There's Always Room for Cello.

Friday Lady Di and I trekked to North Charleston to see David Gray in concert. We've been to three shows at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center: Indigo Girls, Celtic Women and this one. Compare this to the shows I saw with my kids: AC/DC, Tom Petty, My Chemical Romance, Green Day. Hmm. Seems I'm trending Adult Contemporary of late. No matter. David Gray was great. I knew of Gray's circa 2000 hit "Babylon", but have only been following his recent music from Sirius/XM's "Coffee House". I knew Gray's voice would be sonorous, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how good his band was. There were guitars- acoustic, electric, steel and bass, piano, drums, bass violin, and, surprisingly, a cello. The music blended quite nicely into a genre defying blend of pop/rock/folk/electric/jazz. Whatever it was, it was good. The music was excellent. The songs were well written and well sung. The lighting highlighted the songs. The narratives between songs were even interesting. Gray, it seems, is British. This was not a problem. In fact, he seemed to be representing the "cool" sect of Great Britain. In case you've forgotten, here's his first hit:

Green Day = KISS plus fun.

KISS used to be the gold standard in boffo arena concerts (I hear they're still pretty damn good). Fire. Lights. Smoke. Loud, loud noises. I saw KISS at Lakeland Civic Center back in the late 70's, and they delivered. Got to tell you, though, Green Day has got all the bells and whistles that KISS had, plus a few more. Fire? There were flame balls galore. Light show? What? You kidding me? Flood lights, spot lights, red, green, blue lights. Loud, loud noises? Two days later, my ears are still ringing. Oddly, I'm not sure how that makes me feel. I went to KISS back in the day for the show; but I actually like Green Day's music. I'm not complaining. The music was still good, and these cats do a great job of entertaining the crowd. In addition to the old KISS stuff, add the following: Shower of sparks, confetti, call and response (Aaaay-O!), a toilet paper shooter and a T-Shirt cannon.

The Kaiser Chiefs opened the show with a pretty good half-hour set that included their signature song, Ruby (unlike the apparently more self-assured Green Day, Kaiser Chiefs videos are generally embedding disabled). Not bad, but not what the people came to see.

Green Day kicked off their 21st Century Breakdown show with the title song from that c.d. They performed about half the songs from that c.d., including Static Age, and crowd-pleasers Know Your Enemy and 21 Guns, and a rousing and Christian-baiting version of East Jesus Nowhere, a bit of which from another show follows:



Green Day are not lazy, that is a fact. They cranked out the tunes and the effort for almost three hours. In addition to songs from 21st Century Breakdown (sadly- for me, anyway- one of the few songs from the new album they didn't play was my favorite, Peacemaker. Ah, well, you can't have everything in this world), they played, among other songs, Holiday and Boulevard of Broken Dreams from American Idiot, Longview from Dookie, Brain Stew from Insomniac, Welcome to Paradise from Kerplunk/Dookie. Billie Joe and company know that entertainment is better if the audience is involved. Call and response episodes were frequent and appreciated. Many of us shouted "Yeah, Yeah!" at the appropriate spot when they broke into the Animal House/Isley Brothers classic "Shout". Audience members were hailed to the stage to lead the singing on Longview. They closed out the set with American Eulogy from the new album, but came back quickly for an encore which began with the title tune from American Idiot and included Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) from Nimrod, and Minority from Warning. Here is a link to some photos from the Atlanta show from Green Day's official Website.

This is a clip showing some of the previously mentioned toys. It is from a different show, but similar to our Atlanta experience:



We all had a good time, and, in the end, we were all pretty tired.

AC/DC.

The trip was fun, the show was great. I'll post the trip later. The show must go on first. The show we caught was at the St. Pete Times Forum, located, ironically, in Tampa. Not far, in fact, from the home of my brother. You got to learn more about his digs in the last- ghosted- post. I like his place. Just the right size for a single dad; the neighborhood has lots of trees, and it's close to a park.
The St. Pete Times Forum is the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. Pretty nice. You can buy beer from any of lots of vendors (but at $10 a cup, I didn't).


