just_cyd | Entries tagged with concert

Something I have to work on constantly while cramming in all this live music is managing expectations. Going to see someone multiple times in a short span will almost certainly result in getting the same (or similar) show. Sure, the audience vibe can affect things with the artist, building them up into a frenzy or knocking them sideways, and time slots can vary. Usually what I get is the same set list, and with the exception of possible location-specific banter or stories, it can be a letdown.

On the flip side, when an artist is debuting new stuff, there's a different sort of letdown that comes from some of the old favorites being dropped from the roster in favor of the shiny new stuff.

Today was a bit of both. First, I realized that the Ordinary Elephant album that I'm most familiar with is NOT, in fact, their newest one, so most of what they played from the nearly 1 year old "new" album was new to me, not the stuff I hear most frequently. Then, when Wes Collins took the stage, he played 4 songs not on any of his albums - two of which were brand new - which meant that four of my favorites had to be dropped from the set list. I'm sure at some point some of those will come back around, when time allows it, or the crowd is more aligned with one set of songs over another.

It might sound like I'm complaining; I'm not. nearly three hours of awesome music is a lot to digest after a similar experience the night before. My brain is working through the jumble to make sense of everything, and file it all away for proper storage. There's a lot of other background noise cluttering things up, too.

Catching a band during a run of really good shows is good fortune - everyone was happy and energetic and laughing and dare I say entertaining and I feel so fortunate to have been part of it.

It's probably a sign of how off-kilter I am that, now that the initial crisis has settled into the distant past, I am once again planning on making a trip to see a show knowing full well I won't have a place to sleep other than my car.

The first time it happened, it was a surprise. A crisis of my own making. I had a new-to-me hotel booked, and arriving to town early, decided to get that much-overdue oil change pre-show, rather than waiting until morning, hoping I could fit it in between hotel checkout and breakfast with John. I knew money was tight, but with cash in hand for gas, I was not counting pennies. So upon checkin, when the required $100 deposit would not go through (despite having pre-paid for the room), I panicked. I was $5 and change short. I cursed every step I'd made prior to that moment, and panicked. Called my credit union, who assured me if I went to XYZ location I could make a deposit at the ATM, and all would be well. Three Credit Union ATMs later, none of which would take a deposit from me. I had a mini meltdown in a parking lot, noticed the time ticking away on a Friday night in RDU, and ran with Plan B. Found a McDonald's, threw my concert clothing into a bag and changed in the bathroom, cleaning up as much as one can when there aren't paper towels, treated myself to a milkshake for dinner, and headed to Wake Forest for the Attaway/Dixon/Holsapple show.

As a full-on wreck needing distraction, I talked to people and helped out Mike by working the door and in general kept myself busy so as not to think about having to sleep in my car on this cold night. I stayed late to help clean up, and to talk to Don, and to ultimately put off the inevitable. There's a rest stop on I-40/I-85 at the Alamance County Line that's about an hour away from Wake Forest. I saw it and I thought that maybe I should stop there. I was too far over to exit, and figured I'd be fine, just another couple hours to the state line. I was not, in fact, fine. Deer were all over the sides of the highway, and as I'm not used to driving this stretch at night, I was disoriented by lack of visible landmarks and on high-alert for the deer. I stopped in Pilot Mountain to get gas, and was tired to the point of delirium. Clearly the night clerk at the gas station had seen mine kind before, helpfully prompting me through my transaction and reminding me to get my gas as I stumbled to my car. Fortunately, the state line is only 20 miles or so from there.

I pulled into the VA Welcome about 1:30am to find the place quite populated. Potty breaks and parking lot naps all around. I parked on the side against the building, sort of under a light, but a few cars away from others, as had already been established. I ran my heat on high for a minute while I figured out how to make this work, then shut off the car, put the keys on my wrist, laid the seat back, and tried to rest. I lasted about an hour with only my flannel and tee-shirt, before groping around in the back seat for the shacket that was both heavy and long, and used it to cover up. My pullover hoodie was my pillow. I bit later, I was cold enough I needed to run the car for a few minutes for the heat, as some of the others were doing, too. I think it was in the 40s. About 5:30 I had to pee, and felt rested enough that I thought I could try to soldier on. I didn't actually sleep, being on high-alert from the light and noise and paranoia. But I was able to rest, and felt far more able to drive than I had a few hours earlier. I think

I'd had to cancel my breakfast plans with John, and I told him why; figured someone needed to know what I was doing. Dan also ended up getting snippets of the tale, his disapproval obvious through messenger. As promised, I texted John each time I stopped with updates on where I was and how I was doing. I think I was home by 1pm, out cold by 3pm, and slept for the next 20 hours straight.

The following weekend was the highly anticipated Darren Jessee show, and it ended up that there was NO WAY I could afford a hotel for that show. So, I drove down the day of, knowing that I'd be sleeping in my car. I packed sweats to change into for comfort, a clean Tshirt, and the usual road food/drinks, and away I went. This time I made sure to stop at that first rest stop after the show, and the earlier stop along with some Benadryl meant that I actually slept for a few hours. I set an alarm for good measure, and about the time I needed to hobble over to use the facilities, it was going off. I also had to deal with a massive amount of upper respiratory and eye crud, so while I felt a bit more rested than the week prior, I was still miserable. Again, there were many others doing the same thing, and once I remembered to tuck my purse out of view, I felt as safe I could be. I think that drive home was more rainy/windy/foggy, and took a bit longer, but again I crashed out hard once I got home.

All that to say that my situation has not changed one penny, and here I am planning to drive out west a similar distance for a show that I doubt I have the money to attend, knowing that I'll be sleeping in my car somewhere along the way. I've got the days requested off work, at least, and I think I can scrape together the gas money. it's the draw of live music, and this musician in particular, that has me committing crazy the likes of which could be seen from space. I'm sure the DSM-5 would have all sorts of fun things to say about this.

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Jeffrey Dean Foster and The Arrows with Florence Dore, Gas Hill Drinking Room, Winston-Salem, NC, Saturday, February 15

While I love making the most of my trips south, hotel hopping is not my favorite part. Alas, it is sometimes required to make the most of my trip, or in this case, when a second show presents itself and it makes sense to book the closer-to-home second-night show with a closer-to-home hotel. Which is how I found myself staying at a different Hanes Mall hotel off Silas Creek Parkway near the hospital in Winston-Salem (aka The Ben Folds Five song). It was a dreary drive in, and I had to kill time before hotel check-in, so, among other things, I drove to the venue to assess the parking situation, but not before I had a message from Foster himself, asking if I would kindly be is Mistress of Merch that night. His partner, J, was back stateside but still very sick, and wouldn't make the show that night. I agreed without hesitation, since it's a low-stakes gig that involves parking my butt in the back of the venue (on a stool!) and chatting up anyone who happened by. We've known each other 11 months at this point, but have grown close chatting after shows and between visits, and it pleases me to no end that he thinks enough of me to ask me to handle his merch and money.

