What a trip! And I’ve got 4 gigs to write about so I’m going to dive right in….Maxine’s in Girdwood. Mother Nature had pulled out all the stops for us as we drove down to Girdwood in a massive snow storm, 24” in 24 hours. Alaska looking as pretty as a picture and Jim and I craning our necks to see it. The unseasonable weather did have an impact on the audience numbers, though I’d like to thank every one who risked life and limb to get there, because you welcomed us beautifully!
The next gig was up north in Talkeetna, a tiny town-let in the shadow of America’s biggest mountain, Mount McKinley. Things could not have been more Northern Exposure. The Fairview, our venue for the evening, is one of the oldest structures in town built in the 1920’s and claiming to have killed off a president in the 1930’s it’s got a colorful atmosphere. We’d hardly stepped out of the car and the inhabitants were shouting “BRUUISE!” out of the door, I didn’t know how they’d identified us so easily but as we walked around a bit it became more apparent. Jim was in a hat and tie and I was wearing drain pipes and pointy boots, hmmmm, though the folks there had style it was very different from ours. We played for 3 1/2 hours and were much loved up by the waves of punters, a couple told us they’d traveled 200 miles to get there for the gig – WOW! Some folks made a real point of making their appreciation felt and by the end of the evening, in a beery blur I felt almost as at home there as I do down in Deptford, Thank you Talkeetna.
Next stop on the tour was The Spring Social, this little festival was the whole reason this tour occurred. Spenard was my old neighborhood when I lived out there and once a year they put on this celebration of homegrown music in Spenard’s oldest social venue, a Nissan hut once named “The Garden of Eatin” aaahhh ! 12 bands between 9pm and 1am, every one got a 20 minute bite at the apple and we L-O-V-E-D it! We played 3 songs The Game, The Northern Line and Silvertown. We were seconds into the Northern Line and the whole room was clapping along, I felt so elated to be received like that, not one person in that room had ever heard that song before and there they were clapping along. It was every thing I had hoped it would be and more. Jim pitched in as drummer for Duke Russell and I joined in with some backing vox which was a real treat, and I’d also like to mention Tom Arthur, Jacob Carpenter, Rick and Blake Kinsey and ATF who all rocked the joint in their individual ways.
Though we’d had many impromptu sessions and open mic’s in-between, our last gig was at the Taproot Café, Anchorage on the night before we left. We played from 8 – 11 to a room filled with familiar and friendly faces. I was treated to smiles and singing along all night, it is the most lovely thing when people pick up on lyrics and join in. I was totally moved by the reception. It was super to see old friends show up and support us and I was very impressed by the number of people who had taken a chance on us and were open heartedly enthusiastic about what they were hearing.
We met many, many fantastic people while we were out there but these are the ones that made it possible…Laura, Duke, Dan, Tony, Rebecca, Andrew, & Mike, THANK YOU! And we are left feeling like the luckiest band in the world, I’m itching to get up to IPO Liverpool and I’d sell my liver to get back to Anchorage … any takers? It’s been well worn in… X
