Labor of love

I realize that we've already covered the Labor Day weekend, but I just wanted to share my fiddlish perspective!

We kicked off the Labor Day weekend by driving up to Brenda’s hometown, New Ulm Minnesota. I’ve met Brenda’s family a few times before, and I’ve always figured that’s where she inherited her lovely disposition. Now I’m not so sure… the entire town seems populated by super-friendly helpful people, which makes me wonder: what happened? Did they kick all the mean ones out?? I swear I didn’t encounter one bad mood the entire time. Not that I’m complaining!

After we left Happy Town USA, we drove six hours further north/west and arrived in Hallock MN, where we played at the Kicken’ Up Kountry (yes it is misspelled intentionally) festival for the second year in a row. We played two incredible shows in much colder temperatures then I prefer for outdoor work, but still had a good time. I also developed walking pneumonia, which I don’t recommend.

We then had a slight deviation from our plans: originally we were to play in New Orleans on Labor Day itself, however Hurricane Katrina had just blown through and wreaked havoc, so this was no longer a viable option. (The amphibious features on the bus just aren’t up to spec yet.) Instead, we drove twenty-three hours to Harrisburg PA, for a Katrina relief benefit concert. It felt really good to be part of something pro-active, to actually use my skills to help other people, not just to entertain. I’m not sure how much money we raised, but I imagine every little bit helps…