Knoxville, TN and Tom Waits

Something good happened. Something very good. No, call it something AMAZING.

I took a once-in-a-lifetime road trip with my best friend to Knoxville, TN to see Mister TOM WAITS perform!

I love. Tom Waits.

For starters, it couldn't have come at a better time. My head was about to explode and I was moving at speeds that could have broken the sound barrier. I quit my jobs. Not all of them, just a few.

And then, we left. Just. Like. That.

The drive was beautiful. I wish some of my pictures had turned out, but my camera has decided to hold them all hostage. I'm still waiting for its demands. We drove (well, he drove -- i don't drive stick) for approximately 8 hours before finding ourselves in the heart of All That Is Green. Knoxville is beautiful. It's a sleepy city, from what I could see, and the folks were friendly enough, although it was strange not to see a single minority, save for myself and one guy on stage.

The Stage. The Civic Auditorium was quite a sight. I'm always impressed with architecture, as I come from the mindset of, "Everything has already been built." I was sorry to see that the venue wasn't the divey-hole-in-the-wall that I had dreamed of, when I would dream of seeing Tom Waits live. But, it was lovely.

Then, there was The Poster Plan. As it stands, Tom Waits is the only musician that I will go out of my way to purchase the actual albums, as opposed to downloading. I do this for two reasons: 1) I want to HOLD onto something when I listen to his music and 2) The artwork is always jarring and beautiful. I wanted one of the posters for those two reasons. Apparently, venue officials had been notified of my obsessive need and put a lockdown on ALL posters. There were guards. For real. M and I made more than a few attempts to claim a glossy prize by ways of coercion, distraction and bribery. We lied, we cheated, but alas, we did not steal. I kinda regret not stealing. Ah, well.

The Show. Once it began, I forgot where I was. It was magical. Tom Waits. In the flesh was hooting, crooning, shouting and stamping to his heart's delight, and mine too. I was surprised at how mild-mannered the crowd was. M and I were not so mild. We danced and gazed, shouted and clapped loudly enough to turn heads.

Everything after the show was a blur. Finding a motel, eating, chatting, sleeping and driving back... I don't remember much of it. I didn't need to.

There was Glitter. There was Doom. There was the Show I'd Always Wanted To See.