The Lads and their guest, Nick, get in the spirit (man those boys need haircuts!).

Aging boomers and their children were the main demographic at the show. With tickets starting at $100 a pop, the kids seemed to accept the father/son and father/daughter tandems.

The Answer, a group from Belfast, Ireland (or Northern Ireland. Whatever), opened. The Lads enjoyed them. Certainly they were loud. But really, The Answer wasn't the answer: AC/DC was. AC/DC's intro was an animated short film which was scary, loud and funny, setting up Rock and Roll Train from their new c.d., Black Ice (I didn't film it, but another dude at another venue did. If you want to see it, look here. They played most of their "greatest hits": Back in Black, Hell's Bells (with a giant AC/DC bell lowered to the stage), Thunderstruck, Shook Me All Night Long (most of the crowd sang the entire song with them), TnT ("oy, oy, oy"), Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap- from which I included a brief clip), together with Big Jack from their new c.d., and Rosie (with a giant inflated tawdry gal riding the train. Couldn't see it from our seats, but we got a couple of glimpses in the side video screen). The crowd ate it up. To my amazement, these old dudes brought a ton of energy to the show for two hours. Angus blistered the guitar solos, shook his bootie, and strip-teased to reveal his AC/DC undies (kinda like seeing Harrison Ford in the most recent Indiana Jones flick: you know he's in his 60's, but it's still fun), and lead singer Brian Johnson high-fived people on either side of the cat-walk (Not us, of course. The "cheap" $100 seats where the Lads and I resided were well out of reach), and sang it just as fresh as he did twenty years ago. After the show-in-chief, the crowd brought them back to a pyrotechnical "Highway to Hell" and "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" (accompanied by really, really loud cannon shots). Here are some action pics:

Twin Tyler definitely dug it.

Here's a clip from the show:

My ears are still ringing, but it was a great show.

The Explorer's Club.

Internet buddy, Chase, gave a recommendation for a Charleston, SC, group, The Explorer's Club a couple of months ago in his blog, Dirty Thoughts in this post. I commented that I'd try to catch them if they ever got out to my neck of the woods. Well, they played last night at Windjammers in the Isle of Palms. The Isle of Palms is about an hour and a half drive from the Boro, and is just North of Charleston. The show wasn't supposed to start until 10:00 p.m., which should've put me home at about 2:30 a.m. (it didn't actually start until 10:30, and I didn't get back until 3:30 a.m.), and since this was technically my weekend with the Lads, the prospects of my being able to go looked bleak. At 2:30 p.m. yesterday, Tyler was able to talk his mamma into letting them spend Saturday night with her in Beaufort (Mom, please! I've got another date. Puh-Leez!). Great. Pouring rain, and no one to go with me (okay, I'll grant you, five hours isn't a bunch of notice), but I told Chase I'd see these guys, and by golly I was gonna see these guys. I was not disappointed.

First order of business: find some people to hang out with. Randy and Cynthia from Greenwood, SC, were a lot of fun (though, being good Baptists, they weren't drinking with me).I talked to a few other folks, as well. Hey, Chase, looks like this guy's from your neck of the woods. But you don't care about all that, do you? I'll right, I'll bring out the band. Here, listen (Here, Hear?).



Sure, they sound like the Beach Boys, but these aren't wannabees. This is their gig. These guys were the real thing. And, though it's cliche', you really got to see them live. It's all about the music, baby! The set was late, and short, because another band, The Unusual Suspects, followed.

The Unusual Suspects were pretty good. They did an excellent cover of Tom Petty's "I Need to Know". They sang well. They played their instruments well. And they were "pretty". Maybe that's what bugged me: Everything was too perfect. The Explorer's Club were kind of like Jack Black's band in School of Rock; the Unusual Suspects were kind of like the band that kicked Jack Black out to get prettier, more formulaic replacements. That said, the Unusual Suspects seem to have the tools to do well.

