presentations. Western and Native American dance predominated, but they had zydeco and Cajun dance performances as well. The members of Brandee had been invited as a part of the National Cowboy Poetry gathering. They would be performing that evening as the fifth of six acts.
Two of them were to be Native interpretive dance groups, one was to be a country string group, and one was to be a western folklore humorist. The act scheduled after Brandee had captured the attention of the crowd, including the members of the group. They were anxious to hear Whistlin” Willie Jack, the yodeler that was the headliner of the evening. Privately, Brandee herself felt insulted to be placed on the card in front of a yodeler, but she was nevertheless intrigued to hear Willie do his thing.
The evening entertainment got underway at 5:00 PM, following a chuck wagon dinner. Brandee broke her own rule of just picking at her food before singing and had a bit of the pulled pork and brisket that was offered.
The other members of the group fell into the meal with a hearty appetite. Jake's earlier disappointment that the truck stop had been closed was quickly smoothed over under the mounds of food offered at The Folklife Center. He was balancing two plates, each overflowing with meats and cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a slice each of deep dish apple pie ala mode and peach cobbler.
Suzi and Diane both ate heartily, but Bruce became an all-time legend that night. He carried his four plates up his arm, waiter style. He had a plate designated for his salads, and one dedicated to the barbecued pork, brisket, and fried chicken. He had another plate that had breads and rolls covering it, and finally one that had cakes, pies, and cookies. Without playing a note, he had become the most popular member of Brandee for the night.
***
Brandee Evans certainly captured the eyes of The Center that night. The arc lights that surrounded her caught her hair just right. Men and women alike were mesmerized by her look that evening. The old saying, “Men wanted her. Women wanted to be her” certainly applied that night in Elko.
Vocally however, it wasn't her finest hour. It may have been that she ate before the performance. It may have been that her voice was roughened up a bit by the dry desert air in which she had to sing. It may have been the nearly mile high altitude in Elko. Whatever it was, the other members of the group knew almost as soon as she started that she didn't quite have it that night.
It hardly seemed to matter to the crowd at The Folklife Center. She was beautiful and sincere. Her band played up a storm. Bruce and Suzi's dynamic keyboard and bass duet was stretched to almost 7 minutes so Brandee could get some water and a break before her finish. Diane performed a drum solo that rocked the house, her hands seeming to fly through the air, unencumbered by her arms or even the pull of gravity. The applause was a thunderclap of sound that engulfed the Center. After their encore, the group settled in to see what Whistlin' Willie was all about.
It was several minutes into Willie's performance before Jake noticed that Brandee wasn't with the rest of the group. He had gone out front before she had finished changing out of her performance attire. She had said that she would be right behind him when he left her to finish changing out of her performance attire, but she never joined the rest of the band. Jake told the rest of the group not to worry about him and that he would be right back as soon as he found Brandee. He checked the dressing room first, in case she had gotten stuck getting out of her dress or something. She wasn't there.
Next, he checked next behind the stage in the area where the group's vehicles were parked. He doubted that she would have gone straight out there after changing but he thought that he would cover all the bases.
Two of them were to be Native interpretive dance groups, one was to be a country string group, and one was to be a western folklore humorist. The act scheduled after Brandee had captured the attention of the crowd, including the members of the group. They were anxious to hear Whistlin” Willie Jack, the yodeler that was the headliner of the evening. Privately, Brandee herself felt insulted to be placed on the card in front of a yodeler, but she was nevertheless intrigued to hear Willie do his thing.
The evening entertainment got underway at 5:00 PM, following a chuck wagon dinner. Brandee broke her own rule of just picking at her food before singing and had a bit of the pulled pork and brisket that was offered.
The other members of the group fell into the meal with a hearty appetite. Jake's earlier disappointment that the truck stop had been closed was quickly smoothed over under the mounds of food offered at The Folklife Center. He was balancing two plates, each overflowing with meats and cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a slice each of deep dish apple pie ala mode and peach cobbler.
Suzi and Diane both ate heartily, but Bruce became an all-time legend that night. He carried his four plates up his arm, waiter style. He had a plate designated for his salads, and one dedicated to the barbecued pork, brisket, and fried chicken. He had another plate that had breads and rolls covering it, and finally one that had cakes, pies, and cookies. Without playing a note, he had become the most popular member of Brandee for the night.
***
Brandee Evans certainly captured the eyes of The Center that night. The arc lights that surrounded her caught her hair just right. Men and women alike were mesmerized by her look that evening. The old saying, “Men wanted her. Women wanted to be her” certainly applied that night in Elko.
Vocally however, it wasn't her finest hour. It may have been that she ate before the performance. It may have been that her voice was roughened up a bit by the dry desert air in which she had to sing. It may have been the nearly mile high altitude in Elko. Whatever it was, the other members of the group knew almost as soon as she started that she didn't quite have it that night.
It hardly seemed to matter to the crowd at The Folklife Center. She was beautiful and sincere. Her band played up a storm. Bruce and Suzi's dynamic keyboard and bass duet was stretched to almost 7 minutes so Brandee could get some water and a break before her finish. Diane performed a drum solo that rocked the house, her hands seeming to fly through the air, unencumbered by her arms or even the pull of gravity. The applause was a thunderclap of sound that engulfed the Center. After their encore, the group settled in to see what Whistlin' Willie was all about.
It was several minutes into Willie's performance before Jake noticed that Brandee wasn't with the rest of the group. He had gone out front before she had finished changing out of her performance attire. She had said that she would be right behind him when he left her to finish changing out of her performance attire, but she never joined the rest of the band. Jake told the rest of the group not to worry about him and that he would be right back as soon as he found Brandee. He checked the dressing room first, in case she had gotten stuck getting out of her dress or something. She wasn't there.
Next, he checked next behind the stage in the area where the group's vehicles were parked. He doubted that she would have gone straight out there after changing but he thought that he would cover all the bases.
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