Down In San Diego Way...

The trip to my brother's family was amazing. Three days of thunder and lightning and the opportunity to read New York. The kids played in the backyard and I drank coffee all morning with my hair pulled back and pined for the chance to watch baseball. Mellencamp's cd will now remind me of our wonderful trip just as Moondance did ten years ago.
My brother wished to take me out for my birthday and my present to him was to Soundwave, a club down along Mission Beach. Little did I know, my brother caught the Black Crowes there in around '98 and he was familiar with the area. Truth & Salvage Co. (or, as advertised, "Truth & Savage Co.") were on the bill and I told my brother that he'd be in for a treat.
We made our way to the venue but learned that the gig didn't start for nearly an hour later and that an opening act was coming first. We walked around and ran into a couple of the guys who were strolling outside. The smell of salt and the droning of the waves soothed the already mellow mood I was in. My brother and I chatted with the guys about their recent tour, life on the road, song writing and even farming. I walked away with a deeper appreciation for everyone's personal philosophies and thanked them again for how well I'd been treated these last six months.
The guys hit the stage around a quarter to ten and by the time they tuned and roared into "Hail Hail", the venue was packed with people. So this is what a near-hometown crowd is like, I thought. Girls danced, heads rocked and the Truth & Salvage Co. played a note-perfect fifty minute set brought raucous cheers and roars of appreciation for each song played. They covered most of the album, which included "Brothers, Sons and Daughters" with an amazing re-working of the song's bridge. The whole time, I snapped photos and thankfully the stupid camera was in fine working form. Halfway through the set, I was in for a total surprise, when, as the band broke into "Giant", Scott Kinnebrew announced to the crowd, "this song goes out to our good friend, Paul Taylor." (Aside: if I may be totally narcissistic, and why not? it's my blog for Pete's sake, that was just about the apex of my concert-going experience. Even my usually-stoic brother dug it). "Giant" plowed into their usual four-song closer and as Walker stood to sing "Pure Mountain Angel", the looks of the band showed that they were into that night and the crowd that loved their music. As Scott, Tim and Bill gathered again around the mic to back Walker's lead, this road-tested band demonstrated that, beyond the sweat-soaked shirts and looks of exhaustion and exhilaration, the Truth & Salvage Co. were there for us to give their hearts into one final song. They showed the appreciative crowd that despite the thousands of miles traveled in that damned van; for the countless nights in second-rate hotel rooms and greasy spoon dives; the time away from loved ones, girl friends and wives and home; opening for many bands that while more well-known, paled in energy and talent; that for tonight, their music was the most important thing in the world. Those eleven songs showed us who they were, as musicians and men, and that those songs, like all works of art that matter, have become bigger than they and that the real power in rock and roll comes from when entire venues filled with music-loving people understand and know that same truth.

Won't you sing it again? You bet. In my car. And my classroom. And at the next concert, the loudest in the place.

Thankfully, I was the only one who made an absolute fool of myself afterwards, back-slapping and whooping it up when I caught up with them after the set. My brother, Mr. Gibraltar in emotional composure, was knocked out by the band and the set. It's always wonderful to turn someone on to something new and thrilling, and the look on my brother's face showed that these guys had just spun his top.

Here I am now, at home, typing this while I should be creating Quarter Two seating charts and a pop quiz for my unsuspecting eleventh-graders, while T&S get ready to pull out of South Carolina for another grinding drive to the next gig. Not sure which band has nailed the best road trip music but Jackson Browne's "Running On Empty" rings pretty true, with the great line from the penultimate song, "The Load Out":

We've got to drive all night and do a show in Chicago
Or Detroit, I don't know
We do so many shows in a row
And these towns all look the same
We just pass the time in our hotel rooms
And wander 'round backstage
Till those lights come up and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came

May this ring as true for them as it has for me. Another amazing set. Again, where's the press for these guys? Truth & Salvage Co. are the best. You owe it to yourselves. Hope to see you at the next gig.