Tampled by Turtles @ The Inferno 2/15

One day, out of the clear blue sky, my good pal Scottie A alerted me to a party. Not just any party, but a party on wheels. Not just any party on wheels, but a party on wheels going to a Trampled by Turtles show. This party would take place on the way to a humble bar called The Inferno in Mankato, MN. How could I say no? A chance to party heartily for 90 minutes or so with 40 rowdy die hard TBT fans immediately before an out of town show does not come along nearly often enough. The bus riders were spirited as expected, and got more so as the ride and the evening went on. By the time we were on our way home after 2am, there were people stumble-dancing in the aisles, people passed out left and right, and a bus full of exhausted bluegrass fans.

I could not even begin to provide this kind of detail about that raggedy old school bus with the raggedy old nasty bathroom in the back, but someone on the Turtle message board did, so I will share it here: Well done, Furthur.

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Name: Furthur Location: Twin Cities,
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Furthur info on the bus...

It was an older, well tested flat face model. Resembling a pre 1970 metro transit bus. This beast wreaked of poorly exhuasted Diesel fuel. It had a warm welcoming presence, (anything would when its -0F outside) tastefully painted to resemble a Cheatah, fitting, as we made it down there in considerably good time. The inside was decorated with multicolored tube/christmas lights, seamlessly wrapping thier way around the cieling. Its seats where finely apoltstered with a dark, heavily worn, monotone, Tolex-Vinyl, that made me feel like a first grader all over again. The well positioned heaters offered heat to keep our feet (and ill-positioned booze) comfortable, but had a tough time competing with the often ajar windows. Scottie A put together a masterfull and dully representative mix CD "Get on the good foot" (I seem to recall). that had us dancing our way to mankato, and kept us wobbling our way home. The bus driver was a hospitable and accomadating fellow. Well traveled, and well conditioned for a load of folks like us (except for his admitted lack of sleep). Obvious in a crowd such as this, there was an ample variety of "dry mouth reversal fluids" which also carried the side affect of increasing one's blood alchohol level. The gang of Turtle fans was a solid mix of close friends, loose acquantances, and never-met-before's. The bus provided a uniquely ideal environment to develop and reaffirm comrodory and friendships that I'm sure will last to the next show and beyond.

Big ups to Scottie A for putting it all together. and to TxT for giving him a reason.
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Hells yeah Scottie, awesome job indeed.

Heres a couple pics of the show, I couldn't tell you the last time I got to see the boys on a stage this small. Capacity was 120 at this little Mankato joint, and we were 40 deep, so the Twin Cities were well represented here.





It was an excellent show, the first one I have seen since TBT officially proclaimed fiddler Ryan Young to be the fifth Turtle. Dave S. dedicated the first song, "School Bus Driver" to the party bus people. I'm glad I got on the bluegrass bus, and look forward to the next adventure.