Arkansas Girls (HEART) Crazy Horse: A Roadtrip Tale

Arkansas Girls (HEART) Crazy Horse
8/5 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks
10/14 Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Convention Center
11/10 Seattle, WA – Key Arena
(Click photo to enlarge)
The road always produces adventures.

So we bring you the remarkable roadtrip tale of the Arkansas Girls who love Crazy Horse...

For me, it started as a “bucket list” dream…to see Neil Young & Crazy Horse at Red Rocks.

I had always been a huge fan, but those guys never tour close to my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas. The last time I had seen them was in 1997, so I was long overdue. I bought the tickets and planned the trip, elated with my 3rd row center seat. Meanwhile, my new facebook friend and Neil enthusiast, Sandy Horne and her husband George were planning a Red Rocks trip from Missouri. Before I left home I scratched out a primitive sign with a half-dried magic marker that said, “Arkansas Girls (HEART) Crazy Horse” and threw it in the suitcase, thinking Neil and the guys might get a kick out of it if they noticed it in the crowd.

After my boyfriend Vince and I got to Red Rocks on night #2, we met our new friends in person. George took a picture of Sandy and me holding the sign, then we migrated to our seats. The beauty of Red Rocks was astounding, and Neil Young & Crazy Horse took my breath away. I held up the sign occasionally showing my support. I heard new songs that touched me to the core, and tried hard to take in everything that was going on before it slipped away. As soon as the show was over, I knew I had to hear that sound again as soon as possible!

The next thing I knew, Sandy and I were planning a trip to Tulsa. We talked online endlessly about our next concert adventure. Although our “significant others” were Crazy Horse fans, they weren’t like us. We knew we had to see the show up front and TOGETHER. It was meant to be. Once again, I headed in from Arkansas and she and George headed in from Missouri. I had been working hard and traveling a lot that week. I was tired, but I felt good about seeing Crazy Horse once again with my sweet friend. We waited all afternoon in GA line, then made it down to the front, where we had a great spot. Someone took our picture with the little sign as we awaited the show. Then disaster struck.

I felt someone pushing me from behind, then realized they were in fact, fainting. The man was lowered to the floor and fanned with my sign until the paramedics came to take him to the hospital. The next thing I knew, I was the one on the floor being fanned by the sign. I had collapsed and it was my turn to be rushed to the ER. I was surprised, frustrated, and embarrassed. I insisted that I would be okay, but the paramedics weren’t buying it. The worst part of it all was that I caused my friend Sandy to miss the show she had looked forward to for so long. I told her to stay, but she would have no part of it. Sandy rode with me in the ambulance, and stayed with me at the hospital until I was released. Her husband George, who stayed at the show with the rest of Sandy’s family, sent us photos and text messages of the song titles as Neil and the band played. The sign was retrieved by a kind Rustie named Randy, who mailed it back to me.

To say we were devastated by the Tulsa experience would be an understatement. Sandy and George decided to try once more and booked a trip to the Seattle show. They asked me numerous times to come with them, and I knew they felt a sense of guilt by going without me. Neither Sandy nor I could imagine seeing Crazy Horse without the other. Thankfully, at the eleventh hour, there was an unexpected turn of events, and I was packing the tattered little sign and heading to Seattle.

In Seattle, Sandy and I had one of the best experiences of our lives. We laughed, cried, danced, and sang – in the company of fellow Rusties, as Neil and Crazy Horse played a fiery show. The best part for me was when the band came onstage. I held my little sign high as Ralph blew a kiss and pointed it out to Billy, who grinned at the two crazy Southern girls who were smiling broadly. Later, during Cinnamon Girl, Neil saw the sign and chuckled. Life was good.

The sign that has now traveled thousands of miles, now rests in my Arkansas home, awaiting its next assignment. Will it make it to another show? Never underestimate the power of 2 determined cowgirls…

Tami C.
a.k.a. SandCowgirl

Many, many thanks to the Arkansas Cowgirls, Tami & Sandy. Long may you both run.

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