My Return to Live Music Fandom

In March, I wouldn’t have thought the last week of June would mark my next live show. Had I been told Houston would mark my return, I wouldn’t have been too surprised: Warehouse maybe, Continental Club #2, Old Quarter perhaps? But no, Houston MISSISSIPPI took the honors–Amy LaVere & Will Sexton, with drummer Shawn Zorn and violinist Krista Rhoten. This was a one-off, under-the-radar happening for this small town’s pre-Independence Day bash. The one hour set was followed by fireworks–and preceded by a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem, each led by a distinct local luminary. As Houston, MIss is the hometown of both bluesman Bukka White and the great Bobbie Gentry, the whole thing became even more surreal. As Amy put it from the stage, “I crossed state lines to be with an audience for the first time in three months,” so I felt the same: the band from Memphis, me from Jackson TN. Amy was good enough to dedicate the Neil Young cover (practically the only cover of the set) to me. I mean, the whole thing was pretty bizarre, though a needed comeback. I noticed that the Presbyterian minister who had prayed walked out with his wife during Amy’s second song–only to return for the fireworks. Lucinda would have noticed that bit of Calvinist Scottish uppityness had she been the artist.