Buried in my perpetually-half-packed suitcase I unearthed the JDF Angel Skull t-shirt, and decided to go for it, figuring the only more ridiculous thing I could wear would be the lowest-cut top and pushy-uppest bra in the arsenal. I was shaking off my earlier mood, and was full-on extrovert by the time I sauntered through the doors just minutes after they opened.

"Can you let Jeffrey know his Merch Bitch is here?" I beamed upon entering, and had at least three different people cracking up at this. When Jeffrey popped out from behind the scenes (actually the upper level of the Ramkat proper), I repeated my statement, to his distress, and let him know I was his bitch for the night. Pushing it? yeah, probably. I later told his partner J of this exchange and she thought it was hilarious. Always be on good terms with the other half.

I took some really bad photos and even worse video (still uploading). The crowd wasn't huge, but they were ALL IN, which is fantastic ... until you're trying to push merch on people who've known the band for decades. Florence was a treat, and talking with her husband, Will Rigby, turns out he's the drummer for The dBs, and had played in Dayton back in the late 70s "at some place in a parking garage?" Yup, I know the place: Gilly's. It's closed now, but was the OTHER musical institution in Dayton for years and years (the first being Canal Street Tavern, of course).

Florence has a book out, called The Ink in the Grooves: Conversations on Literature and Rock & Roll that sounds freaking amazing. oh, and she's a professor at UNC Chapel Hill.

Clearly, this is not a concert review. I was mentally bouncing all over the place, enjoying the music but not capable of retaining anything remotely pertinent to writing a review. I think we were all a little out of sorts, just three weeks into the new regime and reign of terror. "Fuck that guy," indeed.

Bonus: Gas Hill has an Art-o-Mat!

sigh. maybe i'll revisit this one? maybe I won't. it was a rough weekend. not as bad as that triple-header a couple weeks prior, but clearly, these are troubled times and I need to do something about it.

Current Location: Gas Hill Drinking Room

Generally speaking, if Mike Allen or John Gillespie tell me I should really see a band, I listen to them. When two of the three people you've seen once before, and the obvious - none of us is getting any younger - smacks you in the face, you do what you can to be there to witness this alignment of literal stars.

This constellation of greatness took place at the Wake Forest Listening Room in front of a sold out crowd made up of mostly life-long fans.

The show opened with Don Dixon walking onto stage, picking up his guitar, and wowing us with vocal and acoustic guitar prowess. I apologize now, as the phrase "and the crowd went wild" will be wildly overused throughout the rest of this review, because, frankly, the assembled fanboys and fangirls did just that.

After Dixon's first song, he invited Murray Attaway to the stage, and sat down to allow Murray the stage. At last, Peter Holsapple came on stage and rounded out the trio of greatness, and the crowd went wild.

For the next ninety minutes, we went forward and backwards in time while the three greats took turns singing from their vast catalog of well-known tunes and upcoming releases. Both Attaway and Holsapple have new music coming out, and were sure to plug their merch. The three traded quips and clips and misheard lyrics ("Kittens with nine lives"? I thought you were saying "kittens with no eyes"!!), and in general caught up with one another. Attaway and Holsapple hadn't seen each other in many years, while both had been working with Dixon on their new albums. The affection and admiration the three have for one another was apparent, and the room was aglow with it.

As the clock inched towards 10pm, Dixon confirmed they had time for one last song, then while the other two stayed seated and prepared to play, he got up and futzed around with his guitar, trying to get it out of the way and dig behind the amps for something. As Murray and Peter began singing the opening lines "Love, love, love, love ..." Don appeared with a trombone in hand, and, say it with me folks, THE CROWD WENT WILD!!!! Before the end of the first verse, the assembled fans were on their feet and had joined in, and it was a 1960s love-fest right there in downtown Wake Forest. I was torn between tears of gratitude, and wondering if or when Don would take out a piece of stage equipment with the trombone's slide tube (he didn't).

Typical WFLR shows clear out pretty quickly, but not this show. Peter and Murray made their way to the merch table, while Don stayed "back stage". I hung out to talk to Don, passing on a greeting from his friend Jeffrey Dean Foster who I'd talked with that morning on the drive in. I then went to chat with Peter, who thanked me profusely for my gift of baked goods.

And just like that, as the crowd dispersed, I made my way into the night, thanking my lucky stars for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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Trip #3, Concert #5

Current Location: Wake Forest Listening Room, NC

John Gillespie and Alexa Rose/Rebecca Jones, Wake Forest Listening Room, Wake Forest, NC

One of the things I admire about John Gillespie is that he just -IS-. I walked into the Listening Room side of Page 158 Books as John was doing sound check, and he greeted me mid-song and then kept going - He had business to attend to, but by golly he was going to acknowledge his friend from three states away had just shown up for him. The black tee and blue jeans he was wearing were what he wore on stage later. No glitz, no glam, no fuss. Well, he might agonize a bit over which black tee to wear, if he feels like making some sort of statement. Tonight was a plain black tee, one fewer distraction from his performance. Alexa and Rebecca were milling about, setting up her merch, Alexa in denim overalls and a sweater, Rebecca in a buffalo plaid shirt and jeans.

An hour or so later, after a disappointing Mac & Cheese dinner at Strike and Barrel a few doors down, I was back in the Listening Room, greeting the manager, Mike Allen, and a growing number of friends I've made since I began this journey nearly two years ago, while grabbing a drink from the bar and claiming the chair closest to the exit. People continued to stream in and mill about, until Mike bounded up on stage to give his quick announcements (bar, restrooms, merch, please don't talk), and indicate the show would begin soon.

John stepped on stage without much fanfare, but that's where the ordinary ended. His first song out of the gate, "Tell You," took off like a shot. I've never seen him so bold, or heard him project so much of himself into his work. He opens his Live At The Eno House album with the same song, but with a bit more restraint. He cranked this up to 11, and never looked back. Stage banter while tuning is a thing ("we tune because we care"), but this, too, was pure professionalism without being smarmy and scripted, singing the praises of our hosts, the headliner, what had passed and what was to come. In a brief moment of humanity, he paused to take photos of the crowd, surprised that he couldn't fit the entire audience into a single frame. Ricky Garni, the photographer for the evening, brought his wide angle up on stage to help out. (those photos are here!). I truly believe John was feeding on the energy of so many friends there to see him, and that professional high that comes from sharing the stage with an idol. John bursting into tears at the end of his final song was a surprise, but not. He is far too genuine and wholly grateful to be anything but overcome with emotion at the outpouring of love shown to him. The day he shrugs something like that off is the day I walk away from him.

