Have Love, Will Travel - Tom Petty
“You never had a chance, did you baby So good-looking, so insecure
And now you say you can't remember
When the lines you drew began to blur”
It was a crisp April evening and my friends and I were exchanging jokes and well natured profanities as we were unloading our sound equipment and guitars at the Kontrei Kombuis in Krakeelrivier. Situated in the magnificent Langkloof valley, Krakeel is a tiny settlement mainly consisting of farmers, teachers, shop owners and hardworking folk who make their living toiling in the seemingly endless stretch of pear and apple orchards, harvesting, running the pack houses and operating the machinery that give this place its unique charm. Veronel, the owner of Kontrei Kombuis and top notch proprietor of the most incredible and gastronomically mind blowing Karoo and local cuisine is a dynamic, resourceful, motorcycle loving mother that opened her restaurant to four road worn, unshaven musicians performing for a bed and a meal. Our only mission…. to raise money for a good cause, in this case an electric wheelchair for little girl named Carli and to make a connection with the audience who booked tickets to the show despite having never heard of any of us.
After a quick sound check, a steamy plate of lamb tails and other delicacies washed down with ice cold beer we took to “the stage”, a corner in the back of the restaurant with tables set up in a circle in front of us. I counted us in and … “ Poncho Villa crossed the border in the year of ought sixteen….” The opening lines of Tonight we Ride, rang out with the intimidating power of Ian’s Stratocaster and Two-Rock amp. Gerhard and I smiled at each other and Bokkie gave the thumbs up from behind the desk. We were sounding just right and Tom Russell, the working and touring musicians patron saint was smiling upon us. It was opening night of the Vagabonds tour and people started moving their tables out of the way and dragging their chairs in close to us in a circle, so close you could see their eyes, hear them breathe and talk to them in between songs. Now that could go either way. We are no strangers to hostile audiences and having them that close could easily result in fist fights, broken beer bottles and even cops taking names. None of that happened. We also sat down, pulled them further in and there in that frosty, billion star night one plus one equalled three. Magic. We told stories, played requests, laughed and drank deep into the night, the waiters long gone and Veronel manning the joint with expert level bartending skills.
Afterwards we all found individuals that wanted to talk some more. I found myself sitting at the bar with a beautiful, dark eyed cattle farmer from the valley. I had half a bottle of bourbon left from the road and a bucket of ice and as our conversation navigated the treacherous territory between right and wrong, hopes and desire, we shared stories of normal hardships and challenges farmers like us face daily, the difficulties of being a dreamer and ambitious female growing up in an isolated farming community without a lot of prospects of any kind. She occasionally stirred the whiskey with her slender fingers and her laugh was wild and electric. But too soon the whiskey was done, the night had reached its zenith and it became apparent that it was time to go. I looked at her one more time through the van window, her western shirt, jeans and worn in boots kicking at loose stones in the yellow lit gravel parking lot. I cracked a two am beer and took a deep breath as we disappeared into the dark up the two lane country road that led to our accommodation. We had ten more shows and a thousand miles to go.
Today, as I’m writing this I’m staring out over the Arabian Gulf through a coffeeshop window on the Corniche in Doha. It’s another sweltering desert day and the tall buildings and lunch hour traffic is a far cry from Krakeelrivier, my band and my friends. I haven’t felt that magic in a long time. The magic that happens when you share your stories and art with honesty and empathy and that connection when everything is just right and nothing else matters in that moment.
I am still on the road and out here learning, writing, meeting people and finding my own way home. Artistically I’ve been walking a barren desert lately. Mountains of admin, moving to another country, dealing with the day to day challenges of running the farm and putting it all on the line for this new adventure somehow stole the words and melodies from my mind. I hope it’s temporary. It’s time to go back to work, pick up the guitar and write some more songs about this crazy and tragic, almost magic, beautiful life.
“And may my love travel with you everywhere.
Yeah, may my love travel with you always”
JB
