show review: Joe's 2 in Indianapolis

For the first time since the fall, 2004, Rusty played in Indianapolis, rocking the Joe's Grille 2 crowd with three sets of originals and party songs, exhibiting little of the effects of tour bus accident that kept him off the road for nearly three months.

On a chilly night, a good crowd showed up despite winter weather advisories calling for sleet and snow. Bladen played "Real Gone Gal", Ride That River", "Mow Your Grass", "dooyamissme", "Wannabe" and "The Choice" early in the night.

"Not Gonna Be Me" into "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' in the Dark" was a highlight, as was a rocking "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me"

His talk from the stage was not quite as loose as before the accident, but chalk it up to being a little out of the groove due to the layoff. While a month of so away from being at full strength, Rusty still strummed with enthusiasm and sang strongly.

Rusty played until about 1:30am and then joined the crowd while the crew tore down, and loaded up to head south through the night in the Big White Tour Bus, beating the bad weather to get ready for a Saturday show in Batesville at the Time Out Pub.