John's Set List:

Tell you
Shine
Radiant
Lies
Alive
I Died Too
A Mark
Not Now
Swimming Test

After a break to re-arrange equipment, Alexa took the stage, a false start at first, having left her tuner elsewhere. She made jokes, citing the lack of recent shows. Never mind that she forgot the lyrics to her first song partway through. "We still love you!" I shouted from the back row, hopefully speaking for all assembled that her showing her humanity made her all the more endearing. The Anti-Diva in a calico prairie dress.

When she opened her mouth, what came out was part sound, part emotion, but all bliss. Ethereal, heavenly, songbird-like; those are the words I can pull forth to describe her voice. Clarity like a bell ringing out, effortless. The word "sound" is not nearly polished enough to do justice to an acoustic guitar - truly acoustic in that she played and sang into a single mic - backed alternately by pedal steel or banjo, also picked up by the same single mic. Voice and strings blended so beautifully, I found myself swimming in the sound. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. The intimacy contradicted the 100 people in attendance, the speakers overhead and the brand new sound system creating a room in which Alexa and Rebecca were playing to each person individually, until applause brought us back to the reality of a shared experience. The rapt attention of the near-capacity room is a wonder to behold. Mike told us to be quite, and by golly we were.

If the sounds swirling around were magical, then the words carried on those sounds were something beyond that. I find myself lacking the vocabulary required to describe her words. Maybe I should just let her tell you herself.

Human

I want to go downtown and look some stranger in the face
I want to be myself again, remember why I love this place
I want to wake up now and squeeze the living from the day
I want to believe truly everything's gonna be okay
But I'm only human now
I'm as vacant as a drum
Won't you tell me I'm allowed
to be overcome
I wanna feel clean, shiny and new
I wanna wash myself away til I'm just a mirror before you
I want the glossy sheen of a new leaf in the rain
I want a solid color that the seasons never change
But I'm only human now
I'm as vacant as a drum
Won't you tell me I'm allowed
To be overcome
I'm moving through your love like a paddle in the sand
Pretending that it's water cause I want to be an easy woman
I want to take a swim in some frozen channel to
Remember I was dying when I washed up gratefully over you
But I'm only human now
I'm as vacant as a drum
Won't you tell me I'm allowed
To be overcome
I want to make it clear you don't have to speak up to be heard
Sometimes it's even louder to find some quiet in a word
Don't let em change you, kid, that's what somebody said to me
But you know it gets harder to hear myself over all this humanity
I'm only human now
I'm as vacant as a drum
Won't you tell me I'm allowed
To be overcome
To be overcome
To be overcome

Another heartbreaker of a song was Tried and True

I scribbled down these words as she sang,but could not find the full lyrics online

Storms:
I can't pull the weeds from your head, I have to tend my own garden bed

There are storms in you I never saw. I don't need you to tear out all your walls, but I could use a window.

Throughout their performances, John and Alexa were just two old friends building each other up without a hint of irony or veiled jealousy. The love flowing through that room was the warm hug we all needed that cold Friday night.

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Trip #4, Concert #6

Current Location: Wake Forest Listening Room, NC

the last week has been, inexplicably, just fine. Even with having to be in the office on Wednesday, the violent mood swings were mostly something that didn't follow me home from NC. Sure, the snark kicked up a bit when I had one too many tickets with zero info logged by people who knew better (and a couple that I just could not decipher by people who clearly did NOT understand the assignment), but there was no rage monster to quell, there was no thoughts of driving off the road or any of the ping-pong ponderings that plagued me the prior week.

is it the altitude change? I'm taking my meds, so it's not like that time that I just -didn't- take the happy pills and had the nerve to be surprised at the results.

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Ben arrives in one month. I have 18 days at home to make this place habitable. and in my head, I have pretty much already written this off as the beginning of the end. I'd sent him a letter as a way of working out a bunch of my pre-visit/planning anxiety, knowing if I didn't get it out somehow, I'd end up driving him (and me) crazy. he acknowledged receiving the letter, and I figured I'd get his reply via post as well. he got a postcard I'd sent from NC, and this reply:

I do not have nearly enough brain space to try to figure out our schedule with you. Also, that's not really how I travel. I secure transportation, lodging, and a cat sitter, and then just kinda figure out once I get there what I want to do. I know your brain works differently, so how about a compromise? you plan all you want, and when I get there, we can talk things over and see what we both feel like?

upon reflection, perhaps this isn't the assumed attack I took it as, but rather just a statement on how we function differently. But, I've met me, and I'm pretty sure once he lands it's going to be a mess. I don't know.

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tomorrow I head up to dad's to collect something he offered and which he's frantic to be rid of: granola bars. my god, who knew that two family-size boxes of crunch granola bars would be such a disturbance to him. or maybe he's acting too much like how I act, and it's triggery AF?

he got pissy that I wouldn't drop everything on Sunday and come up right that second. he's got some pants with drawstrings knotted tighter than he can manage, so that's on the docket.

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a week or so ago, in a doom-scroll-avoidance tactic, I got a wild hair and scrolled back far enough to find J's ex-wife. not at all who I pictured, and it sort of changes my mental picture of how that all shook out. did confirm that their kid was a teen, not a tiny human, but I still wonder what the catalyst was that landed him with the responsibility of raising said kid. he's told me he was the stable one; guess I should just take him at his word.

he again sent me a direct insta message with the show info, and replied many hours later that I was looking forward to seeing him on his home turf. he replied only a few hours later (and at a much more reasonable hour) with "and seeing you !" i'd swoon, but his gf is watching.

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tons of pain lately, can't figure out why. annoying, and limiting. DO NOT LIKE.

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Watched a live-stream of a film about/by a band. among the few attendees was ND, which surprised me, but I should have known he'd be there - they're longtime friends after all. waited til most of the way through to DM him a hello. posted to the group about crying, and a line from a song that set me off big-time. can't remember it just now, but it fully/totally sums up my "bliss" ring in many more eloquent words.
Asked ND if I'd see him on Friday, but if he replied, the chat cut off before I saw it. Tempted to ask him to meet for coffee on Saturday - every single day since I got home from the last trip I've debated IF and WHEN to ask. how do I know he isn't salty over the whole mess I made?

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overnight trip with Dan coming up in two weeks. it's been a LONG time since we've done one of these. and I'm the one planning this one. Need to book a hotel room, buy my concert ticket, and form a plan of attack to get us from NE to central OH on that Monday.

debated contacting don Dixon to see if he'd want to meet up for lunch. less inclined, now, since it appears Joe is not joining us. Dan won't care, other than to brag to Joe.

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need to figure out the money acquisition for all of this. still running in the red for Reasons. need to get the tax return filed (assuming felon in chief doesn't destroy that, too), and start squirreling away pennies so Ben's visit isn't made of suck. plus all these other trips. I think i've already scheduled 2/5 of my vacation time.

The Wake Forest Listening Room is one of my favorite venues; I've attended half a dozen shows there in the last year. And I was thrilled that both WFLR and the Wes Collins Band could reschedule their canceled show so quickly, and on a weekend I would already be in town.

