It’s nice to have an early fall RockRoots so we glad to pump up the show on Friday after a three month respite. We were asked to play for an assembly in a Catholic school across the Delaware from Trenton. A nice day for an hour and half trip down the Turnpike. We set up in the cafeteria/stage area, and, as always with parochial schools, there were stairs involved. It was also a welcome-back to school gathering with parents and grandparents in the house, so it was a very nice crowd of about 300 people.
I always wonder if I remember the finer points of the show, especially with a long layoff and my increasing number of senior moments. Amazingly, it went smoothly and the band played well.
One special moment happens early in the show when we talk about folk dance, ask if there are any step dancers in the audience when we play the Irish tunes. This being a Catholic school, I thought this would be a no-brainer. One third grade girl volunteered and said to me that she improvises, and I said that’s fine with us. I started out the tune on the mandolin and she stood there with her finger on her lip, sizing up the enormity of having the full school with parents. We continued to play the tune when about 45 seconds into the song, she broke into a lively jig, to the great relief of everyone. She knocked it out of the park and the place went nuts. It was a very precious moment for the school, the girl and the band. Magic!
The rest of the show went fine, the school loved it, kids and teachers got up and danced at the end. I was back on the road at noon on Friday, headed back to Bethlehem. I found myself quite exhausted but content with another RR well done.