A Cause for Joy
And an idea for something you may want to try...
I share your feelings, fellow wokesters.
Consuming life these days seems like we’re munching on a hog turd ghost pepper pretzel, gulping it down with a kerosene highball, and chasing it with a pint of lukewarm Raccoon River.
Let’s park that dark vibe for a while, shall we?
My awesome wife Deb and I volunteer as ushers at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines. A brother to Civil War General William T Sherman, Hoyt Sherman bought five acres of land in the (presently-named) Sherman Hill area for $105 in 1850. Builders completed construction on his family home in 1877. Among other ventures, he founded the Equitable Insurance Company.
Hoyt’s “place” was visited by presidents Grant, McKinley and a host of Civil War heroes.
The Des Moines Women’s club added an adjoining theater to Hoyt Sherman’s mansion in 1923. Their first program featured Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. Other early performers included Will Rogers, Amelia Earhart, and John Philip Sousa.
The place oozes culture and class. You want to step up your game when you enter the lobby, especially after whiffing some dude’s expensive cologne.
As ushers, we get an email with upcoming volunteer opportunities. Deb and I select a few gigs and turn in our requests ASAP.
We’ve volunteered for diverse acts like the Vitamin String Quartet, Cowboy Junkies, Samara Joy, and the improv show Whose Line is it Anyway? My favorite thus far has been the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Recently we got to usher for the Motown Christmas Show. We help guide folks to their seats, tell them the best restroom is near the box office, and direct them toward the merch/beverage area.
For an hour before the program, Deb and I were posted next to the stage on the auditorium floor. It was a sweet gig, directing occasional wayward traffic toward their proper seats.
My pre-show usher assignment for the Motown Christmas show.
There’s usually not much going on until close to show time. I entertain myself by warning those in the front-row that mosh pits are forbidden. If they like my sense of humor, we BS for a while. The other night I met a retired cop and his wife from Mount Vernon. He was built like a grizzly with hands the size of a catcher’s mitt. They’re coming back for Chris Botti in March.
Lights dimmed and some soul-rhythm background music weaved its way through the gray haired masses and the MC crossed the stage.
Here’s the gist of his introduction via the program description on Hoyt Sherman’s website:
“A Motown Christmas features a world-class vocal group, assembled from past and present members of Motown’s most legendary groups…Ali Woodson’s Temptations, The Miracles and The Contours”.
“A Motown Christmas is a powerful family-oriented show combining Motown’s greatest hits with everyone’s favorite holiday classics. This show features those famous Motown trademarks… dazzling choreography and unforgettable harmonies all performed in that memorable, soulful Motown style. This is an evening not to be missed – bring the family, dance, sing and enjoy this special, holiday spectacular.”
The musicians weren’t given proper due here. They were damn fine too!
Christmas is less than six weeks away, and current events make the seasonal spirit seem especially distant. But watch the Motown bros sing Frosty the Snowman while dancing and finger snapping. You’ll at least be nudged into a holiday mood. Breathe deep and imagine and you can almost still believe in Santa.
During the first set of the Motown Christmas show.
Our volunteer shift ended a half-hour after the show began. We grabbed beers and joined our usher buds in the last balcony row to enjoy the concert.
The Motortown All Stars band does a great job of blending Motown holiday arrangements with timeless Detroit classics. And they told us to sing or dance if the spirit moves us.
New outfits for the second set and a shot of the full band.
I can't sit still when hearing Sugar Pie Honey Bunch. Or Jackie Wilson’s Higher & Higher. And despite my slightly reserved German Catholic wife refusing to dance…I was gonna!
I danced like the crazy harmless old white dude I am, spinning like an arthritic Four Top and playing the fool.
I loved it.
I needed it.
And I didn’t give a shit what anyone thought.
I’d be pissed if at least someone (besides my wife) didn’t think I was an idiot, but I bet they smiled.
Reminds me of the poster I saw once. Pride…it’s amazing what you can do if you don’t have any. Amen!
The world shined a little brighter for a few hours as we harmonized to a soundtrack from sanitized innocent times.
It was the communal soul-cleanse we all needed. We left for home.
—
My advice for you is to please enjoy some live entertainment. But be selective.
Now may not be the time for cutting-edge humor or death metal music.
Go to a Nutcracker performance, visit your community playhouse, or see a cover band playing make-out ballads from your glory days.
Something cheesy can be very therapeutic.
Dress up for a sit-down concert.
Find a soothing event where you can let your mind fly off to the nest it needs to rest in for an hour.
The right live show can foster collective healing. Woody Guthrie had painted on his guitar “This Machine Kills Fascists.”
Never forget to appreciate the performers and show them your love. If you can’t buy their t-shirt or sticker, at least clap loudly and share your experience.
Artists are going through a collective grief too…those old Detroit guys could share some scary stories. More reasons to support them.
Thank you, Hoyt Sherman Place and the Motortown All-Stars.
For one night, you helped me forget the tracks of my tears.
The Motortown All-Stars at Hoyt Sherman Place, 11/12/2024.
Sources:
https://hoytsherman.org/