...and check this out: The drummer, Neil, and one of the guitarists, Jimmy, from the Explorer's Club let me pull a Chase and get my picture with them (and Jimmy let me hold his guitar!).

Old Crow Medicine Show Show.

My oldest, Davis, called me Thursday afternoon and invited me to go to a folk-bluegrass show on nearby Hilton Head Island with him and his buddy, Matt. Yesterday, I told you about the roadtrip; today, the show. I'd never heard of Old_Crow_Medicine_Show, but Davis assured me I'd like it, and that we'd all have fun. He was right; it was a blast. Evidently, I've been out of the loop for awhile. Old Crow Medicine Show have been making waves for eight years or so. Their Wikipedia article includes a description that sounded about right: "Old Crow Medicine Show is a young five-piece rollicking, punkified old-time acoustic band".

Can a bluegrass band rock? You better believe it.

Check out two generations worth of folks having a great time. The silver-haired dude to the right facing the leprecaun to his left. The crowd, while quite Euro-centric, covered the gamut of ages from about seven to about seventy, and all of them were having a great time.

Ketch, Willie and Morgan git 'er done.

"I Hear Them All" has evidently gotten some props.


The crowd favorite was Wagon Wheel, from their first CD. The energy was great, and most of the crowd was singing along. The Old Crow Medicine Show've got another gig on the Fourth, in Charleston. They open for The Dave Matthews Band. Man, I wish I'd gotten tickets.

Too Old to Rock and Roll; Too Young to Die

I was checking out various youTube offerings and caught the date and site of this gem: Tampa Stadium, Summer of 1976. Son of a Kelly! I was there. Just finished my Sophomore year at A.P. Leto Comprehensive High School. My buddy Russ had talked me into selling cokes at Tampa Stadium for various events, this being one. AndyMan went with us from time to time. Not sure if he went on this one. It was a great gig. You paid a deposit for your first tray of cokes. Once you sell that first tray, you could turn it in and get more cokes. If you didn't feel like working very hard after you sold your first tray and got your money back, you could just sit on your tray and watch the concert. I'm pretty sure that's what I did on this one. Mighta sold a couple of trays, just so they'd let me vend at future concerts, but I doubt I sold many. It was about the show; not the dough. Rock on Jethro Tull!

Roadtrip: Lynyrd Skynyrd

My Baby Mamma, Tina, our kids, her husband (my Husband-in-Law) Darryl, and one of his kids, Christian, headed for Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA, for the Memorial Day weekend. My kids' B'Day present to me was a ticket to join them there, where Lynyrd Skynyrd would be playing Sunday Night (odd as it seems, Tina and Darryl, the various assortment of kids, and I frequently go to events together. It's weird, I know.). Oldest, Davis, and I drove down from the Boro on Sunday to join them. Around Waycross (which, I think, is South Georgian for "very angry"), we saw the following business:


Davis stands in front of said business, trying to look like a Country Boy. You know. Just in case.












We arrive at Wild Adventures, where Davis promptly obeys their commands. Of course, it's easier to watch for the non-moving ones.












We missed Charlie Daniels, whose appears to be sidelining in the poultry business. The Lads mug for the camera.

Taylor contemplates meeting these two age-appropriate young ladies. Sadly, his older (by five minutes) brother, Tyler, would "hook-up" leaving Taylor and step-brother Christian to drown their sorrows in corndogs and french fries.











Where's my daughter, Caroline? Ah, here she comes.



Wonder why America is fat? Anyone up for a pound of chili-cheese fries? I asked about the kids' meal. Asked how many kids you get to get for $6.29. Seriously, though, if you're hunting Bubbas, this was the place to be. Valdosta, Georgia. At a theme park. On Memorial Day. At a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. It's like hunting over bait. At 230 pounds, I'm not a small guy, but I doubt I was in the top half of heavy people at Wild Adventures. Check out the role call of Bubbas:

Not all of them were obese. Some were just... weird.

