Chapter Thirty One
Part One: Most Roads Lead North
April 2007
by Amy Bob
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Chapter Thirty One Part One: Most Roads Lead North
April 2007 by Amy Bob |
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Wed 4/18/07 - Virginia Idols
Recently I read an article in New York Magazine written by someone who worked as a TSA employee for three months to see what it was like from the other side of the metal detector. It wasn't confidence-inspiring. The kind of perfect phrase, "security theater" was bandied about. This morning, now that American Airlines charged $2 to curbside check (following United's lame lead - and the money does NOT go to skycaps), after waiting for 40 minutes to make my entrance in that play, I reach the x-ray belt with 20 minutes to go before my flight for Dulles leaves. Someone yells "Bag Check" five times and no one comes. We are at a dead stop. I grab everything clumsily and run across the aisle, politely asking to go ahead of someone there in order to make my flight. It's a mad dash to the gate at the end of the terminal, no opportunity to buy water, and a 5 hour flight they promise will be early but ends up landing a ½ hour late. Just another typical tour kickoff!
I get us a
big-ass white Chrysler Touring Car - total pimpmobile - after Alamo
tells me they're sold out of the "intermediate" level cars. Welp, I
pricelined this sucker for $26/day and don't care if all you have is a
$69/day car, m'dear! Off to dinner listening to Sirius Radio. meeting
my relatives @ the Old Hickory Grill in Falls Church. Jeff and Bette
Doranz have worked in VA and DC politics for years, so it's always
interesting to hear about their work. These days, talk "inside the
beltway" and outside of it sounds pretty much the same.
Later, back at Dulles, Matthew has again packed the trunk expertly, to within an inch of its life. We haul off to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Back in November 2005, local music instructor Katrien Vance got a grant from the Dave Matthews Foundation that helped her bring The Bobs to Nellysburg, VA for a workshop at the Hamner Theater. It worked out perfectly on all counts, sandwiched between RHAPSODY IN BOB dates in Reston, VA and Charlotte, NC. They lodged us up at the Wintergreen Resort, in a big 4-bedroom house with a Jacuzzi on the porch, donated by the owner. Hoo-wee it was great - and we're a-goin back uphill tonight.
Much bidness
discussion is followed by Blake Lewis updates... The American Idol
finalist was in Dan's previous a cappella band in Seattle,
Kickshaw. In
fact, when we did a benefit show last September in Seattle at the
Triple Door, Kickshaw reunited and joined us onstage. The show was
recorded, but the finale, a Most Killer version of "Prisoner of Funk"
featuring a Blake Lewis beatbox-stravaganza, was cut off. Oy, the money
we could have made selling that!!!! We stop somewhere on SR-29 in the
dark, cool Virginia night and Matthew and Dan grab Outback Steakhouse
takeout. Alex texts me, "Sanjaya Gone-jaya!" Reaching the top of the
mountains around midnight-thirty, we all conk out swiftly, surrounded
by quiet woods.
Thu 4/19/07- I'll Be in the Workshop if You Need Me
Richard and I
breakfast at the main building of the resort complex. The wireless in
the building isn't working.. Grrrr.. Matthew mocks us, then opts for
coffee only and announces he'll walk back to the house (all uphill). I
wonder if we'll ever see him again. : )
Our workshop
at the North Branch School is quite fun - once we find the place.
Katrien wasn't kidding when she said it was "literally in the middle of
nowhere," meaning lush countryside, produce stands, barns, etc. At the
small K-8 school, amidst drawings of Egyptian gods and goddesses, a
hometown quilt and amazing human anatomy diagrams, we sing, answer
questions, Dan does his "vocal percussion tutorial" and the kids
request - as always - "Fluffy" and "Giant Robot Store." Maybe the fact
that these 2 tunes are ALWAYS requested by kids is a sign about what I
should be writing? We buy goodies at their bake sale outside, then head
out to find coffee along VA-151.
Coffee Place
#1, once we find it, is a gourmet pastry shop with amazing sounding
lunch specials, but they only have a carafe of drip coffee and say they
have no idea where to find local espresso. Walking across the parking
lot to the Bare Necessities restaurant, they've got lattes, espresso,
gourmet wines and cheese. Although it's obviously friendly competition
going on here, the first store is henceforth christened "Liar's Club"
and not returned to for lunch the next day!
After dinner at local Italian oasis D'Ambola's (the chef is from Berkeley - they told us that last year), we do a workshop for the local chorus Katrien directs. The Hamner Theater has been spruced up since we were last here - the owners got a Challenge grant to develop the space, which is now sprouting theater and other cultural events. These folks are super nice... and Richard and I find wireless in the building!
Friday 4/20/07 - Art for Art's Sake
Down the mountain for the last time (the Chrysler's transmission was wheezing around descent #4) and down 29 towards Lynchburg, through Charlottesville, where Dan's corporate discount card from Starbucks becomes our best friend - he gets 30% off, which is considerable there, so he's now the Coffee Procuring Bob. This old guy is sitting outside the store, in the sun, "enjoying" a beverage whilst rubbing his large belly, shirt lifted to his manboobs, oblivious to the public, or their reaction. We're all flummoxed by the site. Gosh, I can't wait to get so old that I just don't care if people see me like that....or be around The Bobs as they do!
