This Past Weekend in IN & MO
Mon., Aug. 20. 2007 5:05am EDT
We had a capital time (and a capitol time) at our concerts this past weekend. Friday night we played in Washington (albeit the one in Indiana), and Saturday we played on the capitol steps in Missouri's state capital, Jefferson City. Then on Sunday, we played Fort Wayne IN, birthplace of the NBA's Detroit Pistons and the Christian rock band Petra.
Missouri is one of only two states that permits a Christian event right on the capitol grounds; the other one is Alaska, but that would be a much longer bus ride for us. :) We were honored to be the event's headliners -- they even had our picture plastered on 10 local billboards -- and the folks in charge estimated that the crowd size was about 3000 by the time we played. Friday and Sunday's concerts weren't quite as big, but they were very well attended, and Fort Wayne had a capacity crowd in a large venue.
"Jeff City" (as the locals call it) was our friend Audra Knactal's 50th ApologetiX concert, and ironically it was the first time we'd ever played where she actually lives (She's seen us in 10 different states). Wisconsin's Chris Bailey (formerly Christopherson) is right behind Audra, having now seen us 49 times after attending the show in Fort Wayne. They are currently ranked eighth and ninth on the all-time list of most concerts attended.
Here's an email from another longtime fan who came a long way to see the Washington show:
The show was awesome on Friday night in Washington, IN. I drove 4 hours to come and see you guys; it was so worth it. I hadn't been to a show in a little over a year, and I realize now that is was way too long!!! I am gonna try and make them more often. Hope to see you soon.
Stefanie Clines
Richmond KY
Special thanks to:
Our concert coordinators: Joe Howard (Washington IN); Vickie Hodge and Perry Carey (Jefferson City MO); and Dan Friend (Fort Wayne)
Our merchandise coordinators: Marie (Washington, Jefferson City, and Fort Wayne); Ruth, Heather, Vicki, and Nicole (Washington); Sarah, Kim, Kara, Josh, Audra, Tami, and Victoria (Jefferson City); Nathan, Kim, Shellie, and Alexis (Fort Wayne)
Our roadies: Rich and Nathan (Washington, Jefferson City, and Fort Wayne)
Our radio support: Kevin Hilley and the staff at KMFC, Joy 92 FM, in Columbia MO (Jefferson City)
Our driver: Rich Polick. Our good friend Rich is a professional truck driver who'd been hankering to drive our bus for quite some time. Even before this weekend, he already ranked fourth on both the "Most Concerts Attended" and "Concerts Seen in the Most States" lists.
As soon as Rich got back from the trip with us, he was scheduled to hop a plane to California, pick up a car, and then drive it home to Pittsburgh with his daughter Marie. After attending all three concerts this past weekend, Rich and Marie have now seen us over 150 times combined (78 for Marie and 74 for Rich).
Honorable mention to:
Brandi, Jenna, and Caleb Leasure, who drove from Eastern Ohio to see us at all three concerts. The Missouri is the 16th state/province in which they've seen us, moving them into fifth place on the all-time list.
Indiana natives Heather Delaney and Ruth Hanawalt completed the triple play as well and have now each been to at least 15 shows in five states.
Darrell "Mad Dog" Doesken and his wife, Mary Beth, and son, David, journeyed from Wichita KS to see us in Jefferson City, and now all three of them have seen us in five states apiece. Longtime fan Sarah May made the journey with them, bringing her tally of states up to four.
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