2003-03-26 - 11:06 p.m.
March 15, 2003
Poured rain all the way from Raleigh to Charleston. On the way in on I-26 we passed 4 or 5 roadside memorials.You know the kind. White wooden crosses with plastic flowers. I can't fathom why people would put those up. These were the scenes of a loved ones last moments on this plane. They may have died frightened, alone and in great pain. Better, I believe, to memorialize them elsewhere. A place where you could celebrate their lives insted of the tragic spot where their lives came to an end. Unless it's some kind of warning. I still think it's weird.
We arrive as the nationwide drunkfest known as St.Patricks Day is in full swing. We had to load in at 8:30pm because there was a radio station sponsored "pub crawl" going on. There was a bad band on stage and many drunk folks with green hats on in the crowded bar. We had a couple of hours to kill so Andy and I went in search of real food instead of the greasy barfare available at the club. It was great to be back in Charleston. The Blue Sparks used to play here all the time. We used to stay with friends in Old Town. It got so we knew the town so well, it felt like home. Come to think of it, many towns in the south were our "second homes".
We ducked into a local oyster bar and had a dozen with salads. Great stuff! After that we took a brief walk through the old market. I swear I recognized some of the old balck women selling baskets and speaking Gullah.
The PA was a disaster. It took forever to get up and running and at the last minute we were told there would be an opener. He turned out to be very good although I can't remember his name. Before we played, a family came up to me to say hi. They had come all the way from Birmingham, Alabama. They wanted to have my picture taken with them. They were really sweet and big fans. They had seen us at a festival down in Alabama. The patriarchs name was Dale. His son Jack took me outside and shared some fine moonshine with me. It was some of the finest I ever had! He was a great guy. Another fan had brought his whole family and had pictures taken with us. It amazes me that people will drive 10 hours to see us.
It was near capacity crowd and they were totally into it. We played real good and it was a fabulous night. The next day's a travel day and then Monday's the big showcase at the N.A.R.M. convention in Orlando, Forida.
