Over the Rhine Tour Diary
Dave Nixon (the Merch Guy)
Day Six: December 8, 2000
We're at Duncan Hall, 619 Ferry Street near downtown Lafayette, Indiana, and I'm perched behind my booth in the lobby. Once again, the show is sold out, with 250 people snuggled together in the small, darkened concert hall. I feel grateful to be where I am. Honestly. Barbara Higbee is opening for OtR. Her blessed fingers have been rollicking effortlessly over the piano keyboard, spinning a gorgeous blanket of music that spilled out into the lobby and beckoned the red-nosed and cold latecomers to join the warm throng inside. The lady seems to do all things well: her voice is passionate and clear and her violin is exceptional. She's now in the middle of a good old-fashioned hoe-down at the moment, fiddling up a storm and wrapping the crowd around her finger. Jeff Byrd, who's playing with OtR tonight, has joined her on the mandolin, having learned the song just a few minutes before. Linford refers to Higbee as a one-woman radio show.
One of the nice perks of selling the merchandise is that those who open for OtR usually wander by my booth and suggest swapping a CD or two. If they happen to forget, I usually don't. Now, I could be summarily dismissed or have my hand slapped by "the man" for this confession, but I'm more than happy to oblige the opening artist(s), especially if they're good. Here's the current take: two CDs from Tea and Sympathy (Minneapolis), one CD from Ticklepenny Corner (Milwaukee), and now three CDs from Barbara Higbee (Lafayette). This is like the musical version of swapping baseball cards, and tonight I did quite well, scoring three CDs for one. I told Barbara (yes, we're on a first name basis now) that I noticed she had a couple CDs with Darol Anger on the Windham Hill label. She had already given me her instrumental piano CD, "Variations on a Happy Ending", for one "Good Dog, Bad Dog", but when I threw in the Darol Anger / Windham Hill comment, she slipped me "Tideline" and "Live at Montreux" for free, adding that she'd been married to Anger for a few years before splitting up. "Do you still talk? Is it amicable?" I ask her. "Yeah, we even worked together musically for a while afterwards." Music is an awfully strong magnet, I think to myself. I quiz her further: "So you've been making a living doing music full-time for quite a while now?" "Yeah, the royalties from those Winter Solstice albums were nice." I tell her without a trace of flirting that the picture of her on her CD cover looks like Kathleen Turner. She smiles, saying that people tell her that frequently.
Over the Rhine is playing tonight sans percussion. Dale couldn't wiggle out of a previous commitment, but even if he'd come, it's hard to see where he would fit on the tiny stage. When Linford told me earlier that OtR would be without a drummer, I cringed just a little inside, wondering if the audience would feel cheated in anyway (and I know those tribal beats whip people into a buying frenzy!). As it turns out, the venue is smallish, very intimate, and acoustically kind to the very sort of performance they're now delivering. Karin is turning it on, squeezing out from her voice and the songs every last drop of heartache and joy that can be found. I think to myself, "This is the best show so far," and then realize immediately that I've said this to myself several times over the past few nights. Afterwards people wander out of the hall looking very pleased. They've sat by a roaring fire with a lover, sipping cognac and speaking tender words to each other.
Post-show the gear is loaded and we go to the local Comfort Suites for a few hours of sleep before driving back to Cincinnati. I was to share a room with Dale, but because he couldn't make it and because I'm sick with a wretched cold, I'm given a room alone. Two queen size beds, a sprawling writing table, a suite with sofa and mini-kitchen. This strikes me immediately as way more than I could possible make use of or need in the next few hours. I want to say with Judas, "Couldn't this money have be better used on the poor, or to line OtR's pockets", but it's easier just to be thankful for their generosity. I think I will rest well.
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