Bryn Mawr, PA – “A Glomless Night” – The Point” – June 12, 1999

Soucy’s parents live in Millington, New Jersey where they run a bird rehabilitation center, “The Raptor Trust.” They nurse injured Bald Eagles, Red Tail Hawks, Vultures, and Owls before they return them to the wild.

Dr. Soucy Sr. gives us a tour of his facilities which cater to every raptor from the smallest open-mouth ospray (needing hand feeding every hour with a little silver spatula) to the gnarliest, copper-headed, tare-your-throat out Eagles. It’s bird world over here at the Soucy’s in northern Jersey! I’d never seen eye to eye with a raptor before and Dr. Soucy (Len) let me hold an array of them on my arm. Slipping into a stiff leather glove, I got to meet a red-tailed hawk with one wing, hold a beautiful heart-faced, barn owl, and got to chill with some vultures who looked like cloaked supervillains. We had the pleasure of eating lunch with Ms. Soucy on her birthday and to share in her banana birthday cake. Our visit was cut short by the long drive ahead of us to PA.

The Point is a historic folk venue. While the name of the venue has been shortened (It used to be “The Main Point”) little else about it has changed including the street it stands on. My ol’ man used to play here along with Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Brown. It’s a coffee bar at heart and performances are early enough to bring along a kid or two.

The stage is the focal point of the room. It’s low as a tall curb with a huge oriental rug on it. I love a rug on stage!! It makes me feel so at home and I can go barefoot which always makes me a better performer.

The Point was packed for our show and the caffeinated coffee-sipping faces draped delicately against pastel couches were vastly more attentive than the drunk whisky-swilling faces propping themselves up on our usual bar crowd. My stories felt funnier, my guitar sounded brighter, and my CDs sold faster they had any right to. Best of all there were no“gloms.*” We were loaded out before the sun had a chance to set and we delightedly watched it descend from a splintering park bench eating take-out vegetable chow mein and chicken fried rice. What a gift it was to get an early night.

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*“Glom,” refers to the one, or sometimes two people in a crowd who attach themselves to the band, or to me, the way super glue attaches to your fingers, and as you frantically try to disconnect your digits, the glom just gets more fingers involved. We’ve discovered there’s usually one in every crowd. The telltale signs you’re dealing with “A Glom” are

1. They ask really inappropriate questions or tell you deeply inappropriate things they think will endear themselves to you, i.e.: “You know, I slept with your father back in ‘68.” Or “What color underpants are you wearing?”
2. They follow you backstage, or into the bathroom and get in your van without being invited.
3. They stand too close to you while you’re talking to someone else and answer their questions before you can.
4. They ask “Do you have any SHWAG CDs?”
5. They eat the band’s ‘food and drink rider’ backstage without being invited backstage.
6. They grab your guitar and start singing your parents’ songs…badly.
7. They ask if I can get them JT’s autograph.
8. They don’t understand that when they see you running in the opposite direction, you’re running away from them, and instead of taking the hint, they try to keep up.
9. They tell you they’re your parent’s friends when really they’ve only just seen them on the other side of the street (keeping their distance no doubt, due to their well-seasoned “glom” radar)
10. When you tell them you’ve gotta go. They say they’ll meet you back at your hotel.
    

If you fear you, or someone you know, is a glom it’s not too late to seek help. Just call 1-800-Glom-Anonymous.