The band is made up of front man Wes Collin, guitarist Scott Dameron, bassist FJ Ventre, and drummer Barry Gray, but the versatility of Wes's music means that in whatever form its presented, it is amazing. (all-guitar trio, Wes & Scott, Wes solo, the full band with cajon, or this, the full band with drum kit)

I arrived as the doors opened and the band was finishing up a delicious-looking deep-fried dinner (I assume from next door), joking all the while about arteries hardening on stage and greasy fingers on guitar strings. They brought me into their banter as I handed off the little care package I'd intended for Friday night's show - Throat Coat tea, honey, and everything but the hot water to make it all happen.

Most bands have a fairly static set list, opening and closing with the same songs, the ones that work best in those positions, and mixing up the middle as the audience and time slot require. They mostly followed the set list that I got a pic of, but moved "I Love You Guys" to the second song, totally throwing me off, as he usually closes with that song. Despite the drum kit, there weren't drums on every song, but three guitars and a bass are what some of these songs need. A few of the songs, like Everyone Dances, are kicked up to 11 by the application of Dameron's electric guitar. I don't know what guitar gods he's channeling, but his playing brings a hauntingly beautiful song far into the depths of speechless beauty. ::shudders:: it's something that must be experienced at least once.

For Sugar Skull, Barry pulled out the cajon for percussion, and the guys blazed a path through the place, killin' in at speed. We talked with them after the show, insisting Barry needs to be on the full kit for this song, and he agrees, but they've never practiced it that way, as he doesn't want to blow out their eardrums. "Earplugs" someone helpfully suggested, so here's hoping the next full-band show will include that.

They wrapped up the show with their amazing cover of Louden Wainwright III's "I Don't Think That Your Wife Likes Me" to uproarious applause. That song gives each member of the band a chance to shine, and turns Wes loose vocally, after his quiet and introspective songs. (and I apologize that it opens with me snickering)

The band has great merch for sale, and I'm hoping the rumors of a new shirt with the line "Making it Awkward" come to fruition. Wes has a bunch of dates coming up in March and April and May, so you should go check him out.

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2025: Trip #3, Concert #5

Current Location: Wake Forest Listening Room, NC
Current Music: Wes Collins

today was rough. all that came spewing forth after hotel breakfast and much needed sleep, interrupted by my belly and then my back/hip, both angry and screaming.

After that brain-dump, i was back in bed, calculating precisely how late I could put off things and still get to the club in time. Shower skipped, hair just barely tended to. lunch/dinner was cheese and crackers, harvest crisps, and M&Ms in the car. a pretty gnarly wreck slowed me down, but I still walked into the club before 7pm. in fact, I walked right into Zach and Matt! lovely conversation with them. Zach is always so genuinely happy to see me - an appreciation of my dedication to supporting them, nothing more.

Things are looking up.

is it like how they pump oxygen into casinos to keep everyone fueled? There's something about entering a music venue that seems to turn things around for me. Or is it that I can check out of reality for bit? whatever it is, I need it like a drug.

Django Haskins was amazing. he's got a song called Existential Seamstress. and, like all NC Musicians, he's just as warm and kind and everything else.

I grabbed some water and found a seat against the wall. I didn't get up for Darren's set, but should have. He saw me earlier, half smile of acknowledgement. his hair's getting long, and he did his set w/o his usual baseball hat. receding hairline, yeah, but no bald spot on top that I could see. It was nice to see his face while he sang.

pain was creeping up on me, halfway through Freedy Johnston's set require I stand, change positions. It also allowed me to drink more water. January in NC is seriously messed up, and 70s will mess you up good. Saw Darren and his friends at the bar, mental note, and hobbled back to stand closer to the stage and watch what happened next.

Freedy mostly took requests, which i've never encountered at a show.

bailed early. too much pain, but probably only a few songs early. it was raining steady, and the hobble to the parking deck got me good and soaked. I was in the very first spot in, but remembered the exit, so climbed a few levels to get the full effect of the tight circular exit. my own downward spiral

tomorrow I have to change hotels, moving from this nice Quality Suites in Graham to that Econo Lodge off I-40 in Durham, paid for with points, chosen as much for its affordability as its rating. Not terribly close to Wake Forest, but closer than Graham.

I know I'm tired, but I can feel the beginning of the descent into the pit of despair. Hoping to find a way to stave that off tomorrow, as I'll have a minimum of 4 hours to kill between hotels, and very little funds to work with. I have $50 set aside for gas for the drive home, and tonight's Waffle House splurge pretty much eliminated any other dining out. lots of snacks, a can of soup, and whatever I can score from hotel breakfast.

Current Location: The Pinhook, Durham

it's always a delight to see performers who are friends, and who truly delight in their shared time on stage. Wes Collins and Jess Klein were such a duo tonight, sharing the stage, stories, and silliness.

The North Carolina Music Scene is one big, happy, if a little nutty, family. WNC (Asheville), Triad (Winston-Salem) and the Triangle (Chapel Hill/RDU) are all one big clan, and pretty much any show I attend sees reunions between all manner of musicians. Similar musical styles also means musicians run in the same circles and attend the same sorts of workshops and festivals and whatnot. It was at one of these that Jess proposed the idea of a song swap to Wes, and I think his answer was something like "well, duh!".

Eno House hosts a plethora of events, and even under the umbrella of musical offerings, I had not yet attended a true Song Swap. They did some promo stuff for it, they learned each other's songs, and when they hit the stage, it was pure magic. There were solo songs, harmonies on one another's songs, there was new stuff, and some way-back stuff. There was The Whale Joke, stories of how songs came about, and a shout-out to the person who read Jess's newsletter and left her a giant bag of Bugles on stage. Oh, and there was a shout-along song, just because.

The Eno House is BYOB and snacks (although they do have some snacks available for donation), but I leaned into that a little too hard, hauling in a Snackle Box robust enough to have fed at least have the audience. Oops.

I attempted to video this whole show, and got most of the way through before my battery died. I'll deal with that set list and stuff tomorrow.

2025: Trip #3, Concert #3 attended, Concert #4 planned

Current Location: Hillsborough, NC
Current Music: Wes & Jess

What do you get when you combine a book store, a cafe, a yarn shop, and a community space offering live music and author events? Heaven. You also get the Wake Forest Listening Room (WFLR).

Page 158 Books is modest-sized independent book shop in the middle of a strip mall in Wake Forest, NC. Ample parking, friendly staff, nice selection, and more progressive than Wake Forest is known to be. The shop has two storefronts/doors, and the books spill over into the right side, but during the week most of the space is taken up by the Lemon Tree Cafe. Up front on this side, taking up about 12x12' is the Knotty Sheep, with yarn and books and notions (Blue Q bags!). There's a cozy seating area by the front window, and when it's not set up for live music, it's a lovely, eclectic space.

