first night

I was up almost every hour the first night and a few times the second, even with ear plugs from one of those Delta Air Lines in-flight amenity kits and Benadryl.

Not helping: The first night was rockier than my recent trans-Atlantic crossing on a cruise ship, something Amtrak employees blamed on the condition of the tracks from Nebraska into Colorado.

I spent a delightful dinner the first night with Roger Brown and two of his kids, ages 7 and 11.

A few timing and tuning issues crop up, which could easily be the result of a first night in a new venue, but which feel odd for a band of such technical proficiency.

Emerging from the curtains on the first night of Crooked Con, like a reliever trotting onto the field in the bottom of the ninth, was none other than Barack Obama.