Library saturday night

We went downtown to Rockin the Plaza at the library again last night. It was a nice night to sit outside, feel the breeze, and listen to some music. And there was a pretty good crowd too.

We didn't get there until around 8, and I think it starts at 7 pm. We parked behind Cindy's again, and at first just stood at the back of the crowd watching some band I didn't at first recognize. Finally we saw a seat open up along the metal benches along the library and we snagged that. When we got closer I could see that the singer/guitarist was Eric - whom I spent almost every Saturday afternoon with for a year or better when Isaac was taking guitar lessons. Eric wasn't Isaac's teacher, so while I was waiting on the boy, Eric and I would usually hang out and chit chat at the little music store where he worked and gave lessons. I always thought he was nice for a young guy.

It was kind of odd because I thought I heard Eric's band (Bellweather) say this was their last song a couple of times; then they finally said they were stalling because the band that was to follow them hadn't shown up yet. I think they must have played about an hour longer than they were supposed to, but they never once complained or let it show - they just kept on playing. Finally I saw an old blue van pull up out front, and sure enough Bellweather said this would actually be there last song. After they got done they also said it was their last show. So that's always sad. Anyway, they were troopers about the whole thing, and I kinda like their smooth, bluesy feel. Reminds me of Santana a little bit.

The next band was a trip. I think their name was Zephaniah or something. They pull up in their van - they had driven straight there from playing in Kansas City - and as soon as they unloaded their stuff they took the stage and stood and waited for the sound guy to give the ok. Two guitarists, bass, singer, and drummer, and every one of them looked like they were about 17, and they all had hair halfway down their backs. They were rarin' to go. Once they got the ok they immediately went into this thing where they all spun their hair around, and they tore into straight up metal! It was the first metal band I had seen at the library, and I thought perhaps there were too many burned out old hippies in usual attendance to care for it. But people actually stayed. And the band even got a crowd to gather up front of the stage. Of course this displaced the two old homeless guys that had been up on the edge of the stage for most of the night. It was odd, because it brought back so many good memories of Isaac's first band. They sounded just like them. But lemme tell ya, even though metal is not my first love in music, these guys were INTO what they were doing. It was a joy just to watch them. They strutted around, they flung their hair all over the place, they had poses, and they did little gimmick things, the one guitarist went out into the crowd quite a bit, the singer really opened up with the crowd... these kids were showmen. It is so much more fun watching someone enjoy themselves than to watch a band who looks like they would rather be somewhere else.

Anyway, we didn't stick around too long though. Jane had to write a paper, and I need to get to bed at a decent time on Saturday nights (11 pm). We hoped to be able to see the fireworks from the baseball game before we left, but they hadn't started yet.

There were a few sights last night too... A couple came through that had just gotten married (she still had on her wedding dress), and the photographer took their picture in a few places. There were quite a few people playing with those stick things - whatever they are. The balloon guy made a BUNCH of balloons for people. One of the neighboring churches set up an ice cream stand. There were two rottweilers there that I wished hadn't been there. Sorry, but I don't particularly care for rotts. And these two were mean looking. The one kept walking back and forth in front of us, and it was like he looked right through you. The other one was on the other side, and there were several people trying to keep it under control throughout the night. He was wanting to tear into somebody or something. I don't know why you would bring a dog like that to something like this. And there were other kinds of dogs there too. There was also this tall girl who walked by in a short, short dress, and her and the two guys she was with sat on the grass in front of us, and she just plopped down and went cross-legged for all the world to see without a care in the world. It seems like there were a few other noteworthy items, but I can't remember them now. It's always interesting... if you like to people-watch and just hang out. Which I do.

Then, just about when I was ready to doze off in bed, I hear the phone ring. Isaac was on his way home from Memphis and someone called him and told him that someone had run into his car. He parked it out in front of a friends house, and this car ran into it, and I guess the people in the car just got out, left their doors open, and took off running. So I suppose they don't have insurance or anything. I haven't heard how bad it is or anything. Whattya gonna do? Life.