Wow...I had a great New Year's Eve! The band and I celebrated by performing at the Historic Missouri Theater from 7-8, then we ate, drank a little, and spent time with friends. I have to say, singing in a real theater with amazing acoustics is the best experience. I have missed it since my days of singing classically in college. Back then I almost never used microphones, just sang on beautiful stages with built-in acoustics. Last night I had the best of both worlds with a great sound company running the system, and a beautiful building to perform in. I saw a lot of our friends there, and it cheered me, since I was and am fighting a cold. I made it through nearly two months of touring for gigs, and finally my body is letting go, and saying I'm finally able to get sick without guilt! (GREAT!) Michael noticed that while I was performing last night I looked like I was going to fall over a couple of times, and I felt that way myself. Dizzy and disoriented. But I made it through, and let the music carry me. It was the strangest feeling to wonder if I was going to fall over in my high heels and break my guitar, all the while singing lyrics that are as much a part of me as my fingerprints.

But hey...that makes it sound like my New Year was a wreck, when really it was fantastic. I am so happy that so many community members came out to see the show and I got some new names on my mailing list and distributed some CDs as well. Columbia has been and continues to be such a wonderfully supportive community and I am glad the HSBand got to ring in the new year with our "home" town. (I still miss my family in the Pacific Northwest though - is that okay?) :)