A Shiver in My Bones

Time to go back about thirty years.

A song that reminds you of someplace.

When I hear 10,000 Maniacs I cannot help but think of Fredonia. It was at BJ's, Rascals, the Old Main Inn, where they played their first gigs. Admission was a couple of bucks, maybe eighty nine cents, maybe even for free. As sloppy as they were and as crappy as the sound could be, there was a feeling they would go places, and they did.

I've written about this before: How Natalie talked in a weird voice because she was so insecure, how friendly the rest of the band was, how one of them ended up in my apartment. I've interviewed them for the school paper, got station ID's from two of the band members, have a signed copy of Secrets of the I Ching but regret, to this very day, not taking any pictures at the shows.

Thirty years later, the band, with a couple of personal changes (Natalie is obviously gone, replaced by Mary Ramsey. Is John Lombardo in or out this week? And Rob Buck died) is still playing live dates and recording some new tracks.

I saw them do a free show at Easton about ten years ago. Wore my BJ's shirt and waited in line at the now gone Virgin Megastore for a meet and greet after the performance. They vaguely remembered me. It was a genuine vagueness.

Here is one of their more popular songs, it describes Western New York weather perfectly.