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16 September 2004

Positive Encouragement

Rob seems to have taken it upon himself this summer to make sure I make it to as many once-in-a-lifetime concerts as possible within a 300-mile radius.

I don’t always do what’s good for me. Which is one of the reasons good friends come in handy. Without people to encourage me to get up, get out and get done, I probably wouldn’t. Sometimes the encouragement comes in the form of tough love (to borrow an Oprah phrase), but sometimes it’s easy to take. The past few weeks have been chock-full of the sugar-coated kind.

Even though Rob’s been busy, he seems to have taken it upon himself this summer to make sure I make it to as many once-in-a-lifetime concerts as possible within a 300-mile radius. There are nights when I’m too lazy to make it three blocks down the street to see one or more of my favorite local bands. So this summer, Rob’s made sure I had tickets and a ride to two great shows I wouldn’t have come near without a little encouragement.

Two Sundays ago we sat on the outfield grass of Kansas City’s minor league stadium for four hours to watch two living legends play the last show of their summer tour. And Tuesday night, we saw Wilco play their hearts out for a packed house (and Jeff Tweedy’s mom) at the Blue Note in Columbia on the first date of their U.S. tour.

Both shows were fantastic, but the Wilco show was one of the best rock shows I’ve ever seen. Calexico (one of my other favorite bands) opened with a bang, but Tweedy & Co. tore the house down with a 2+ hour set that covered ground from Being There to A Ghost is Born and didn’t let up anywhere in between. Hearing “Poor Places” switch seamlessly to “Spiders”, followed closely by “The Lonely 1” made my night.

If you’re within 500 miles of these guys this fall, I strongly encourage you to make the trip. Because we all need a little encouragement sometimes.