November 22, 1998

Show #3865 took place in the Penn Yan Academy (high school) gym, and of course, Our Guys started on time and lit the "campfire" to warm up the armadillos and start off the evening. They opened with "Texas Plains;" it always thrills us when RD goes into his "chat" followed by his impeccable yodeling! As soon as they started singing, I wish that it hadn't been so long since I had seen them! I sure could live with VERY frequent doses of RITS in concert.

Songs that followed: "That's How The Yodel Was Born," "Yahoo," "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," and them Too Slim played his face for us - as entertaining as always (how DOES he do that? I've tried with no success...) "Farr Away Stomp." Then the fellas took a bit of a break from the tunes to tell us that they have worked hard, struggled, practised and practised, until finally, one day, just maybe, if they were lucky, would be able to reach the top and perform at someplace they'd heard of all their lives ... PENN YAN ACADEMY. Brought the house down! The locals loved it. We were treated to "Malaguena," very lovely and haunting. They picked up the pace then with "Sioux City Sue" and inserted a little "aside" that tickled us - when they sang "I'm gonna rope and tie her up, gonna use my old lassoo," Woody muttered, "she's gonna love it" and Julie and I elbowed each other and giggled like 12 year old girls. Was a titillating moment! Tee Hee! Good one, Woody! Next came "Hoop De Doo" (did I spell that right? Is that the correct title?) "Be Still Little Doggies" which really showcases RD's phenomenally velvety voice. "Rawhide" followed, and of course the bowling jokes were included, too. At that point in the show, one person in the audience clapped - for what reason, I don't know - and Slim then said, "Thanks, Mom!" Heh Heh. One of my very favorites was next, "Cowboy Camp Meeting," doesn't everyone love Woody's descant?

Slim called the kids up to the stage area, said he wanted to "Add 'em to the herd." Then he asked the kids if they had been watching Ken Starr on tv - they all said no, then Slim said he wasn't watching him, either. But then they all agreed that they all watched Rugrats! He sang to and with the kids, was awfully cute indeed, and as they were leaving the stage, Slim encouraged the kids to buy RITS teeshirts, which he said was "the humane alternative to branding" - went over the kids' heads, but WE loved it!

"One More Ride" was the last tune before intermission, and I made ANOTHER trip to the Merc. Can't get enuf of their stuff.

The founder and organizer of the show, Mike Gleason, told me that he was very very fond of an old yodeling tune called "Chime Bells," and that RITS had agreed to sing it for him, which they did, and opened the second half of the show with it. I was unfamiliar with it, but was exceptionally beautiful, and of course RITS performed it flawlessly, like they had sung it 3865 times! Aren't they the best?

"Ghost Riders In The Sky" was next, and then the fellas asked a local deejay, Donna to come up on stage for a yodeling lesson. She did her best, but if I were RD, I definetly would not worry or lose any sleep over her abilities! No competition... Then Slim broke into song, sung to the tune of "Donna" by Richie Valens, "I knew a yodeler, Donna was her name..." etc etc. He then thanked her for coming up to the stage, and said, "Stop by the Mercantile on your way out and pick up a free ... order form!" I think Donna de

served at least a teeshirt, but it wouldn't have been as funny! "Ridin' Down The Canyon," then "Shiftin Driftin Texas Sand" (again, did I get that title right?) was sung by Joey. Donnaj had always told me what a wonderful voice Joey had, and I believed her as I trust her judgement implicitly, but I didn't expect HOW VERY beautiful his voice was. We were mesmerized. So beautiful, so serious, so then Slim did his Andrew Lloyd Weber routine, and opened the floor to questions. Most of the questions were from the kids - Do you sing to cows? Have you been in a rodeo? Do you ride a horse? etc etc. During the questions, they said that Joey is a trick rider and has performed in rodeos - does anyone know if this is really so? So much talent... What was the date of your first show? Answer: Nov. 11, 1977. Woody said, "We were in the 7th grade, then!" Have you ever sung to a rattlesnake? No, but we sang to some music industry lawyers... Slim had his hands in his pockets, fumbling around, and Mike Gleason's wife (can't remember her first name, but a real nice gal!) asked Slim "What are you doing behind your chaps?" And that was it, the winner! They did give her an 8 track tape, so apparantly they still do have some! Seems that the fellas favor the questions about the chaps...

Since the mood was silly, was a perfect time for them to "take requests" and then perform all of them all at once, capped off by "Surfin' USA." We've seen it before, yes, but it was just as funny and entertaining as the last time we saw it! Never tire of these guys... Julie requested "I'm Satisfied With You" but the guys sang "Cool Water" instead. Slim screwed up the lyrics and started laughing a bit - RD then told us that Slim had "upped his dosage" which made Slim laff all the more. In honor of November 22nd being the 6th anniversary of Roy Acuff's death, they performed "Wabash Cannonball" which was just wonderful, a real surprise! They made some passing reference to Woody having been associated with Roy Acuff years ago - again, does anyone know of this? "Lonely Yukon Stars," then a polka that really gave Joey a chance to show off and strut his stuff! Hands like lightning. I don't know the name of this polka, but will hum it for some friends and see if I can get it to you later. Rope Tricks by "The King Of The Clothesline" - Woody knelt down for a moment of prayer - and Slim quipped "He's praying for talent!" then a mention of their website and cyberpals. They said, "we have one of the cyberpals here," and were referring to Mike, but they didn't know that Julie & I are in the fold so we weren't slighted in the least. They spoke affectionately about Roy Rogers, and did a great medley: Pecos Bill, Blue Shadows On The Trail, The Lights Of Old Santa Fe, Don't Fence Me In, Along The Navajo Trail, and then a song I had not heard before - Son of the Western Sand - (is that the title?) and of course, Happy Trails, which they invited everyone to sing along. That closed the show but we convinced them to return to the stage, when they did "Merrie Melodies - Looney Tunes" for us. Someone had asked them to sing some Christmas songs, and Slim announced that on principle RD didn't like to do anything Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving (I agree!) but to be good sports, they sang "Deck The Bunkhouse" and "Christmastime's A Comin'" - oh, how I hated to see it end. Heavy Sigh! Then I didn't know how I could STAND waiting to see them until next June at BCF. Am desolate!

Mike did a magnificent job of putting this thing together, and I cannot thank him enough for bringing RITS to this area. What a treat! I hope he won't mind doing it on a regular basis... (hint hint)

Went to the Merc (5 trips altogether!) and at this point asked if they offered "The Obsessed Fan Discount" - they said no, but I figured does it hurt to ask? Then stood on line to get the guys autographs on the 20th Anniversary posters we had. Was my first time conversing and meeting the fellas, gave them all the cyberpals' emails, and had a nice visit with each. They couldn't have been nicer. Mom and friend Jean Herbison had gone with us, and now Mom is a convert. So! She also was dazzled and won over by their incredible talent, lighthearted fun, and dynamic personalities! How could anyone resist?

So, cyberpals, again, sorry for the delay but life has been oh-so-hectic and I know you all understand. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and someone please email me back and correct the song titles I am unsure of...Thanks!

Seeya------------------Janet