Sal Comes Close to Being Blown Away at an Arlo Guthrie Concert

On July 27th, Arlo Guthrie appeared at Cain Park, and Sal and I went to the show.  Two of our Flea friends were our companions for this exciting evening of music and weather.   Sal, Bruce, and I were driving from the west side of town, and Nicole was coming from the east.  We west-siders had brought along a picnic and planned to eat it in the park before the show, but, as seems to be the case almost every day this summer, the sky was threatening rain and delivered on its promise.  Consequently we ate in the car as the rain poured down around us.  Luckily the precipitation stopped long enough to allow us to walk to the ampitheater without getting wet.  We hoped that the clouds had finished their work for the evening, but we were very wrong...

Shortly before the show was to start, Nicole arrived and we all settled in to enjoy the music.

Stories and songs -- all super entertaining!

Arlo Guthrie came out and entertained us mightily.  He told wonderful stories between the songs, and there was much laughter all around.

Suddenly, in the middle of a song, a voice came through the P.A. system announcing that the show was going to stop for 15 minutes because of some very bad weather coming through. The audience was instructed to remain where we were, and Arlo was required to leave the stage.

Very shortly rain came bucketing down and there was thunder and lightning galore.  We speculated about what would happen if a tornado came through.  There was quite a bit of nervous laughter as we looked up at the metal roof.

Rain pouring down from the edge of the roof

It was so windy that rain was blowing inside.  People began putting up their umbrellas inside the pavilion.  Despite being in the center section -- pretty far away from the edge of the roof -- we got a bit damp.

Cain Park staffers came out and covered the guitars, piano, etc. with a tarp.

Well-prepared Nicole donned her raincoat.  Sal came out of her bag to take part in the experience.

After 15 minutes we were told that we would be waiting another 15 minutes, but that the show would most likely resume at that time.  It did!  The tarp was removed, the stage mopped up with towels, and the show went on!

For some reason I like this shot of Arlo tuning up his 12-string while a bunch of folks wearing rain gear mopped the stage with towels.

The rest of the show was just as wonderful as the pre-storm portion.  As we made our way out of the pavilion, I saw some people haven't seen for a long time.  It's a small world -- especially at Cain Park -- where it seems like I always run into people I know.  Apparently we all have great taste in music!  Thanks, Arlo, for a very entertaining show.  And thanks, Mother Nature, for making the evening extra exciting!

BLOGPALOOZA: PART FIVE! Sal Goes Out in the Rain to See Hey Mavis!

There is light at the end of the BLOGPALOOZA tunnel!  Yay!

Last November my sister and I had tickets for a show in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  It was to be a dual performance by Eddie Caner -- a member of the band Hey Mavis -- and a cellist.  I had heard good things about Hey Mavis, so I figured this would be an excellent birthday outing for Anne and I.  (We both have November birthdays.)  Then Mother Nature decided to play a nasty trick on us.  Extremely bad weather, including ridiculously high winds and horrendous amounts of precipitation, caused us to cancel our evening out.  (To be fair, I was game to go anyway, but my sister is more cautious about driving in severe weather -- and her wiser mind prevailed.)    

Fast forward a few months to the release of the Cain Park summer concert schedule. There was Hey Mavis!  And the tickets were only $2.00 each, as it was a Two Buck Tuesday show!  Of course I asked Anne if she would like to go -- and also asked my friends in the Cleveland Jumping Fleas.  The final group was to be Anne, Nicole, Nicole's roommate, Sal, and me.

Ironically, the weather forecast for the day of the concert was decidedly poor -- or should I say pour!?  Because that is what it did!  In the afternoon the deluge began.  I began to wonder if the concert would be cancelled, as there was heavy rain and a lot of wind, and Cain Park is an outdoor venue.  After a while the weather improved, so after work I set off to meet my companions at Tommy's for a pre-show dinner.

Unfortunately, I ran into a traffic nightmare.  Here is a portion of the Cleveland.com article about the accident that added 45 minutes to my drive across town:  "Traffic is backed up on westbound Interstate 480 ... A United Parcel Service truck banged off the center wall of the highway, then hit another vehicle... Multiple reports say packages were knocked out of the UPS double-trailer and are all over the interstate. The collisions caused a light pole to fall onto the highway, adding to the traffic mess."  Happily, I was able to call Anne from the car (while stopped) and she ordered for me after I got past the snarl.  Everyone's food was delivered about two minutes after I arrived at Tommy's -- and it was delicious!

The weather had been clement when we entered the restaurant, but it was extremely inclement when we exited and headed for our cars.  Rain was pouring down again, but most of our party had been smart enough to bring umbrellas.   There was only one who had neglected to do so.  Me, of course.  Anne tried to share her umbrella with me, but not very successfully. 

