The Overpass Light Brigade is expanding. The light is spreading.
There are Light Brigade groups popping up all over America. There's another in
Germany. They need road money. They held a fundraiser in Milwaukee on on Friday night. The owners of Linneman's Riverwest Inn, a prime live music venue, donated a Friday Night in their space to help out the OLB.
The Singalong folks made the trek from Madison to perform at a fundraiser for the Overpass Light Brigade. The weather positively sucked; sub-zero cold, ferocious wind and snow drifting on the roads.
The Singalong showed up.
Showing up is their trademark.
Show up, every day.
Set your watch on them.
Count on the Solidarity Singalong.
They will be there.
My attendance at Singalongs is spotty at best, but I try to pitch in when I can. Mrs. ruleoflaw and I took a scary, snowy 70 mile drive because it was important to turn out in support of the OLB. There was no other choice but to show up. There was a cover charge, all proceeds going to the OLB, (but nobody was turned away for lack of funds.) In lieu of a donation, they would gladly accept packs of AA batteries. The OLB goes through a lot of those. When Mrs. ruleoflaw and I walked into the bar, we were greeted by Wisco Wherls and kideni. Wherls was sporting his brand new union card, so we had to christen it with a tall glass of Riverwest Amber Ale. Mrs. ruleoflaw had a Spotted Cow. It was a night out in Milwaukee and there was beer. All we needed were some accordions. We would not be disappointed. In the midwest, there is a baseline culture of German-ness. Milwaukee is the Capitol of German-America. If you have no beer and accordions, you probably aren't in Milwaukee. But I digress.
We proceeded with our refreshments to the ballroom. During the sound-checks we met up with poison kitchen, noise of rain and badscience.
Along with schoolteacher/activist/photographer Joe Brusky, noise of rain and badscience are the heart of the Overpass Light Brigade. They put out their message in the dark, usually on a freeway overpass during high traffic hours. The local ALEC shills on AM radio hate, hate, HATE the OLB. Milwaukee radio and TV are saturated with right-wing money and it drives the wingnuts insane when they realize how two and three-word messages out in the dark resonate with their drive-time audience.
The evening festivities began with a performance by the Solidarity Singalong. I joined them in a set of seven songs. "Exhilaration" and "passion" are puny words that only begin to describe how it feels to sing with these people. I always stand next to kideni when I sing with them. She makes you feel like you belong there. The solidarity in "Solidarity Forever" is never more real when you are surrounded by these folks.
The State of the OLB message was then delivered by noise of rain. When a man with a powerful intellect and a heart as wide and deep as the sky speaks, you listen.
The rest of the evening was given over to
the Squeezettes and their pulsating postmodern polka. These ladies know how to bang on the Baldoni! Mrs ruleoflaw and I rattled our bones around the floor a bit. If there is any mercy left in this world, nobody got any video of badscience and I doing the tango very badly indeed.
It was fun. It was also blackmail-worthy.
Beer and Accordions, the song of my people!
Solidarity forever!
Linkaliciousness:
Overpass Light Brigade on Facebook
Overpass Light Brigade website
OLB on twitter
OLB on tumblr
The Squeezettes!