i win!

State Motto: Tennessee: The Educashun State

Currently listening: "Chicken Trucker" By Jalan Crossland From 'Moonshiner'

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Drove to Rapid City this evening to see Jalan Crossland perform at the Dahl Fine Arts Center. Spent a buttload of money for it, too, as it was $20 to fill up my car, $15 for a CD (it would've been $17 if I'd ordered it online), and $16 to get in. But it was SO worth it!

I actually got to talk to Jalan this time, unlike up at the Big Horn Bash, 'cause he was pretty preoccupied with other stuff. I was standing around like a dork kinda behind/off to the side of this couple who was talking to Jalan, and the lady kinda noticed me and was all, "Oh, were you waiting to talk??" And I just freeze up..."Umm, I don't know?" Gawd, what a dork. But he remembered me from the emails we'd sent back and forth a few weeks ago when I was trying to clear up where the concert was. Talked to him for a bit, told him that my dad and I saw him play this summer when he opened for Simply Jane, and he said that it was nice to put a face to an email *smile* so that was really cool.

Then the show started. I picked a seat near the middle middle area, so I could see everyone, but a little to the left so I could see Jalan better (he's left-handed, so he was on the end so's not to bump into anyone else). No one sat in my row for the longest time while the other rows filled up. Did I smell? No, I'd just taken a shower before I got there. Oh well. I didn't want to be claustrophobic, anyway. On either side of me was one person, and they were each about 3-4 chairs away. Fine by me. More than halfway through the concert, Jalan says, "Oh, I almost forgot; everybody look under your chairs, I've hidden a guitar tuner under one of them."

No one really did anything 'cause we all thought he was joking around, like maybe he'd lost it or something and was just trying to find it. "I guess no one really wants a guitar tuner," he said after no one really moved, so I decided, what the heck, and felt under my seat. And sure enough, taped up to the bottom of my chair was a pretty guitar tuner in a nice leather case! ("That was the one you didn't want, right Jalan?" asked one of the other guitar players.)

There were four "Guitar Masters" playing tonight, and they were all incredible. Just amazing. This guy from the local Black Hills area who played the blues like Johnny Lang or BB King. A young man from Canadia who was just beautiful on the guitar, could play all different styles, an Indian who was just beautiful himself, and played wonderful music, and of course Jalan with his own crazy style of guitar and banjo. What a fun night. I'm really glad I didn't have to work tonight, or tomorrow morning, so I could go. Yay.