Appetites have been regained when we reach Panera in Lynchburg, amongst the Christian-themed businesses. The hotel's right beside Liberty University. Falwell Country. And, I might add, a breeding ground for future Bush appointees, along with right wing institutions Patrick Henry College and Regent University, all of whose law schools are ranked in the 4th tier - yup, that's the lowest. (OK, then.) But we are oh so heartened by lovely gift baskets for us in the hotel from the promoter. what a nice welcome - plus it's a 2-night stay - a double treat.
Richard does
an interview with Rick Charwin on Philly area station WDVR (for
Sunday's gig) on his cell as we get loster and loster on the way to the
Maier Museum of Art. When we get there, Bobs fan (and Education
Director) Martha Johnson and the staff nod in sympathy - apparently you
can't get from A to B easily in this city despite its small size.
Martha has brought in an amazing barbecue dinner for us from
Daddy Bim's BBQ, run by Jim Myers, former Chef to the Stars, and we feast next to the museum on a
lovely bluff overlooking the tennis courts here on the beautiful campus
of Randolph Macon Women's College.
The Maier books musical acts that relate to the artist or collection they are featuring, and they paired us with an exhibition of drawings called Humor's Lines, connecting humorous and pared down depictions with a cappella. "Distilled, clarified and immediate," the program said... Yup! Our concert is literally in one of the galleries - truly Art for Art's Sake! All in all, it's a lovely evening. We are glad to have brought some lightness and joy to the people of Central Virginia, still reeling from the VA Tech shootings about an hour away. Oddly enough, we did a museum residency in St. Louis 10 days after 9/11 - and got the same types of reactions. Bobbing is a very humbling job sometimes. it's a great gift to be able to help people get through times like these.
Saturday 4/21/07 - Art for Art's Sake, Part Two
I'm eating
breakfast at Bob Evans when Richard sits down across from me. "You'll
never guess who I just ran into." My pal, Chris from New York
(see my April 2005 Bobtale, Travels With
Yum Dum Dip, Div Gan and Virtual G), but under odd circumstances. Chris'
dad recently passed away here in Lynchburg; he's
here dealing with the estate. When I call him to offer my condolences,
Chris says he found it quite comforting to see a familiar (albeit
completely out of context) face here, while facing such an immensely
personal event in a town where he knows nobody. Hearing this kind of thing is one of
life's sweet reassurances. We sometimes must carry personal dramas with us while on the road - it cannot be helped. I like to
think that, barrelling down yet another highway with these three tall men, all in our own private mental worlds,
when I see or hear something I have shared with someone dear, that it's a "clue" from the universe - this person is somehow with me.
Although I can't share what Chris is going through, I understand and appreciate his wonderful acknowledgement of this ever smalling world.
Soundguy Paul
and Dan Bob have a Utilikilt-off (sca-wee) and we picnic lunch in
between our two shows today with a blast from our past - Emily Chua, a
friend of Nat "Der" Comisar (see my February 2001 Bobtale, Signs on the Tube), who is now a string instructor
at the college. Emily met us at our Portland Zoo gig (see my July 2002 Bobtale, North by Northwest), which seems like it was a million years ago. Emily's a spitfire. I
imagine we'd hang out a LOT (and possibly drink a lot) if I lived here.
During our rocktastic closing performance, I catch Emily in the corner
of my eye during the "country instrumental" portion of "Share A Load,"
during which I mock-play a violin. She is violently (violin-tly?)
indicating for me to switch arms - I'm playing it wrong!
Dan has a friend here from his Indiana University days - after the show they're talking nonstop about his former vocal group there, Monkey Puzzle. Super-FOB Jessica Lawyer and her husband, Donovan Grimwood tell us they drove here from Nashville to see us - with their PARENTS. Wow! They sent us this picture, on the right... Martha told us who the artists were whose paintings are in this picture... I am ashamed to pull a full Alberto Gonzales here... I don't recall!
Sunday 4/22/07 - Coffee, Tea or Milkboy?
Dan's awfully quiet during our 6.5 hour trek to Ardmore, PA (just northeast of
Philly). And it's not just because we leave at 8:30 a.m. (ouch!) Dan's
a great guy, a psychotically talented musician and many other wonderful
things. And his humor (at least amongst The Bobs) is firmly planted in
the derriere-rea. Me, I curse a blue streak (and apparently say the word
"literally" so much it has lost all meaning) and can be fairly obscene and/or
gross myself, but after all, I'm a chick, so there is a limit
to the amount of ass humor I can tolerate. So I have bet Dan a nice dinner
that he can't go all day without making any jokes about poop, farts,
asses or related matters. And saying "heh-heh" when someone says
something like "You did your civic duty" counts. At first Richard and
Matthew chide me, then they join in the tempting. But I must say that
the ride isn't as fun, and after a while I thought it was kind of mean,
seeing how repressed Dan seemed. We strongly suspect that when we
got to the hotel, Dan ran to his room and yelled, "PoopAssFart!
