Their set was fantastic! Tom's vocals were strong and confident, despite playing for the first time in front of a crowd mostly made up of absolute strangers. I know how terrified I was for my performance, and I knew every single person in the audience!
The conquering heroes post-set:
Here are a few pics of my set, which was about 20 songs long and was without a doubt the most fun I've ever had (well, pretty much, anyway):
Dana took this one, which I just love- the empty mic, the Gramma Judy candle holder, the birthday card up against the monitor, the kid sliding down the slide in the background, the stool from Beth and Bill's kitchen:
Tom helped me with a harp solo on Thunder Road:
Dad and Zanny came up for a show-stopping performance of "Suspicious Minds", one that they've been practicing since we were little kids living in Colorado:
"Why can't you see, what you're doing to me..."
Dad and I reprised our performance of "You're 16" from Zanny's wedding reception in 2000. I thought it was a little bit creepy for two old dudes to be singing about a 16 year old, so I dedicated the song to my high school girlfriend Cindy (who was, at 16, really quite something):
Beth and Papa Shoe having a moment:
My next special guest requires a bit of storytelling:
Abbey's grandfather Charles was a guitar player, but until this spring we weren't aware that his guitar still existed. It recently resurfaced, having been maintained perfectly since he passed away in the mid-70's by his lovely bride, Mayola. It's a 1957 Silvertone hollow-body electric that he used to play slide on with the guitar across his lap, country-style.
Abbey inherited it just two weeks ago, and learned a song that I had the extraordinary honor to perform together with her and Beth on vocals. We did "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams, which was recorded just a few years before Charles bought this guitar from a Sears Roebuck catalogue.
Abbey, just recovering from laryngitis, totally nailed her performance. This song was for me, the emotional highlight of the evening:
Not bad to go from not playing a guitar to performing on stage in just 9 days!
Beth and I have sung together for years just informally, and she has a beautiful voice, so I was surprised to learn that she had never sung in front of a crowd before. She overcame her nervousness and sounded fantastic:
Beautiful job, Abbey:
Grampa H is proud!
The best birthday gift I've ever received was the attentive, enthusiastic audience that I had Sunday night!
Cell phone wavers:
My mom was very present all night. I wrote a song about how great it would be to get to be old,which is something she never got to do.
Rob's Angels:
We had a long-distance request from cousin Kelly in London. She wanted us to do Tom Petty's "Refugee", because she remembers having a blast singing that one with Zanny and me at a late-night jam session party in Iowa years ago. Beth, Zanny, Abbey, Tessa and Dana (a.k.a.: "The Firecrackers"!) came up for some backup singing help, and it went over huge, probably the most fun I had all night:
"Who knows, maybe you were kidnapped, tied-up, taken away and held for ransom.."
"You don't have to live like a refugee..."
"Everybody's had to fight to be free!"
I finished up with a few more Bruce tunes, then came back with the Playaz for some louder tunage:
We did a Chris Isaak song "Best I Ever Had" (twice!), "Runnin' Down a Dream", "Secret Agent Man", and "What I Like About You", complete with killer harmonica again by Tom:
Nate and His Fabulous Wall Of Guitars! :
Kat came up and joined in on the vocals:
I think the most lasting memory of the night is just the smiles and joy on the faces of all of my peeps:
Rock Star Grampi with adoring groupie:
The Playaz Wivz: Michelle and Lisa:
Thanks to Big Sam, who provided some much-needed security to the proceedings:
Susan even danced! (This just doesn't happen)
Gerred and Holly cutting a lawn on "Dream Lover" along with Beth and Dad:
Dad has a unique dance that he does: sort of like the "Time Warp" from Rocky Horror, but with all the parts that aren't the pelvic thrust cut out:
Rock stars with movie star smiles:
I couldn't have imagined how thrilling it would be to play music and watch people having fun and dancing at the same time:
Beth regains her crown as Queen of Setlist Acquisition:
We wound down the evening with a little stage-side jam session after everyone had gone home:
Bleary-eyed and still buzzing the next morning:
The house was the quietest place on earth yesterday. It was hard having to say goodbye to Dana and the rest of the people who travelled a long way to come for the Show. Today, the stage, lights and tent were all gone before noon. Cry.
But, don't despair- we're already playing with some ideas for the second annual Robfest next year. It will be hard to top this one, though. It was one of those rare occasions where the reality ends up being far better than I could have imagined.
Thanks to all who helped put all of this together, especially Delores, who works harder than anyone I know on these "vacations". And most especially my manager, Beth, who had the patience to sit and listen to me play through these songs over and over again these past few weeks, always providing helpful suggestions and positive encouragement. Combine managerial skills with beauty and talent, and you've got a classic triple threat, mister!
Thanks also to all who were able to come this year. I know of many who would have loved to come but weren't able for many reasons.
More on the non-show weekend activities later!
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