Once, sometimes twice a week, the cafe seating gets moved out, a stage and backdrop go in, and an assortment of chairs fill the space. Then it's lights, amps, music! The acoustics are great considering the boxy interior - I imagine all those books help dampen the echo. They can comfortably cram in about 210 people without angering the fire marshall, but not every show is that large. The cafe serves wine, and shareable snacks can be ordered in advance for pickup, but I've yet to see anyone take advantage of that.

In terms of accessibility, it's a pretty good setup. ample parking in a strip-mall lot, curb cuts to get up to the sidewalk, and the usual doorway transitions, although someone would need to hold the door for you. a sold-out show might be hard to navigate in a power chair, but everyone there is extremely friendly and accommodating, and I am pretty sure they'd offer help before you could ask. There are two gender-neutral restrooms, and the one I've used was large enough to maneuver in easily.

10/10, will rock again.

First concert of the year was last month! I should really write about it.

I drove to Hillsborough, NC to see Mike Garrigan at the Eno House Artists Den. He was the opener for his friends Nikki Meets the Hibachi, and they were both amazing!

On the accessibility front, the Eno House is an old boxy church with half a dozen steps to get inside. There is a ramp up the side, which I'm sure could be used if needed. Once inside, everything was on that one level (including restrooms), and the only issue with navigating would be once the place got packed full and extra chairs were brought out to accommodate everyone. Dunno if it was a sell-out, but it certainly was well-attended. My hopes of seeing other musicians, like Darren or Zach or Mike's former bandmates, were dashed, but there were a LOT of people there I didn't recognize who appeared to be part of the NC/Piedmont music scene, so that's cool.

The place was well-staffed, all with people in black "STAFF" tshirts. Very official. the building is a de-commissioned church, but loosly affiliated with a nearby church, and the money raised was going to help fund a literacy camp for the neighborhood kids. The building serves as a community center now, with all manner of things available. Kinda wish I lived closer so I could attend the weekly writers workshop.

The room was set up with small round tables up front with 4 chairs each, then a few rows of old pews, then tall bistro tables and stools behind that. I picked the table up front on the far right, opposite side of the place from the vintage Steinway. It was set up so Mike would be facing the same direction as me; I couldn't see his face, but I could see his hands. I also prefer to be out of the way and have a view of the whole room, even if I'm not near an exit. He was milling about, talking to people, looking very Corporate Dad. He did not make it over to me, and about 7:15 or so, he started to play. He had an actual set list on his phone, which he set on the piano. He opened with The Architect, which he wrote as an intro-to-a-set piece. He spoke a bit between songs, talking about the new ones and the old, how some of them came to be, etc. he had to turn quite a bit to see the full room. He was playing all of my faves (but let's face it, all of his songs are my faves right now), but he was pretty far in and had not yet played Dive.

You see, at the beginning of the year I signed up to be an annual supporter of his on Bandcamp. He made a post in the community sharing that he'd be recording all of his shows this year, and sharing the best of each, and if we had any requests to please let him know. A few people discussed what they'd like to hear in general. I posted that I would be at the Eno House show, and would like to hear Dive. He said he'd get it on the set list. I didn't know if he'd just play it, and that would be that, or if he would say it was a request and pitch Bandcamp, or what. Near the end of his set, he turned to the audience and asked "Was there someone flying? driving? in from Ohio for the show?" "yep! that's me" i piped up and shot up my hand. He had to turn quite far to see me, but did make eye contact. he turned back to the microphone and asked "and did you have a request you wanted me to play?" and did the huge fake winking thing at me. while people chuckled, he stage whispered "we worked this out in advance" to more laughter. I spoke up, quite clearly, and confirmed "yes, I would love it if you would play Dive" and then did my best to keep my shit together while he sang his heart out. as soon as the song was over, a guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder as he got up and said "good call on requesting Dive" and I thanked him.

As soon as Mike's set was over, he made a beeline over to me. one of his first questions was "so, do you know people down here...?" and was appropriately shocked when I said no. gave him the tl;dr version of living my life, and mentioned I'd be back for Tom Maxwell's book release. after a few minutes, he moved on, and the second band hit the stage.

Nikki Meets the Hibachi is yet another "wow, how did I not know about them???" gems. Elaine and John, on acoustic guitars, singing with harmonies. SOLD. and they are both just the nicest people you'll ever meet. It must be a requirement for NC musicians or something. They had some backing from Amy Ray to get an EP out a while back, but have been at this since the late 80s. there were some tech issues that i didn't really notice but had them fussing, and things ran a bit late ("I promised some people they'd be outta here by 9; some of us have to go to work tomorrow"), but it was just amazing. Got to talk to John Gillespie after the show, and he is also sweet as pie (and has really soft hands - how does a guitarist get soft hands?). mentioned to him and to the Eno House people that they need to get Darren Jessee to play there.

I can't just call this concert travel this year, since two of the events already booked are book-related (har har).

First up is Mike Garrigan opening for Nikki Meets the Hibachi at the Eno Artists Den in Hillsborough, NC. Found an airbnb near the venue, too! Currently on my second listen-through of Semigloss Albatross, and I'm kicking myself for not diving deeper into his stuff earlier. I'll be buying & downloading that album shortly. It's all melancholy piano/vocals and I am just blown away by the emotion in the simplicity.

[And no, I will not be going to Darren's show on Jan 19th in Carrboro. Something about it doesn't sit right (college town, limited parking, not thrilled with the headliner), and let's face it, I'm a bit salty that I can't find ticket info online. The venue's site has nothing, the headliner's got not much, and Darren's site hasn't been updated in over a month (the 10/17 Greensboro show is still listed. Dude, you NEED me!). Hoping like hell he's got other shows planned. I'm sure he will. He better!]

Events #2 & #3 are both for the release of Tom Maxwell's A Really Strange and Wonderful Time, his book about the Chapel Hill music scene 1989-1999. First I'll be going to the event at Flyleaf Books, and then two weeks later I'll be attending the event at the Wake Forest Listening Room. That's actually the first thing I booked! Pretty much as soon as it was announced back in November I got my ticket, because by golly I do NOT want to miss this! And having met Mike, the owner of WFLR, I wanted to check the place out now that he's been able to reopen it.

The Flyleaf event is also the day after Darren's birthday. Not going to pester him, but I'll be in his neighborhood and love to buy him a drink or something, but he doesn't respond to messages, so *shrug*. Trying to decide if/how to let Zach know I'll be in his town at the end of the month, but again, I don't want to be That Girl, the overly-excited groupie that won't leave them alone. I'm driving halfway down after work, staying in WV/VA, and staying the one night in NC, so it's not like I can spend another day in town - I don't have the money for a 3rd night. I'm pushing it as it is. But it'd be great to see one or both of them outside of the pre/post show busyness. I'd really like to resume my conversation with Darren on writing, and with Zach on how on earth he got from WI to NC.

fun part about being a nerd is quantifying things.

