So, Kin to Stars. Straight up, I was nervous as hell. Nearly - but not quite - puke nervous. I thought I was just dehydrated and had been drinking what seemed like gallons of water beforehand, trying to shake it off. It wasn't until I sat down in front of the full-house crowd and started tuning up one last time that I realized it wasn't dehydration but sheer, mute terror. My god! The lights! The people! The tuning! Thank god Jerin took the lead, introducing us to the crowd and making happy intro chatter, before some piteous mewling escaped my lips.

I didn't start to loosen up until the fourth song or so. I assume we did well up to that point since I do recall hearing excited applause through a bright, gauzy haze of panic. Then I finally got a grip and started enjoying the ride.

We played eleven songs, eight originals, two reworked solo tunes (one mine, one hers) and one cover song. The crowd was with us, and Jerin and I have done enough shows together pre-KtS that between-song banter comes pretty easy. The show was recorded, so with any luck we'll make some live tracks available soon.

Starting what we hope will be a tradition, we put out comment cards for people to fill out, and encouraged them to doodle during the show. We just posted a gallery of some of them on our Facebook page. All of them are awesome! Some are both awesome and worrisome! Dragons, archers and locomotives? Was the spirit of Ronnie James Dio in attendance? I'd like to think so.

In any case, not bad for a first run, test-your-sea-legs show. We have a better idea now of what worked, what could be improved, and where to go with it next. So, many thanks to everyone, for your listenage and feedbackery. I think it's safe to say there'll be a Show #2.

As for rhinos and hippos -- you kind of had to be there.