Most of us here are aware (some, to judge by their screen names, obsessively so) that supporting passenger rail and the ultimate goal of a national high-speed rail network are very progressive values, indeed. After all -- unless you're a teabagger or a fuckwit governor of Wisconsin, Ohio, or Florida -- with 21st Century technology, cleaner transportation, job creation, and economic growth, what's not to like?
But in the minds of many who just try to get by, supporting passenger rail and making it a cool thing to do are two different ideas.
In step Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show...
So, having become a big fan of Mumford & Sons, I subscribe to their e-mail newsletter. And earlier today came the news from M&S of the Railroad Revival Tour: The three bands are joining forces to travel by a train of vintage rail cars from April 21-27, from Oakland, Calif., to New Orleans, to promote passenger rail in the United States.
How cool is this? What better way to build support for passenger rail, especially among younger potential riders, than this?
Even better, when I e-mailed the tour's info address to suggest/beg/plead that the tour not omit a certain Midwestern town that is, and always has been the nation's rail hub -- a town that starts with a C, ends with an O, and in the middle is HICAG -- I was told that this is just the first of many tours.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, starting at Noon EST, 11 a.m. CST, 10 a.m. MST, 9 a.m. PST, only at the Railroad Revival Tour website. And, perhaps knowing their audience very well,
Each ticket will include an MP3 download of live recordings from the tour as well as a commemorative ticket custom-designed for each site, with no additional service fees.
So, you California/Southwest/Texas/Big Easy Kossacks (lucky bastards), see three great bands, support another good cause, and please post your reviews of the show so we in those Tours-to-be-Designated cities can saliva-, er, look forward to the Revival, too.