Hope you enjoy reading this. I do apologize for it being so long... Anyone else that was there, just jump in and add your part.

I had a ticket for the first night's performance. As I stood in line I met the woman who was standing behind me. She talked about being on the Group W bench. Don't know if she is on Arlo.net or not. The man behind her was an Ark volunteer from long long ago and he told us stories about the beginnings of the Ark. And a little story about Leon Redbone, who attended a young persons 11th birthday party years ago in Ann Arbor. It was chilly but still nice out and the conversation was good. At one point the sky turned a beautiful pink-red, and I was reminded of a saying my mom taught me. We had a nice talk about the sky then and sayings people have about predicting the weather. One of the volunteers came out with the will call tickets and we all said hello to him. He went on a little that we should have gotten reserve seats, so we wouldn't have to stand in line... maybe next time, I'll think about it.

The doors finally opened and we went in to find seats. The couple next to me were newlyweds on their honeymoon, and the two men behind us were from Canada.

The audience in general was a quietly excited group.
The Manager, came out and told everyone no picture taking and no recording unless you have permission from the Ark or the artist. Arlo came out and told everyone that they could record or take pictures if they wanted to, he didn't care and if they happened to capture something really nice please share it with him. There are a couple of fellas who come regularly to the Ark and make audio recordings of shows, they were both there with their professional equipment all set up. I don't think anyone used a flash during the performance, which was nice.

Arlo shared stories about each song he sang, I did not write down what songs he sang. What if I messed up and forget one???
One story he told us was about a time he stayed with Ramblin' Jack and went to a parade and saw Jackie for the first time and how pretty she was and is. Then there was a story about some substance he took before a performance that made everything go into slow motion. He talked about what it's like in Australia, and how you have to mostly go by plane to get everywhere, and that it's beautiful. He put his whole self into each song he sang. He did sing Alice's, City of New Orleans, When a Soldier Comes Home, and shared a really nice story about performing that song for some Vietnam Vets this last summer. He has pictures from some of the soldiers that were in that war, which express how much Alice's Restaurant meant to them and helped them keep going in the face of such horror. He also sang Green Green Rocky Road, the Motorcycle song, just to name a few, plus a little blues and closed with My Peace. Afterwards, I went over and was saying hello to the manager, when Arlo came up. He looked pretty happy and I was glad to have the chance to say hello, nice to see you. He was pretty busy saying hello to everyone and getting his picture taken with people who brought their cameras. On my way out I ran into the Canadian fella's, who sat behind me, trundling down the hall. I encouraged them to go say hello to Arlo, don't know if they did or not.

Second night I worked as an usher. After we got everything set up and figured out our plan for helping people find seats, we had a nice time chatting before the the doors opened. I had only worked with two of the other people before, so it was nice to get to know everyone a little. The audience was more lively, which is not a bad thing for the most part. MG was there and came over and said hello! It was great to see her and her friend. I tried to help them find a good seat. Hope it worked out o.k. We did a chance to chat a little, but not a whole lot, since I was working. There were a number of people who had come the night before that came again. Said hello to some I recognized. One man said he and his wife used to go to the church quite a lot when they were younger. I remember them because they had twinkling eyes.

The show was a little different than the night before. Maybe MG or someone else will tell you the songs Arlo performed, I got to hear quite a lot of the show, and it was great. One lady begged for a picture and Arlo posed for her with his guitar. Arlo looked happy again that night, I hope it was an enjoyable experience for everyone. One couple brought their beautiful baby, who was thoroughly enjoying the show I guess she was singing along for a while and got a little fussy later on. So they were in and out of the listening room. She finally drifted off and they were able to sit together and listen.

I went over and said hello to the new merch mama during the performance. Had a chance to chat with her and she says she is enjoying herself. I'm sure she has interesting stories about her experiences on the road. Then there was another little story about Leon Redbone! Another volunteer, told a story about how he would do shadow puppets to opera during his performances sometimes. I thought that was a really funny and wonderful story. That came up, because I was saying we could entertain the crowd making shadow puppets with the flashlights we sometimes use to seat people. I'm just joking around, can't help it sometimes.

I have noticed that Arlo tends to bring out the best in a lot of people. It's really quite beautiful to see people at their best.

On November 10th, the Burns Sisters, Jimmy LaFave, Odetta and Joel Rafael will be performing at the Ark for the annual fall fundraiser. Arlo mentioned this show both nights. The second night he talked about Odetta, saying how she is really grounded in reality and moving with the world. Hope I got that right...

Thank's cheryl for your story. Reading it I can get a feeling how it most have been.

great story, cheryl...fun to read and not too long at all...

you're so right about the best in everyone... it's part of the magic... and wonderful...

thanks...