Stowe, Vermont

What a weekend!!!

I can't say enough about how beautiful Stowe is. We could see a bit more of the landscape this time instead of just piles of snow :) But I like the piles of snow too... SOOO different from Tennessee.

The show on Friday night was really fun. It was a good crowd and a really good show on our part. There were a few key dancers on the dance floor that NEVER stopped. They kept the party going the whole evening.

The first person that came up to me was a very sweet girl who said "Are you Natalie?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "I heard you have a Chilean in your band!" And I eagerly pointed at Miguel. She was off!!! Miguel is quite popular in Stowe :) There are a lot of Chileans and Peruvians that work at the ski resort - and their housing is across the street from the Matterhorn! There was a whole group that came to support him.


John had the coldest job in the bar. He was our doorman both nights, and brrr. But at least it was 30 this time rather than the -15 we experienced last time - THAT was REALLY cold for him.


Saturday was quite a day. We had 2 shows. One was up on the mountain and then the night show was at the Matterhorn again. We were a bit concerned with the first show. Naturally, I was a worried about singing for 8 hours in one day.... they were both long shows. But even more so - we had to tear all our gear down at the club, load it into the trailer, drive 1/2 a mile up the road.... (and then the logistics of getting into the ski resort.... WHEW! Absolute chaos.), set up everything, do the show, tear down, reload the trailer, and then go unload and set up and do a whole other show.

We had NO idea what the show was going to be like at the ski lodge. We have a few days in April where we will have 2 shows in one day, but none of those will be 4 hour long shows.... So this was the day we were all the most apprehensive about. You know what, though? Everyone there - Everyone - helped out so much. Paul was a freakin workhorse. And everyone at the lodge was pitching in. We had a long way to load in all the gear - up an elevator through some curvy hallways and then through the dining area to the stage. But it didn't FEEL that way. It is amazing how when a lot of people pitch in to help - the work gets done SO quickly. Everyone's hospitality made the whole situation SOOO much better.

So the ski lodge? Gorgeous. It was GINORMOUS. (yes, that is an actual word people. Well, not really, but it should be) It was this really open room with food, a bar and glass widows all the way around so you could see the mountains outside. I have never played a gig before where I watched people skiing during the show!!! That was pretty cool, I must admit.

The show was from 2-6 (although set up took longer than usual, and we got a late start. But everyone was cool. Normally that would STRESS me out - but it was obvious we were working as fast as possible). And there were so many kids there. We had one group that pulled their chairs right up to the front of the stage. And did they sit in them? NOPE. They STOOD in them and screamed "You're AWESOME" and "You Rock" the whooooooole show. It was pretty amazing. Needless to say, our show was a bit different from a bar set or a typical "Natalie" show. I tried to incorporate the kids as much as possible. Especially since they were such a great audience!!!

These were the main front row girls who attracted MANY MANY more throughout the set. And I signed the one little girl's pink cast which she is showing off here. :)



This little boy was adorable!!! He was so shy when it came time to ask me... But he wanted me to sign his ski helmet. THAT was a first!!!


Signing ski boots was another first!




Ava wanted me to sign her hands. "Natalie" on one palm and "Stovall" on the other palm.


Then ALL of them wanted it:


Miguel gave a guitar lesson:


And James let a British chick play his drums:


There was a birthday party with about 200 people there too. It was Jim's 50th birthday! But Jim had a guest who was not prepared for the music. She came up to the stage and yelled at us - said she had to listen to us for TOO LONG (She was ANGRY) and wanted us to turn "all the way down"! I tried to be polite, and said "Ma'am, we only have 2 songs left, and then we're done." That did not matter. She kept yelling. But the song had already started. And no matter how much I tried to reason with her... she wouldn't listen. Even though it was 5:50!!! I wish stuff like that didn't get to me... but I found myself trying to sing "quieter". Ugh. Can't win em all. But the rest of the ginormous room seemed happy. :)

We finished the show, I signed some more interesting things - the inside hoods of jackets, tags or shirts.... you name it. Then we packed up and headed back down the mountain to the Matterhorn. When we got there, Gerry had his horse "Annie Oakley" tied up at the post. As soon as I got out of the car, he announced to everyone in the parking lot (he had been at the show the night before) "There's the singer!!! Natalie, come on. I brought Annie Oakley down for you to ride" I was SO excited he was gonna let me ride her!!! I shared one pic a couple of days ago. This was me right AFTER the ride.



Hootie got a turn, too. Right before he got off of her, she did a full body shake, and nearly shook him OFF! It was hilarious.


The show was AMAZING. It was PACKED just like last time. And I was really excited because there were a lot of people who had seen us there in January that came back this time!!! That always makes it fun.


This guy had me sign his shirt last time :) So he wanted to keep the Tradition alive I guess!!!


I had never met a world famous dog trainer before! But this is Alex and he's the trainer of Ashley Whippet. It is quite an amazing story - he and his increible dog Ashley have been on the David Letterman Show, The Today Show, you name it! Ashley has caught a frisbee on it!


It was the first time a fan has ever made and brought chex mix to a show for me!!! And mmm. mmmm. mmmmmm. He makes it with Worcestershire Sauce - just like my Mamma does!


These guys were all from the Harvard Business School. Pretty cool, huh?


Look at how much fun they are!!!


The Matterhorn did not disappoint. It was so incredible last time, that I didn't want it to be a disappointment this time. They had told us the season was winding down and it might not be as crowded, but it was AWESOME!!! It's just such a great bar. They have amazing food, enthusiastic clientele, and they even have Woodchuck on tap! HECK YEAH!!!! It's just good people, you know?

So after an amazing show, we are getting ready to head back to the hotel at 3am. James gets in Paul's car, and then Hootie, Miguel, and I are taking the Suburban. But as we are getting in the car, there is OBVIOUSLY a party going on inside the building we are next to. Miguel said, "OH!!! That must be the party they (the Chileans) were telling me about!" We walked in to see what was going on and we saw all these people who had been at the show. Everyone was dancing and getting down to Reggaeton (which was new to me!) and people were just having a good ole time. It was really fun. We couldn't stay because it was so late, but I wanted to!!! They were having so much fun. Ahh. Vermont is just filled with good people.

Driving back to Tennessee was looooooooooong. But good. And I love it here. Home is a good place to be. If only for 2 nights. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.