Friday, November 04, 2005

Arlo's Bus

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Arlo was amazing. So generous! So funny!

He did Alice’s Restaurant, a LONG song. It was like listening to a loved one tell you a favorite bedtime story…except funnier. His comments between—and sometimes during!—the songs were just great. Nice long set.

He also did a couple of his father’s songs. You know, Woody Guthrie. The guy who wrote that song from your third grade songbook: This Land Is Your Land. It was very moving to hear him sing it and to see his son, Abe, on keyboards, singing along and looking at him with love and admiration.

He spoke of the power of each person to be heard. How you may not even know how you impact another person and the progress of the history of the world, but you are doing it. This sounds so much like a philosophy I subscribe to that I wonder if I somehow got it from him while listening to my brother, B's, Arlo albums as a kid. I think it's important to be decent to each other because you just never know when you are going to encounter some one who is making an important decision. If you give her or him a reason to believe in the goodness of humanity, s/he may just make a positive choice.


The photo is of Arlo Guthrie’s tour bus. One anonymous white bus. Gives me to ponder… Are the 12 semi-trucks full of gear the reason I can’t afford to see Sir Paul in concert? Or, maybe they have to charge high prices to keep the place from being mobbed and he feels he should give a good show for the price?


The fabulous Mammals apparently travel in a big multi-seat van. We saw one that looked pretty lived-in and had NY plates. They’re from Woodstock. If you ever liked the sound of a folk fiddle, check them out. Great fiddle, banjo, and a rock beat behind some classics, as well as their own well-crafted songs.

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