Our swing state tour draws to a close 10 years ago today in, dare I say it, spectacular fashion at Philadelphia‘s First Unitarian Church. Sue Garner and Dave Schramm, who began the tour with us, are back, as is Todd Barry. David Kilgour is the lone holdover from the previous shows in North Carolina, and joining in for one night only are Danny Ray Thompson and the late Tyrone Hill from the Arkestra, and Calvin Johnson. In addition to singing four songs (among them Chris Stamey’s “The Summer Sun“), Calvin makes an eloquent speech, putting into words that which we’ve at best implied in the previous four weeks. Danny Ray and Tyrone are a revelation as always (and yes, that’s something of an oxymoron, but it’s true nonetheless), elevating songs they’ve never heard before and will never hear again. It’s the last night of tour, so we ask David to sing his Top 20 hit, “Tally Ho!”
