SOMETIMES, YOU RISE ABOVE IT
So, after some bungling and bagging out, I found myself on the day of the show with four tickets to see, as Rolling Stone magazine describes him, one of the greatest living American singer/song writers.
Showtime is 9:30.
I post a desperate message on facebook offering up the tix for free, but no one replies.
The evening happens to be the best day all week to get in a ride.
The dog is going apeshit for some exercise.
My knee kills after running three miles the previous night.
(I'm thinking I really screwed it up somehow; iced it and everything).
What the fock am I gonna do?
A soul search of my priorities yields:
a) Todd Snider Rules.
b) I can get in a sweet road ride if I don't leave until 8:00 or so.
c) The dog will be happy with about 20 minutes of fetch.
d) However, I'll feel like a loser going to a concert by myself
e) Fug it
f) I'm going
g) Maybe I can scalp the tix for beer money
h) Sweet road ride ensues with no knee pain, but a touch of hypothermia that takes about 20 minutes in the shower to shake off.
My lovely Artemis and I had seen Snider at the legendary Ark in Ann Arbor, and kinda got hooked. I had first heard of him from a recording Patty Griffin made in which she said she "loves, loves, loves Todd Snider." (I respect that because I think Patty Griffin is a hellava song writer) Turns out that a lot of people love Todd Snider (John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Buffet, the dude from Big and Rich, etc.), and he's one of those underground performers who has never (thank God) achieved widespread commercial success and ruination, probably because of his politics, stance on religion, and occasional references to drugs, and because he refuses to sell out, except for this, which is still cool.
He's reknown for his songwriting, storytelling, and humor. So I'm a little disappointed when he starts off the show with one of his trademark songs and a monologue from his live album that he's probably repeated thousands of times. But then the show gets good, really good. And he does some stuff I'd never heard before, as well as some "classic" stuff that just plain kicks ass. Funny and profound as hell.
So I ate the three tickets, and calmed my soul by realizing that I had contributed to the cause, kinda like pledging to NPR. People like Snider deserve a hell of a lot more than 20 bucks per ticket for a show, at least as far as I'm concerned.
THE NEXT DAY
So I took the dog on a walk
It was one of those nights
I had to move slowly
And the snow flakes made my nose itch.
And I realized
That as much as I have hated the cold over the last few weeks
There will come a time
(in about nine months or so)
that I will be excited
For a snowfall like this:
By the way:
As a surveyor of this particular waterfall
In the middle of the woods
Away from the sound of the interstate
I have noticed
That the course of the water over this rock ledge has changed slightly
It is broader, and now takes two paths
I will keep you updated.
POSTSCRIPT
A very cool thing happened to me as a I was heading back up the two track toward the car. A man and his dog approached me and Supe. Now, I have walked that area of Hinckley many, many times and have rarely seen a soul. This guy had a female german shepherd, and she and Supe instantly hit if off and started playing. We talked for a second about dogs, and the fact that Supe has a brother german shepherd named Zoltan (Rogue, too, in spirit), then Supe and I headed for the car. The guy had parked his car near mine, and the dealer sticker on the back caught my eye.
Of all places, it was from Brighton, Michigan - where my lovely Artemis lives, my second home.
I thought that was a strange, strange coincidence.
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