Fri., Nov. 21, 1997, Eugene, OR, Good Times Saloon -- Feels good to be so close to home, and at a club I've actually played at before! It was a very scenic 2-hour drive from Bend. I managed to catch Tony's chest cold, but I've been eating echinacea/goldenseal caps like M&Ms, as well as zinc, so I've been able to hold symptoms to a minimum. Tony is slightly delirious, but entertaining in his special stopped-up way. We are housed at the Campus Inn across the street, and we can feel the buzz in the air for the upcoming "civil war" football game tomorrow between U of O and Oregon State. The college kids are massing in clumps at various street corners... Tony was successful finding a replacement speaker, after two van trips and numerous phone calls. He kept wishing he was in Portland so he could go to his favorite music store--Apple Music--where "they have everything". My good friend Gretchen drove down from Portland to see the band, hugs, hugs...she was staying overnight at her Eugene friend's house. They had just been to Sufi dancing, and now were getting down and dirty at a rock bar with a beer and some wine. It was great to actually see someone from home, and Dede had given Gretchen an intimate message for me... The sound was excellent on stage, but I got the message that it was too loud out front since the crowd was scrunched up away from the overkill PA mains on the dance floor. The second set was better, probably after some complaints.

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