It's Just a Thing.

Is that you in the soldout Headliners crowd??
me and Kimmet Cantwell!
That has been my mantra lately. Repeat to self: it's just a thing.

A lot of things have been malfunctioning lately -- furnaces, tires, car batteries, toilets, pipes that burst even though I did the whole leave-the-water-dripping thing because it's JUST SO COLD!

But it's just a thing. Right?

We are all safe and alive and enjoying every minute despite the chaos.

Christmas was an adventure. We rented a minivan and drove 1100 miles to Lubbock, Texas, with the whole crew: me, David, Graham, Angus, my mom and dad. David's family lives in Lubbock and hosted us all in their big ol' house, which was full of bourbon, fun, laughs, naps, plastic balls (Angus got a lot of balls for Christmas), and collectible Santas. We had a blast.

I flew back early because I had several holiday gigs, including the sold-out night at Headliners starring Back 2 Mac, the Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band that I was in in 2010-2011, before moving to Scotland, when Natalie Bajandas took over the Christine McVie parts. Her vacation was my gain, as I got to sub for her! It was magically fun, and though I would never try to take over her role in the band -- that's not cool, -- I do hope I get a chance to sub again sometime!

I'd forgotten how great a little external validation can feel, even though I know I shouldn't depend on that for happiness. But the thunderous applause, cheers, and being surrounded by people telling me how awesome I was, was, well, pretty nice. Even the guy who mysteriously told me, "Everyone wanted you to fail! I mean, EVERYONE! But you nailed it, Brigid, you absolutely slayed!" I genuinely think he meant it as a compliment, but I had to question whether anyone actually gave a crap about how I was going to perform. I mean, I wasn't nervous about it -- should I have been? Nah, I know I can sing and play those parts. C-Mac's vocal range is spot on with mine, and you can't go wrong with those songs. They are just too good!

Joe Mays took video, so I'm hoping to share some fun video from the show.

Anyway, the days off from parenting were soul-refreshing, and it was incredibly feel-goody to be more than just a mother again. Now my kids are back, and adorable and loving, albeit mischievous and slightly annoying. But really -- that's the good stuff, right? Everything else: it's just a thing.

*****
Put January 25 on your calendar for a special, intimate, ticketed event in the Highlands. It's a send-off show for my United Kingdom tour, with a Burns Night theme featuring some somewhat-local scotch ... how is that even possible?!?!?! You'll see.

Ray Rizzo & Kimmett Cantwell

3 comments