On Saturday, July 4, The Tim and Bob Show helped celebrate our nation's 233rd birthday by playing "some old time rock 'n roll" at HEB Central Market in Alamo Heights. We usually play there the first Saturday of the month, but we usually play indoors in their nicely appointed cafe. But because the first Saturday in July was "the 4th," we moved our performance time forward 5 hours and played an outdoor afternoon gig in their patio dining area. For those of you reading this in the San Antonio area, you know what it was like on the 4th. Our drought continued and the previous record high temperature for the day was smashed as the mercury hit 103 at the airport. And, yes, we were outside in it.
The FIRST person to come to our rescue was our contact at Central Market, Emily, who provided us with a fan about the size of a child's wading pool. We set it up behind us and it ran for more than 5 hours keeping our equipment cooled and ourselves reasonably dry. The SECOND person to come to our rescue remains anonymous to us. It could have been the woman that I chatted with and gave a card to when she stopped at our sign to listen to us play. She went inside to shop and could have bought us lunch. It also could have been the couple that Steve talked to who were concerned about our lack of sustenance. Or it could have been any one of our other fans; we'll never know. Whomever it was, he, she, or they treated us all to lunch -- lunch that we could smell cooking on the outdoor grill.
The THIRD persons to come to our rescue were Elizabeth, Emma, and their father, Rodney, who came to listen to a few tunes and left us with an ice chest loaded with popsicles. They figured we'd be hot and in need of something sweet, and they were right. Finally, the FOURTH person to come to our rescue was our friend Chris, who drove back home just to get us insulated gloves. Why were these necessary? Well, our speakers and speaker stands were standing out in the sunshine for more than five hours, and they were seriously hot. As the song goes, "you've got to have friends," and The Tim and Bob Show are blessed with many.
Speaking of friends, in addition to the four we just mentioned, a huge crowd of Tim and Bob Nationals came out to enjoy the music. Vicki and Linda were there, along with Mara, Larry, David, Stephanie, Marcie, Rich, Patrick, Flo, Holly and Gary, and Richard and Justa. By my count, that's EIGHTEEN Tim and Bobbers out in triple digits to hear their favorite band. That may be a record for us, and I know that Central Market was pleased that they all showed up. We also made new friends Tillie, Eloise, and Jeff.
With four hours to fill and with Mary Lou still at home recovering from her recent surgery, the three of us had a little more singing to do. We replaced our signature 4-parters with eight songs that Kathy, Steve, and I do together. The best of these, in my opinion, was Steve's arrangement of Greenday's "Wake Me Up When September Ends." Kathy also had another eight songs that featured only Steve and her, and I sang eight by myself to give Steve a chance to sit and rehydrate. I introduced a new number, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out." It's new to our repertoire, but it's hardly new to anyone else, since it was first recorded in 1923!
We finished the day with as much performance energy as we began with, broke down the equipment, loaded up our cars, dropped off the equipment, and then the three of us drove back to my house to splash in the pool. Four hours in 100+ temperatures? Not bad for a bunch of oldies like us.
Further special applause has to go out to Steve and Kathy. We were about 5 minutes into our setup when I was hit by extremely painful back spasms. Already missing Mary Lou's assistance, Steve and Kathy had to take on most of my lifting and carrying as well. I didn't hear a single complaint.
So, thanks to Central Market's fan, and thanks to all the fans of The Tim and Bob Show -- veterans and first-timers -- who made this gig very special!
And please,
No comments:
Post a Comment