The Lynyrd Skynyrd web-site says that only two of the original members are still in the band. Make that one. The keyboardist was apparently in the hospital in nearby Jacksonville, FL. Still, the concert was pretty good. They played all the hits, and played them well. They also played my favorite Skynyrd song, "Tuesday's Gone". The energy was a little weak from the crowd, probably owing to the mix of roller-coaster buffs who just happened on the show, but all-in-all, not too shabby.

Roadtrip: MCR

Loaded up the SpongeBobMobile at about 10:00 a.m. and headed in the wrong direction. East toward Beaufort to pick up some birthday money from BabyMomma.

Went West through Bamburg County, Aiken, then picked up I-20 through Georgia. Stopped at the Alabama Welcome Center. Alabama welcome? Rather an oxymoronic term, particularly given their motto: We Dare Defend Our Rights. Hmmm. Who is "our"?

Maybe we can get a clue from the Alabama governor whose administration bankrolled the Welcome Center. Ahh, famed segregationist George Wallace. He doesn't look happy. Too busy defending Alabaman's rights to smile, I guess. 'Course, with my State's track record, I ought not to be tossing rocks, I suppose.

Here's something you don't see every day: a Port-a-potty farm. Actually, this is the Super Motor Speedway at Talladega, a coupla weeks after a big NASCAR race. The thought of that many NASCAR fans depositing that much processed nachos, pork rinds and Budweiser... Erg. I'll be right back...

We stayed at a boutique hotel in the trendy Five-Points area of Birmingham.

Wonder what Goat-Man is reading?

Grabbed some sammiches before the show. The Lads made sport of the waiters and waitresses by casting reflections off their knives into their eyes. If I've learned anything from my travels, it's "don't upset the people that bring you your food". Sadly, I had not, up to that time, taught this to the Lads. We all left feeling slightly queesy. Next time I gotta remember to pack some Tums...

The show was held at the Sloss Furnace, er, area? Museum? Well, whatever it is called, its an old furnace-making industrial site. The tickets just said "Sloss Furnace"- fortunately, a misnomer.

I wasn't allowed to bring my camera into the show. I tried, without much success, to take a couple with my phone camera. The warm-up groups were Drive-By, whose main qualification to be there seemed to be the lead singer's ability to remind the audience that we were all in Birmingham, Alabama, and that, eventually, they'd be leaving and we'd all be able to watch My Chemical Romance. The second group, Billy Talent- who must not have been around in the eighties when a similarly named preformer had a coupla tunes on the airwaves- at least brought some decent energy to the show. They didn't make many friends in the land that dares to defend itself when they said mockingly, "This is the very, very, very, very, very first time we've been to Alabama. We're from a place called Canada". Some people actually booed when the lead singer said that. He recovered okay, but never completely understood that, if you're going to tease people from Alabama, you should wait until you are safely out of Alabama to do it. Least that's my strategy. You've already seen some MCR videos.

There was an awful lot of black in the crowd. You get the feeling that even Johnny Cash woulda said, "Whoa, dudes, cheer up".
I'd like to tell you they all looked like:
Or this:

Some of them did. But it is a sad fact that many Emo kids are not pretty and not everyone wears black with equal aplomb; Some were gravitationally impaired, and, clad in all that black, bore uncanny resemblances to bowling balls. The crowd tended toward about 15 years of age, but, to my amazement, there were really quite a lot of parents there. A mix of devoted parents taking their kids to their first concert, and I guess a few of them musta got lost on the way to "The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over Yet Again Tour". Some of them dressed for the show. Big mistake. They just managed to look a few months early or a few months late for Halloween.

Me? I got a black suit and a tux, but didn't opt for black.

Dad, in his Emo outfit...

The trip back was looong, and made longer by the fact that the boys had frequent gas attacks. Fortunately, I control the windows. I also had a little gas late in the game. Hee Hee Hee.

We did see a tank around Blackville, SC. I opted to leave out the Lads favorite pictures. What, you can't guess? C'mon, it's a bunch of immature boys!