Oh, the bliss of uninterrupted sleep in your own bed! Three-quarters of the band had that luxury on Friday night. (Ryan enjoyed some uninterrupted sleep in a nice, private hotel room.)
Bill, Christa and Ryan at least, got to sleep in a bit before starting their day. (Jeff has a 2-year old, so there was no reprieve for him, poor fellow.) We rendezvoused at Jeff's for some mid-day tune making -- we've got a dance weekend in Missouri in the fall for which we'll need 18 hours of music! It was great fun to toss new tunes around again in Jeff's living room.
We were scheduled to close out our tour at the Fifth Saturday "Zesty" dance in Pasadena -- always a treat for us, because loads of dancers come out for the occasion, and they're always full of rumbustious energy. We were really looking forward to it!
Throop Church, our Pasadena venue. The amazingly beautiful window in the Nave.
We took off for the dance late-afternoon and arrived before the sound crew was ready for us, so we took a moment to scarf down sandwiches and rest before the evening began. Bill arrived from Ventura with an expanded arsenal (he was tired of the 'flavour' of his tour mandolin,) which (in addition to two mandolins) included a Dobro!
Bill's expanded arsenal....
The wonderful Susan Michaels arrived to call the dance, and we settled in to start the show.
Christa looked down at the dance floor and noticed that there were three full sets on the floor. Normally, folk trickle in a bit late, and it takes 3 or 4 dances to reach three full sets; here we were, starting with three full sets! And you could feel the energy in the room... We started out with a laid-back set, then powered into a barn-burner for the second dance, and the crowd let out a mighty whoop. We were discussing what to play for the third set when Christa noticed there were now four full sets of dancers on the floor!
Four full sets of dancers... hardly room to move!
We'd never before seen so many people crammed into the hall -- a fact confirmed for us later by the dance organizers: we garnered the largest attendance they've ever had! Go, Syncopaths, go!!
We had Susan dancing ecstatically on the side of the stage, so lost in our wicked grooves that she nearly forgot to signal us that it was time to end each dance. In testament to the fabulous time everyone was having, no-one left at the half-way mark, so we started the second half with those four sets intact. Fueled by the electricity in the room and the bittersweet knowledge that this would be our last chance to play together for many months, we played with incredibly intensity, and by the time we slithered to a halt at the end of the evening, the crowd were stomping, whistling and cheering!
And to top it all off, we finished with the loveliest rendition of Wallflower that we've ever played.
It was all so perfect: great caller, great dances, great energy, great music !!!
Triumphant, happy (tired) Syncopaths!
Flush with the glow of wicked good music, great friendship, and adrenalin, we decamped to our traditional post-Pasadena haunt (Lucky Baldwins,) where we toasted our great success with Chimay and Wyder's. (Seth was there in spirit, much invoked!) We laughed and drank and talked about the tour and future plans until they closed the pub around us, forcing us to make our farewells and part company. After all those months preparing and looking forward to the tour; it was hard to believe that it was all over!
We sadly said goodbye to Bill outside the pub, and he motored away to Ventura. The rest of us drove back to Jeff's place, still laughing and carousing all the way. We were high as kites, giddy, so full of good cheer, so reluctant to bring things to a close that we stood in Jeff's driveway talking until nearly 3 AM. Maybe not the smartest thing for Ryan and Jeff who headed out to the airport at 5 AM so that Ryan could get back to his family...
But all good things must indeed come to an end. We made our final farewells, and called it a tour.
We'd like to thank the wonderful people who made all this possible...
First and foremost, we thank Gigi and Brooke for holding down the home front(s,) making it possible for Jeff and Ryan to get out on the road! You are the unsung, unseen foundation on which this band rests: we wouldn't exist without your loving support. Molto grazie to you - you are both remarkable women.
Huge, heartfelt thanks to Seth Tepfer for being such an amazing human being, such great company on the road, and for the tremendous organizing and promotion you did on our behalf on the East Coast. We miss you more than words can tell! You're now firmly part of the Synco-family. (And if you ever decide to give up your day job, we want you for our band manager!)
Profound thanks to all you dance and concert organizers for taking a chance on an unknown band from CA - we hope you enjoyed getting to know us as much as we enjoyed getting to know you, and we look forward to playing for you again in the future!
And last, but certainly not least: massive thanks to all you dancers and concert-goers! Your enthusiastic whoops and shining, happy faces fed us with electricity and turned on the juice in all our performances. Thanks, too, for all those standing ovations, and for buying our CDs. We had a blast sharing our music with you, and can't wait to do it again -- soon!
So, from the Syncopaths: ciao for now. We'll see you somewhere down the road!