What can one say about performing with the Cowboy Junkies for the first time in 15 years. I think my friend Dr. Johnson put it best when he said, "it's like a dog walking on its hind legs, not a pretty sight, but a wonder it can be done at all."

Yes, there were a few electric barks and clanks during our two shows at The Iron Horse in Northhampton, June 2, but it was the opener of the tour, and all things considered it went really well.

The all star audience was wonderfully receptive even after Margo notified them that this was our first gig, code for "welcome to the rehearsal." Our Northhampton fans seemed to recognize that this "live, but-there-are-moments-when-I'd-rather-be- dead" kind of show was good entertainment value for their dollar.

I would characterize both shows as "exposed and intimate." The room was only 50X60 feet with a seating capacity of 270, including balcony seating. It was full and the tables were snugged right up to a very tiny stage.

We played two very similar sets and the consensus among the band and crew is that it sounded good, felt good, especially the blues-based songs from Trinity that's ghost we seemed to conjure.

Northampton itself is like a beautiful old book store, well appointed and well loved by its owners. Everywhere you look there is something that is pleasing to the eye and grabs your attention and is totally accessible. You feel at home in Northhampton and you leave there feeling as though you are better off for having discovered the place. Of course, you've got to like reading.

On sleeping in the bus bunks for the first time: You might recall a scene in David Lean's Bridge on the River Kwai in which Alex Guiness is punished for three days in a tin oven under the hot sun in a Japanese POW camp, and how at the end of that period he is escorted out of his confinement to see the camp commander You will recall how as he walked by his fellow prisoners on hobbled legs he tried to maintain the dignity of a British officer so as not to undermine the moral of his fellow POWs. In that scene, Alex Guiness looked a lot better than I did waking up and trying to get out of my bunk in Northhampton.