“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Michelle Shute flew up from Florida, then she, Stacy, and I drove to Cinci to meet one of Stacy’s old high school friends, Beverly Hodge. We then proceeded to the Taft Theater where we rocked our socks off to the Pretenders. (Crystal Heis and Mr. Boyfriend were in the balcony. We waved at each other.) Chrissie Hynde was adamant about no pictures, so an empty stage was all I got, and a selfie of us after the show. As much as I like Chrissie, I fell in love with her guitarist James Walbourne. In fact, his band, with wife Kami Thompson (whose parents just happen to be Richard and Linda Thompson) opened the night. They were totally captivating. They’re called The Rails. Tonight, they played as a duo, and that was perfectly okay because they were transcendent. Chrissie was extremely complimentary of them as well. In fact, I’ve never seen her smile as much as she smiled tonight. I saw the Pretenders at Memorial Coliseum on UK’s campus way back in ’86 when Get Close came out. Iggy Pop opened. It was a good show. Tonight was a good show, too, but this guy James Walbourne – he blew me away. Imagine if Lindsey Buckingham, Jeff Healy, and Richard Thompson had a baby. That’s what he plays like. Plus, he has a great voice. And did I mention that Beverly Hodge is a keeper? She was an absolute delight and I hope we see her again soon. This was a beautiful day, start to finish. Remember that name: James Walbourne.
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