PoopAssFart! PoopAssFart!" Probably. well, seeing as his wife's due in
about 2 months, he'll certainly have enough poop in his life!
We play 2 shows tonight (yep, a killer day after a prior 2-show day) at the Milkboy Coffeehouse, a venue recommended by Paul & Storm. According to the website, both shows are sold out! The place is really cool, the staff super friendly, and the coffee beanilicious. And an uberfan brings a double-storied box of Godiva chocolates. Thanks! The Tonics, all-male veterans of Ivy League a cappella groups in the 1980's, open the shows. Watching them croon tunes like "Werewolves of London" and "Sounds of Silence," I wonder if any of them was among the Princeton Nassoons over whom I swooned in high school. Richard and Matthew joke that they did clinics for those groups back in the 80's but "it obviously didn't take!" If I'd stayed on the east coast 20 years ago, would I be married to one of them now?
The shows rock, they give us awesomely retro T-shirts (I'd have no wardrobe if it wasn't for swag), and we head back past Villanova, Haverford and Bryn Mawr wondering if these schools have vocal groups for whom we should do clinics the next time. Another killer drive tomorrow, but no rush - no shows at the end.
Monday 4/23/07 - Just Drive, She Said
I treat myself to breakfast @ the Courtyard and start this travelogue. For some reason
I'm not writing it daily this tour, but later, so hopefully I haven't
left Truly Hysterical Stuff out. We leave @ noon, Starbucking before
turning onto 276 East towards New Jersey. Go, Dan's corporate card!
The dreaded 6-7 hour drive up to Salem, Mass. isn't bad, save for the Hartford traffic that's been an institution for 30 years. We pass a Showcase Cinemas just north of there where, in summer 1988, I saw "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" with my Storrs, CT summer stock buddies. We were ALL dressed as Pee Wee. I'm so sure that looked TOTALLY COOL. Matthew gets my ass again - literally - by turning on the seat heaters. Jesus, that's annoying when your butt heats up unexpectedly. You wonder if you've... oh, never mind!
Arriving in Salem after Route 128 traffic (didn't my old Volare break down somewhere near the Tottenham Road exit in 1989?), we have scored with the Salem Waterfront Inn - all corner rooms overlooking the small harbor, for two nights. It's also about 65 degrees out. I bring a book to Victoria Station, where stuffed shrimp and steak tips rock what's still awake of my world before I head back and fade away during The Daily Show. Alas, I then wake every hour, hot as blazes from having eaten a heavy meal so late! Yeesh!
Tuesday 4/24/07 - Good Company in Salem
At about
6:45am, I walk the harbor, grab some Dunkin' Donuts
coffee and head for the Common, where I take in Salem's morning dog
walk antics as the sun rises lazily. It's about 68 degrees and the day
will be gorgeous. Many Massachusetts mornings ago, I regularly woke up
in the back bedroom of an old house near Davis Square in Somerville. I was
like a bat, having covered the east-facing windows to block the morning
sun. Before I drank coffee, before I really knew California, before I met most
of the people who are important in my life today. Ironically enough, Alex had
moved out to Los Angeles from Boston one year before I got there, and the house he lived in
here was within sight of the house I lived in... how weird is that? But as a computer guy
back then, I bet he didn't eat Ramen noodles and Bacos for dinner on a student budget. I'd take summer daytrips
up here to the North Shore - to the white, white beach in Manchester with Mark Gagne
(see my February 2002 Bobtale, Bobruary 2002)
before we took our separate paths to Chicago and LA. After about a half hour, I head back and fall asleep until 11:00.
Lunch with
Pamela @ Capt's on the harbor is lovely. She looks great, having
dropped about 40 pounds! As always, she's a firecracker, revved up
about the Arts programs in the area and chock full of ideas for us.
Still, despite our entreaties, Pamela declines to leave the comfort,
benefits and salary of her current job here at Salem State to become
our agent again. What's up with that? : )
My friend Jim and I have a great afternoon together walking the town and catching up
on each other's lives. They have grown so complicated as of late, I
can't help asking him, "Can't we go back to 20 summers ago, when things
were so much easier?" Maybe they weren't - but we were so...
unencumbered. Life was cushioned in so many ways, it seems, although it
felt so volatile at the time. I don't feel 40, but I do feel... tired.
Dinner at the cafeteria. Surrounded by table placards for the show, we do a set list.
The show's great fun at the Campus Arts Center - on the set of the
school's production of COMPANY. Hoo boy, talk about perfect fodder for
ME!!!! At one point, Matthew asks if they should leave the stage so I
can do the solo concert version of the show. How did he know what I was
thinking?!?!?!
After the show, uberfan Uri ("Hey, I'm your new stalker!") presents us with large
packets of Best Friends Cocoa,
gourmet hot chocolate mixes he and his wife make and
package. He sent some to me last month that I couldn't fit in my
luggage and planned to bring to Denver next month. wonder if they'll
actually get there. THANKS, URI! Jim comes back to the hotel and we end
up talking until about 2am, then I take two Sominex. I gotta get some sleep.
To continue the tour back down the East Coast with Amy, click here.
(C)2007 Amy Bob Engelhardt