We’ve all watched enough re-runs of “Frasier” to know that ‘dead air’ is a no-no of the first order when it comes to radio broadcasting.  That certainly was a rule well-followed last night at the KMUN 30^th Birthday Bash.  Just the opposite, in fact.

Never mind that the party at Astoria’s Moose Hall was not being broadcast.  In the two hours we were there, I don’t believe there was a Nano-second of quiet.  It was a lively, talkative (‘shoutative’ would be a better descriptor if there were such a word) crowd.  Many of the people I knew had come early-ish, as had we, to hear The Willapa Hills.  The pity was, we couldn’t.

A greater pity was they couldn’t hear each other.  They had planned to play thirteen songs during their hour-long set.  They said afterwards that they only played half that number because they spent so much time with sound issues. “Was I singing with the guitar or not?” Kerrie asked.  “Well, we’re a folk group,” was leader Andrew’s philosophic summation.  Yep!  And that’s why we love them. whether or not the venue is a fit.

For a while, we sat right next to the sound engineers. To say that they were frustrated is probably the understatement of the evening.  The dance floor was situated between them and the musicians which meant that at times, despite their loud pleas to those in front of them, they didn’t have a clear view of the band.  It was definitely a case being able to see, rather than hear which of the five were playing or singing or using which mic.

Nevertheless, members of The Willapa Hills smiled throughout, as did everyone in the hall.  The party-mood was a fabulous tribute to KMUN and to all the folks who have worked tirelessly over the years to inform and entertain us.  Programmers from way back in the beginning came to honor and to be honored.  I was sorry Carlos and Sharon Welsh couldn’t have been there.  In the early days, Carlos had a jazz program at KMUN.  Several people asked if they might be coming, but they are now living not in Oysterville but in Mexico – out of KMUN party range, unfortunately.

Our intent was to stay until the Holiday Friends played at 10:30, but we couldn’t make it after all.  (What is it about ‘loud’ that is so tiring, anyway?)  We lingered long enough to hear Joanne Rideout and other KMUN dignitaries say a few words and then we were homeward bound – listening to 91.9fm on our radio dial, of course.