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guitar mandolin violin Most of class was spent watching the rest of the film The Color Purple and one thing kept going through my mind as I sat there. Spielberg can not make a dark film. Yes, the physical and mental abuse described in the book was still there, but in my mind the film was not nearly as oppressive as what I had read. At times the film was positively giddy and filled with overt slapstick. Seeing what I saw, I couldn't help but think of the television sitcom Home Improvement where all of the men seem to be morons. Even though the instructor insists that Alice Walker was happy with the film, I can't see how she could be. Oh, the film is definitely pro women, but the religious theme that Walker put into the book is lost and there is another father daughter part about Shug that Spielberg or the screenwriter cobbled onto the book. For me sitting through the entire film was a struggle and I didn't even write and or really like the book. ... I spoke too soon about the roof work being done on the house next to mine. When I drove down the street I could see that only the side of the roof facing my house had been completed. The other half of the roof was still essentially bare and I was a little disappointed in the six man crew. A year ago or so when another neighbor had their roof redone, the two man crew was done in two days and the houses are about the exact same size. ... After class ended I was bound for the other side of the state. A band that I like was playing a concert in La Crosse and that meant a two hundred or so mile drive across the lower half of the state. Personally I don't think that I could have chosen a further starting point than I did. I literally started at the edge of Lake Michigan on the eastern border and drove all the way to the Mississippi River on the western edge of Wisconsin. The drive itself didn't bother me. I've driven further in a day and I actually knew most of the route from memory. Oddly enough the last time that I was in La Crosse was with Tracy for a family reunion of hers. Somewhere there are pictures of me sitting in a park with the rest of the extended family. For some reason that makes me laugh. I have to admit that the drive was more stressful than I had thought that it would be before I left. Due to the fact that I was plowing through rush hour traffic most of the time I coudn't really look that much at the fall colors along the way. Then at the very end of the journey I had to deal with rain and construction. Seeing the lightning over the bluffs of western Wisconsin was pretty in a way, but I was also in a hurry and didn't have time for any more delays and or distractions. Despite my growing concern I made it with half an hour to spare and I must have looked a little strange when I walked through the door of the theater. I was wet from the rain and a three and a half hour drive on an empty stomch does tend to leave me a little frazzled. With my ticket firmly in hand I made my way to the restroom, three and a half hours on the road plus an additional two or so in class tends to put a strain on my bladder. Once out of the restroom, I made my way to the refreshment stand. Since I hadn't had time to stop, I was in desperate need of something to either eat and or drink. My slightly unwise choice was a cold beer. Yes, I needed something to calm me down rather than stimulate me any more so a soda was out of the question. Three young women who were probably part of a sorority or something else along those lines were in charge of the beer. I muttered that I wanted a beer and was happy to take whatever they gave me. It didn't look as though there was a choice, but they did ask me just in case. Somewhere in my self induced fever, I decided to tip them. Yes, they were attractive enough, but I can't think of any other reason why they needed some more money from me. Two of them almost thanked me in unison when I dropped the money in the tip jar. With my fresh cold beer in hand, I made my way into the seating area. It was an old theater and the seating was general admission so the choice was mine. Surveying the crowd I saw an odd mix of young people and some people about ten years older than me. This was the first bluegrass concert that I had ever seen and I was curious as to who else liked this kind of music especially since Wisconsin is far from the South. Twelve or fifteen rows from the front was good enough for me. From that vantage point the performers would still be life size yet there wouldn't be a blocking head right in front of me. I was proud of my choice in seating. Glen Philips. I have to confess that I had no idea what he had done after Toad the Wet Sprocket and I was very impressed by what I heard. Not only did he do songs from his solo album, but he also did some of the best stuff from Toad which was amazing. I don't think that I could have asked for a better dual billing. Then after a brief intermission the main act came on stage and hearing them made the drive completely worthwhile. They were just as memorable as what I had seen and heard on Austin City Limits a few weeks back. Simple powerful and very human. Obviously they did a few of the fan favorites, but they also did a number of songs from the new album that will either come out later this year or early next year. Since this was the first concert that I had seen in eight years I was concerned if it would be worth my time. Now I know that the answer is yes.
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