Josh Joplin Concert
Months and months ago, Jeigh had seen "Madison, WI" on Josh Joplin's tour list. This was startling and disheartening because she'd be living in LaX by then. She, however, was determined to go. She'd do anything. But how? She had no car. The gig was on a Tuesday night and she had class at 7:45 the next morning. So, as time went on, she realized how impossible it would be to get there. Oh well, she thought. She'd already bought tickets, so perhaps her father would go for her and video tape it. That would be enough.
Last week, someone posted a clip online from a Josh Joplin concert last Friday, the song "Mortimers Ghost." Jeigh had never seen Josh Joplin perform live before and this was completely unexpected. His pictures showed a serious, probably mild-manored, average looking guy. He hardly smiled in any of his pictures. But here on stage, he grinned the whole time, bouncing up and down, rocking side to side, kicking his legs out, everything! This is when Jeigh realized that a video was not enough. She had to go to the concert on October fourth. So, she called up her parents and begged. They said they'd think about it, and by the next day, they decided that it would be alright considering the only class she'd miss was Speach and it was just listening to other kids give their speaches on Hurricane Katrina that day. So it was settled, and Jeigh was psyched.
Tuesday, October 4th, Jeigh's father picked her up and they made it back home to Madison in time for dinner. At 7:45, they left the house and arrived at Cafe Montemartre around 8pm. The opening act, Cordero, was scheduled to go on at 8:30 and Jeigh wanted a good seat. When they arrived, there weren't any seats open except way off to the side, but two women in front of the stage at the bar moved and Jeigh and her dad grabbed those seats -- the best seats in the house. The bartender told them that Cordero was not coming and that a lot of people were coming to see them. Jeigh didn't mind so much. But they had to wait around for an hour. Jeigh began to get anxious. She had met her favorite band, Blessid Union of Souls, last May and suddenly remembered how nervous she'd been walking up to the autograph table. She'd actually gotten dizzy. She didn't want to pass out before Josh even arrived. Meanwhile, Jeigh's father was aghast at the man painting the ceiling in the next room. First he rolled right over the two people drinking and then over the unattended Martin guitar.
Around 9pm, a van pulled up and a tech got out with a guitar. Jeigh got more nervous. Jeigh's dad said to tell him when she saw Josh, but she realized that she might not recognise him. Afterall, he was a medium-height, male, caucasian in his 30's with short dark hair. That described half the people in the room. The band came in, but she didn't see anyone that resembled Josh in any way. She could tell who the drummer was because he began pretending to play the drums in the next room.
Then, a little after nine, a man in a Jean jacket walked in. She knew it was him instantly, and said so. There was no doubt. He spoke briefly to the band and then entered the cafe. The first thing he did was walk to Jeigh and her dad and thank them for coming. Jeigh couldn't believe he was so nice. She told him she was a huge fan and her father told him how he had to drive all the way up to LaX to get her. Josh said that it was perfectly fine if she wanted to video tape the show.
The show was incredible. Jeigh planned to write down the playlist some time while watching the video back. She requested "That Was Then," but he never played it. That was alright; he played many other of her favorites, including "Dutch Wonderland" and "Jaywalkers of the World" and "Camera One." He actually broke a string playing "Camera One" and the tech said he was too hard on his guitars. Josh -- with that wonderful speaking voice with some kind of Pennslyvanian accent -- made the audience laugh with his anecdotes between songs, including stories about plastic cows, a mustache hair stuck in the microphone, a folk-singer's union, and ripping on Jimmy Buffet.
After the show, Jeigh got to talk to him breifly. She was able to buy a sad bunny t-shirt, get one autogrpahed poster, two photos with him, and two hugs from him. She also now has the one hour and 20 minute video of the whole concert. She forgot to ask him "Who is Mr. Henry, anyway?" but that's okay. She got back to the car wearing her Jaywalker t-shirt and pants filled with cameras and tapes and batteries, and she wondered why her shoulders were wet...it was Josh Joplin's sweat. She found it odd that he wore a heavy coat while performing because usually people get really warm jumping around on stage, but she remembered seeing photos of him performing in a winter scarf as well. Huh.
