The Voice of an Angel...

I recently went to a concert the other night at the Wilma Theater located in fine downtown Missoula, Montana. Walking into the theater brought back a memory of last summer when I watched a sold out test screening of a movie called The Best Bar in America. It was the first time I’d ever set foot in the Wilma and my first experience there, Well, it’s one I’ll never forget. The movie was also one I’ll never forget, it reminded me of myself!!! Except the guy in the movie rides a motorcycle and I drive a jeep. It was filmed and produced by two brothers from Missoula, and was shot in bars located all over the surrounding area. Many of which I’ve visited and helped pay the light bill one beer at a time...

This time I was there with a friend to see Brandi Carlile perform, and at the time I had no idea who she was or what she sang... Hoping she was nothing like Taylor Swift, I was all smile when my ears heard the music and her voice. She’s far from a Taylor Swift. This girl’s a rocker, an amazing singer, guitar player, songwriter, and has a multi talented band backing her up. We ended up scoring these amazing seats in the far left corner in the front row of the balcony. It’s where the Mayor of the Town or the President would sit to see a show, it was top notch if I say so myself...
Anyways, midway though the show she did an solo acoustic set that ended with Somewhere Over the Rainbow, you know, the song from The Wizard of Oz.
People, never in my life have I ever heard such a more beautiful voice, from the very first of the song my eyes started to water up and all these memories of home came flooding though my mind. I thought of my parents working on the family farm, my brothers and sisters, my grandparents, friends, and the day we photographed my niece in her Dorothy dress. I found myself caught between memories and dreams of home, just like Dorothy. I’ve never had such a sudden blast of uncontrollable feelings and thoughts like that before. I think it’s funny how a song can open an door of thought that leads to memories of old times, places and people in our lives. A photograph is just as powerful and can cast the same spell over us too... Maybe that's why they work so well together, and have been known to cause smiles and tears all over the world. Let me add too for all my construction buddies out there that may read this, I never did cry!!! My eyes just watered up a bit!!!








You really should check out Brandi Carlile’s website and take a listen for yourself. Some of my favorites are Have You Ever, The Story, Closer To You, Dying Day, Turpentine. Hell, they’re all good!!!

That night lying in bed my gears went to turning at a little faster than normal. There’s not much more time before I have to head back to Texas, so theirs need to get to work on a few things. Rolling into Montana this summer I had a To Do List 3 pages long, most of the things on it have been checked off. Except for one of the top 3, my road trip into the heart of the Canadian Rockies! I’ve been dreaming of this for the past year now and was ready to set off. It can be tough to tear yourself away from Missoula during the summer, but it was time to get out of the city for a while to clear my head and explore the unknow. So over the next few days I packed up all my gear, pulled the pin, and got ready to head North along the Rockies into Canada to travel along what some call “The Most Beautiful Road in the World”, and no Boarder Crossing was going to stop me... So I thought!!!

Stay tuned, Part 2 is in the make now...