thanksgiving night- front row

For the fifth year in a row; Andy, and some variant of the Greens played at the front row in Parkersburg Thanksgiving evening. There was a WVU football game on (the backyard brawl with Univ of Pittsburgh) going on till almost midnight which took precedent over music till the game was over. Andy and Nathan then switched the gears of the crowd to music. Nathan was playing an improvised style favoring his injured wrist, but gamely set the rhythm throughout the night. Plenty of enthusiastic fans; out of towners in for the holiday, then looking for a night out to see old friends, etc. was the dynamic that has been building over the five years. And many of the Parkersburg fan base (who are sensing the fewer and further between gigs for the Greens in Parkersburg). Andy was up for the task of keeping folks engaged and hopping- incorporating stories and songs (with new meanings) after his recent travels. As the evening builds, he not only has his own fine sense of what the crowd is ready for; but graciously accommodates some requests (that are often far a field!).
When I got up to sing the duets/ harmonies of some of the old favorites, Andy even let me do the yodeling on Cripple Creek (The Band). Earlier in the day, at home we were listening to Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie in a live performance doing a little yodeling, so that was the inspiration. It was good to see Nathan Vincent in town (from Chicago and culinary school) - soon to be heading to colorado (after the christmas holiday).
Looking for the Greens at Bogies the weekend of Dec. 16 or 17th. Otherwise, Andy is back to the construction work "day job" next week, and the regular open mikes etc. in Morgantown during the week.
Having Beth and Andy "sparring" over groups and solo performers (the music critics) was fun on the holiday- Beth is an avid eclectic music seeker, too. We almost have to give her her own sub-blog for a slightly different set of genre interests than Andy or I............