King Of Prussia, PA – “I Donwannago Home” – The Concert Under the Stars – June 13, 1999

I never want to get off the road. I want to keep going, and with only a week left on this leg, I’m feeling anxious. I’m going to miss the middle-of-nowhere-ness—the heartbeat of the van on the highway over its control joints. I’ll miss the slow strobe of street lamps, which pass Moby from one post to the next in halos of light. I’ll miss the scent of small towns (no two smell the same). I’ll miss sampling bakeries and coffee shops, window-shopping along Main Streets, wondering about who owns the minimart here or why there are two antique baseball card stores in town. I’ll miss arriving anonymously and leaving like a friend to be missed. I’ll miss coco-coffees at gas stations and complimentary continental breakfasts in hotel lobbies. I’m gonna miss living out of a bag, only owning what I can carry. I love the road. I love the cyclone dance of it and learning how to breathe in chaos. I’m scared I’ll hate my apartment when I get home, that my walls will feel tight around my shoulders, and that I’ll feel trapped and without myself, as I did after coming off the West Coast tour. I’m scared of being alone, without my band. I’m scared of standing still.

The Concert Under the Stars was held at a picturesque outdoor venue. Our stage was adjacent to a picnicker’s paradise where, in an hour, our more-than-appreciative audience would unfurl blankets and hold children captive in their laps. A quaint gazebo stood behind the stage like some sort of perfect, life-sized wedding cake decoration. This is where we were told to take shelter if the rain in the forecast came to pass. Big, bruise-like purple clouds loomed overhead. But, like a reverse rain dance, the second I started “Sign Of Rain,” the sun came out and blinded us, shining over the right side of the lawn sitters. A great photographer named Jeffrey Sidelsky captured the moment….