Another Saturday Night

An email from an old (60+ years) friend lured me back into show business.

He had finagled a gig at a winery in west central Wisconsin. Most of the old band was going to be there, of the nine people with the group last Saturday, seven had been in The Explodo Boys, most of them for many years. That was 45 years ago. As gigs go, it went pretty well. The sparse crowd was very attentive, it was more like a concert than a dance. But we did have some dancers. For some of them this was more than just another Saturday night—it was a re-kindling of past charmed nights, the couple above were well into their sixties but acted as if they were in their teens.

I guess if we can bring back someone’s youth, even if for only an hour, the whole rigamarole: arranging the date with nine people, driving, setting up, playing, and taking it all down again, is worth it.