Friday, Jun. 06, 2003 - 8:13 p.m.
It was like coming back home. After an hour and forty minutes of driving from work, I arrived at GR's Bistro. Nestled in a strip mall in Janesville, Wisconsin, is a totally hip restaurant with a great staff and cool clientele.
I began setting up and noticed that I had forgoten my capo. Frantically I looked at my setlist to see which songs were effected by my oversight. Four tunes. Two of them I could sing in a lower key, the other two, noooo waaaaay. The show must go on!!!
I set up and kicked off the concert. My friend Tom had brought an entourage of 8 or 9 people; I need to put him on the payroll.
The crowd was totally appreciative and quite warm with their reception. As the night went on it felt less and less like I hadn't played there before -It felt..like home.
Threw in a couple of covers throughout the course of the night including "Take it Easy" by the Eagles. People were singing and one guest was even harmonizing with me as I sang.
The night began winding down as the two hours flew by. I was ending the set when my friend Tom asked if I could play a few more to give his wife time to show up. I had already "finished" the show but I figured it was time to dig into the archives. First I played an instrumental piece that I used to start shows off with. I *entirely* forgot the end of the chorus and played it differently each verse--kinda cool though. I then dug into covers playing, "Blister in the Sun", "Ball and Chain" (SOCIAL 'D'!) and "Ring of Fire". A fitting ending to a wonderful night. About 5 minutes after ending, Tom's wife Sarah showed up, Mo called for an encore and Tom requested that I play "Snowflake on my Tongue". I replugged everything in and played the 'encore'.
Spent some time chatting with the customers and meeting some great people; Mo, Diane, Mary-Anne, Monica, the Merricks, Eric, Sarah and others. Each and every one of these made me feel wonderfully at home. THANKS!!!!
I finished packing up at 10:30 and went with Tom's Entourage to a sports bar down the street to try and catch the end of th Stanley Cup game. No dice, game was over. Had a couple beers and partied; danced a little but had a two hour drive home so took off around 11:30.
Just across the Illinois border my stomach reminded me that I had left work, played and finished without any substantive meal. Pulled off at the Illinois Welcome Center and bought Gardettos and Sunflower seeds. (Yes, I had water in the car to wash it all down). A woman with her two kids was staring at the map.
She asked, "Does the time zone change in Indiana?" I thought...should I be accurate or quick? Accurate...
"Well you see, these parts of Indiana are Eastern Time Zone but not all of these are on Daylight Savings Time. So some of them are on the same time as we are right here."
She looked at me and smiled.
I took off and headed back onto the highway. Eating the Gardettos was uneventful. The sunflower seeds were a different issue. First the bag didn't rip open well; then as I went to pour seeds into my mouth, the seeds fell all over my lap and down onto the seat and floor. It was a mess. As I pulled into the toll booth I could tell the operator looked at me and then searched the car for the squirrel that I lost the battle to. I pulled out and kept picking seeds out from between my legs. (ahhhhh the glamour of road trips).
About 10 minutes from home I seriously debated stopping by at Gators to visit my hockey bud Nick and Ljuba the Ukrainian waitress and have an Amstel; but instead opted for sleep. (and some people say I haven't grown up yet;-))
Opened the door and was greeted by my dog; from one home to another with music providing the transportation.
A memorable and fun night in Janesville; I will be back....
