December 11, 1998
Notes From A Displaced Cyberpal in the Cheap Seats...Part 1
Well, sir, it took 21 years for Riders in the Sky to come to Pasco
(Woody told us that he was sure they'd played there before, but Doug
was certain they hadn't), but the wait was well worth it. Jerry and
I both got there about 6:45 or so, looked all over the place for
Tiffany, couldn't find her, so I moseyed on over to Too Slim's
Mercantile for some low-budget window shopping (or in this case,
TRAC facility shopping!). Then I went over to the coffee bar in the
back, found out a cup of coffeee was $1.50, smiled and went back to
my seat in section C, Row 35...which, even with the help of glasses,
for me is the equivalent of having a season ticket behind a post.
The crowd filled in slowly, and then at 7:30 the lights came down,
and a lone figure in a big cowboy hat strode on stage. It was Baxter
Black, of course, who received a small smattering of applause at the
beginning (and Jerry and I both felt a little conspicuous being the
only ones applauding back there in the cheap seats). Of course, by the
time his set was through, he'd managed to win the crowd over completely.
A brief rundown of Baxter's set:
(Forgive the incorrect titles, but I don't know his work all that well,
except what I've heard on Riders Radio Theater and the two tapes of his
that I own):
Intro
A Poem About Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Cow Attack
Shoein' Pigeye
A dissertation on cowboy vocabulary, which led to the thing about
"oysters"
The concert premiere of his latest poem, "Prolapse From the Black
Lagoon"
and his wonderful poem about the Christmas story as it might be told to
cowpokes
Then there was a ten-minute intermission, I went searching again for Tiffany (and still didn't find her), and met Baxter Black--a very nice guy, no matter what cattle may say--and managed to get an autograph just as the lights came down again. Having spent over 10 years in the showbusiness meself, I knew a cue when I saw it, so I went back to my seat, and Baxter went back onstage to introduce the Mid-Columbia Symphony. And what Tiffany said is correct--they were fantastic! Since the room hadn't filled up, Baxter surprised us with the announcement that those of us in the back could move up to any unclaimed seats (Well, it beats sitting behind a post all season!). So I did. Another ten-minute intermission, which cost me $1.50 for coffee (the next time I pay that much for coffee, it'd BETTER have an ACT!!!), another fruitless search for you-know-who, and the lights came down again, Baxter came back onstage...and the moment I'd waited for for years was about to arrive! Yes, my Domino's Pizza showed up! After Baxter read a slightly revised version of his Riders' 20th Anniversary Poem (replacing "The Dave Skepner Trio" with something like "The Gene- Roy-Hoppy-Randolph-Kenneth-Trio," or something like that), on came Riders in the Sky to a wonderful ovation, for show #3875 (Dec. 11, 1998, Pasco, Washington). The rundown of their set went like this (Titles with "+" featured the Mid-Columbia Symphony):
Christmas Time's A Comin'+
Wah-hoo
Ridin' Home on Christmas Eve+
Sidemeat's "Andrew Lloyd Weber" medley
Sidemeat's Christmas Goose+
A medley of Christmas songs, all built around "Let It Snow, Let It Snow,
Let It Snow" (Hilarious!)
Rawhide
Rawhide (Bowling version)
A yodeling Christmas song (the title of which I do not know)
Dr. Woody Paul's rope tricks (And how great it was to see Woodrow nail
'em!)
A plea on behalf of Too Slim's Mercantile, in the spirit of
giving...namely, giving our money to TSM...
And another Christmas medley with the Symphony:
We Three Kings/It Came Upon A Midnight Clear/O Liitle Town of Bethlehem/
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing/What Child Is This/Joy To The World/Silent
Night...
and then, it was over. The Riders got a well-deserved standing ovation, as did the MCS, thanked us for coming, and wished everybody a safe trip home.
The lights came up, and I undertook another search for Tiff. Didn't find her. Said "Hi" and shook hands with Too Slim, then searched some more for Tiff. Still didn't find her.
Heavy sigh...but WAIT! The evening wasn't over! Just as I was about to see what was keeping our ride, who should stroll through the door by the Mercantile but...RIDERS IN THE SKY! And JOEY! Whoa! (And we thought that only those with the "Encore" tickets'd get to meet 'em!) Needless to say, this ol' Cyberpal was delighted to make the acquaintance of four of the nicest tune spinners ever to hit the trail. As Jerry said, we mentioned the Cyberpals, and how we couldn't find Tiffany. Doug said he'd seen her somewhere, but couldn't think of where she was at the moment. Joey autographed my copy of his "Country Polkatime" cassette, and all the guys autographed a couple of 8x10's and the "Riders In The Sky Book" (With Woody adding a little extra on his in the front: Woody Paul, Ph.D., MIT '73...Harvard 0.). If it gets better than this, Cyberpals, I'd like to see some proof. Slim and Doug both alluded to the hope that they'd be back in Pasco next July.
I hope I get better seats at that time...
See ya on down the trail,
Lee W. here.
All photos and material © 1998 by contributing cyberpal.
Cyberpals