Tonight! I thought about not going, but that just seems silly, now doesnt it?
Halcyon fun fact. I used to play trombone. When I first started I was so tiny that I had to use my foot to get the slide to 7th position.
Sweaty little monkey fresh back from The Rock Show. Don’t mind my ‘fro…that’s what happens when my hair gets wet.
As is typical when I get home after a stretch on the road, I sat down on the couch and got very sleepy. But thankfully, the emptiness, silence and coldness of my place scared me out in search of company, noise, and warmth.
What a brilliant way to kick off the 2012 year in shows, two hometown bands played my favorite venue in Athens. The Futurebirds opened the show and Patterson came out to end their set with a kicked-up version of Wild Heart. They really are such a fun, fun band. I then got to spend the evening hanging out and dancing my ass off with the rest of the gang in Cooleyville until I escaped for a cold beer and some fresh air during the encore break.
For my friends in Scotland who asked, yes, David Barbe was on bass tonight, though I understand he’s probably not the permanent replacement for Shonna.
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be sitting on this 2-seater couch in front of that record player.
Since the week of Christmas, I’ve only spent 16 hours in this house (only long enough to sleep 2 nights and unpack/repack) and there’s a lot to catch up on. But, I’m excited to clean house, open mail, go to the grocery store, cook some meals, begin organizing and purging belongings, etc. In other words, I’m excited to live like a real person for a while!
Right now, though, it’s time for a nap before The Rock Show at the 40 Watt tonight.
Conservatively (and counting each day of ACL festival as 1 show), I went to around 50 shows this year. Not as many as the good ol’ days of getting in free at The Cedar…and not as many as I’d have liked to see, but still a bunch of good music. Here were my favs:
1) Lucero and Glossary: Mercy Lounge, Nashville
2) Will Johnson - someone’s living room, Kansas City
3) The Whigs - Georgia Theater, Athens
4) Centro-matic - The Earl, Atlanta
5) Dead Rabbits, StoneRider, J. Roddy Walston - The Earl, ATL
6) Ryan Bingham - ACL Festival, Austin
7) Gillian Welch and David Rawlings - Georgia Theater, Athens
8) Jesse Malin, Alejandro Escovedo - Handlebar, Greenville
9) Dr. Dog - 40 Watt, Athens
10.) Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit - Georgia Theater, Athens
It was. I think it was just a last minute show, though. I keep a really close eye on the Athens music calendar and I isn’t hear about the show until a couple days before. Such a treat to see them in a venue that small. Also, Ben mentioned that they’d been in the studio working on a new record
