Tag: Asheboro

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Rock Shows, Well, Rock

Can you guess from the title of this post what we did last night? If you said “I’ll guess you went to a kickass rock show last night.” You win! Congratulations! Of course there’s no prize or anything for your correct guess, except for the warm sense of self-satisfaction for reading a dead giveaway and not fumbling it away.

We (B2 and I) went up to Greensboro last night to see Shovels & Rope at The Pyrle, a newish venue right in the middle of downtown. This is the 2nd show we’ve seen there, Patterson Hood with John Moreland being the first, a couple three months ago, and this is rapidly becoming one of my favorite venues, for a variety of reasons. Not least of which is because it’s only about 30 minutes from home. That’s no small thing either, as every other venue we/I have been to here in NC (10 off the top of my head) is between 45 minutes and an hour and a half away. Since last night was “An Evening With” (there was no opener) and it started at 8:00 we were home at 10:15. The old man lurking in various body parts of mine has a deep appreciation for that. My only complaint with The Pyrle is that the acoustics feel a little off. Or the mixer board/person running the board. I’m far from an expert on things of this type, but I noticed at both shows the guitars were way louder than the vocals, and the vocals seem a little distorted compared to what I’m used to at other venues where I’ve seen shows. I feel like otherwise it’s been a pretty great experience to this point.

Another key factor in favor of this particular venue is the plethora of dining experiences from which to choose prior to the show. The first time we went, we made a reservation at a cajun/creole place right across the street. (That btw is the 3rd slash I’ve used so far, idk why, but after noticing it I feel like I need to make them a point of emphasis moving forward, let’s see how I do.) That was the first time either of us had eaten there and the food/service/ambiance were just outstanding. So naturally I looked to make another resy there for last night, but, alas, they’re closed on Sundays. Our Plan B for dinner proved excellent anyway, a taco joint a couple doors down from the venue, that we’ve been to several times in the past. I had a couple of Korean bbq tacos and B2 had a Nashville chicken taco and a version of the ones I had only with tuna replacing the bbq.

I feel like at this point I need to diverge from my previous course here for a brief detour to describe one of the (many) endearing quirks B2 has. Bearing in mind that I have outquirked her by a factor of roughly 37. Also I want to tread carefully here so as not to offend/infuriate/piss off/cause them to launch a counterattack any of my female readers/friends. Many persons of the female persuasion (and some males as well, I’m sure) carry a handbag or purse of some type or another because, well, sometimes people need things and sometimes they need those things right. effing. now. and I totally get that, I truly do. There have been multiple times where I have asked B2 “Hey, do you have ____.” and the answer invariably is “Yes” as she reaches into her purse and produces the requested item for me. Now, here’s where the quirk part comes in. She refers to her purse as a “pocketbook” and my frequent comment to her is “Who has pants big enough for the pocket that thing could fit in? It’s a valise, if not suitcase. If it wasn’t for the handle it could be a steamer trunk.” Again my quirks are numerous, but I will always chuckle at her description of the weight lifting apparatus she calls a “pocketbook”. I mean, seriously, you could anchor a small watercraft with it.

Back to last night, after we ate we walked a couple blocks back to where we parked so B2 could leave her “pocketbook” in the car, rather than having to take it through security and check it etc, etc, etc. and due to the close proximity of, well, everything, we were back to the venue with ample time to get to our seats. Which is, of course, very convenient. So I’ll end this portion of the post with, yes, lovely venue, we’ll see more shows there, I’m sure.

The show itself was just excellent. This was my 2nd time seeing Shovels & Rope, and B2 saw them last night for the 1st time. It was not for lack of trying to see them however. The first time saw them was, I think, in Chattanooga at a music festival in the before times. I got tickets to a music festival in Charleston, SC that they were hosting. Then a crazy little thing called COVID 19 happened and the fest was among the things that didn’t happen. There have been, I believe, two other occasions over the years when I’ve bought tickets to see S+R and had to miss it for whatever reason. So I was very hesitant to buy the tickets for last night. Like I wavered with this decision for a week or so before I finally thought it was worth the risk. And holy crap was it ever worth it. For the unfamiliar, S+R are a husband and wife team, Carrie Ann Hearst and Michael Trent, they’ve been touring for 15 years, and they make more music out of the two of them than some bands do with 5 or more pieces. For example, this song, which they played last night, and, btw, is brilliant also and aptly demonstrates their multi-instrumentality. Watching Carrie Ann sing, while she’s playing the drums and the keyboard simultaneously and omfg, mind officially blown. While you’re watching that video (you really should) pay attention to the lyrics and it’s clear that in addition to their musical skills, they love their dog. “Runnin’ like a color-blind, love-sick fool, runnin’ like I’ll die if I don’t get to you, runnin’ like I got more legs than two…” I mean, come on. If you’ve ever had a dog in your life you can relate to those lyrics amirite?

I think I’m gonna tap out here, I have a couple errands to run and I need to get moving. So I leave you with my musical choice which, today, is unironically Shovels & Rope at a reasonable (note I didn’t say moderate) volume. I’m not gonna lie, I think the cherry on top of this sundae would’ve been to listen to Guns N’ Roses (see what I did there?) but having never been a fan, I thought why start now. Besides, how far can you push a bit?

