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Tour Diary - Part 26
🕑 Added 2023-08-23 14:33:56 +0000 UTCWe couldn't be more in Nebraska. Sitting at my desk looking out at FIELDS OF GREEEEEEN!!! beautiful.
Well, yesterday was a wild hoot. I started the day with a really nice lunch with the Red Letter Media guys, Mike and Jay... great guys who do an actual movie review show on YouTube that's worth watching. We tried to arrange for me to do a little shoot with them, but the timing wasn't gonna work out. But it was good to hang.
They dropped me back off at the bus, and I saw a little gaggle of sad, middle-aged people with Trump signs, walking up and down the street. I shouted out from the window "Trump For Prison" which I realized is funny because at first, they think I'm saying "Trump For President"
We were parked RIGHT across from where the action was happening, news media setting up, and people gathering outside the GOP Debate at the big arena. Vic, Ellie, and I were giddy and ran over there to goof on it all. A group of young Trump boys were standing there refusing to be interviewed by a local reporter. We tried talking to them, but they refused to talk to us too. They started to figure out who we were... who I was... and we tried to get them to break. It was like dealing with the guards at Buckingham Palace.
I gave an interview to the local tv reporter with the Trump boys behind me, goofing on them. I don't expect it to be used. Later, Vic spotted Keri Lake being interviewed and we went up and started annoying her. I mean it was like Christmas... Vic had his camera right up in her face and was asking her dumb questions. She turned to Vic and said, "Your questions are as ridiculous as you look, which is highly ridiculous!" Whoa!!! That's not nice!
Later we saw Liddle Sean Spicer and I went up and talked to him, being weird and invited him to the show. It was just so odd and funny to see these ghouls in real life. They're all sad, and broken and just trying to make sense of their life after making the disastrous decision to be a part of TrumpWorld.
The show was GREAT! We rocked Turner Hall. It was packed with enthusiasm and once again the crowd was mixed with what you might expect,, and a fair amount of what I call Normals. Just regular folk, who dig what we do. I love it. I don't think the band ever sounded better. Turner Hall has a great staff and they provide a caterer and a barista for the day... just a real touch of Midwest love from everyone there. God, I love Milwaukee, What a pretty, European kinda city. And you're surrounded by the rolling hills, Lake Michigan... a really special place.
We hung out on the bus, watched some funny videos and chatted away.
Ellie and I were the last two in the lounge and we chatted a bit on things winding down. "I wish I hadn't worried as much" I said. Yea. Things went too fast.
With Nebraska next on the list, we decided to end the night, with giving Bruce's song Nebraska a spin. I've really enjoyed converting Ellie into a BruceHead on this tour, with choice tracks, stories and my own take on him. The track played, and we both were drawn in by the haunting harmonica open... Ellie got lost in the music and after it was done, asked to hear the lyrics. And boy are they about as dark as you can get...
I saw her standing on her front lawn just twirling her baton
Me and her went for a ride, sir, and ten innocent people died
From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, with a sawed-off .410 on my lap
Through to the badlands of Wyoming, I killed everything in my path
I can't say that I'm sorry for the things that we done
At least for a little while, sir, me and her we had us some fun
Now, the jury brought in a guilty verdict, and the judge he sentenced me to death
Midnight in a prison storeroom with leather straps across my chest
Sheriff, when the man pulls that switch, sir, and snaps my poor head back
You make sure my pretty baby is sittin' right there on my lap
They declared me unfit to live, said into that great void my soul'd be hurled
They wanted to know why I did what I did
Well, sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world
Bruce had seen The great Terrence Malick film Badlands, a true story about Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, and their murder spree. Bruce became obsessed with the story, tracking down the reporter who covered it And in the song, Bruce does the dangerous deed of writing in the first person from the perspective of a very bad person, trying to get inside and understand.... Just picture Bruce in his rented house, with a 4 track cassette machine and a couple of mics... his career at a turning point, having had years of critical success and a growing audience, but around the corner is unbelievable fame and household name status... I think he knew it was coming and before it did he wanted to get something down that was true, no matter how grim that truth was.
And on that note... See you tonight OMAHA!!!
Comments
Trav
Tim, you’re such a great recounter of music stories! I could read a book of it. Great perspective on Nebraska, I’ve never heard it put quite that way… your Sinead story the other week was also lovely, gave me chills to hear it.
Ilyas Dagli
God Bless Bruce Springsteen, but when I think of Charles Starkweather, I will always hear Gassenhauer
Will Ochs
"Badlands" is an amazing film. Malick never came close to doing anything as good again, in my opinion.
