Trivia Recap: 9/22

The Players: Hannah (English teacher), Kristin (English teacher), Mary (English teacher), Ben (social studies teacher), Brock (complicated web design/art career), Victoria (veterinarian)

Opening Category: Old Crow Medicine Show

Hint of the Day: Kangaroo

Spoiler Alert: WE DIDN'T GO TO TRIVIA! Instead, we went to see Old Crow Medicine Show at XL Live in Harrisburg. It was wonderful.

Round One:

The team (sans Victoria; she drove separately since she didn't get off work until later) met at my house around 4:30 and I told them the plan: Get as close as possible, toss a copy of The Way Back onto the stage, hope it gets picked up, and -- if we're lucky -- we'll get a picture with the band. You see, what I'd done is ordered a few copies of the novel before its 10/20 release (I can do that because I'm the author). I then wrote a long, handwritten explanation in a card (homemade stationery, mind you!), explaining to the band that I was tired of being rejected by agents and was attempting to secure my own following... which will hopefully result in an agent or publishing company eventually pursuing me instead of the other way around. I also told them I'd be writing a blog about their show, but that it would be called "Trivia Recap: 9/22" because I was up to something clever, and so maybe they'll read it and maybe they won't. More than this blog, I hope they read my book. Fingers crossed, eh?

The car ride to Harrisburg was fun. Kristin had created a halftime sheet that she meant to bring, but forgot. I talked about how I had the idea to bring a stack of Trivial Pursuit cards, but forgot. In the end, we mostly just talked about life and I did some whistling. Kristin was very impressed by my whistling, which made me proud.

Round Two:

We ate at Millworks in Harrisburg. If you've never been, you should check it out because it's a fun place. It's a brewery/restaurant/art studio. Artists can rent studios on the top floor and their work is sold in the shop downstairs. The food is good, the beer is good, and the ambiance is good. We started out on the rooftop bar where we got drinks (Brock and Kristin got HUGE Oktoberfest beers that were low-alcohol and big quantity!) and DELICIOUS pizzas. We ordered three pizzas to split among the five of us: a basil and tomato pizza, a white pizza with pesto, and an insanely good mushroom pizza (that was my favorite). I had a cute man with a man-bun take our picture to document the event.

After we ate, however, we headed inside because there was a storm a-brewin'. It got really windy -- I'm talking Mary Poppins- or Something Wicked This Way Comes-windy -- so we went back down to the indoor restaurant and hung out there for about half an hour because it was only 6:30 and doors weren't going to open until 7:00.

Halftime Sheet:

The drive to the venue was mostly uneventful (at least for the purpose of this blog post) but I will say there was a lot of laughter. Kristin was driving and I was navigating and neither one of us is especially good at directions. Plus, Kristin struggles with right and left so I had to not only say "right" or "left," I also had to point.

And we are seriously both directionally challenged: When we left the restaurant, we both turned the wrong way to get back to the car. Brock expressed concern and then, fortunately, proceeded to navigate from the backseat. It was very helpful and eight minutes later, we found ourselves parking at XL Live.

Round Three:

The venue is sooooooo tiny! It's like the Anthem in DC, but a fraction of the size. I was on a mission, you know? Mary had my book in her purse (I had marked the page that mentioned Old Crow Medicine Show, placed a sticker beside their band name, taped a business card inside the cover, signed the first page, and secured my card with two of those rubber bands that are used to clump asparagus together in the grocery store) and I booked it up to the stage. There was only one row of people in front of us and I wasn't about to push my way to the very front. But I did make friends with the folks standing in front of me! Their names were Stephanie and Zach.

Stephanie is a third-grade teacher who is going on a field trip tomorrow (now today) to collect water samples and other scientific things at a stream. Her husband, Zach, is a high school psychology teacher who took a personal day so he could sleep in on Friday. They are apparently, like, forty-eight years old or something, but they look like they're in their thirties! More importantly than that, they are crazy nice! I told Stephanie and Zach about my book and how I intended to throw it on stage and Zach told me I could stand in his spot to do so. I tried it out, just to make sure I'd be able to do it, and then I gave his spot back and said I'd let him know when I needed to move to the front.

