| Who | Swan Lake Stables |
| When |
Friday, June 25, 2010
6:30pm
-
All Ages
|
| Where |
381 Flatbush Rd.
Littlestown, PA |
| Other Info | Girls Guns & Glory will be performing at Swan Lake Stables for the Johnson Horse Transportation, Hunter Derby. GGG takes the stage at 6:30pm. This is a family event, so load up the car and bring the whole group along!! |
Girls Guns and Glory
My friend and I drove two hours though the rolling hills of PA to see a band; but what we actually saw was a big ol’ slice of Americana. Girls, Guns, and Glory served up their usual rockin’ performance, but the venue and activities surrounding the band served some indelible Norman Rockwell images.
Let’s start with the stage – well, there was no stage, and no lights; just Ward and the boys standing in an open field, piles of manure appropriately situated at their feet. This was G,G&G 360, raw and exposed.
Next was the food, duly advertised as a “Texas style BBQ“: free beer provided a perfect lubricant to wash down the huge slabs of steak that sizzled on the grill nearby. Plumes of smoke drifted over us, providing a welcome culinary air freshener to the musty aromas of hay and horses.
Oh yeah, the horses. The main event after all was a Hunter Derby, an event that reincarnates the lost art of tradition and horsemanship. Neatly attired riders paraded their majestic animals past us as they headed for the ring. A few times the animals became unsettled, giving us a better understanding of their size, strength and unpredictability, and certainly prompting a better admiration for their ability to hurl themselves over the course obstacles. Gauchos circled the grounds, tending to the derby chores (O.K. they were actually young boys in golf carts . . . but they were at least wearing cowboy hats!).
Seriously, these were serious riders with serious horses, vying for a serious prize of $10,000. So it is understandable that most in attendance paid little attention to the band. Soon after the derby ended, the contestants loaded their horses and gear and hastily retreated to their hotels or homes, leaving just a few groupies (well, Suzanne and I) to enjoy what amounted to a personal performance by G,G&G.
The day ended with a final image that I won’t soon forget. The sun lingered low on the horizon, as if the glowing orb was stretching the day for us, mindful that we wanted to continue soaking in the music, the beer, and the soothing warmth of summer.
“Softly kissed by a strawberry moon
Or was that just the glow of a setting sun,
Not sure that it really mattered,
Cause Ward and the boys played on and on” – Mojo
Correction – for historical accuracy,it should read “Western Style BBQ”, not “Texas Style”