BLOBBY'S BLOG

THE CONCERT

I can finally post about the Rosanne Cash show.

Being a free concert in the park, I had no idea the size or type of crowd that would attend. Even w/name recognition, since the late 80s, she just doesn't move that many albums. She also has only toured twice in the last 15 yrs - and only a handful of dates at that. We arrived in mid-performance of the horrible horrible opening act. It was seemingly a good space.

It didn't take us long to figure out why the space was probably left open. Two....um.....well.....dorks. Drunk dorks. Drunk dorks w/lots of missing teeth. Possibly hillbillies (honest - I learned from a doctor from Kentucky who was one, that to true hillbillies, this is not a derogatory term). Right in front of us.

You know the kind of guys. Claps to the music - but not in time. Hoots and hollers at all the wrong times. Screams out things almost in a Tourettes-like fashion. ...and probably not showered in days.

For those who don't know - I really like music. I go to concerts for the music - not the event. So Blobby gets annoyed at the talking, cellphoning, or worse - the utter lack of knowledge of the artist or their work by the people who attend. Once at concert by a then unknown Sarah McLachlan, I told the people standing next to me that I didn't pay $16 a ticket to listen to them talk. They looked at me and then just walked out of the venue. Score one for me!

Oddly enough - no beer or alcohol with them, but clearly drunk drunk drunk. Now, I could put away the beer - and lots of it, but I swear I was never a bad drunk. Denton will say 'how would you know' - which is legit, but I knew. Ecstasy?.......well, that's a complete different story! But we/they sat there for a while and I kept thinking - 'how long does this kind of drunk last?'. I seriously considered moving to a less desirable position - but figured it might be a crap shoot (is that one word?) on what other kind of patron of the arts was sitting there. I also thought I'd bide my time thinking they'd go looking for hootch. ...at first the prospects looked grim b/c they ran into Mr. Kunkle - their old high school shop teacher!!!! Great!

Things looked up when in a drunken misunderstanding between the three of them, Mr. Kunkle didn't understand not to hold their seats while they went to get......(say it w/me).......beer! Mr. Kunkle held on to em, and for a long time we had no one in front of us. (Later that woman in the pictures from yesterday's post would claim a seat.)

Behind us we had two college aged guys. Maybe just post college. I had a real low tolerance at this point (I know...I know......but it's true), but every sentence had the words 'sweet' or 'that's cool....that's cool'. For the record - Nicholas Cage movies are not 'sweet'.

The concert itself was great. She did an outstanding job. Granted Rosanne is not that smooth w/the stage moves when she's not playing guitar, but for her lack of touring, it's acceptable. Her voice I swear was strong that it is on her recordings. There were three other musicians and one backing vocalist. No drums. If I have a complaint it's about the material being too heavy from her new disk. Yes, I know she's out promoting it to sell. But when one tours so infrequently, throw in something for the fans. But the group was so tight and the sound so good, it could make a good live recording (and I'm not a big fan of those).

Perhaps the reason she doesn't do older material is b/c she forgets the words. On 'Runaway Train' she completely started the song on the wrong verse - and caught herself....a line or two into it. After being able to settle her laughter and some funny stage patter, she finally got into it.

I might be getting old, but it was nice to have a concert start while it was still light out - and end just after sunset. Here's a setlist (as if anyone cares):

• Black Cadillac
• Radio Operator
• G-d is in the Roses
• Burn Down This House
• September When It Comes
• I Was Watching You
• Tennessee Flat Top Box
• Dream Are Not My Home
• World Unseen
• Runaway Train
• House on the Lake
• Sea of Heartbreak ( a good, Don Gibson Song I've never heard of)
• What We Really Want
• Seven Year Ache
• Big River (encore)
• Wouldn't It Be Loverly (encore)