I was surprised the place was so crowded. It was "hail fellow well met" from the parking lot to the bandstand. Old friends, neighbors, classmates and bandmates embraced. The first batch of songs were played on acoustic guitars: The Boxer, If I Were A Carpenter, Reason To Believe... Then electric guitar, pedal steel, keyboards and drums were added to the mix and we went country: Jambalaya, Precious Memories, Silver Wings... A tribute to Danny of Danny's Music Box followed. He was given a plaque in appreciation of his support of local musicians, and we told him to "tell 'em where you got it, babe!" Then, while we played "Knockin' On Heaven's Door, the names of the deceased were read aloud: Bobby Fuller, Jamie Hilliard, Steve Crosno... A group called the Bobby Fuller Faux took center stage and blew the roof off the dump with a rockin' set of Bobby Fuller and Buddy Holly songs. A reunion of original Moon Pie members kept up the pace and volume. When their set ended at 11:00, I started making my way to the door. It was "hail fellow well met" from the bandstand to the parking lot. I wobbled and teetered in the crush of humanity. Mouths moved and I heard nothing, but I came away with a reassuring sense of belonging to the community to which I aspired all those years ago.
Zoomer Roberts
3 October 2008
