem was I went to the wrong parking deck.  Both of the decks had over-the-street ramps and sort of looked the same to me since I wasn’t driving.  After about 3-4 phone calls, a few texts, several car alarms (set off by the buttons I was pushing on the keys I had) and about 45 minutes of aimless wondering, we all came to the realization that I was on the completely opposite side of the arena than where I needed to be.  So, this expected 30 minute deal turned into about a 2 hour start to finish experience that basically included a work out and a couple of twilight zone moments.  Guess I got that hike in that I missed the day before.  I had a few friends back in the ABB show waiting on me probably thinking I had completely ditched them, but we all found each other later and all was good.  Needless to say, sleep came early that night…well sort of early…given the need to get up to see what Wednesday would bring. 

The news Wednesday morning was very encouraging from Athens.  The rain was gone, the sun was out and so were the wet carpets from the basement. We talked it over and decided me getting home Thursday pm instead of Wednesday pm was of zero consequence….basement-wise or other-wise, so with a renewed sense of energy and optimism, we set off for Nashville.  I tried to do the blog thing while riding in the back of the Surburban, but all I got was a good headache and a queasy stomach.  So, when my friend Dick decided to drive around the same city block a full 25 times looking for a parking spot next to the busses, I thought I was going to lose whatever lunch I still had.  Of course, when he pulled over for me to get out and get some air, we lost the spot he had his eye on.  Oooops!  It all worked out though and there was minimal stress….since WP was closing.  Getting there around 5:30 for a 6 pm WP show would’ve provided us huge amounts of stress, so the late slot worked in our favor that night…..except for one reason…I didn’t get to stop by Hardy’s Broadway Brewhouse in Nashville.  I had been traveling with Hardy since Charlotte and had really looked forward to hanging at his spot.  This quick back and forth on the Nashville side of things took that option away.  But hey, sounds to me like another reason to get on back up to Nashville.  

The late slot worked for the band that night too…..which was cool since this was my last show of a 9 show run.  It was nice to get a great one in the second slot as it made for a great send off. The whole show just smoked from the beginning.  The energy, the guest artists, the song selection, the opener, the closer, the encores…even the crowd going easy on Johnny Neel with the lighters during BWM….it just all fit so well that night.

What fit well too was the feeling I had at the end of this show.  I was satisfied.  I remember back in 1984 with Dave, Tom and Nicola out on the GD summer tour when, even after traveling 7,000 miles in three weeks, we were bummed we had to go from Alpine Valley, Wisconsin back to Georgia via Virginia (to drop Dave off in Richmond) rather than make a detour through Berkeley, CA for the Greeks.  What are an extra two weeks and another 7,000 miles?  Would’ve gotten a Dark Star if we had gone for it….and as it turned out for me, it took me to the last time the GD performed that tune before I caught one.  That was certainly a “whew” moment that night at the Omni back in 1994.  I felt like Indiana Jones diving under that stone door just as it slammed shut. 

Anyway, this night in Knoxville was a little different….not only for me but for everyone else around me….friend-wise that is.  No Texas.  No problem. Band and crew were headed there for sure, but none of my friends outside of those circles that had been with me for this run of shows were going.  This was the end of the line for all of us.  I don’t think any of us really felt Texas pulling that hard…..because we all had the real world biting our backsides at this point and with good reason…..until a few days later and we saw that Houston setlist with the Cortez.  But, oh well, you can’t go to them all. Guess we figured that one out a long time ago. 

One thing was for sure at this point….we had seen two weeks of amazing music and had moments that wouldn’t be matched…probably forever.  The road is like glue the way it binds friends, family and experiences together…..and although our traveling crew over the past two weeks had been tight before we took off,  we had added another impenetrable layer of  life to the mix.   Papa was now going to be driving past the night working his way to make it home….as I wouldn’t be a sight in Athens until later the next afternoon.  But regardless of how many hello’s I was looking forward to back in GA, I had some tough goodbye’s to deliver prior to making that transition.  And you can always find good reasons to stretch those out……..