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Then There Was Weekend

And it was good.

Friday night was dedicated to Dick Dale, The King of Surf Guitar. He rocked the Cabooze like nobody's business.

First up: atmosphere. I saw enough mullets and handlebar moustaches to last me the remainder of my stay in Minnesota. One mullet in particular was kind of fluffed on top, cut into short bangs across the forehead, and fell down to the small of its wearer's back in undulating majesty--truly a sight to behold.

As for the bands, openers Ronnie Lake were solid but unspectacular, until their last song when Ronnie kind of fell apart and into a laughing spree as she tried her hand at a Dick Dale classic.

Dick Dale himself, on the other hand, was simply spectacular. As All Music Guide points out, "Dick Dale wasn't nicknamed "King of the Surf Guitar" for nothing." At a fresh 68 years old, he dominated the tough-guy rock-star persona, roaming the stage and regularly pointing or winking at people to make sure everyone was involved. What surprised me (as it seemed to Andy) were all Dale's forays into cover-land. From the Animals and Bo Diddley to Johnny Cash and Louis Armstrong--and the Armstrong cover deserves further mention simply because he pulled it off so shockingly well. One would never have suspected that the long-haired, headband-wearing rocker had such trumpeting skills tucked away in his black leather jacket, not to mention that he did the voice and scatting nearly perfectly, too. The best moments, though, were probably when Dale simply played shredding surf guitar, like on the incomparable "Misirlou" (known now from Pulp Fiction, and apparently the Black Eyed Peas as well), "Riders in the Sky," and his famous adaptation of "Hava Nagila." A surf version of "Amazing Grace" made for a nice closer, after which Dale sat down on the edge of the stage to chat with people and "sign autographs and body parts." As Andy said afterwards, we wouldn't even have known what to do with an encore, Dale had already packed so much into his set.

We got home around 2.

Saturday I got up late and didn't do too much before it was suddenly time to go to Macalester for the conference track meet. Here are the shot results. Needless to say, I didn't do so well. I did finish right where I was seeded, though, which is something, I guess. I was a little upset and cold and wet when the last throw of my collegiate career came off my hand funny, went probably 10m, and was subsequently and appropriately fouled, so I kind of stalked off, then came back to watch the end, which was good because some of the guys from other schools that I've come to like over the years had good days and I was glad to be able to tell them good job. All in all, though, it was a sad way to go out.

So I took the bus home and did crossword puzzles until the folks who had been in Alden got back, then I went around with them and then it was bedtime. And now it's today and there's lots of work to do.