Sept. 22, 2016, soon came. I got stuck at work. Nothing happened for three months until the one day I wanted to leave 5:30 p.m.
I finally left at 6 p.m. and headed out to the show in Des Moines, which was at the Temple Theater. This was a former gigantic Masonic Lodge that was saved despite quite a bit of controversy. It is very impressive.
Some of you may remember an article from the Perry Kiwanis last year about having a presentation on grotesques. These are small faces high up on the outside of buildings. The Temple Theater has several of these and is a very fancy building.
I was surprised at the lack of parking at the Temple Theater. You could only park on the street. Luckily, it was late enough in the day that you did not need to feed the parking meters.
We had to pick up the tickets at the box office. Then we wandered around the building to find the theater on an upper floor.
We had to wait until 7 p.m. before they let us in for the 7:30 show. This show was the opening show for a seven-part Live at the Temple Concert Series, and most of the people attending had not heard of the Quebe Sisters.
When we were let in, we went into a theater that held just over 200 people. Most of the seats were theater seats, and a few tables were close to the stage. We sat in the middle, which was a good view.
There was a sign posted, stating that you could not take pictures during the performance.
We found our seats and waited. Around 7:30 p.m. one of the ushers came out and made some announcements. He was very popular with the audience, who certainly was familiar with him. He mingled with the “regulars” before the show and knew about their personal lives. Good customer service involves getting to know about your customers and taking an interest in them. People like to make relationships.
A little after 7:30 p.m., the Quebe Sisters came out. They all three carried violins. There also was a bass player with a standup bass and another player using various guitars. They were men.
The sisters took turns introducing the sets and telling stories about their lives and travels. They drive to most of their performances themselves. These are all over the U.S. and Canada, and I get the impression that they lead sheltered lives. They live in Texas.
Hulda asked about the proper pronunciation of Des Moines. She kidded the audience, saying her ignorance was the result of being home schooled. She said this was the first time they had been in Des Moines. I wanted to shout out, “What about the Country Gold performance in 2012?” but I restrained myself.
No one sat in front of me. To the right of me was an attractive blond-haired lady with a Farah Fawcett hairdo and wearing a denim skirt and cowboy boots. She ended up being a lead singer for a country group. She took a lot of pictures and video with her cell phone. I guess that cell phones do not count as cameras in this day and age.
Dan, on the other hand, is still under the curse from the Charlie Daniels concert in 2015. At the last minute, a lady standing at least 5’10” sat in front of him. To his left, at the last minute, sat a man who weighed at least 300 pounds and took up all of his seat and also part of Dan’s.
The sisters sang every song that I had heard on their CDs and at their Country Gold Concert in 2012 and also some others. Some of their songs included “Wayfaring Stranger” — this is my favorite song from them — “It’s A Sin to Tell a Lie,” “If I Talk to Him,” “San Antonio Rose,” “Red Wing,” “So Long to the Red River Valley,” “Along the Navajo Trail” and many more.
Each of the sisters is a champion fiddle player, so they took turns playing solos.
They discussed being on a CD along with Asleep at the Wheel and also performing with Willie Nelson. Asleep at the Wheel played at Lake Robbins during one of the Sentimental Journey Celebrations and also when Billy Brahman’s had a grand opening in Perry. Perry’s own John Patrick introduced them at the Lake Robbins performance.
About 8:30 p.m. they took a 10-minute break. Two of the sisters were wearing very high heels. They probably needed to take them off for a while. They said they were each no taller than 5’2″, so they probably like the height with shoes.
They came back and sang about 40 minutes longer. It was a very good show. Afterward, they went out to the lobby to greet everyone and sign CDs and pictures. Pictures were only $5, so Dan and I each got one. Surprisingly, they only have put out 3 CDs.
After a short wait in the line, we met the Quebe Sisters, had them sign our pictures and got our picture taken with them. My picture did not turn out but Dan’s did.
Then we headed home. I suggest that someday for something different you check out the Quebe Sisters Band. You will find them enjoyable. I hope that they make it to this area again this year.
