In lunch meeting
I had on Thursday with a fellow music enthusiast and writer, we agreed on the
way we saw and felt about music. We
discussed the feelings that we share at a live show of amazement, excitement,
waiting for the spark to light the fire.
We went into great detail about how we share the constant quest for more
music. New, old, it does not
matter. I need and want all of it. I know hundreds of music fans but only a few
seem to have the calling to be completely engulfed in music’s bittersweet
embrace. Luckily, this weekend I was
able to see five friends who share this obsession, see three shows in two days
and meet with an organization that depends on the musically obsessed to help
musicians in need.
The weekend
started with a collaboration meeting with a friend of mine that is about to
graduate from the University of Georgia.
She is well connected in the music scene in Athens, and like I mentioned
before is obsessed like me with rock n roll.
We shared our ideas and thoughts over burgers and coffee, watching the
cold spring rain. We discussed some ideas and ways to help each other further
our writing and such. I was meeting her
older sister later that evening for dinner and the Black Angels show at the
Georgia Theatre. My writer friend
expressed that she was working the merch table for the impromptu acoustic Perpetual
Groove show that evening and that she would try to get us in. I had only seen PGroove a couple of times and
was hopeful to get in since they were breaking up and playing their last show
on Friday night in Athens. The weekend
was shaping up nicely; now it was time for a nap at the hotel. The rest would be needed if I was to be
running with these two sisters in a night full of rock n roll.
Thankfully the rain stopped my friend and I were able to grab a nice, dry,
dinner before the music started. After
sharing a few small plates we headed to the Green Room to see about getting in
to the Perpetual Groove acoustic show.
The band and my friends are very close as well as many of their fans, so
as expected my friend was bombarded with hugs and joy immediately upon entering
the super crowded bar. The band was only
going to play for an hour and so we were lucky to have gotten in.They were right at the halfway mark of their
hour when we walked in. I did not know
the first two songs I heard, but I enjoyed them as I watched the band just a
few feet away play their instruments.
After returning from a bathroom break I found the sisters, right as the
band was finishing a cover of Modest Mouse’s Float On. I love that song and the whole place was
rocking. It was fun to watch my friends
smile even with heavy hearts as they watched their friends and favorite band play. Finally the band played the only song I knew
to wrap up the show. “It Starts Where It Ends,” is a song about the inevitable
and moving forward, and is one that I have listened to over and over in the
last year and a half of my own struggles.
The sisters next to me danced and sang along, crying, which brought
tears to my eyes, reminding me why I listened to this song in the first place. It was a sad but amazing feeling to be there
with my friends loving the music that they loved and to be a part of that.
After the
Perpetual Groove show we headed to the Nowhere Bar, where any self-respecting
Widespread Panic fan goes before any show at the Georgia Theatre. My friend Woody was in town from Denver for PGroove,
and he met us there for a few drinks before we headed in to the Black
Angels. Woody is one of those friends
that like me are completely obsessed with rock n roll. It was great to see my friend even if for
just a few minutes. My friend Patricia
finally showed up, and yes she is one of us, and we headed across the street to
the Theatre. There are not many feelings
that equal walking into the rock show with three hot, amazing women. Needless to say I was a very happy man. We were all lucky enough to end up on in the
VIP section for most of the show. It was
my first time seeing the Black Angels and I was blown away. The band consisted of four guitar players,
two of which also played keyboards and a woman on the drums. This was a lineup
that I had never seen. At some point
everyone traded guitars, including the base during the show. There must have been 50 pedals on stage, even
ones on top of one of the organs. The
sound was loud, and full of reverb and distortion. The band was tight and confident. It was a sound I have never seen live before
and I loved it. It was dark and
haunting, which to me are essential in rock n roll. They played for an hour and a half straight,
with the drums turned way up. The woman
on the drums beat her skins violently and passionately. The psychedelic images on the back drop were
fantastic, reminding me of the only time I saw Jeff Beck. The back ground images bounced back and forth
to the beat of the base line and strobe lights.
