LOCATION: The High Dive, Champaign, IL
LINEUP: Karin, Linford, Jack
REVIEW BY: various listees
We rolled into Champaign around 7:30 and met up with Linford after their soundcheck. We helped set up the merch table and chatted for a little bit. I was surprised to find that he remembered playing a show at Anderson University in Indiana back in '94...my first OTR experience :) Before they left to get some food before the show, we gave Linford a box of chocolates from a small family-owned store here in Springfield, IL that is known for excellent confectionary. The opening act was pretty good...Robynn Ragland lives in C-U and has really made a name for herself in St. Louis. She played about 5-6 songs with a drummer and bassist. Check out her website at www.robynnragland.com; she has a great voice and stage presence...not to mention being very down-to-earth and easy to talk with. While she was playing, Karin wandered back and thanked us for the chocolate. I hesitantly asked if she wouldn't mind working in "Cast Me Away"...the MP3 for this month had really gotten me in the mood to hear it live. She said she would check with Linford and see what they could do. Anyway, the show was fabulous. The crowd was well- behaved for a bar venue and to my delight, they played "Cast Me Away" after the second song of their set...Karin introduced it by mentioning our names, thanking us for the gift, and regarding the song, said "It's more of a prayer, really". They then proceeded through a fairly typical set list (sorry, forgot to write it all down...perhaps Michael will later) I truly enjoyed the fact that they jammed for quite a while on several songs including "Little Blue River" and "Lucy". I think part of the fun of a live show is hearing the musicians really experiment and complement one another's improvisations. It was a late night; the encore wrapped up around 12:45 or so. We helped pack everything up and got back here to Springfield around 3 am. My last observation from a wonderful night...Karin, Linford, and Jack are truly quality people. I can't tell you how many times Linford and Karin thanked us for our help and the gift. They were gracious, polite, and kind. It meant so much that they were willing to work in a song that wasn't even on the set list. I'll stop there...I can't cover everything that was said or happened last night. Those of you out in Iowa are in for a treat the next couple nights!