Spreadsheets!
Concerts 2023 Month Miles
Ben Folds - Cincinnati OH - April - 139 miles
Darren Jessee - Durham NC - April - 1,131 miles
Natalie Merchant - Cincinnati OH - May - 128 miles
Ben Folds - Dayton OH - July - 16 miles
Darren Jessee - Catskill NY - July - 1,469 miles
Better Than Ezra - Cincinnati OH - August - 132 miles
Darren Jessee - Greensboro NC - October - 932 miles
Darren Jessee - Asheville NC - November - 910 miles
Darren Jessee - Tucker GA - December - 1,124 miles
total concert miles for 2023 = 5,981
5566 miles were for Darren, the rest were in Ohio.

I've driven just about 10,000 miles this year total, so more than half of what I've driven has been for concerts.

which reminds me, time for another oil change before I even consider making the trip to Carrboro in January...

I'm not going to separate my venue review for this show, because the Moody Motel is a private residence! It's been a decade or two since I've been to a house concert, but they are increasingly popular with the small bands I'm seeing on all the socials. the hosts were fantastic, the event was in their front room, with room to move about in the kitchen and living room behind, so accessibility would've only been an issue had we arrived super-late and had to park far away. Lights were dim in the front and back rooms, with lots of candles (most electric) and other dim lighting to set the mood. I spied a kitty at one point, who was clearly not a fan of the crowd.

A house concert is nothing like a show at a bar. We were greeted by Jill, who welcomed us warmly and shared my joke about our mothers haunting us if we didn't do right as hostess and guest (her showing us around, and me producing the baked goods and beer to be shared). I'd been commenting on the Instagram posts, so once the word "cookies" was sounded, several people approached me to say hi and confirm i really DID drive in all the way from Ohio. A few were shocked to hear this was my 5th show of the year. One guy, Lance, pulled me aside and asked how I found out about Darren's shows, as he's yet to figure out how to get the info to come to him. I told him I stalk IG/FB and his website, but that the summer shows first appeared on Spotify. I joked that I was going to demand Darren let me take over his social media, but I wasn't 100% kidding.

The vibe was nice and chill, and eventually I saw Darren and Zach and waved hello, figuring we'd chat at some point. Many people were meeting them for the first time, and let's face it, we're old friends by now. heh. Ben was rather subdued, but introduced himself around, and the "where do you live?" game was played. He lives by a drive-in theater on the south side of town, which everyone immediately knew of. It was that or use the uber-racist name for the neighborhood. Eventually someone recognized his Pedro t-shirt du jour, and the two of them launched into Pedro-talk for quite a while.

At one point, Darren approached me and began talking about the book I'd given him, and how some friends of his spoke highly of her, and how much he enjoyed it. He's got such a soft voice that he's hard to hear in loud rooms, but it was a lovely conversation. He'd read Al Jolson, and talked about the chimp/gorilla that lied, and compared it to his line "I'm the boy who fell in and got the gorilla killed" -- the actual meaning being doing something for one reason but it having vastly different (bad) consequences. I chided him for the Harambe reference and confessed I have a very hard time seeing past the literal meaning of that line. I spoke a bit about how Hempel is the reason I write, and have been writing since I was a teen, and the challenges I have writing fiction. As always, there wasn't enough time, and he got pulled away by someone else.

Lance, another super-fan, had a box full of albums he wanted Darren to sign, but did not have with him the three that were for sale. He asked if I had paypal; I do. Then he asked if I had Venmo. I do. Darren was accepting Venmo (that's new), but Lance only had PayPal, so he asked if he could PayPal me the $$ for the albums, and I make the purchase via Venmo. I agreed. we completed the transaction, and I put in the note "for Lance, i promise!" and made him go tell Darren, so Darren wouldn't get mad at me. That was the first time I've ever seen Darren with his phone out, and it was just long enough to see the transaction, and then it was back into his pocket. an aside -- the cash price for his albums has always been $20. This is the first I've seen him take venmo, and I was happy to see the price increase, if only to cover the transaction fees associated with digital payments.

Then out of nowhere, Jay Gonzalez started playing. The show was a sell-out (40 people) and it got a little tight as we all moved forward to better hear and see. at one point, Jay had a tiny keyboard (smaller than a melodica) strapped to his guitar and was playing both. crazy. He didn't sound anything like Drive By Truckers, but I didn't hate it. after one song, he quipped "I'd always wanted to write a bosa nova about cunnilinguis" and the crowd lost it.

Eventually Darren and Zach took the floor, and Ben and I moved over to the side, on their right, to have a better view. I know that Darren often turns to look at Zach while playing, and when he plays his keyboard he'd be facing us, and that's what I wanted. Going into the show he was very calm and relaxed. He'd had a beer or two, and he really seemed to be vibing. At one point, he said "Zach, it's too quiet. Can someone grab something off a shelf and break it?" and we all chuckled. none of the bar background noise, no people coming and going, no TVs or loud conversations, just 40 people focused on the music. Some where there for Darren or Jay; others were there because they'd attended prior events and loved the atmosphere. either way, we all wanted to be there. Ben commented later that a few times Darren looked very please with himself, like he'd hit a chord/note just right, and had that look of bliss when things just line up perfectly. I have to agree. He got a little funky with the phrasing in a few songs which was nice to hear, loosening up a bit. Zach didn't have a microphone, so his harmonies weren't nearly as prominent, but he still added a lot to it. He played a song or two I'd not heard him play this year, but still no Wild Ascending Blue. I need to ask him about that; I'm guessing there's just not room in the Subaru for a 2nd acoustic guitar?

After the show we got to chat with Zach, and someone asked how he and Darren got connected. Zach had been hired to be a guitar tech for Hiss Golden Messenger when Darren was playing drums, and they toured together. sometiem after that, Darren called him up. Zach is in his own band, Canine Heart Sounds, where he plays keys and guitar and drums, plus sings. We talked with others that we hadn't seen prior to the show, and had many a good laugh with other fans. it was also quite apparent that the crowd was pretty queer-leaning, and the Moodys were queer-friendly. they had a rainbow flag in the main room with the words "abide no hatred" and the sign on the bathroom door was the one with "whatever, just wash your hands" on it. Ben loved it.

I'd told Ben prior to the show that his mission, if he was up for it, was to get a pic of me with Darren. I've never bothered to even ask up until now, but figured I could make my friend be The Bad Guy :) so finally, I have proof that I've met Darren Fucking Jessee. Ben only took the one shot, and Darren was mid-blink, but that's OK, there's other photos, and it was a perfect way to end the night.

I've already covered the nightmare that was the drive home from Asheville, so let's talk about the drive down, and the show itself.