After a short drive we found parking spots and rushed to the pavilion.  We were soaked, but the show was well worth the minor discomfort!  Hey Mavis played some awesome music!  For obvious reasons, the audience was small --  but the music-lovers who braved the awful weather were very enthusiastic -- and the band was appreciative of the fans who came out on such a stormy night. 

It was very cool to sit under the roof and listen to wonderful music while the rain poured all around us.  Thunder and lightening added their sound and visuals to the experience.  A fantastic night -- even though it took days for the shoes I had been wearing to completely dry out! 

We made it under the roof where it was nice and dry, but it was too late.  We were all pretty damp.  Check out how hard it's raining outside the pavilion!

Hey Mavis bravely playing through the storm.  They were awesome!

Sal hanging out with Hey Mavis's Brent Kirby and a lovely young lady.

Sal with Eddie Caner and Laurie Michelle Caner.  Amazing musicians!

BLOGPALOOZA, PART ONE! Sal Sees Incredible Fiddlers: Natalie MacMaster, Donnell Leahy, & Kids

On June 22nd, a friend and I went to Cain Park to see The Masters of Fiddle at Cain Park.  Ordinarily I would have spent a few days writing and rewriting, and then posted about the evening.  Obviously this didn't happen.   Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on how you look at it -- Sal and I have been so busy that I didn't have time to write!  I'm planning to knock off all the posts that are in the pipeline in the next two days so we can start from scratch.  The posts will be short and lacking detail -- but they will be finished!  (It is possible that some of Sal's readers will be grateful for the brevity...)  I will be calling this series of posts BLOGPALOOZA!

On to the concert!  It was a beautiful night -- perfect weather for an outdoor musical experience.  And the show was incredible!  Amazing music.  We loved every minute of it! The Masters of Fiddle are Natalie MacMaster and her husband Donnell Leahy -- both absolutely mind-blowing fiddlers.  What a fabulous night! 

We arrived early enough to check out the merch table before the show.  This very friendly guy assisted us in deciding what to buy.

While wandering about with Sal in hand, I came across these two ushers.  The lady plays the uke herself, so I gave her a Cleveland Jumping Flea card to entice her to come to a playalong sometime.

Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy have six children.  Here are two of them showing that they have inherited their parents' fiddling talents.  Seeing them play confirmed my view that it was time to put my violin back in the closet.  I'm sure that even if I practiced for years, I couldn't play as well as those two little kids already do!

Here are four of the kids demonstrating that they are following in their parents dancing footsteps.  Amazing!

I was very glad to say hi to these incredible performers and get their picture with Sal!

Sal Meets the Carolina Chocolate Drops

It's pretty amazing how knowing interesting people can bring wonderful new things into one's life.  This little tale is an example of that.  A few months ago I invited a few of my fellow Fleas to peruse the catalog of the Cleveland International Film Festival and, if they so desired, select a film or two to see with me.  One of the people who took me up on the offer was Nicole.  She came down to see the film The Winding Stream: The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music.  We both really enjoyed the movie, and yes, there's a post about that.  During the course of the film, the Carolina Chocolate Drops performed a song.  I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't have given the group another thought if Nicole hadn't said "I love the Carolina Chocolate Drops."  Jump forward a few weeks to when the Cain Park summer concert schedule was announced.  And there were the Carolina Chocolate Drops!

That is how Sal and I ended up seeing a fantastic show on Thursday night with a whole bunch of very nice people!  Starting with a tasty dinner at Tommy's Restaurant, and ending with having the opportunity to meet the amazing performers and take the photos below, it was a great evening.

Lesson learned = hang out with interesting people and you will do interesting things, too.  Thanks, Nicole!

Part of our concert-going group.  From left to right:  Bruce, Nicole with Sal, Weezle, and Laurie.  See how close our seats were to the stage!?

The Carolina Chocolate Drops during their super-entertaining performance.  Such great music!  I would see them again in a minute!

After the show the group signed posters, CDs, record albums, tickets, etc.  Of course I asked them to pose with Sal!  You can see that they are not just amazing musicians -- they are a fun bunch of people!

I ran into several people I knew at the show, including my friend Heidi and her mom Raenell.  As we were starting to say our goodnights, we saw the wonderful dancers whose fabulous footwork had added a lot to the show.  Of course I couldn't resist asking them to pose with Sal, too, and they were super nice about it.  From left to right:  Heidi, Raenell, Matthew Olwell and Emily Oleson (holding Sal) of the Good Foot Dance Company, and Bruce.

If you ever have the chance to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops, don't hesitate!  Get a ticket and go!!!