In Review

The Night Of The Snake Dance

Small towns have the best roadhouse weekends
People know all the happenings of the week
They gather, usually, for quite an enjoyable time

I spent some time drumming with a country/rock and roll trio
Once a month or so we would book this old roadhouse in rural Kansas

It was an old 1920's plantation style building, very old
Three of the six sides had walls that the top half would open, swinging out allowing summer breezes to cool the place
1920's air-conditioning

It was about three miles from town
Open every Friday and Saturday night and sometimes "Bloody Mary Sunday"

One summer Saturday night the place was rockin, our band was having fun
We played the theme song from the movie "Shaft" to start the last set
I'm playing drums, using my high-hat cymbals on the intro to the song
All of a sudden, the whole crowd, including the bartender and doorman, look and point at me
The band, while still playing, was looking at me laughing

What?
Can't figure this.
What's goin on?
Suddenly, out of my left eye something was there, moving
It was getting closer, MY GOD!
It's a fricking snake!
What the...?

I set up on stage in front of one of those walls that open
A huge black snake had crawled up and over the wainscot wall and stretched his head out toward me
He seemed mesmerized or something
His head was nearly over the cymbals I was playing
So, I just kept playing, this was getting good
The band just cooked
I did a jungle-beat drum solo
I played, the snake swayed
Unbelievable

The snakes head was now right over my cymbals
I was using both sticks on a constant roll as I did earlier on the intro
He would close in on me
I would, in rhythm, hit at his head again and again
Each time he would back up, then lean in again
This continued so long that it probably looked staged
"What's with this snake, anyway?"
I'll just go with the flow, I've got two weapons, so why worry? Let's just let it go
The crowd was going crazy, of course
We later joked about adopting the poor thing and giving it a job if we ever went on the road

We couldn't stop the song until someone who worked there went out, pulled the snake by the tail
It left the building like Elvis, with a standing ovation
"Encore, encore, more snake!"

That was the first song of the set, should have been our last, because we couldn't follow that act

From then on it was referred as the night of the snake dance, a true story
We later learned that these snakes mate for life
His mate had been killed in a milk barn that week
He was bravely searching everywhere for his mate
Too bad, so sad, sorry, but it was funny as hell