6-4-2:

The opening act was called Never Come Down and I really liked them! The lead singer had an amazing voice and the long-haired guy was adorable. They ended up playing an encore with Old Crow at the end of the night and it was really fun. There were five members in that band and they were from Portland, OR. I probably should've tossed a business card on stage for them, but I didn't. I did, however, give Stephanie and Zach my business card, along with two very nice women standing behind me (Holly and Barb) who had beautiful hair, and two other very nice women standing behind me who happened to be in the library field! I'm gonna see if I can get this right: One is a librarian and the other has something to do with the library board. One is named Addie (that's the right spelling) and the other has a name, but I didn't record what it was because Old Crow took the stage right as I was asking about it and you know how I like to watch bands come out. It's one of my favorite parts of the show! I got distracted...

Round Four:

Old Crow, as per usual, was outstanding. They arrived on stage with absolutely ALL of the energy and proceeded to be insanely energetic for the entire night. During the first slow(ish) song, I turned to Mary and said, "I think I should throw the book up there at the next slow song, don't you?" She didn't agree. Mary thought I should wait 'til the end... but that's not what my gut said to do and I've grown to trust my gut. I mean, I am forty-one years old at this point and my gut has steered me in the right direction much of the time. So I listened to it and during the next slow(ish) song, I tapped Zach on the shoulder and asked if I could swap spots with him. We switched, I waited until the end of the song, and then I tossed The Way Back on stage and it landed PERFECTLY! Tyler, one of the band's guitar techs who also happens to (I think) have been a major in high school or college (he can twirl a baton like nobody's business!) came out and grabbed it. I am hopeful that he'll give it to the band and they will read my note and then my book and maybe give me a shoutout on social media. That's asking a lot, though; I've only had one band do that before, I believe, and I am saving my blog entry about them for later. It's a good one, though! I dare say it's the best one...

Anyhow. Old Crow was incredible and so was Zach. He didn't want his spot back! He let me stand beside Stephanie for the rest of the night and I was RIGHT UP FRONT!!! It's the closest I've ever been to the stage and every second of the experience was incredible. My legs are going to be sore tomorrow; I danced so much! And bounced! I am such a bouncy dancer!

I think it's worth noting that I have such a crush on Cory Younts. Of all the musicians in the world, I do feel that he is probably the cutest. It's his boyish charm, I believe, and his fast-moving feet. I just can't get enough of him. Ketch is absolutely adorable... but Cory is adorabler. I took several videos of the show because my vantage point was so unbelievable and I want to share the footage with my students when I return to work next week. Period four, especially, is expecting an update! Admittedly, I often zoomed in on Cory. I just like to watch him, you know? He's captivating. Here he is whistling:

And here are some more videos of the show:

Final Category:

At the end of the night, we did try to meet the band and get a picture... but it just didn't happen. Tyler was tidying up the stage and we called him over. I said, "I'm the one who threw the book up on stage. Is there any way -- and it's okay if the answer is ' no' -- but is there any way we could get a picture with the band?"

Tyler disappeared to converse with the band and came back a few moments later saying they'd already left. This was, of course, a lie. Cory Younts could be seen slipping out the back door as Tyler was speaking these very words. But you know what? My trivia team didn't hold it against me that we couldn't get a picture. I just wanted it for the purpose of this blog, after all. And ultimately what's important is that the band got the book. I know it made it onto the stage and I know Tyler picked it up. It's not as if the novel is lost in the mail somewhere... so whatever happens will happen, right?

Cross your fingers that what happens is Old Crow reads The Way Back while traveling to their next show and they recommend it to all their friends! And blue dots continue to pop up across the country! 🤞🏻

Oh! While waiting to hear if the band members would have their picture taken with us, I met two women from England and gave them my business card. They, too, like to read. It seems that Old Crow has the most educated, literature-minded fans imaginable!

Bonus Category:

Darren texted and said that he had insider knowledge (thanks to his trivia contacts) that the answer to tonight's opening category was "Bob Dylan," the Street Sharks won, and next week's opening category is Hocus Pocus. So... that'll be next Thursday. But for now, I'm relishing the memories (and the footage) from tonight's experience!

Much love to Old Crow Medicine Show and The Educated Friends. ❤️❤️❤️