Tour Diary - Part 19 (Patreon)

Parked in the MegaCorp Pavilion, across the river from the Great American Ballpark. Not much doing around here though... I see a Dollar General... I see a Big Daddy's Liquor Store. 

Fun fun fun in Royal Oak (Detroit) last night.  Big good room that i've played before. The place was packed and the sound on stage was right on the money. 

I had met this dude, Philip Bowen at the Kansas City Softball Charity event I did a few months ago - He's a fiddler, who appeared on America's Got Talent. He was very nice, and a really big fan of mine. He wrote me, telling me he was excited to come to the show and I got to thinking.  He was up for fiddling on a number and I thought Backwards would be just perfect. 

So last night, before the song I said: 

"so we have some bad news. We tour with a fiddler for this next song. Ken Willis... 88 years old... he wasn't feeling too well last night and well, we think he passed away on the bus last night." Vic and I tossed that bit back and forth -   unsure if he was dead, but was definitely not doing well, and wasn't responding..." Ellie cracked and had to turn around to hide the laughing... So I asked the audience if anyone in the crowd was a fiddler.... Philip was planted with fiddle in hand and stood up, excited...

  It was so obviously a bit but there was a fun moment of shock and confusion on everyone's faces as they processed a man with a fiddle in the crowd.  He came up and started in, perfectly blending into the country tune. (we ran it with him in soundcheck) For the outro, Philip and Catfish traded licks back and forth and the whole thing, with a couple of folks on stage square dancin, just turned into a full-on hootenanny, damnit! so fun!   

I talked to a couple of sisters after the show. One sister had taken her other sister to the show in Chicago show last year, not knowing my work at all, and was fully converted... became a big fan from that show and was there to see it again. Felt good, that the tour can do that... let's keep bringing more people into our fun tent! 

Oh and just to cut you off at the pass, I'll be skipping the skyline chili tonight. 

But, see you tonight Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky!