There's no Liquor in All of Alcohol

(ps--to the previous post --The awesome singer/songwriter CHRISTINA KOWALCHUK!! is another of those new faces I talked about, who are joining us as special guests on the new CD, THE JUGGLER'S PROGRESS. She sang some gorgeous harmonies on several tunes this week! YAY!! Thanks Xtina!!!)

and then... On Thursday we had a gig in Sacramento with the excellent JULIE MEYERS and band ( featuring on drums...yes! Naked Nate!!!).

So, up we drove to the capitol, making pretty good time owing to Gary & Andrew's superior route finding gifts. The drive was long enough, though, for us to get pretty peckish and start talking about the fish & chips we were imminently to order at our venue, the Fox & Goose. Andrew & Gary ( but especially Andrew) also spoke longingly of the chocolate stout the guys always enjoy when we play at F& G.

The Fox & Goose is a Britsy pub which manages to be both cavernous AND cozy at the same time with its high ceilings and bricky-woodsy walls festooned with plentiful Union Jacks, beer lights, Stout posters, a couple of tvs for sports viewing, dart tournament paraphenelia--and a truly bizarre pair of... paintings (?) posters(?) displayed side by side of Queen Elizabeth II and a wizard, who ones assumes is Merlin. Which begs so many questions---who's the myth? Who's real? Who knows? Who am I and why am I such an Anglophile? Oh England, this green & pleasant land, this blessed plot this earth this realm, this precious stone set in a silver sea...

hmmm... did I mention I had a slight fever and more than slight cough? Ick, yet another appearance of Flu Margrit.

Anyhooo, the opener, SAMUEL ( he must have a surname but I never heard it) played his first gig ever and did great--cool voice cool tunes--and banjo--yay! Then TM went on and we had (my plague notwithstanding) a fun set which included songs from SEAWORTHY, and songs soon to be on JUGGLER's PROGRESS, and the band's debut of "SUPERHERO DRUS". (yes yes I know I have played it out--but only solo which only counts a teeny bit.) Julie had an excellent set as well, which we all enjoyed thoroughly. After the show, we met some nice new folks & reconnected with some familiar faces chatting with audience members and the other performers. One woman told me that she really liked the song "Member's Only" and that, in fact, she had ALSO once dreamt that she inexplicably had a penis ( which is not a non-sequitur-- I wrote "Member's Only" after dreaming I had an inexplicable penis, a story I "brought up" when introducing the tune that very evening). Julie's producer Dave told me he LOVED our 7/8 progrock bridge in our song "500 Years", Gary & Andrew had one more beer each and then a cup of tea each, (I powered tea & honey all night--glamorous!), we packed up our gear and got in the car. A fine night of rock all around. The only blot on the evening was the sad news that the Fox & Goose had quit carrying that delicious chocolate stout. Alas. But Gary & Andrew appeared to have found other tasty brews to sample.

My throat was pretty raw after the set, so I begged Gary for his very last cough drop which he kindly handed over to me to promote the cause of True Margrit's lead singer being able to vocalize at the following night's gig. One for the team.

We zoomed out of town and were soon cruising by the flat fields and wetlands outside of Sacramento. To prolong its effect, I let the precious cough drop melt slowly on my tongue--and tried not to crunch it as is my wont. I leaned back into my little nest of musical gear, jackets, and a wee pillow. It was clear and I could see Orion listing down toward the extensive central valley horizon.

As we neared the Budweiser plant I suggested to Andrew that he get a shot of it with his fancy new camera, cuz the place looks so satanic with the red "Budweiser" sign and the beer factory steam swirling about in the night. He declined. But he laughed and commented on the disgustingness of that weak untasty beer, and began telling us that Colorado state law only allows 3.2% alcohol beer. Gary & he debated the finer points of this point, and then the topic of Utah's even stricter laws on spirits came up. Andrew said, "There's no liquor in all of alcohol".

I believe he'd intended to say there's no liquor in all of Utah...but we all liked it the other way, and Gary began slurring the phrase it in a perfect dipsomaniacal wino voice: " There's no liquor in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall of alcohollllllll." So true.

We made a stop in god-knows where for gas and peeing (intake for the former and outtake for the latter. Naturally). Soon enough, we were scooting through the post-midnight light traffic of the Bay Bridge, and thus, were soon to be tucked into respective San Franciscan beds. There's rest in all of sleep.