Last Night's Party

Todd and I played first and I have never been so nervous- during our first song, Ca Gaze, I looked down at my hand thinking I would direct it to do what it was supposed to do but all I could do is marvel at the spasms it was experiencing. After the first few tunes I remembered that I could look to, and rely on, Todd to keep me on task and confident- as he often does.

As I often do, I set up my camera and took a picture every few minutes. Unfortunately, Chris Freeman is either too tall, doesn't play sitting, or I didn't think that his head might not be included in the frame. Regardless, Chris Freeman is an amazing songwriter and entertainer- I have never seen someone so happy to sing songs that are at once hilarious, intelligent, and biting. Send him an email and he'll send you a cd, free.

Jon Felton and Soulmobile played third. From the left: that's Adam on trombone, egg shaker, and trombone case (he's Naomi's nephew); next is Elizabeth on cello- like the others, friendly and warm, she understood my hesitancy to let a blanket of mine, made for me by a former student's mother, to go with them to Tennessee (in the end her understanding led me to give them the blanket); then there's Jon- a magnetic person and performer whom I've known for about eight years and whom I credit with having brought a public tenderness to the male population of Frostburg that didn't exist before he arrived- he's the captain of the Soulmobile and is an excellent, if sometimes reluctant driver; BJ is the multi-instrumentalist in the band- he plays nearly every instrument and plays them all very well- he sings, and is quick-witted, and as is rare, his quick wit is sweet rather than acid; Todd, another multi-instrumentalist who is in (at least) four bands these days- Todd is the person everyone calls when they need help- he could be a session musician and maybe that will happen someday; Lindsay plays the tambourine, the mandolin, has lots of piercings, and an insouciance that is betrayed by her beautiful, punk-rock soprano.

The night felt as much like an evening around the campfire as it looks.