Easy Rider 2006: Day 8, Billings Show

It was a nice lazy day today. We slept in until almost 9, and went to the breakfast buffet and found that most of the rest of the chorus was still in bed as well. We were both able to catch up on some work voice and e-mails, and then went out to explore the town a bit. Billings reminds me a bit of Spokane, WA -- about the same size, and SLC when I was a kid. First stop was Beartooth Harley-Davidson. A HUGE store -- it rivals anything in Seattle, and I was able to find a part I'd been looking for for some time, and of course we picked up a couple of t-shirts for the collection. We took some time to do some laundry at a coin-op, and wash the bugs off the bikes as well before having a nice lunch in a little sandwich shop in a revitalized part of town near the train station. We chose it because it had a poster for the Chorus show in the window, and we weren't disappointed either.

One of the songs that the men sing is about how the town of Billings was able to stand up to the KKK some ten years ago, and so a local TV station was filming the afternoon rehearsal, and it prompted a few more ticket sales as well. The theater isn't set up for large ensembles like the combined SMC/SWC so they utilized a neighboring church for dressing rooms and walked next door to the there. The show itself was very well received and people appeared quite moved by several of the numbers. It's fun to sit amongst them and listen to the gasps and a few tears, and "oh my's". [Tony writes]: The tears came from many members of the chorus as well. Singing "Not In Our Town" in the real life city that the song is about, made the words that much more emotional. I was singing through my tears and I could hear other members of the chorus sniffling throughout.

And after, there are a lot of "thanks" and hugs from the audience, who in towns like Pocatello and Billings, need the affirmation that the Chorus brings to them. Tonight at the after-show reception, hosted by the local sponsors, we met a nice older gentleman who apparently lives half-way between Billings and Bozeman in a small town. He'd never been around this many gay people in his life and he was very moved by it, being the only gay person in his small town. He shared his own 'Brokeback Mountain' story about falling for another sheepheader one summer, only to leave his wife of 2o plus years to finally come out of the closet. He's going to see the show again tomorrow in Bozeman. This is why the Chorus tours, and why even when the audience is small, and the travel time long, it's all worth it.

We are (or I should say Tony is) packing for tomorrow's ride. We are meeting four other riders at 8am in the hotel parking lot and riding as a group over to Bozeman. The Chorus is going to take I-90 the short 145 miles to Bozeman, and the motorcycle contingent is naturally taking the back roads and going about 200 miles. Only the men are going to Bozeman -- the women split off and are going to Helena. They have named their bus the "Handbasket", so they will be -- say it out loud with me -- "Helena in a Handbasket."

From the 16th floor of the Sheraton Hotel in beautiful downtown Billings Montana (and where despite the menu in the room, room service DOES NOT operate until 11pm).

Gary and Tony