Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, 9-1-2011

Nathan and I, along with some of our closest friends had a great night in Bloomington, IN on Thursday, September 1, 2011. Dinner at Farm and show at the Bluebird was the perfect way to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary and we really enjoyed it!

After we made the drive down to Bloomington, in a borrowed Ford Mustang Convertible, we settle into our B & B and then headed to Farm. The food was ok, but the company was great and soon, we walked over to the Bluebird to get a good spot at the show.

We got there at 8:15 pm, got a spot in the front, with only one row of people separating us from the stage. It was worth it to be so close, but standing all night was pretty uncomfortable! (Yep, we’re old!).

Thankfully, there was no opening band to wait through, just Gill and Dave and when they came out, the sold out crowd welcomed them loudly.

They started with the first song off their newest record (The Harrow and the Harvest),  ‘Scarlet Town’ and then right onto a song from Soul Journey (my favorite album), ‘Back in Time.’ The whole show was like that, going from record to record, playing many favorites. Each song gave us rich vocals and seasoned and solid guitar playing. David Rawlings mostly sang harmony and played intricate and thorough guitar solos. Their setup was simple: two vocal microphones, and two microphones for their guitars. There was also a mic on the floor, which we would later see that it was to amplify the sound of Gillian’s boots as she folk danced to “Six White Horses”, a definite highlight! Gillian wasn’t too talkative at first, and she later blamed it on the Kentucky heat, with no offense to Kentucky! But as the show went on, she got more and more chatty and when they came out after the first set and intermission, she let us know that we were in for the better part of the show, since “we’ve gotten to know each other a little bit.” And of course, they didn’t disappoint. The second half included the aforementioned dancing, as well as fun banter between Gill and Dave and three encores, about which Dave said, “The show’s ended! None of this counts!” They finally ended with Johnny Cash’s “Jackson” which had the whole crowd singing along!

We left the show worn out but satisfied, as they played so well and for so long! It was a memorable night and we loved our time in Bloomington! Happy 10th anniversary to us!