500 Weekend - Strangelings 12/13/08 Tunbridge VT - Part 1

[mad baggins]

Where the heck is Tunbridge? It was where the Strangelings were
playing Saturday night, and that was all I needed to know.

I've been intensely involved with the Strangelings from the very
beginning.

I witnessed what I believe to be the birth of the Strangelings when
Chris & Meredith Thompson sang "A Bend in the River" opening for the
Kennedys at the Lancaster Fireworks Show 6/25/05. That "Bend in the
River" resulted in my following C&M Thompson from that point on.

I was at the very first Strangelings event at PACE 1/12/07, when they
were Pete, Maura, Chris, and Meredith.

At the second Strangelings show 4/7/07 at Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport,
Anne Saunders became a believer and the band's festival run was begun.

5/2/07 saw the Full Moon Strangelings show at Club Passim.

I was at the first Strangelings show with Rebecca Hall and Ken
Anderson 5/25/07 at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington.

5 days after that, I saw my first Rebecca Hall & Ken Anderson show
5/30/07 in Wilmington MA, as I'd fallen hopelessly and madly in love
with Rebecca & Ken, later Hungrytown, at first sight at the Guthrie
Center earlier that same week.

7/19/07 the Strangelings added a drummer, Cheryl Prashker, at the
Sierra Grille in Northampton.

On Thursday 7/26/07, Eric Lee wandered into the Strangelings at the
GFP campsite at Falcon Ridge, and then at the Budgiedome campsite a
few minutes later, on fiddle. Eric spent the rest of FRFF '07 playing
with the Strangelings, and the Strangelings also backed up the
Kennedys in Pete & Maura's 2 sets at the Family Stage as the Snacks,
both Saturday and Sunday, with Eric both times.

Skipping ahead to the 120-Minute Folk Festival 3/29/08 at Titusville
NJ. This show featured Maura Kennedy solo, Pete Kennedy solo,
Christina Thompson Lively solo, the Hungrytown duo, the Stringbusters,
the Kennedys, and then the Strangelings.

The 120-Minute Folk Festival was where "I Found a Road." If the
Strangelings were the ones hijacking my world in 2007, 2008 has
belonged to the Kennedys and particularly Maura Kennedy solo, who has
rocked my world.

There was no way I was going to miss the Strangelings 12/13/08 at
Tunbridge VT, if I could possibly make it.

There was a big scare for me when it looked at first as if 12/13/08
might also be my 500th Nields show at the Iron Horse. But that
scenario never came to pass, when N&K added an appearance at Thorne's
Marketplace, making Passim on the 12th my 500th instead.

I planned all along to go to the Iron Horse on the 13th first, and
then go to the Strangelings in VT. But when I found out that Iron
Horse Nields stalwart Adam Hartfield was not going to be able to make
the Nields at the Iron Horse this time, I added a trip to Adam's house
to my itinerary on the 13th.

No one has seen more Nields shows at the Iron Horse than I have. But
the one person I've seen the most there besides myself has been Adam.
I just had to see him as part of my 500 Weekend.

I got to see Adam's house in Springfield. We looked at my boxful of
old Nields photos, and we listened to a lot of his Moxy Fruvous,
including "Attack of the Killer Tents." We talked a lot about old
times and had a great time.

Adam gave me the Weepies CD called Say I Am You, which I haven't been
able to stop playing. The opening song "Take It From Me" has just
blown me away and instantly became my theme song for the entire 500
Weekend.

Next I traveled to the Iron Horse, where I saw Patty Romanoff,
Beelzebob and Linda, Katryna, Nerissa, Dave Hower, and April and
Brad. I stayed long enough to hear TN's soundcheck, and even helped
Patty park Katryna's car in front of the venue.

Seeing Dave Hower inspired me to go to his show with the Winterpills
at Passim the next day too.

Then I drove off into the dark of the night for one of the great
drives of my life, to Tunbridge VT, north of White River Junction, to
see the Strangelings.

Continued in Part 2.