This week Byron’s Bar had a three day festival, billed by Byron as: N x BS, like the Texas show SXSW. Only this one was North by BS, which of course means Byron Stuart. I think he so deemed it because it was an accident.
On my way the third afternoon (my son’s birthday, and yes, I called), I couldn’t help but notice the beauty of rural Iowa during harvest season. Except of course for the farm machinery on the blacktops and some slightly disturbing evidence of creatures that had been frightened out of the fields where they’d been hiding and subsequently been driven onto the hard surface roads, but hey, in the end, we’re all food.
I drove 390 round trip miles to attend, which was nothing compared to my friend Marie’s 600 miles.
What makes obsessives like Marie or myself do that? That’s expensive and exhausting. Sometimes you want a co-pilot and there isn’t one. I have heard every possible explanation under the sun which explains why people DON’T do that, but in my opinion, they’re all bogus.
We heard three acts probably most of my readers won’t recognize, The Forrest McCurry Duo, The Joey Tenuto Band, and Mace Hathaway, a solo act.
Until I find some talent of my own which could survive on a stage (I don’t play an instrument or sing), I don’t review. But I’d like to say I was transported by each act, each in their own way.
The nine sets from the three nights are posted below.
If the guy who owns the joint accidentally books shows three nights in a row, it is obvious that many people will pick and choose among those nights. The becomes ABUNDANTLY obvious if you’re there every time, and then for me, it becomes a guessing game: who are these people tonight and why are they here? I guess even though I know 90% of them fairly well.
For example, there are the Byron’s Dancers-a fairly static group who take to the somewhat tiny dance floor during the danceable numbers, often as singles, sometimes as couples. I have not been a dancer for about 28 years, due to some changes that took place at that time (I sobered up after drinking more than my quota for a couple of decades before that) but I admire the dancers. I USED to do that, sort of concert-style, clearing an area around myself so I could flail around more liberally than some others.
One night several years ago, Marty Enslow, a Des Moines guy with a radio show about Iowa stuff, and I were just in the process of meeting and a young dancing woman managed to pull Marty onto the floor over his protestations, and he danced around with her a bit. She was one of those twirl-me-back-and-forth types and that was obviously not Marty’s style and he escaped. He and I went back to conversation as we left it, but all of a sudden, there she was, in my face. I looked at her like what-the-hell lady and she admitted that yeah, I was the last guy in the place she’d asked. But I was already planning to break her of that hand-holdie shit and show her some freestyle interpretation when she said to me “wow, you really feel this stuff, don’t you?” She also made it obvious that she was trying to piss off the ugly guy that she was with by dancing with everyone in the place, so I escaped.
Byron mentioned that same thing last. There were a couple of Dead songs that Mace did which got me back out on the floor. I am not comfortable doing that stuff by myself-my former spouse wasn’t such a bad leaper and twirler herself. But it’s been a long time. I just remembered half of the act during some emotional trauma in early July. I remembered what to do with my arms, but not (yet) what to do with my feet. Byron mentioned that “you really feel it” thing. Of course I do, Winterland is coming up, I must practice.
It was interesting to string three days in a row like that. In the five years I’ve been going to the place it has only happened a handful of times. Maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems to me like the Frequent Fliers figure out how to bring all their trials AND tribulations to a show, dump them in a bucket and whoever can use whatever is welcome to it.
Except for the part where I suspect the NXBS might not have been financially successful (he said, conservatively), I would like to see that become a “thing” which might be periodically repeated. There are two motels nearby and a campground nearer-by. Just a thought.
Forrest McCurren Band
Joey Tenuto Band
Mace Hathaway
