Homemade Applesauce

Work has been super busy this week. Hell, life's been pretty busy lately, and I've been trying to write this 'toothpaste' entry for a while now - a lot has happened. This may be a long one, so bear with me, or skim through the boring parts. ;)

So, last friday night Chica and I drove down to Dayton to see my favorite band OtR play. Upon heading down I was fraught with a good mix of nerves and excitement - excited to see the band, and nervous to meet a bunch of people from the Orchard for the first time. I don't do all that well around new people.

It's not that I'm anti-social or anything. . .oh, wait. Yeah, it is.

I like people. I really do. It's just that I'm pretty introverted making it nearly impossible to communicate in a large group of people. I like 1-on-1 conversations much better, as I think it allows both parties to become better acquainted with one another. But these people weren't strangers (I've been talking to most of you every day for seven months now), and after having ants in my pants for half an hour in line I braved (with a push from Chica) going to chat it up with some Apples. And everyone was wonderful -- as I expected.

Well, actually KJ caught me walking down the street on the way to stand in line. She recognized me right away and didn't hesitate to lock me down in a hug. I stepped back to see the three beautiful women standing there and was immediately awe-struck. I said hello to Belly and shook her hand, and then KJ told her who I was. Belly dropped the shake in favor for another great hug. Again, I stepped back surveyed the women only to be dumbfounded once more. "Kylie Jo. Anna Belle. and. . .and." I couldn't even bring myself to say it. "Kylie, Anna, and. . .and. . .Michelle?" My eyes did not deceive me; Michelle had flown all the way in from Hawaii! Michelle and I exchanged hellos (and yet another wonderful hug) and we parted ways. The ladies headed back to Brixx and Chica and I trotted along to Canal St. Already, my mind was a little settled, and my heart had begun to swell.

Upon arriving at the line we were greeted by Bill and Bruce (two crazy cats if I've ever seen any), took our place among the quickly forming crowd and waited and talked. Soon enough Jeanne and Kevin showed up (ah, my nerves were settling still -- a mighty big thanks to Jeanne for getting me tickets at the last minute. You saved my night.) And finally KJ, Michelle and Belly showed back up, dragging a Nimrod in somewhere behind them.

Within minutes of stepping into the bar and talking with these great Apples I knew I felt like I had come home to a family. We don't share blood or genes or anything like that. What we share is found deep within each of our spirits; it is a love for great art and great music, a love for Over the Rhine. We talked and laughed and drank until it was time for the opening act to take his place. And then we were treated to one of the best OtR concerts I've been to.

I won't really say to much about the show, except that My Love is a Fever got me going (like it always does), and that the new songs were really good. Stella's Tarentella was a delightful mix of poetry and music, and the new one that Linford sang on was one of my favorite moments of Friday night. And Chica cried when they played Bothered, but I understand all about that. In fact, this time at CST was probably the first time I've not cried at an OtR concert. I think I was just too excited, too overwhelmed.

I left the evening feeling pleasantly drained - blissfully exhausted -and like I had the opportunity to connect with some of the greatest people in the world. Needless to say, I can't wait for December!

Taft, here I come!
-d.