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it's time

Hey everyone...

Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later, but it's my time to leave the list.  I came to this decision after the Schubas show on Saturday night.  I didn't enjoy the show at all, really.  Part of that was Schubas.  (Forget what I said a few weeks ago about liking the venue.  OTR should really play a bigger venue here.)  Part of it was the opener for the early show.  He was...  Well, I didn't like him at all!  But mostly, I didn't have a good time at the show because of OTR themselves.  I know, I know, I know...  I will probably get flamed for this post more than the homosexuality vs. Christianity debate, but it's true.  I was almost bored at the show.  Even with the "new" songs they played, it just wasn't...  I don't know...  It just wasn't...  it.

Going to see OTR used to be an event for me, you know?  They never played in Alabama, so when I lived there I always had to travel to Atlanta or Nashville to see them play.  It was an adventure, I guess.  And now that I live in Chicago, that thrill is gone. 

And the list used to make seeing/listening to OTR better for me.  Now I skim the posts, and the list has become more like the local bar for me--a place where I hang out and see my friends pop in from time to time.  Seeing others' set lists doesn't make me excited about the next time I can see them live anymore.  Hearing others' takes on songs doesn't make me rethink my own interpretations anymore.  (How many times can I rethink GDBD?!?!)  Reading newbies' reactions to shows is nice and brings back happy memories of my first shows, but those posts are few and far between.

You guys are a great bunch, and as some of you know, this list will always be a fixture for me.  It will always be a beautiful, glorious part of what makes me who I am today.  But it's my time to go.  I need a break, I think.  I need time to miss OTR.  I need time to not listen to or hear about them.  I need to wake up one morning and crave the opening chords of Latter Days or Bothered or Jacksie or, yes, Everyjan's Daughter.  I need to stumble across their CD in a record store and stop, smile, and make a mental note to "pull that CD out again when I get home..."  I need to hear that they're coming to town and think "Wow... OTR...  It will be good to see them again..."

So anyway, thanks for letting me say all this.  After being here for more than 6 years, it feels like a breakup.  I'll miss so many of you.  Your e-mails have been a constant source of greeting for me, and I never know what I'll find when I hear the familiar "You've got mail".

Somebody keep me posted on the good stuff.

Jan
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