First off, I had a side quest: I detoured to Frankfort KY to meet Theresa at 9720! She's one of my regulars at work, and she likes me (others think she's mean?!), and it wasn't too far off my route. completely surprised her, which was fantastic. we chatted for a bit, she sneakily paid for my snacks, and then I was back on the road. I'd passed Buffalo Trace Distillery on the way in, so I texted my friends that I was stopping by, and to get their requests in. They graciously offered up a golf card lift from the main entrance (ID checked and wristband given) to the gift shop, which was much appreciated. I picked up a bottle of bourbon cream for Beth, a bottle of regular bourbon just because, and some mini bottles for holiday fill-ins. another quick cart ride took me right to my car, and then I was on the road east then south, headed for Knoxville, where I'd head east for real to get to Asheville.

These two stops took a little longer than planned, but they weren't terrible. That said, I wasn't really keeping tabs on time too closely. Hit some traffic as I got into Knoxville, and when I started heading east, there was a section a ways off that was on fire. I repeat: THERE WAS A FIRE NEARISH TO THE HIGHWAY. gulp. add some lane-shifting and construction, and things were a bit more spicy than I like. Nearly got rear-ended by a work van, some dude apparently flooring it while I maintained a steady pace. On I-40, just after crossing into NC, things got extra-spicy: Smoke warnings, and actual wildfires. I did NOT have these on my road trip bingo card. The Black Bear fire had been sparked the day prior when a semi crashed on WB I-40, and the fire was spreading through the deeply parched forest and was up to the edge of the highway. it was also on top of the tunnels at Snowbird mountain. The interstate is only two lanes each direction, so when we hit construction and lane closures, thngs slowed down BAD. Twice. There may have been tears when I wasn't moving, but watching my arrival time get later and later.

I did, eventually, get to my hotel just as it got dark: 5:30pm. Doors were at 6, show was at 7, and I hate to be late. Checked in, took the fastest shower ever, got dressed and made my way to downtown Asheville. The dark and the very three-dimensional terrain made navigating hard, but I eventually found the parking garage and, on a hunch, got a handicap spot in the "full" lot. was able to waddle the 1.5 blocks to the venue, despite still being very tightly wound from the white-knuckle driving of the prior couple hours. I loved everything about the place. I didn't immediately see Zach or Darren, but with only 5 minutes until showtime, I spotted D and said hello, letting him know I had something for him and I'd see him after the show.

You see, at some point in the drive, I decided that $30 bottle of bourbon would be going to Darren, along with the Amy Hempel book I'd mentioned in Greensboro.

I got a drink (sparkling water) and sat in the back/center, hoping to both have an unobstructed view, and to not be in anyone's way with my giant bag and cane and whatnot. the seats were mostly full when Julie Odell took the stage (bandcamp | Instagram). She's another soft-spoken but beautiful acoustic singer/songwriter, and this was another show where I just wanted to close my eyes and just let the music wash over me. I was too stressed about dropping my drink or knocking my cane over, and knew D&Z were behind me, so I tried to stay as zen as I could.

About her third song, her daughter came down from the upper level, walked up beside the first row of seats, and silently showed off something she'd drawn in a small notebook. to the girl's credit, she didn't make any noise or cause a huge distraction, and to Julie's credit, she acknowledged her daughter without stopping her song or otherwise acting disrupted or put out. In face, she didn't mention it at all until she referenced her daughter at a later point.

Julie had one song that she couldn't get going right, so she got frustrated and moved on to the next. that next song is the one I fell in love with, and of course it's not on an album and I don't know the name. but he's recording soon (now?) and that will be included.

Not quite an hour into it, Julie was done and it was time for Darren to take the stage. All along people had continued to come in and find seats, and I found an older couple sitting in front of me, with his head blocking out Zach completely, and causing me to lean a bit to the right to see Darren in between them. turns out, that was Darren's producer Alan Weatherhead! I think D was a bit flustered by that, but he did announce his special guest from the stage and we all applauded as we should. They played their usual/basic set, but I noticed D was getting a bit more creative on the phrasing in a couple songs, like he's letting his hair down a bit. I like it.

After the show, I immediately said out loud "well, that was worth the drive" and Alan's wife/partner turned around and asked where I'd driven from. "Dayton, Ohio" was my reply, at which Alan turned around and a lovely conversation began. the usual shock from them, moreso when they learned it was Show #4 for me. they were further surprised to learn I'd only been following him for about 18 months. They told me about Madison, IN, a cute little river town across from Louisville that's worth checking out. They got up to talk to Darren, and I found Zach and talked to him. We discussed t-day plans and how he bleeds green and yellow for his beloved green bay packers. Bought Julie's album and had a discussion with two employees about my trek to see Darren play all over. it's a hell of a conversation starter. Ran into Julie in the restroom as her daughter quite literally climbed the walls, and discovered the dumbwaiter in the handicap stall.

When we came out, they'd damn near had the place shut down, just before 9pm. Darren was tearing down and distracted, so I asked where his stuff was that I could put the bag. He looked a bit annoyed and said "just give it to me" so I pulled out the Buffalo Trace bag and carefully handed it over. "there was a side quest on the way here. The book is in there, too" I said as his eyes jumped wide open and he stammered a reply. "take care, I'll see y'all in two weeks!" I chirped as I waddled out.

Stopped at a speedway on the way back to the hotel for dinner, since my room had a fridge and microwave, climbed into bed, and tried to find my alternate route home. also tried to sleep, knowing it'd be a rough drive home.

This will shake out to be the second most interesting venue at which I've seen Darren this year. Why? because it's it's a freaking record store!! Citizen Vinyl is a bar, cafe, shop and honest-to-goodness record-pressing operation, all housed in the old Citizen Times building. They do tours (no fee, but reservations required, not fully accessible), and from the tiny bit I did get to see, it'd be worth going back. There was a small dumbwaiter in the ladies room! about the size of a microwave, and it appeared to still be functional. I was good and refrained from messing with it.

getting to the venue wasn't terrible, but like most southern/Smokies cities, the streets run crazy, and there was construction as well. The lot I'd picked for parking showed it was full, but after looping around, I tried again and was able to play the crip card at one of three spots at the exit at street level. It was one block down and half a block over to the entrance, also at street level. The area seemed pedestrian friendly and the hip and cool place to be.

there were two sets of double doors to get through, but they had both opened up. Just inside was a guy with a setup taking names or money for tickets. I didn't need to show my e-ticket, just give my name. just past him was the seating - a variety of chairs, about 60 total, in a small auditorium setup. the stage was to the left inside the doors, and the black backdrop was hiding what I believe was the record pressing area. behind the chairs was the bar, and just off the bar was a flight of stairs leading to balcony seating. I did not see an elevator to get to that upper level, but I also didn't ask. I also didn't see any sort of lowered section of the bar for chair users. The restrooms were straight back across from the entrance, and mostly blocked by a partial wall displaying art, a nice touch after the direct-line into the mens room at Flat Iron. It only occurred to me now that in terms of accessibility, there was no auto-door opener. I don't need that yet, at least not out in the wild.