Peace

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Back To Back, Baby!

That’s right, two days in a row! Don’t expect this to be a regular occurrence btw. But I figured, given yesterday’s post, the least I could do was to pop out an update of some sort.

Last night was a lot of fun for me and I feel comfortable saying it was for everyone involved too. A very supportive crowd of around 50 people, seven local performers/artists/me and I’ll sum it up briefly by saying there are some ridiculously talented people living in this area.

Right off the bat, first performer, Jack, sang three original tunes and accompanied himself on piano. Next up was a local writer, Barbara, who told the story of her car crash from a few years back. That brought up Marquez, again singing and playing the piano on an original piece as well as a cover of “Times They Are A Changin'”. Another writer, Luke, came up and read a bit of crime fiction that was so vivid and descriptive, man he nailed it. After that came two of my favorite people from out here, Luke and Rosemary. B2 works with Luke, so I’ve known him for a little bit and I knew he and Rosemary were musical. We have, from time to time watched their toddler so they could practice, or record, or mix, or whatever they needed to do for an EP they’ve got coming out soon. Anyway, GOOD GOD THEY KILLED IT! Beautiful voices, excellent harmonies, and outstanding picking on two original pieces. Man, I get chills just thinking about how good they were. This brought me to the microphone and, truly, I was pleased with the way it went. I got some laughs, a couple “Awww’s” and I think I even heard a gasp in there at one point. So, all things considered, I couldn’t have asked for a better reception. Rounding out the evening was Lalenja who sang songs from Tuck and Patti, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith all a cappella and each one outstanding.

One of the things Jeremy, the Artistic Director/Emcee/Talent Wrangler/prettymuchanythingelseneeded mentioned is that these pieces will be streamed. I looked up the radio station website and there was nothing there about streaming, so I’m not sure how or where it’ll happen, but once I find out the details for that, I’ll pass them on here.

In summary, last night was a total gas. As both an audience member and as a speaker. I really hope this type of thing can become a regular or at least semi-regular part of the community.

Final thing; trying to choose videos for yesterday’s post put me on a definite R.E.M. kick so I’ve had Automatic For The People echoing between my ears (at a reasonable decibel level) (kinda) whilst putting this together. Great album from an excellent band.

Peace

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Decoration Day

I really had no thought about posting anything today. No real reason, other than a clear lack of cogent thoughts. I know, I know, some (like Ray, for instance) would say that’s never stopped me before. What can I tell you? But then, as I was driving from the coffeehouse to the grocery store, the muse stopped by and deposited a couple things in my head. Since anyplace that doesn’t also sell gasoline along with coffee is now closed for the remainder of today, this is one of the rarer posts created at home.

I noticed today being a holiday didn’t seem to have much of an impact on local lawncare services. I totally get how some businesses remain open without regard to things like holidays, I guess I just never counted Memorial Day as one of those. It seems to me that this day in particular elicits kind of an odd response from the general public as it is. Over time it appears to have devolved from its origins as Decoration Day in the aftermath of the Civil War to where we are today. How many people have you heard say “Happy Memorial Day!” or some similar sentiment? It just seems odd to me that anyone would use that phrase given what today is marking, you know? Almost as odd as thinking that this is the perfect day to buy a mattress, but if you turn your television on today I guarantee you’ll see more mattress commercials than you will remembrances. Today is supposed to be about honoring the war dead. I don’t claim to know the correct way to honor them either. I mean, I have thoughts about that, but I recognize they may be skewed by my personal beliefs and that some would find my ideas offensive. So I won’t be telling you how to observe today, but I would suggest at some point to take a few minutes to recognize that hundreds of thousands of lives have been taken for causes, just and not so just. And perhaps we, as Americans, should strive to be the type of Americans worth fighting for.

Growing up I was never aware of the term Decoration Day btw. The first time I heard it was in the late 70’s. The original ex had two maiden aunts, I guess spinster is the term, although I don’t know if that’s a derogatory term or not. If so, I mean no offense. At any rate, Carrie and Clara were twin sisters and they were about 187 years old when I met them. Not really. But they pretty old nonetheless. Back to the point, they were the ones that referred to the day as Decoration Day. I remember thinking they seemed insistent on calling it that too. Kind of like Chicagoans that insist Willis Tower is still Sears Tower.

I’m going to cut this one short today. I do have other things bouncing around that I’d like to address, but I figure if I’m going to bitch about today, I should keep it about today. So, lastly, today’s background music is the newest album by Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks of God and man I really dig it. This is one of those albums that, the first time I listened to I thought “yeah, it’s ok I guess.” But the more I listen to it, the more I get into it. Just outstanding. Lastly, lastly, there’s no way I could name this post what I named it without throwing in a link to Decoration Day by Drive By Truckers and eventhough it’s not entirely about honoring war dead, it is ultimately about the feelings toward a generations long feud and the results of it.

Peace.