Rub Wrongways Caravan - Black Moon - Recap

It is a lengthy and curvy road that leads to Belchertown, Massachusetts. It's been a month of rainy, muggy days. We're all turning into mushrooms, but the road was lined with the lush greeness of a tropical rain forest as the Rub Wrongways Caravan sped through the evening towards a new venue.

The Black Moon is a great secret room in an unassuming spot. Pull in to a strip mall with a Dunkin Donuts, a Pizza Shop, and more and you'll see the big white half moon on the black brick wall. There's a small door that opens to a steep staircase that leads to a comfortable room with a corner stage, friendly staff, and tables and chairs. Yes, even the tables and chairs are friendly.

Ryan, Lesa, and I set up the stage to our liking, moving the upright piano here and there to get everything to fit just right, and gradually people started arriving. The stage was set, the audience was in place and at exactly nine o'clock Ari Vais took the stage. He had agreed to play half a set in the beginning and half later on. Here was the line-up:

1. Ari Vais
2. Tony Westcott
3. Lo Fine
4. Jason Bourgeois Band
5. Sitting Next To Brian
6. Ari Vais
7. Lo Fine
8. The Fawns
9. School for the Dead

Wait. What? Did I say Lo Fine? Yes. I did. Kevin O'Rourke was in town and I ran into him the night before and invited him to do a few songs with Thane and Brian. He agreed. They hadn't played a show for over three years but they sounded really great. Kevin's still got it.

The show ran from nine until just after twelve and the audience was awesome the whole time. It was about a thousand degrees in the room and so muggy that the walls seemed to be sweating, but people toughed it out. The windows were open behind the stage and out there in the dark was a small swampy area filled with the loudest frogs you've ever heard. They sang along all night and you could clearly hear them above the music. It was pretty great.

Special thanks to some of our audience: Dave, Rick, Chris, Debbie, Benjamin, Tim, Alex, Jody, Sarah, Joanne, Emily, Carl, Kevin, and the people who I am overlooking at the moment. I don't know why I write things like that last sentence because now I am going to spend the rest of the day worrying about leaving someone out.

Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who came. You saved the night again. When I asked how many people were there for the first time, I would say 85% of the audience raised their hands. That means we had no built in crowd to rely on. That means that you really, really did save the day. Thanks for being part of the caravan.