THE TABLES TURN

I’m spending the off-day in lovely (read: cold) Sioux Falls, South Dakota, kicking a flu-like ailment that decided to show up this week. Last night in Lincoln, Nebraska, we had a killer show with one epic moment I’ll never forget. During the built-in crowd sing-a-long section of ‘Delta Dawn’, I typically film Dino, our bassist, doing something silly for an Instagram story - follow @theandygibson and @dinobassman to see what I’m talking about.

As I whipped out my phone to scan the crown and pan to Dino, Tanya looked right at me. Busted. Phone-in-hand. No big deal however, as she encourages us to have fun onstage and nobody is playing at this point in the song. What happened next, I’ve never seen before. Not while playing a show, and not while attending one. She called for all of the band members to come to the front of the stage - even Mike and Jefferson (drums and piano). Once we were all in place, she instructed the crowd to keep singing the chorus. And they did. At the top of their lungs.

The sold-out Bourbon Theatre was performing to us. Tanya always has an audience in the palm of her hand, but this was different. This was special. This was unforgettable. In a fleeting moment of irony the same people who paid for a ticket to the show were now the performers, and us the audience. I pulled out my in-ear monitors to take a listen and my mind instantly drew parallels to Beatlemania. Not a single crowd member stood silent. Some were scream-singing, some were simply shouting and yelling in euphoria that they were hearing ‘Delta Dawn’ performed live by the bona-fide icon herself. At the end of the chorus, it was time for us musicians to be exactly that again as we hurried into place for a drum fill to send us back in.

When you’re on tour, it can be redundant. Shows seems to run together. It can get mundane. This moment was the polar opposite. ‘Cool’ doesn’t do it justice. Even though personally, I had nothing to do with the song or its massive popularity (other than hailing from the same alma mater as the writer - go Racers!), this short moment of time undoubtedly made me feel as if the band has a tiny footnote in its history. Here’s to more ‘wow’ moments on this tour!