The Boys Can Play

Chris Robinson

Since last Friday, I have been involved with the low residency MFA creative writing program of the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert at the Riviera in Palm Springs. As the managing editor of The Coachella Review, I've had the pleasure of speaking with graduate students about literary journals, editing, reading, soliciting work - even being in conversation with Caitlin Roper, the former editor of The Paris Review, now on her way to San Francisco to work for Wired magazine. Tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. I'll be in conversation with Will Grofic, who is an editor for Potomac Review, a publication of Montgomery College in Washington, D.C.

A girlfriend called me last night. Asked if I was out of town since she hadn't seen me for a bit. I told her that I wasn't exactly out of town, just sort of out of town.

She:  Ooohh. That's too bad. I have a last minute thing...

I: What's up? How can I help?

She: Oh, no, I don't need help. I just have some extra tickets for the Black Crowes tonight...

I: What time do you want to meet?

So off I went to the Black Crowes at Spotlight 29 casino in Coachella. And have the illegal photos to prove it.

I confess that I didn't recognize anything from the first half of the concert because the boys just jammed. They eventually worked their way into Thorn in My Pride, She Talks to Angels, Hard to Handle and Shake Your Money Maker. Fun was had by all.

Luther Dickinson

More about the low residency to come. Big fun. And long-ass days.