Sat., Dec. 6, 1997, Lawrence, KS, Jazzhaus -- After a breakfast of fine institutional grade food at a Springfield eatery, I drove the three and half hours to Lawrence non-stop. The weather was beautiful and I was treated to a breathtaking Kansas sunset as we rolled into Lawrence. The Jazzhaus is on the second floor over a couple of shops, and has been in biznazz for about 15 years overseen by Rick, the owner. Rick is a 40-something musician-turned proprietor, and says he really enjoys fine musicianship regardless of the genre. We lugged the equipment up about 40 steps, took a breath and set up shop on stage. I finally got a room to myself after being accidentally passed over last stop, and used the privacy to get a good nap in silence (gee, I'm really sounding like a monk after five weeks on the road). We arrived at the gig and as I was climbing the stairs, at the top of them was my Aunt Marilyn! I didn't expect her or Uncle Bob to come to the gig, but they had decided to go ahead after hearing about it via my e-mail list. Cousin Mike also showed up again with a friend, and has become what could be classified as a rabid fan (I'll have to check his innoculations)... I introduced Marilyn to Mike, as they hadn't yet met (as you can see our families were close)... I had a feeling that Marilyn and Bob wouldn't be able to hold up too long under the sheer volume of rockin' blues pouring from the stage, and I was right--they left before the first set was over...I did warn them, I think... The crowd turned out to be mostly college kids, preoccupied with finals, and proved to be a sluggish crowd. Joanna was playing through an old Ampeg amp Rick had brought in for her. It was a screamer, but had a peaked mid-range, which Jo didn't like. She also attempted to play a Les Paul-style Epiphone that was very light weight, but after one song, she had to switch back to her temperamental Flying V. The Epiphone was sitting uncomfortably on the fetus. With all the variations and change ups, and after a hefty lip shock off the mike, she announced she was not "feeling one with her guitar" yet. I promptly smarted off, "Yeah, but you're one with child." After things settled in, Jo was back in the groove, but the audience was still retiscent. On break I visited with Mike and his friend, and after commencing the second set, the audience finally had enough beer to be receptive to down-home rockin' Chicago blues, and a few dancers showed up. The sound was definitely in the top three on the tour, so I was a happy camper. The ol' Premier drums sounded great. While we broke down to load up, I had a nice chat with Rick about his club's history and the music biz. He asked me how old I was, and we found out we were about the same age (45-46), and he was very complimentary, or being encouraging to an old man... We found a Dillons supermarket and picked out just the right snack and liquids to satisfy, and headed back to the hotel. Tonight was the last night of the tour, so we take off in the morning on the 10-hour trek back to Chicago. I'll be flying out Monday afternoon to return to Portland. I'll be returning to Chicago on Dec. 19th where we resume our play schedule at Blues Etc. in Chicago. We'll stay around town for the holiday gigs, and to rehearse the new material in preparation for recording the new album during the first week of January. We'll then be off until about March 28, when we hit the road again. Stay tuned for my reports on the holiday gigs in Chicago, and I think we have one in Pennsylvania...