The place was well-staffed by incredibly friendly people, and I'm sure if I'd had an issue, they would have gone to great lengths to accommodate me. I stumbled a bit when I first got there, and the one guy nearly tripped over himself trying to help me stay upright and get to a seat.

So, overall, average accessibility for an urban environment, friendly staff, and interesting enough to want to return

Although I'd bought the ticket a month earlier, I didn't decide to attend Darren's Greensboro show until a couple nights before. It was a mad scramble to figure out accommodations (first place I booked canceled on me), the ticket (my physical ticket never arrived), and paying for it, but in the end, it all worked out.

I was on the road at 7:15am just as a torrential downpour hit. Not cool. It let up as I headed southeast out of Dayton, and it was rainy/misty until I hit WV. I remembered to not gawk too much once I crossed the state line, but failed to bring cash for the WV Turnpike tolls; they'll let you through, but you'll pay a $5 penalty PER TOLLBOOTH for failing to pay. ouch. I will be getting that EZpass.

Virginia bought the beginning of the gorgeous fall colors, and heavy fog. loved the former, terrified by the latter. Turns out NOT being able to see what's over the guardrails is worse than being able to see the drop-offs and whatnot. This is also roughly where I lose my signal, which includes my GPS and streaming music. hooray for downloaded tunes!

my Airbnb was lovely, a large room with ensuite bath in a first-floor apartment just south of downtown. It was maybe five minutes to the venue/parking.

As I was approaching the venue, I saw Darren and Zach crossing the street, but was too far away to catch them. So I went on in to the bar, grabbed a drink, and caught them by surprise when they came in a few minutes later. They both seemed happy/surprised to see me, and once again Darren told me I shouldn't be making the drive. They still had to write up their set list, so they got down to business and texted a friend.

They were both a lot more relaxed than when I saw them in Catskill, which was good to see. I can only guess the sort of pre-gaming they took part in, or maybe just being so close to home took the pressure off. they had virtually no room to move on the tiny stage packed with the headliner's gear, but Darren rolled with it, joking that they were going to forego the whole setup and just stick to guitar and keys. They opened with Anything You Need, and played at least 3 Hotel Lights songs. When no one really reacted to that band name, he joked that they were really good, and we should look them up. I tried to yell "their lead singer is hot!!" but couldn't get it to come out. He also mentioned having his albums for sale, or buying them online, on your phone, to listen to, on your phone... (no, Darren, tell us how you really feel). He flubbed the beginning of one of his older songs, and just rolled with it, starting over and laughing it off.

After the show, we did get to chat a bit. He asked what other bands I'd seen lately (HS Marching Bands and Better than Ezra), and we laughed about me re-living the 90s. I told him I'd be at his Atlanta show for sure, bringing a friend, and he let me know it's a house concert. "oh, cool, I like house concerts" I told him. he was surprised i'd heard of them, let alone been to one. As I was leaving, I remembered I had a book for him in my car - Amy Hempel's Collected Stories. Told him I was too tired to go fetch it, and he said I should just bring it to Atlanta.

Tickets for Asheville and Atlanta have been purchased, now to figure out the rest!

Popped down to Greensboro yesterday to see a show at Flat Iron in Greensboro. Oh, what do you mean most people don't take a jaunt of 450 miles for 45 minutes of music by their favorite performer?

They look to hold an eclectic schedule of events, with Night of the Living Dead the feature this Friday the 13th, and various and sundry musicians every weekend.

Their website covers most of what a newbie would need to know. Never did figure out the Children's Museum parking thing, but that's ok.

Finding it - it's on a main road, just a block north of the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, which was also having an event that night. Traffic was a bit spicy, but well-controlled. I took the venue's advice and went for the Davie St Parking Deck ("parking garage" up here), and was able to play my crip card for a swift street-level spot facing the road I'd need to walk up. Parking was supposed to be $10 paid at the exit; by the time I left, I got out w/o paying. win!

The walk up was a straight shot, about 3 blocks, well lit with small little eateries on the opposite side of the street. Felt 100% safe. Crossing Lindsay St everything went from high-end well-lit to normal old-school neighborhood. I hadn't had time to check this all out before sundown, but I'd done a virtual walkthrough on Google Maps, so I was good with it.

Building was well-marked, and there was nothing more than a standard threshold to the entry - no stairs or anything. the turn to get into the venue might be tight for a chair user, but nothing there seems permanently fixed, it's more various things to block the line of sight from the street to the stage. a couple guys out front smoking were friendly when I approached (employees), and the guy working the door was similarly friendly checking my e-ticket. Another reminder to me that scruffy unshaved tattooed guys aren't scary.

The men's room was straight back on the left side of the bar, right next to the stage. o.O the ladies' was on the other side of the bar, luckily. Again, no stairs or anything, but navigating that corner might be hard if the place is crowded. there was a partial stall w/o a door, so the door to the restroom itself had to be locked, which I nearly didn't see at first. oops.

The bar had 15 or so stools, plus 4 tables up front with stools. another half-dozen were against the far left wall by the stage, which is where I camped out, in front of the sound board. Didn't realize til too late that the stage was angled a bit towards the corner of the bar. ah well. They had two cameras on the stage - one straight on from the sound board's perspective, and one 90 degrees off that. each projected to a nice monitor in the bar area, so you could still see the full performance. no idea if it was just for real-time broadcast or if they were filming for the artists. Stage was crowded with five guys and a host of instruments, and this was AFTER the opener took their gear down; those two didn't have any room to move at all.

They had the typical bar drinks menu, with a few non-alcoholic options, too. My Liquid Death was $4.50, less than at Bogarts. They don't serve any food, but did have a popcorn machine going, and a giant water jug next to it. Standard bar stuff.

The location is sort of off by itself; on my way back to my airbnb, i ended up going through the neighborhood with the hip shops/bars/cafes. S Elm St, I think, on the south side of Downtown, near Southside. Would definitely see another show there! The Finns have a two-night holiday show in December that I'd kill to be at, but that's really pushing my luck ...

While my trip to Durham was specifically to see Darren Jessee perform, the trip was so much more than that.
( Read more... )

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Just Cyd.

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Entries tagged with concert

growth

Hello? ISS calling...

wishful blogging

The Sun Will Shine Again

Three guys walk onto a stage ...

When breath becomes sound, and emotions become loud

ebb and flow

Wes Collins Band at Wake Forest Listening Room

Friday, post-show, pre-sleep

Wes Collins & Jess Klein at Eno House Artists Den, Hillsborough NC

Venue Review: Wake Forest Listening Room

Mike Garrigan at the Eno House Artists' Den

2024 Concert & Travel series

I didn't come to play, I came to SLAY

Darren Jessee at Moody Motel, Tucker GA

Darren Jessee at Citizen Vinyl, Asheville, NC

Venue Review: Citizen Vinyl, Asheville, NC

Darren Jessee at Flat Iron, Greensboro NC

Venue Review: Flat Iron Greensboro NC

Durham, NC