Save the bulimic fish!

Hi. I’ve been away from this thing for a while, haven’t I? Well, now I have something to tell you about that’s too cool to be ignored. Yesterday was the Rise Above Christian music festival in Orange City Iowa. So Kevin and I set off from Brookings around 9:00 in the morning and picked up Dianna and Christa on our way through Sioux Falls. I was driving because Kevin has a hard time adjusting to a normal schedule after working nights all week.

In an effort to keep this post short enough for you to actually read and for me to not get bored writing it, I’ll only recount the most important moments. You’ll also want to read Dianna’s blog to get more of the story. Highlights included Apologetix, Remedy Drive, and the puppet man. Oh, and I managed to get sunburned again, in all new places. ;) Apologetix is just an awesome band to begin with, and they put on quite a show. Karl, the lead guitarist, wore my hat on stage and I got a picture of it :D, and they played the Devil Went Down to Jordan with a really cool electric violin, which makes me want to get one even more. I have sheet music for that song, too. :D Anyways, the band was really cool and after we got their autographs, we got a picture with them, during which Karl played with my hat again. Side note: there were video cameras around randomly and during Apologetix, they seemed to be filming Dianna and me a lot. I wonder what they were going to use that for? Probably a local news station. If that’s the case, then all the citizens of Orange City will have gotten to see us dancing like idiots. Oh well.

As for Remedy Drive, let me just say that the Zach brothers are awesome! Not only do they rock and put on a great show, but they also took the time to talk to us afterward and do a picture and everything. And the bassist was incredible! You should have heard and seen the things he was doing, I can’t even begin to describe it. And he has good recovery time. He managed to break two strings during the set, but little if any music was lost. He just kept going and put new strings on between songs. But again, the coolest thing about them is how real they were when they took the time to talk to us afterward. So cool.

And what about the puppet man? I can’t remember his name right now, so I’ll just call him that. He’s a very good ventriloquist. And he was absolutely hilarious. I realize that it may have been funnier because it was later in the day and our brains had been fried, but the jokes entailed thinking, so I think it’s just that he’s that good. His show gave rise to our newest random phrase, “I’m a corndog.” Just don’t worry about trying to understand. I think Paco was my favorite puppet. He was a Spanish pig, and he had the best jokes of the show. Such as: “You Christians are wild…you cast out demons, and you know where they go. And there’s lots of cliffs right outside Sioux Falls, SD. (in response to laughter) Now we know who reads their Bible.” I’ve discovered, in trying to write down some more of them, that they just don’t seem as funny written out. So I’ll just stop with random quotes that will make Dianna laugh and make the rest of you scratch your heads.

“You’re cheering for my thumb.”

“Fly, Paquito, fly!”

Save the bulimic fish!

You know, I think I might have been suffering from Dianna withdrawl, because we had way too much fun. In a good way. We were being Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, or Agnes and Trout if you prefer. Standing around waiting to talk to bands we just kept playing off of eachother until we couldn't take it anymore. Oh, and we decided that bulimic fish are profound (comparatively) and throwing up in a porta potty isn't. I think I'll just leave you to wonder about that one. ;)

Well, happy Father's Day. And wish me luck, I'm closing the salad bar tonight for the first time and I'm working by myself. It should make for a good post tomorrow.

-Kim