The First Last

On past tours, I was sometimes frustrated by two or three night stays in one location; too many and they made me feel as though we weren’t making progress toward home. Our three night stay in Ann Arbor was quite welcome, though (even with less than stellar internet access). Tour is tour while you’re on it, regardless of length…the day-to-day aspects are tiring, and I suspect it won’t really feel shorter until we’re home.

Thursday was a run-out day – no boarding the bus until mid-afternoon. Our 60+ mile “run-out” was in Clinton Township, somewhere near Detroit. Chris and I prepared for the long drive by using our morning walk to go to a Trader Joe’s nearly three and a half miles from the hotel. The return drives from long run-outs usually involve food; the long trip and the calories expended during the concert make everyone noshy; Trader Joe’s carries a wide variety of somewhat healthy, out of the ordinary snacks. Everyone brings something to share.

With a day off in sight, the Band cheerfully suited up to give the audience a great show. Even when we’re tired, the merry anticipation of the audience will keep us going. Clinton Township was no different.

Friday stretched before me, free hours to fill as I wished. Michelle, Leslye, and Chris rented a car to drive to Interlochen for the day; we wouldn’t see them until the next hotel in Gaylord. (If Michelle or Leslye sends me an account of her time in Interlochen, I’ll post it – my first Guest Blogger!) My plan for the day was to find a way into downtown Ann Arbor to putter around, my ultimate goal being a specialty yarn store on Main Street.

As luck would have it, I found a ride from Matt, who was taking Kristin to the north campus. He dropped me off near Hill Auditorium, giving me brief instructions on how to make my way back by bus. It was too early for most stores to be open, but I found the Borders and wandered through the books happily for a little while before deciding to walk to Main Street.

Ann Arbor is full of eclectic shops and a multitude of galleries. I browsed through several glass galleries, thinking of Jamey and his love of art glass. I fell in love with an Arts and Crafts mantel clock that I had absolutely no place to put and therefore no reason to buy, thus saving myself a hefty hunk of change. I found another woman peering in the window at the yarn store – we were both disappointed to find it wouldn’t open until noon. I strolled up and down Main Street, wandering in and out of shops before parking myself in Starbucks (sorry Jenna!) to read and have a skinny chai latte.

I spent a very pleasant 90 minutes or so in the yarn store, exploring the sock yarns and needlework kits. I chatted with the woman at the counter as she unpacked a shipment of books, explaining some of the finer points of certain crochet books (she was a non-crocheting knitter). A couple pattern books and several skeins of yarn later, I left to find a late lunch. It was starting to drizzle, so I ate quickly and headed for the bus stop.

Matt’s instructions were somewhat incomplete, so after some trial and error I found myself on the right bus going back to the hotel. The walk back from the bus stop was cold and wet – the drizzle had become a steady rain. My pants and socks were thoroughly soaked; I would need to warm up and dry out before venturing out again.

The weather turned steadily worse, and the darkening gloom kept me indoors the rest of the day. The internet had ceased to function after the Clinton Township Concert, so little (okay, nothing) could be done on line. I finished one book and moved on to the next, making dinner in the room. I spent some time consolidating and repacking – replacing warm weather clothing with sweaters from the bus.

We said goodbye to Ann Arbor as we drove “up north” to Gaylord. The skies remained a persistent gray as the wind picked up and the temperatures dropped. Gaylord is one of the new opportunities with the shorter tour – we have fewer states to cover, so we have the time to travel into parts of the state never before reached by the Band.

The concert was a gym job in an unusual configuration. The eager sponsor welcomed us with fresh fruit and nibbles for intermission, and plenty of water to go around. I think the Band was as curious about the audience as the audience was about the band.

One of the biggest differences for me this tour is my music reading glasses – I don’t need regular reading glasses, but my glasses are for distance vision and don’t work for the short distance to the music stand. While I no longer have to worry about misreading accidentals, I can no longer clearly see the faces of the audience. I miss being able to see the smiles and nudges in the audience, or the pride on the faces of the veterans when their song is played.

In Gaylord, though, the audience was set up quiet close to the Band, with the patrons in wheel chairs in the first row. There was no mistaking the pride in the face and body language of the wheel chair bound Coast Guard Veteran who struggled to his feet with the help of his wife during the Coast Guard song – he barely made it upright before having to lower himself once again, while I blinked tears from my eyes. An elderly gentleman helped his wife from her wheel chair, untangling her oxygen lines, as they stood for the Marines’ Hymn. During God Bless America, I all but lost it as the audience rose to their feet to sing along; strangely, on this tour, the audience has stayed seated, with maybe one or two patrons singing softly. Most seemed content to sit back and enjoy the encore, listening to Sara. Ann Arbor was the only other audience to fully stand for God Bless America, singing loud enough for us to hear. Somehow, though, out here in Gaylord, a place we’d never yet performed, it meant more to see the audience come to their feet and sing with all their heart. It made every mile of the long, cold, drive worth it.

Our concert in Gaylord was our first “last” – last Saturday night concert. Today was our last Sunday matinee, in Muskegon. The hall was a beautiful old theater, home of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra, where Dave once played in his youth. Looking around the hall from the stage, I saw beautiful medallions and wonderful gilded paint work. Michelle pointed up to the blue-lit dome painted like the night sky and said, “It’s like Hogwarts!” The audience filled the hall to the top balcony, smiling and eager in their anticipation of the concert. With God Bless America ringing in our ears, we packed the trunks and loaded the buses for some rest and rejuvenation before facing the last five (and a half) days of Tour.

For more Band news, read here, here, and here.