Making music: the road home

6/27

Friends: Pat O, Amanda, RL and Bob

You never know what’s going to happen on any given Friday night. For some random reason, this wound up being the most attendance of any Open Mic yet.

Dion opens

Dion opened up the night with his stand up. Followed by :

* Connie, a poet

Connie

John

* A new singer, John

* Another new singer, Kieran

Kieran

* Sam, with his early Dylan/Arlo vibe and original music

Sam

* Longtime veteran Saviyon, with his own music

Saviyon

* Our spoken word artist, Joel, this week with Katie

Joel and Katie

doing improvisational violin, the two of them creating the piece as they went along

* Regulars pat O and Mandola Joe

* Banjo phenomenon Nick Lantigua
* Our Austin singerJohn J

John J

Nick Lantigua

* Me, singing with Amanda and Pat O

and of course, RL closing out the night with Stay Awhile.

One casualty of a log night was that Katie had to leave early. Last night we had been working on a bunch of songs with Katie, Pat, Amanda and I.

Bob and Amanda

In an alternate reality, we got to do all of those. But we had to just let that idea go and carry on which is what we do. Pat did his set solo. I brought Amanda up with me for the Well Song, probably its best performance yet, and then Pat for So Lonesome…Amanda did hers solo…What was was good as it was. The night led to discussions of change. But first we’ have to figure out what makes one night bigger than the rest.

6/28

Tonight is Amanda’s night. The Road Home: West-Park Chapel Music, she called it. This is the backside of her last summer’s cross country  Indian Summer ice cream truck music tour that ended in New York City and West-Park last October. The truck stayed in Woodstock all winter and now its time to head home. So this is the first of the return trip concerts.

It was a good turnout of old friends and new. Joel and Nick and Dion showing up to be supportive. Leila and Berik too. Musicians. The old P&G crowd. Amanda does the chapel up in her own unique way, transforming it form its usual Friday night ambiance. I remember that she was the first one to reopen the chapel for performance at our 10^th anniversary event, candlelit and using the old gates as a backdrop. She’s got that candlelit feeling again tonight.

It’s a good set. Mixture of old and new. I’m still haunted by her ghost song from the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs Arkansas, a place I knew well. Back in the day.

Whatever else, there is this. This place open today, it is what it is today, because of Amanda. She believed it could live again when no one else believed it could. And she helped me believe again, too. It’s a simple as driving an ice cream truck across country. (Safe travel, Amanda…)

Amands

For Amanda music go to : http://www.amandachristine.net/amandachristine/Amanda_Christine.html