Holy cow.  Did I have a weekend or what?

Started out in Hilton Head w/Sandi DeMeo and family.  Sandi is a riot
and a half!  Highlights:  hanging out in some bar getting hit on by
just-turned-21 rednecks and by Jamaican guys; sitting on the beach
talking until 5am.  On Friday we drove up to Isle of Palms, which is
outside Charleston.  Sandi was astonished by the huge expanses of
absolute NOTHINGNESS that makes up a great deal of the Low Country.
Got to Isle of Palms, found the club.  None of the guys, except Mike,
knew she was coming, so they were all completely floored.  We watched
soundcheck and had a bite at the club, then went to find a hotel room.
Nothing doing--Spoleto was still going on in Charleston.  The show was
O.K.--a decent sized crowd but unfortunately not there to see the band,
but only because it was a nightclub at the beach.  But there were some
highlights:  Doug showing off his legs ("I've got a better tan that all
of you people put together!") and doing his "Slackjawed" dance, of
which Sandi has many pictures.  Kind of a low-key night because
everyone had partied in Wilmington and was tired, so when the band left
the club to go back to their hotel, Sandi and I hit the road.  Drove
for about an hour to Summerville, ate at the Waffle House, stayed at
the Econo Lodge.  Then drove on to Spartanburg.  Stopped in Columbia
and made Sandi eat barbeque--she wouldn't eat the pork, but at least
she had the chicken.  Got to Spartanburg around 4, with hours to kill
until soundcheck.  Now, not trying to insult my Neighbors to the South,
but you can just about guarantee that there's not much going on in
Spartanburg, *especially* once the colleges (Converse and Wofford) have
let out.  Well, finally came time for soundcheck, at which Sandi got
her birthday present from the band:  she got to play bass on "Running
Mary"!!!  She kicked ass!  We got lots of pictures, which I hope to
have Art put on his website.  Then we left to go eat (I made Sandi eat
a black-eyed pea), get a room and change.  The 'Flies were supposed to
go on at 10:30, so we got to the club right about then.  The 'Flies put
on a kickin' show, the highlight of which was:  they did a cover of
"Something to Say", with DOUG SINGING!!!!  It was GREAT!!!!  All of us
in the crowd were just singing and yelling--it was just amazing!  They
had apparently worked it up at their soundcheck, but at the last minute
asked Doug to sing.  All the Connells just loved it.  Then the guys
took the stage, and fuckin' BURNED THE PLACE DOWN.  I kid you not, it
was unbelievable.  One of the best shows ever.  Very small crowd, but
the ones who were there were FANS.  Doug announced Sandi's birthday
from the stage and people bought her drinks.  You know I'm no good with
set lists and what-not, but they did tons of new stuff:  "Back in
Blighty", "Put Down", "Rusted Fields", "Gladiator Heart".  Highlight of
the 'Nells show:  now, I know some of you who have seen them lately
have heard David and Steve Potak goofing around with the Beck song
"Where It's At".  Well, comiing back for the encore, David takes the
stage first and starts playing Beck.  Then Steve Ritter starts the
drums, then Steve Potak on keyboards.  Rest of the band is still
offstage.  This goes on for about a minute, then Michael Koss (YOU
RULE, my son!) starts chanting "Go, David...go, David...go, David..."
and the whole crowd takes it up.  So this goes on for about 3-4
minutes!  David was loving it, the other bandmembers were loving it, it
was AWESOME!  Mike told me later that was his favorite part of the
whole night ("15 years and the man has never had his own CHEER
before!")  Then, after the show, in celebration of Sandi's birthday,
there was a MASSIVE amount of partying going on.  I might have gotten 3
hours of sleep.  I was one useless human being on the drive back to
Charlotte.  I still can't hardly talk, I'm so hoarse.  I don't know how
Sandi feels, because she drank a LOT more than I did (I'm a responsible
drinker when I'm driving, ya know.)  I've got a 3" bruise on my left
knee, where I banged it on the stage about 4 times Saturday night.
Monday, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.

All in all, quite a satisfying weekend.

=====
Dede

"...I am living in a nightmare, from which time to time I wake in sleep."--Ursula LeGuin, _The Lathe of Heaven_

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