Howdy Saddlepals
Jackie and I just got back from a great trip to Lexington to see our favorite cowboys, and it was wonderful (as usual)!
Jackie made the twelve-hour trip down to Loveland from her home in Boonton, NJ, to make sure I got a RITS fix after my surgery this summer. Is that a friend, or what? She bedded down at our bunkhouse for the night to recuperate from the drive down from NJ (and an adventure on the way to our house in Loveland!), then we hit the road for Lexington on Thursday. It's appropriate at this point to mention that a) we didn't have directions to the theater, and b) we didn't have directions to our hotel, either. This made for a particularly interesting trip for me, since I'm a compulsive planner! However, we got to Lexington just fine. We did notice that someone is pasting little red dots--sometimes red bicycle reflectors--on the noses of the deer icons on the deer crossing signs on Kentucky interstates now; I even saw them all the way up I-71 between Cincinnati and Louisville and back on Sunday!
Where was I? Oh, yeah! We made it to Lexington, and I seemed to remember that the hotel was off of KY 60 somewhere, so we took the KY 60 exit, then stopped at the first exit with a Comfort Inn road sign. The Great Trail Boss in the Sky was with us, because that was the right one. WAHOO! Then the very nice man behind the counter informed us that not only did the hotel have an indoor pool, but he also told us that we were about 15 minutes away from the theater we wanted! I'll see that WAHOO! and raise it a YEE HAW!
The Kentucky Theater was a lovely old theater in downtown Lexington, with a stained-glass dome over the orchestra section of the audience. We had front row seats right in front of Joey, so, as admitted polkaholics, we were in heaven!
Performance #3989 was great, with lots of old favorites, new favorites, and even the world premier of "Woody's Round-Up," the new song they're doing for the new Disney movie, Toy Story II. Granted, they forgot the lyrics a time or two, but hey! It's brand-new! What can you expect for a world premier? It was a wonderful new song by Randy Newman. The soundtrack album from the movie is definitely on my want-list!
The show started out a trifle rocky, since no matter how much cellophane they threw on the campfire and how hard the "campfire technician" tried to fix it, it didn't want to light! But ever-prepared Cyberpal Jackie came to the rescue with a red light stick! So all those light sticks she brought for "Lonely Yukon Stars" came in handy several times (don't forget the adventure on the way to my house)! Too Slim seemed to really get a kick out of the campfire!
Once the campfire got going, the show was wonderful! It included a little bit of everything! When they did "Sioux City Sue," Woody asked Sue if she loved him and Jackie and I drowned out Woody's "Heck no I don't!" with "Indeed we do!" He looked surprised and happy, and the guys all seemed to get a kick out of it! When the CPK did a song he learned when he was "...just a CowPolka Prince," ("Just Because"), Too Slim started channeling Satchmo again, much to the delight of the audience. Then the "Fayette County Gospel Quartet" sang "Cowboy Camp Meetin'," and we were treated to the world premier of "Woody's Round-Up." This had a few problems, as (ironically enough) Woody seemed to have a little trouble remembering the lyrics to the song, but what do you expect? This was the first time they'd ever done it for an audience!
When the CPK did another number ("Don't Sweetheart Me"), Too Slim again began channeling. Psychic links must have been particularly active on Thursday, huh? During the Requests portion of the show, Woody did the theme song from the Zorro TV show for Jackie and me (requested as a fencer and an ex-fencer; Woody was pretty good too!), and when they did "Pecos Bill" during the salute to Roy Rogers, they did the lyrics that Roy used to use! WAHOO!
Here's a complete play list:
Texas Plains
How Does He Yodel?
Wahoo!
Tumb'lin' Tumbleweeds
Palindrome
Farr Away Stompp (Salute to Our Four-footed Friends)
Maybe I'll Cry
Sioux City Sue
Phantom of the Chuckwagon
Just Because
Lonely Yukon Stars
Rawhide
Cowboy Camp Meetin'
Woody's Round-Up
A Blue Sky 'Way Out Yonder
***Intermission***
Back in the Saddle
160 Acres
Don't Sweetheart Me
Questions
Requests
That's Amore!
Cool Water
Ghostriders in the Sky
Desert Serenade
Fastest Accordion in the West
Varmint Dancing (Rabbit, Possum, Al Gore, 3-toed Sloth, and Armadillo)
Salute to Roy Rogers, including:
Pecos Bill
Blue Shadows on the Trail
Old Santa Fe
Don't Fence Me In
Navajo Trail
Skyball Paint
The Roy Rogers tribute by Too Slim
Happy Trails
***Standing Ovation***
***ENCORE***
Looney Toons/The Merry Go Round Broke Down
He Walks with the Wild and the Lonely (Unplugged!)
After the show was over, we took the cake, balloons, cards, and presents Jackie brought for Woody's birthday out to the lobby for a celebration! Woody seemed genuinely touched (of course, all the Riders are a little touched most of the time, aren't they? *GRIN*). We had a wonderful time, and I do believe I'll be going back to Lexington should the opportunity arise!
News: Looks like RITS will be doing RRT tapings at the Ryman in Nashville in January! They had just finalized the deal on Thursday when we saw them. I've been waiting for this one for a long time! More as it develops. Keep watch on the RITS web page!
Catch ya on down the trail! 'Til donna j. rides your way once again:
So long saddlepals! It's been so good to see ya...
donna j.
Every day...the Cowboy Way!
All photos and material ©1999-2013 by donna j.
