As Jen (aka Nej) reminded me, I need to recount one flashback on the trip to
Ames (are we all familiar with the concept flashbacks?)... we were driving
along picking on each other (in a very peaceful and ecologically sound way,
people) and Scott was giving me the evil eye in the rearview mirror, when we
all look out to see a rapidly approaching corn bin-pulling tractor...
Ok, so technically WE were approaching IT rapidly, but the fact of the matter
was that worlds were about to meet in an ugly way so we did the only thing we
could... Swerve & Scream... it's sorta like 'Twist & Shout' only you
prrroooooobably don't fill your pants whilst 'Twist' ing & 'Shout' ing...
you'd have to ask the grounds crew after the Beatles played Shea Stadium...
regardless, I thought to myself as Scott pulled a total Mr. Sulu and glided
around the tractor -
"Wow... imagine a farm implement bein' waaaayyy out here..."
This travel stuff is either expanding my horizons or driving me mad... and the
REAL question is: What's the difference? It's all new and exciting... except
when it rains...
...So anyway, we get to the hotel rooms in Iowa City (4 rooms and 11 people
this time, SOMEONE is floor-bound here) and Scott indulges us all in his six-
pack treasure... there being eleven of us, we passed the bottle trainyard-
style in some cases... and we all chose a spot to become inert, mine being on
the floor under the coat rack by the bathroom door... yeah, I know - "What WAS
I thinking?"
Blessedly I was not kicked, stepped on, or otherwise bludgeoned during the
night, but the toilet was one of those Power-Flush deals that removes a
millimeter of porcelain per flush... like an aquatic jet engine coming to
speed... the whole night I had dreams of being chased through a turbine-driven
electrical plant by Timothy Leary, who was screaming that I had flushed my
life down the toilet... and he looked like my mom at times... and then I was
falling and falling... I wonder why they ALWAYS end that way...
... I hit the floor of the motel room and my head was ringing... "One bottle
of beer?" I thought... and the ringing was stopped by Dave's paw slapping the
phone from it's cradle...
(Dave) "Hello? OK.... Huh? Whatever, yeah..." . Click.
(John) "Who was that?"
(Dave) "Scott... or Mike Hazdra... Coulda been either, I'm not sure..."
(John) "What did he want?"
(Dave) "Something about our long-distance provider... at any rate it wasn't
the wake-up call..."
I'm on the floor and I quickly take stock of my body and determine that this
was a better surface to sleep on than the bed in Peoria... Note To Self: Maybe
there's something to this discovery... the room becomes active and the TV kicks
on showing the porno-equivalent in nature films (I had no idea sponge plants
gushed sperm...I thought I was the only one) and the toilet continues
to try and prove Einstein's theories about the speed of light...
...Um... it's raining... and it's that sort of rain we here in the Midwest
have learned to interpret as the "You're Lucky I'm Not Snow" rain, because it
goes on and on and on... kinda like my sentences... so we pile into the
touring vessels and head out for a diner John had seen that was "...not even
ten minutes down the road".
Forty-five minutes and a lot more rain later, we pull into a truckstop and
proceed to disrupt a quiet morning for a few poor souls at the MRS. B's
Restaurant and Chachkie Shop... after a somewhat hearty repast and Scott's loud
admonishments of "Gee Cameron, I hope you know how to wash dishes" while
looking over the astronomical check... (much to the consternation of the fleet
of waitresses needed to serve our crowd and the woman I took to be the
manager), we bought some hats and blew outa there, leaving dirty salsa dishes
and peaceful vibes in our wake...
We'd been to the Canopy before so I knew what to expect as far as the room
goes... I did NOT, however, account for the Traffic Accident Of The Century,
and we are forced to leave the highway to proceed... no big deal if'n you're
not actually IN the accident...
...yep, goin' to hell for that last bit...
...So we pull up to the load-in and get our gear inside, and being about an
hour late the band sets up and I get my various racks interfaced with the
board... this is not the same console I had last time (less channels and even
less "Bells & Whistles")... no matter, I'll just beat my cats in displaced
anger when I get home... so I start crossin' stuff off my input list
immediately to try and fit the board and finally the house tech arrives...
Jim is a quality individual, and I was glad to see him on the gig... and he
pinned the stage in record time... during 'check John's guitar acts up but he
ferrets around and proclaims "problem solved"...
...PROBLEM NOT SOLVED... the band hits the stage and John's guitar says "UH-
UH... NOPE..." (much cursing and cord-tugging)... finally, John opts for
playing one of Mike Maraat's guitars and the show finally gets going...
"Sunrise" was the highlight of the first set, with Lisa killing and the second
set delivering with an "Estimated" I was itchin' to throw delay all over...
damn them time period rules... due to getting started late, there was no
elective tune explained in a note handed to Mike Maraat... "If I had A world
to give..." the note began, which Mike quickly corrected as "If I had THE
world to give..." and it was time to pack up and head home...
Because it was late and Scott was driving, Scott issued an edict that the
first to fall asleep on the way home would be unceremoniously dumped on the
side of the road in the rain... Jen was wise enough to ride home with Sandra
(SisterHugs) and Beau, I hope you made it home from just outside Champaign...
And home to Chicago we came...
Until next time, kids... piece.... look for a new entry after the Madison and
Cinci shows...