Sept 22

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Sept 22

Monday, 22 September 2008 00:00

If you live in the northern hemisphere, congratulations - It’s the first day of fall. Spring has great appeal as well, don’t get me wrong So-Hem folks, but for me it signals the beginning of a great parade of time which will eventually lead us to Christmas. Along the way, we are assured Halloween and pumpkins and baking and Thanksgiving and all kinds of stuff! It’s like the suspense you still feel when you’re watching a movie you’ve seen (in my case) 27 times. And even though I know darn well precisely when all my favorite scenes are just about to enter the picture, my interest is as peaked as ever.

October brings me an opportunity to tour with Donavon Frankenreiter, opening shows for him back east.

Last time I went back east opening shows, I packed up my little rental car and charged it solo. That was pretty cool, but stressful when I got lost and risked arriving late. I think three weeks of that would be lame and am grateful Donavan and his band have welcomed me onto the bus. And I’m very happy to be out there, coming to places near you all again. If you live east of the Mississippi, check the schedule to see if I’m coming close enough to tempt you.

The shows at largo have been really satisfying. The Little Room is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to play. It is incredibly immediate and intimate. We let these shows be relaxed and feel comfortable experimenting with new material there . . . even trying out partial songs occasionally. The Watkins Family Hour shows are easing into a monthly experience in Largo’s theatre and is morphing into a life all its own.

Last Thursday, we squeezed six people up on the tiny Little Room stage. But we had to! Benmont and Greg were both there (Ben’s been gone most of the summer), Gabe Witcher is in town, and Dave Rawlings too. We stayed real late playing after the show was over and decided (along with Sebastian Steinberg) to ambush Jon Brion’s second set the next night in the theatre. This we did, and I was OH so glad. Rad.

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