Yes, folks this was without a doubt a rock concert. The cool part was it is music for smart
people. There were “Blog Dorks” everywhere
dressed in black and bobbing their heads.
It was well worth the $45 I spent on three tickets and cannot wait to
see them again in May. However, seeing
them will require some intense homework so I can know the songs I am
hearing. A must see in my opinion. I cannot wait to see my poster in a frame!
After a nice
lunch downtown the next day with the rock n roll twins, I had yet another fantastic
meeting which I will get to later, and headed to Atlanta for my first My
Morning Jacket concert. After four years
of trying so hard to like this band, spending time putting an honest effort
into listening to them, something finally clicked. I was grocery shopping a few days before the
show, listening to MMJ and something hit me deep inside. It was that moment I had wanted for the last
four years. I have always wanted to like
this band, yet something was keeping me from that jumping off point, but here I
was, two days before seeing them live for the first time live. Like seeing the Black Angels for the first
time, I had no idea what to expect. I
was meeting two friends at Centennial Park for the show that were huge fans and
the anticipation was killing me. From
the first guitar lick to the last, I was completely amazed. I recognized a handful of songs, as I have
been listening diligently. I knew that
if I could recognize as many songs as possible there would be a better chance
of liking the show. Well to be honest,
that really did not matter. I am rock n
roll fan. I love load guitars and
musicians that know how to play them live.
Jim James’s light and high voice permeated downtown Atlanta along with
the chest pounding guitars. If I could
feel the base guitar and drums bouncing off my chest fifty rows back. Very rarely does that happen and the show
sucks, especially an outdoor show. So,
I will admit, on record, that I was wrong.
My Morning Jacket is absofuckinglutely the real deal. They were by far the best show I have seen in
the last two or three years hands down and I have seen a lot. It is perfect timing too, as my life has been
changing and so has what I have been wanting to see live, this new love could
not come at a better time. I will not be
missing another MMJ show within a 500 mile radius. I cannot wait to see Jim James at the Shaky
Knees Festival in a few weeks. These
guys are fairly young in their careers and it will be an exciting road to
follow!
Last but not
least I want to share a bit about the meeting I had before I left Athens I mentioned
in the paragraph above. Nuci’s Space is
a nonprofit organization in Athens, Georgia that helps to prevent suicide by
providing obstacle free treatment for musicians suffering from depression and
other such disorders as well as to assist in the emotional, physical and
professional well-being of musicians. Since,
battling with my own health and addiction issues in the past, this is a group I
have kept a close eye one. Back in January I was able to go to the Drive by
Truckers Nuci’s Space benefit shows as well as the fundraiser at the
space. It was at that fundraiser where I
was fortunate enough to have a local Athens musician share his story with me
and how Nuci’s Space was pivotal in his recovery. As an aspiring writer, a
recovering drug addict and alcoholic, and rock n roll fan I was immediately
inspired to get involved with Nuci’s Space.
I know how hard my own struggles have been and understand what it means
to be without insurance. So, it makes
sense to me to do whatever I can to help out fellow artists in their time of
need in a city that I love any way I can.
I met with Nuci’s Director Bob Sleepy and Volunteer Coordinator Lesley
Cobb on Friday to discuss how I can help.
We had a great discussion and hopefully we will be looking into several
ways and means to help grow this organization and help create a better life for
the musicians that make the music that we love so much. Please stay tuned for further updates on
Locomotives involvement with Nuci’s Space.
I am going to keep
this closing short and sweet. That was
an amazing weekend. It was a weekend full
of friends, great music, beginnings and ends, and the promise of a better
day. I could not ask for more out of
life. The old saying is true; you get
out of life what you put in. That was completely
evident this weekend, I received
everything I wanted and so much more. I
am blessed and forever grateful.
If you are interested in Nuci’s Space, visit their website www.nuci.org.
GO SEE LIVE MUSIC
No comments:
Post a Comment