I like my Bacon extra rockin'!

Well, I barely slept at all last night. I didn't get back home until about 4 AM, and when I tried to get to sleep, I kept replaying the epic rock n' roll odyssey I had witnessed not 5 hours earlier. It's safe to say that all those in attendence were changed for the rest of our lives; we were all brought together as one for 2 magical hours, and in that time, the world truly stopped turning. I'm, of course, talking about the opening night of the Bacon Brothers tour at the Executive Inn in Owensboro, Kentucky.

First, a little history of the venue. Frank Sinatra finished a world tour in 1955 with three shows at the very same Executive Inn. The tour had included stops at other famous venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York, Budokon in Japan, and the Sydney Opera House. None came close to matching the performance at Owensboro. Old Blue Eyes himself said, "I don't know if it's the acoustics, maybe it's the crowd, but there's just something about this Executive Inn!"

In 1971, a young Bruce Springsteen got one of his first breaks at the Executive Inn. Opening for The Dildos (a bona fide marketing disaster of name), Bruce gave the show of his lifetime, and some music executives in the crowd took notice. "We have always looked for new talent at the Executive Inn," said VP of New Artists for Sony BMG Mark Little. "It's such a hotbed for new talent."

Over the years, all the huge acts went through there, like the Grateful Dead (reportedly Jerry's favorite place to play), Aerosmith, and Guns N' Roses, to name a few. And now, as if to complete the storied life of the Executive Inn, the Bacon Brothers played it opening night for their 10-show limited engagement tour.

Kevin and Michael rifled through 3 new rockers to open the set. The crowd was into it and responded well to the new tunes. They slowed it down with a couple of old favorites, which I'm sure everyone knows so I won't even bother naming them. Michael then left the stage for a few songs and let Kevin play a few solo songs acoustic, which was one of the best experiences of my life. Everyone in the audience was sobbing as Kevin worked his way through some of the more emotional songs in the catalog, including Getting There and Can't Complain. There was a tense moment as a drunk secretary there for happy hour came over yelling about how she "wants to fuck the shit out of Kevin Bacon," but the concierge handled it like a pro and kicked her out. Kevin, the consummate professional, just kept playing, as if the world depended on him hitting those chords, and in many ways, it did.

Michael rejoined his brother after Kevin's brief acoustic set. They embraced as they too seemed to realize the life-changing effect their music was having. They knew they had business to get to, and they finished out the set with two more new songs. As they left the stage, everyone was screaming for an encore, and amidst signs reading "Bacon for President!" and "Michael, Will You Marry Me?" they came back out on stage. They finished it out with a politcally-charged cover of People Have the Power, and everyone in that audience felt like they too could make a difference, just like the Bacons did that night.

I stayed and tried to get an autograph, but there were just too many people. Of course, the groupies, or "Bacon Bits" as they are called, were out there flaunting their stuff hoping to be the lucky girl that Kevin took home. I left, knowing that I had had the experience of a lifetime, truly having witnessed rock and roll history. I stopped in the gift shop and picked up a sweet Executive Inn sweatshirt at a clearance price before I was on my way.

To Kevin and Michael, thank you. Thank you for your contributions musically and socially. Thank you for the best night of my life. And thank you for being you.