885 MMMM ~ Most Memorable Concert During The Early Stages Of The Duke’s Courtship Of The Duchess

Just a little reminder, the memorable moments collection ends soon. Get over to the site and add your two cents.


About a month into our relationship, me and the eventual-misses journeyed to the Mount Ash-Wa-Bay. To The Big Top Chautauqua. To this gi-normous blue tent that holds concerts through out the summer.

Greg Brown plays there almost every season. Our love of Greg was one of the reasons why we were connecting so well. When you can bond over music, it makes courtship so much easier.

During that first summer, The Duchess was interning at the Cable Natural History Museum. I drove up to her above-the-garage in-the-middle-of-the-woods but next-to-Lake-Namekagon apartment. From there, we carpooled up highway 63 to state highway 13 to the left-hand turn on Ski Hill Road.

We parked the car and met some of her friends in the parking lot. We all sat around, catching up. These were friends of hers that had graduated from college. Friends I didn’t know very well. I listened while they chitchatted. I was happy to be with my new lady. Happy to be up north close to Lake Superior.

Showtime rolled around and we headed into the tent. Chances are The Duchess and I held hands that whole show. We probably snuggled. Rubbed noses. Kissed each other on the cheeks. This was only a few weeks into the relationship, when a simple caress brings shivers.

Now, I’ve seen Greg Brown more times than I can remember. Many times with The Duchess. Many times at The Big Top. I can’t recall specific songs from that set.

Maybe that was the show where Greg told the story about his first phone call with Garrison Keillor. Where he imitated Garrison’s famous breathy voice, his long-windedness.

Maybe that was the time Greg played Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Rubber”. A song about a long distance relationship. The kind of relationship we were snack-dab in the middle of.

Maybe that was the show Bo Ramsey played his fingers off, never once looking up from his electric guitar.

Two things are for certain: we still love Greg AND we still love each other. That concert was 11 years ago.

Listen to some live Greg:
Dream On
Laughing River
I Want My Country Back
1952 Vincent Black Lightning (Richard Thompson cover)

What’s your most memorable concert with a significant other? Leave a hullabaloo.

More 885 MMMM on The Late Greats

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The Big Top has a live Greg Brown album for sale. Go buy it!