chuckography

Shoshone vs Mohawk

 While I was in Cheyenne, Wyoming last week, I saw an impressive statute of Chief Washakie.

It stands out in front of the state capitol.

He was the leader of the Shoshone tribe for 60 years.

History describes him as a moderate who negotiated a large tract of good land for his people.

Later, of course, there were incursions on the property but Chief Washakie was a wise ruler and held his own.

The temperature was hovering in the teens/ low twenties so this was a "quick" shot.

I wanted to duck into the capitol and get out of the frigid and fierce Cheyenne Wind.

I had lived in Kansas long ago and the wind came sweeping across the plains, slowed only by barbed wire and wooden posts.

Later, I had dinner at Sandfords Grub & Pub, downtown on a busy Saturday night.

My brother got an 8 oz steak and a baked potato that might have weighed several pounds. It was huge.

I opted for a grilled chicken "burger" with mixed veggies on the side.

Our server came by often, promising our food would be here "soon." That actually dragged out to about 30 minutes but, finally we could start to eat.

When she brought the check, she said the manager had comped the meal because of the long wait. My brother asked if the manager could stop by - he wanted to kiss her!

The manager had a distinctive, well-groomed hair style and chin whiskers. A hand shake instead of a kiss.

With the cold temps, and the howling wind, probably a good idea to grow his hair long for extra warmth.

After I got back from Wyoming, I was seated down front for the James Taylor concert at the Coliseum. He was backed by a 10-piece talented band.

What a terrific almost 3-hour show!

I was a typical audience member, growing up with his music in the 60s and 70s.

The first of his five Grammy Awards was "Fire and Rain," followed in 1972, by "You've Got A Friend."

In his more than 40-year musical career, he has sold more than 100,000,000 albums. Yikes.

If you click the link, I found the evening's set list.

I am sure you will find many memorable songs that you enjoyed growing up.

Drums, congas, penny whistle, violin, accordion,  saxophone, bass guitar, three backup singers and an array of keyboards.

The show was spectacular and had the crowd on it's feet quite a few times.

The lighting and sound was so good, you forgot your chair was sitting above the hockey ice surface in a large arena.

I think everyone in the world now has a phone or tablet to take photographs.


(Click on the photos for more details.)

After seeing the heads full of hair up in Wyoming, Taylor's bald
pate really stood out.

He spent the 20-minute intermission, sitting on the front edge of the stage, signing photos, some albums and posed for hundreds of pictures/.

When he got up to start the second set, he whipped out his soft hat and wore that for the rest of the show.

I came home and saw that I had his vinyl album "Sweet Baby James" sitting in front of my extensive CD collection.

I also still have a turntable. Might crank that up in a day or two.

Nice hair James.

Labels: 100 million albums sold, 5 Grammy Awards and a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, James Taylor, Sweet Baby James

posted by chuckography @ 7:54 PM