@SSCalhoun
August 21st 2022
We (my posse and I) have quite a tale about seeing Tanner Usrey. We had tickets to KokeFest a few weekends ago, rented an Air BNB for the weekend in Coupland, and were ready for a good time. Saturday, we decided we didn’t need to get to the festival at the time gates opened because none of us had ever been to one where the bands went on immediately. We also didn’t think Tanner would go on first. My husband got a text from a friend at the festival that the band he wanted to see (Tanner, of course) had gone on at 3:15. He is a true fan, has purchased all albums, sessions, or singles available, and while there were many great sets, that was the one he was most looking forward to.
Our friend felt bad we had missed the set and found the show in Coupland, bought the Meet & Greet add ons, and we would be back in Coupland, Texas for the second time in three weeks. Night of the Coupland Dancehall show, all four of our group knew we weren’t going to make it at door open, but thought the Meet & Greet would be after the set. Since we all have 9-5 jobs and live about an hour plus away from Coupland, we missed that, too. Okay. Still there for a good time.
As it so happens, we ended up having one of the best nights we’d had since we were young-er. Tanner Usrey went on, and played a fantastic set. The band is pretty damn amazing live. I was looking forward to their cover of The Chain. I love Beautiful Lies, Make it Out Alive, Come Back Down, Questions, Hold On to Me…I could go on, but I digress. But the cover of The Chain is fantastic and that’s what I wanted to hear most. Music was not just something we enjoyed in my house growing up. It was an entire lifestyle. We listened to everything, and a young fan of Fleetwood Mac was born. Don’t even get me started on Stevie’s solo career! The Chain isn’t my favorite Fleetwood Mac song by far, but it’s still a good one. I don’t often find that I love covers of songs. Why mess with a good thing? But I think they nailed it on that one.
The set closed and I immediately started yelling for an Encore. It’s hard to get one when you are one of few asking for it. Coupland Dancehall is a small town kind of vibe, which is very cool, but not the kind of venue you’ll get an Encore in. After the set, my husband and best friend of 26 plus years, spotted the bass player hanging out in the hallway behind the stage. Her husband and I watched as they proceeded to chat him up, lobbying for that song. They are the more outgoing and charming of the four of us, so who better to do the negotiating? They came back to our table, the place had cleared out quite a bit by then, and said they had put in a good word, but the encore was not going to happen that night. Maybe if we came to the show in Gruene the next evening. Maybe. The locals were there to dance and an encore was not the agenda for a crowd that came for live music and dancing. So, we went on about our evening.
We met one of the staff of the dancehall, and had a great chat with her out front before heading back inside to finish out our night. This is important to note because of how the evening progressed.
Earlier in the evening, my husband purchased me a pink Tanner shirt with the lyrics from Come Back Down on it. I had kept up with it all night thus far, but I had made it my personal mission to fix a toilet in the ladies room that wasn’t flushing that evening. I set the t-shirt down while working on the problem and forgot to pick it up when I was done. The shirt, of course, vanished. So, now we’re into this for tickets to a festival, tickets to a small show and a missed Meet and Greet, and a lost t-shirt. Okay. Still in it for a good time.
My friend and I came out of the bathroom and the bass player is standing in the hallway again. They were trying to wrangle equipment, and he was gracious enough to hear our alcohol induced pleas and bids for a live performance of The Chain. Round two. Poor guy, but he listened to my case after hearing my husband’s and friend’s, and said he’d put in a good word. Maybe they could play it in Gruene. Maybe.
During the course of that, we met the lady that does booking for Coupland Dance Hall, and I’m sure she had come back to make sure the non-locals were not harassing the talent. She was gracious as well, and while it wasn’t our intention to harass, we were on a mission. I’m sure musicians get this all of the time, and I don’t particularly enjoy being a part of that harassment, but I can be very determined when on a mission. When you grow up going to live shows, listening to music on blast in your house daily, and being a music collector, these missions mean a lot and possibly to no one other than the people in pursuit of that goal.
We decide to go out back, right off the hall to the bathrooms, to have a cigarette. Our friend, Jimmy said we should go out, have a cigarette, and see where the night took us. So that’s what we did. A guy comes out about halfway through the smoke break and must think we are part of the important crowd (or maybe they just wanted the remaining hangers-on to participate for their incessant dedication and refusal to call it a night) because he tells us they are about to cut the cake for the new single that had been released that day. We purchased that single, too. We’re being invited. So the four of us partake, because why not?
We eat the cake, being the interlopers we are, and head out front to sit on the porch. Our new waitress/bartender friend comes out and we chat some more, and she invites us upstairs because she’ll be bartending. That sounds like a go. We head back inside. We sit on a couch next to the bar, and by then, my husband and friend had also talked to Mr. Usrey making the case for the Cover. He’d agreed to play it as the opener at Gruene. The manager (you rock!) came over (I think word had spread that there was a group making the case for a song) and chatted with us. He agreed to put in a good word, too. Come to Gruene. You bet. We told him we were coming to the show.
We purchase 7 more tickets, and an additional ticket on Saturday afternoon. The next evening, we are coming with the whole family.
Gruene Hall. We arrive and my husband and friend set out to find the manager. They meet his wife and Tanner’s wife, and by then, I think everyone had heard about this mission. They’re playing the song. It will be the opener. About 10:30 P.M. and they open with The Chain. We’re up front to the left of the stage, and I sing my heart out. It was better than I hoped. The whole sequence of events leading to that moment is a memory we’ll keep because it was just a lot of fun.
I don’t know if we were the only patrons making the case, and I don’t know that we were even that convincing, but I have to say that it felt like an accomplishment to not only hear it, but hear it first. Three shows, a missed set at KokeFest, approximately 450 total miles, a missed Meet & Greet, a single release celebration, the after party, a lost and repurchased t-shirt, and a journey with the whole family (kids in tow), but we got what we came for. We had to leave Gruene early because the kids were tired, the adults were tired, but I’d have to say it was money and time well spent. They put on a great show. If you haven’t been to one, go. See where the night takes you.
Thank you to all who tolerated and entertained us in our mission, and to those we met in that endeavor, and to any who had to hear about the antics. Most especially, thank you to the band. It made a really great memory for all of us.
Sincerely,
Your fans, and inadvertent/unintended friends,
Matthew, Nicole, Simmoni, and Jimmy
Coupland, TX@The Old Coupland Inn & Dancehall
