Sing like you was singin' to Jesus!

Way back in late December of 2005, a bunch of needy families in Chicago had a super Christmas thanks to the generosity of many people. In a related story, in mid-April of 2006, many people had an amazing weekend of music and friendship and music and delicious food and more music, and some of them are still recovering and trying to figure out how they became lucky enough to know such a fantastic group of people.

When we do something, we don't do it half-assed. Both cheeks, as Gwennie averred. Saturday night was the culmination of everything, of course, featuring the musical stylings of Mart and Dave as well as Jeff Tweedy. Two Cow didn't end up performing, given their night's schedule at Subterranean, but they did stop by for food and drinks early on. It's kind of a shame, because I know how excited Jeff was by the prospect of opening for them.

We ate, we drank, and we were merry. Among the candy jock straps, pretzel fights, Boston terrier impressions, Bell Biv Devoe poses, brownies, and wisecracks were some very, very fine performances. Jeff's set was great, and seeing Dave and Mart play with him was such a treat. Not to mention the late-night campfire singalong afterward. The music didn't end until the not-so-wee hours of Sunday morning, and I drove home as the sun rose. It was the perfect finale.

If I had to compare last year's show to this year's, I'd say that last year had a more dreamlike quality to it - being the first of its kind, I don't know if any of us really believed it even as it was happening, and it was a bit more of a free-for-all. This year I think we all knew each other a little too well for the pure, crazed giddiness to reach critical levels - but that added something, too. Another red-letter day on my memory calendar.



By the way, remember that exam I took last Thursday afternoon? I got a 98.