Welcome to Hays, KS - a small town right in the middle of nowhere; the kind of town that made Dorothy and Toto yearn to take the first tornado out of here. Doing a show in a hotel, and the fine treatment from the people in charge is top notch - dare to ask anyone if the comics get even a slight discount on food or drinks, and the answer is always "Your room is free." Like no other show in the country comes with a room, we should bow down and thank them for that. Being a restaurant/bar, the front tables are all stuffing their faces during the show, but hey - there was a black cowboy with a broken hand there, maybe he got in one too many fights for being the only black cowboy in Kansas. I went up the street to another bar afterward - a karaoke bar that obviously used to be a strip club, based on the half-circle row of chairs directly surrounding the stage and DJ booth. The first local Idol-wannabees I see is the intriguing combination of a goth chick and a one-legged cowboy in a wheel chair singing Ozzy and Lita Ford's 'Close My Eyes Forever.' This irresistible combination of talent and song chosen of course inspires people to get up and slow dance to them. After an hour or so in here, I was outside trying to hitch a ride on the next possible tornado.
