I’ve enjoyed returning to Emmaus, a former home town, for some recent shows at the Community Park. Tonight was a family show in the pavilion, on a hot and humid July evening. It was a slow day in the ole apartment after a long road trip to CT yesterday, so I was chomping at the bit to get out and play some music.
It was nice to have the stage in the pavilion for a change. Good seating, good focus and my own sound, no threat of a rain-out. Familiar faces, some curious elders, some new families – my usual mixed crowd. I like this challenge.
My very good friend John Christie pitched in tonight with acoustic and some very nasty electric (a fine wahwah on Jelly in the Dish!) and it was nice to feel comfortable with him on stage and still be free to work with the audience. He played some very, very adult leads that played with my mind. So fine.
Early on, a little girl chirped that her mom saw me when she was a little girl. Another trans-generational moment. Later on, she stopped me in The Bear Hunt to correct me that I had forgotten The Forest and the Storm. She was obviously trained in vitro on my Peanut Butter album. It provided the spontaneous moment of the night as I pulled over the ‘tune’ near the end and yielded to her wishes. It led to some very funny exchanges with her, her mom, her grandparents and, by extension, the audience. I’m so glad I have the artfulness to embrace these situations and make them part of the DF experience. Yes, again, it is theater.
Afterwards, I spent some time with Kevin, a older special-needs man who is in a program that brings folk like Kevin into the community. He often is part of an outreach program that comes in on Monday’s at Godfrey’s to ‘clean up’ the club. They do some simple chores, like vacuuming and cleaning. but the main thrust is they get out into the community with each other. I gave Kevin and the others my Peanut Butter CD, and tonight I got to give Kevin the Shake It! CD and autograph it for him. These are the cool moments that ground me. I will pass out my Playground CD tomorrow.
It was a good evening all around. Good music, good friends and some money towards Jaimie’s fall tuition. Good enough for me.
Tuesday, back to the Ice House for a morning solo show.