Last week, someone posted a clip online from a Josh Joplin concert last Friday, the song "Mortimers Ghost." Jeigh had never seen Josh Joplin perform live before and this was completely unexpected. His pictures showed a serious, probably mild-manored, average looking guy. He hardly smiled in any of his pictures. But here on stage, he grinned the whole time, bouncing up and down, rocking side to side, kicking his legs out, everything! This is when Jeigh realized that a video was not enough. She had to go to the concert on October fourth. So, she called up her parents and begged. They said they'd think about it, and by the next day, they decided that it would be alright considering the only class she'd miss was Speach and it was just listening to other kids give their speaches on Hurricane Katrina that day. So it was settled, and Jeigh was psyched.
Tuesday, October 4th, Jeigh's father picked her up and they made it back home to Madison in time for dinner. At 7:45, they left the house and arrived at Cafe Montemartre around 8pm. The opening act, Cordero, was scheduled to go on at 8:30 and Jeigh wanted a good seat. When they arrived, there weren't any seats open except way off to the side, but two women in front of the stage at the bar moved and Jeigh and her dad grabbed those seats -- the best seats in the house. The bartender told them that Cordero was not coming and that a lot of people were coming to see them. Jeigh didn't mind so much. But they had to wait around for an hour. Jeigh began to get anxious. She had met her favorite band, Blessid Union of Souls, last May and suddenly remembered how nervous she'd been walking up to the autograph table. She'd actually gotten dizzy. She didn't want to pass out before Josh even arrived. Meanwhile, Jeigh's father was aghast at the man painting the ceiling in the next room. First he rolled right over the two people drinking and then over the unattended Martin guitar.
Around 9pm, a van pulled up and a tech got out with a guitar. Jeigh got more nervous. Jeigh's dad said to tell him when she saw Josh, but she realized that she might not recognise him. Afterall, he was a medium-height, male, caucasian in his 30's with short dark hair. That described half the people in the room. The band came in, but she didn't see anyone that resembled Josh in any way. She could tell who the drummer was because he began pretending to play the drums in the next room.
Then, a little after nine, a man in a Jean jacket walked in. She knew it was him instantly, and said so. There was no doubt. He spoke briefly to the band and then entered the cafe. The first thing he did was walk to Jeigh and her dad and thank them for coming. Jeigh couldn't believe he was so nice. She told him she was a huge fan and her father told him how he had to drive all the way up to LaX to get her. Josh said that it was perfectly fine if she wanted to video tape the show.
The show was incredible. Jeigh planned to write down the playlist some time while watching the video back. She requested "That Was Then," but he never played it. That was alright; he played many other of her favorites, including "Dutch Wonderland" and "Jaywalkers of the World" and "Camera One." He actually broke a string playing "Camera One" and the tech said he was too hard on his guitars. Josh -- with that wonderful speaking voice with some kind of Pennslyvanian accent -- made the audience laugh with his anecdotes between songs, including stories about plastic cows, a mustache hair stuck in the microphone, a folk-singer's union, and ripping on Jimmy Buffet.
After the show, Jeigh got to talk to him breifly. She was able to buy a sad bunny t-shirt, get one autogrpahed poster, two photos with him, and two hugs from him. She also now has the one hour and 20 minute video of the whole concert. She forgot to ask him "Who is Mr. Henry, anyway?" but that's okay. She got back to the car wearing her Jaywalker t-shirt and pants filled with cameras and tapes and batteries, and she wondered why her shoulders were wet...it was Josh Joplin's sweat. She found it odd that he wore a heavy coat while performing because usually people get really warm jumping around on stage, but she remembered seeing photos of him performing in a winter scarf as well. Huh.
posted by J Leigh at 3:52 PM
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