Tag: Shows

Posted on

16, 17 Jan: Chapel Hill, Charlotte

16 Jan – Cat’s Cradle (Chapel Hill, NC)
w/ Amy Ray and the Butchies
17 Jan – Tremont Music Hall (Charlotte, NC)
w/ Amy Ray and the Butchies

We did this trip as a caravan, half my band were planning to stay an extra couple of days so we were pretty much all in different vehicles. Lee and I drove up in her car (somehow managing to get all of our equipment in the back… she really is the master of all packing), talked and drowsed. We got into Chapel Hill right on time. By the time soundcheck was done it had started to snow outside. It never stuck to the roads, thankfully, but it was a strange feeling to know I was out on the road playing shows and it was snowing. It brought home the feeling of being a touring musician even more than the trip to Florida did, I suppose because Florida was more bizarre overall.

The shows were okay. We played really well, I thought. Missteps here and there (mostly mine) but nothing that would have been noticeable. We were energetic, too. It was a stranger mix of people… Amy’s solo CD and the Butchies are more punk than anything, and we’re clearly pop. It seemed hard to hook into the crowd. The crowds at both shows cheered loudly between songs, but then any attempt to interact with them seemed to flop on the ground in front of me. We only sold a few CDs at each show, though after the Charlotte show I had a number of people come up to say they really enjoyed the show. It made me wonder if it was more of a result of people at clubs not expecting to spend a lot of extra money, as opposed to the crowds at the big venue shows in Florida. At any rate, it seems we do better with the large venue crowds than with smaller club crowds. Which doesn’t seem like a good thing as far as trying to develop a following, because big venue shows don’t come along every day.

Odds and ends: I met a few more people (one of whom had actually found me on mp3.com, first, and had even found the Radiant City page there), which always reminds me just how great this damn thing is. I also met a couple of people at both shows who seemed to be big pop fans… a girl at Chapel Hill who already knew about me and had come out to see us. I had forgotten to ask her where she found out about us, so now it’s driving me nuts, but she was talking about clubs in Wilmington, NC and said she’d email me info, so hopefully I’ll hear back on that. Also a guy in Charlotte who was there for Amy’s show but caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a pop band. He seemed to have really enjoyed the show, which is always good to hear from the closet pop fans. Oh, and I sang on “Refugee” with Amy and the Butchies at the end, which was fun, but I felt silly while they were all bouncing around between choruses and I had nothing to do but stand there with my hands in my pockets and sort of rock back and forth like a goof.

But it was a good trip. Next week I buy the van for all future touring. I’ll post here with photos, it seems dull, I know, but it actually looks like the sort of van a good Hanna-Barbera band would be driving around in.

Posted on

10, 11 Jan: Atlanta

10 Jan – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
performing a song with Susi French Connection
11 Jan – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
w/ Eden; Annaray; Alastor

Still sick and a little preoccupied for these shows, I can’t really give a very detailed account. Friday’s show with Susi French Connection was fun, it always is. Not just for the chance to sing on an AM radio hit from the seventies, but just because the shows are fun to watch. The crowd this time was big, Eddie’s was packed. They seemed a little subdued at first but really seemed to warm up as the night progressed, which is good. There’s not much point doing these songs if the crowd doesn’t enjoy it. My song was pretty much in the middle of the set, a rendition of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” by Elton John. Singing while not having an instrument to hold is always awkward to me. Usually when I get up to do backing vocals for people the whole point to me is to not be the focus, so I slip up to the mic when the part is there and back away when it’s not. Usually my hands are behind my back, I’m just trying not to draw attention to myself. But for these shows I’m doing the lead vocal. Last year I think I sang with my hands in my pocket, so this year I decided to make an effort, even if I felt foolish. So I grabbed the mic seventies rock star style and tried to EMOTE. The crowd seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday was an odd night, I had other things on my mind. Also, it was the first time I’d seen Mickey (drummer for my old band) since the split. I’ve played show with Alastor, the band she’s with now, since then, but they were both acoustic. So it was also the first time I’ve seen Alastor electric in a couple of years. They have really progressed and it was good to see. Mickey also looks happy, the same thing I noticed watching Jeff’s band play last year. We went on last, very late, and played to about 20 people, half of whom were band members from the other bands. But even so, we played a great show. I was very animated, for some reason, but it’s a good thing. Maybe it was just being on a larger stage with the band again. I did the seventies rock star thing during “Fine” and felt good about it. Who knew? Anyway, Mickey came up after the set for the first time and we hugged and gushed about each other’s current abilities. It was a good thing and a good bit of closure, I suppose.

I’ll tell you something else, though… my band? They kick ass. nyah, nyah, nyah.

I’m in a rush to get out the door.

Posted on

2 Jan: Atlanta

2 Jan – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
w/ Sue Witty; Ryan Williams; Adam McIntyre; Pat Walsh; weaklazyliar

Okay. I’m really sorry. But I honestly remember very little. For those of you who weren’t there I have… something. The flu, I suppose, but it’s nasty whatever it is. The day before the show I didn’t leave the bed. The show went well from all accounts. The crowd was a good size and I was actually sort of surprised by that. I didn’t recognize a lot of the people there, I don’t know if they were fans of other people or just new people, but they stayed for the whole show. Thanks to you, new people!

I’m trying, I really am. But I can’t really recall anything. A few people have helpfully sent me some notes. Apparently I was funny (delirium does that). I gave away a house concert. I know I forgot words a couple of times. I had trouble playing the melodica because I couldn’t get enough oxygen in my system.

But everything seemed to go really well. I was surrounded by musicians who I consider to be good friends as well as very talented. Jimmy Ether played a short acoustic solo set and Adam McIntyre drove all the way from Nashville to do a set.

Okay, this is the worst summary I’ve ever done. It was a good show, so they tell me. Thanks to everyone who made it out, I can’t believe I’ve managed to keep that thing going six years in a row now. Every year I think will be the year that no one shows and every year you guys come out anyway. Thanks so much!

Meanwhile…
I knew playing the show that I was shooting myself in the foot as far as whatever it is that I have. Sure enough the next day I felt awful. This weekend has been exclusively me, at home, not moving around much. I have shows next weekend… singing a song with Susi French Connection on Friday and then a band show on Saturday. Which means I have rehearsals during the week. And right now, today? I can’t talk.

Wish me luck.