Last summer I found myself wandering the rural Wisconsin woods at about 5 a.m. A carload of us had road-tripped from the Twin Cities to a little conclave in Southern Wisconsin, where Rob and Leah Rule relocated after their memorable stint as the mom-and-pop guiding lights of the Turf Club.

 The Rules' Wisconsin farm (dubbed Greendale after Neil Young's mythic California getaway)  is nothing short of a full-on rock 'n' roll retreat, complete with a poster-strewn Minnesota Historical Society-worthy performance studio, and an open-door and open-all-night policy.

That morning, as two bonfires petered out along with some of the passed-out partiers, Rob led a pick-up band in a version of Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere."

The song rose up out of the valley, howled at the setting moon and could be heard from miles away, deep in the otherwise vacant woods. It's an anthem about being lost, alone and scared, and for as many times as I've heard "Nowhere," its cry to an unknown future has never sounded more poignant, or perfect, than it did that morning.

As the band played on, Rob's wife, Leah, was sleeping inside the farmhouse, and all concerned rested along with her, happy in the knowledge that she was taking care of herself. Last year, Leah was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and started treatment. "F--- Cancer" has been her rallying cry, and for a good while the cancer did as told and was on the ropes.

It recently returned, and medical bills have mounted, so friends of the Rules put together the benefit CD "Rock for the Rules."

More than anything, the CD is a celebration of the spirit of two true believers who found each other and spread their love via music, live shows and friends, and it's that spirit that will be celebrated Saturday (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.) at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall in St. Paul, with sets from the Tisdales, Molly Maher, Slim Dunlap, Jennifer Markey, Al Grande, the Crossing Guards, Who Shot Sally, Little Man, the Crotch Rockets, and the Rules' band, The Mammy Nuns.

All proceeds go to the Rules. Here's hoping somebody gets up and does "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," if only to remind everybody exactly how much a song can make nowhere feel like somewhere.