What are you doing here?

How did you get here?
What are you doing here?

There's nothing new here. Sorry.

Tuesday Night with Two Cow Garage

Sometimes i get lucky.
Lately it seems everything has been going my way. Tuesday night was no exception.

About 2 weeks ago I pulled up the website for Poe's Pub, a cool little bar about an hour from my house. They have some tremendous talent come through their doors, and I try to never miss a show there that I should check out.
I hadn't seen in a show on their list that i wanted to see for a while, and had really missed the place. When I pulled up their calendar of events, I saw a band named "Two Cow Garage". That's not a very common name, and although I had never heard of them, it rang a bell. I had just traded some live shows with one of my regular traders and wondered if I had seen the name on his list, so I went back and looked, and sure enough, he had a show of theirs. I asked him if he knew about them. He said that he didn't personally know them, but heard that they rocked pretty hard, and that they played a cover of Billy Joe Shaver's "Georgia on a Fast Train" on the show he had. His last statement was that if they were playing at one of his favorite bars, he would surely go.

That was good enough in my book, especially since Poe's is in fact one of my favorite bars, and since the show was only $3. What are the chances of just seeing a band name on someone's trade list, and then seeing the band's name on a venue website, and actually remembering it? For me, pretty good I guess--the mind is a terrible thing to waste. I figured it was a sign that I had to go. I immediately started making travel arrangements (meaning, finding someone to go with me). I rounded up 1/2 of the Bills, Bill T., aka The Space Cowboy, (not Bill the Deadhead). He's almost always up for a fun show, especially if it's at Poes. He's been to 2 of the other 3 shows I've seen at Poe's, and likes the place as much as I do. Now we just needed the show to be good.

We headed out around 7, and got to the venue at about 8. We really had no idea what to expect, but were thirsty for some beers, and hungry for some rock. The last time we were at Poe's we saw a great band out of California called "I See Hawks in LA". There were only 12 people in attendance that night, but the Hawks played like they were performing for a full house. We could only hope that the performance this night would be as good (and that, for the band's sake, there would be more fans).

When we got there the place was empty, just like last time. We grabbed a table down in front, and drank a couple beers. After a little while we struck up a conversation with the only other fans that were there; Cool guys--- big music fans---they'd driven over an our to see the show too. They bought a shot of Jager for everyone in there and the band. (Thanks guys!) Then the band came over and started talking to us. Really nice guys. Before I even heard them play a note, I knew I was going to enjoy it. I was talking to the guy next to me about Bare Jr, and two of the guys from Two Cow started talking about how much they like Bare Jr. It's rare that I meet anyone that's even heard of Bare Jr, let alone actually like him, but the two guys from Two Cow talked a good deal about him and his CDs. I knew the show was going to be good.

10 to 15 more people came in before the show started, including my cousin who I had invited out, and when the band came on stage, there were a decent amount of people in the audience. Not as many as the band deserved to have there to witness what was about to take place, but more than a few.

Two Cow Garage started playing and wasted no time getting down to the ROCK. Loud, very loud. I could hardly hear the vocals on the first two songs. But I loved it. High energy, fast, fun songs. Dirty rock and roll, with some country overtones and a bit of punk thrown in as well. Or was it country punk, played with a rock and roll attitude? I don't know. All i know is it was loud. And it rocked. Fun stuff.

The band tore through the first set at a blistering pace. Rockin' out the whole time. At the break, I talked to the band a little more. We discussed our favorite songwriters, and I mentioned Billy Joe Shaver. I had totally forgotten that they did a version of "Georgia on a fast train" until he told me that they had actually recorded a version of it, and that they were fans of Billy Joe. They also were fans of Townes van Zandt and Steve Earle, so they got some more cool points.

The second set was a little looser and i loved every minute of it. They asked for requests, so I asked for "GA".
They said they hadn't played it in a while, but they'd give it a try. Holy Crap. They played the most rockin version of that song I've ever heard. Loud, fast, tremendous. I was blown away. Eddy Shaver (the original guitarist for the song, RIP) would have been proud. The singer forgot the second verse and asked the crowd if anyone knew the next words. Luckily I had been paying attention, so I yelled out the words to him, and he took it from there, finishing it off. Classic.

They also played a smoldering version of Steve Earle's "Here i Am", and Neil Young's "Why do i keep fuckin up". I think there might have been one more Neil song played also, but my memory is a tad fuzzy. I think the rest of their songs were all originals, and all quite solid. (I was so impressed that i purchased both of their CDs afterwards).

The show was great. They are definitely a must-see live band. Check out their website (www.twocowgarage.com) and try to go see them live. They play with a ton of intensity and energy and just flat out rock. I had heard comparisons to the Drive by Truckers and Slobberbone, and they definitely have a little bit of the rock attitude that those 2 bands have. As I sat watching them, i was most reminded of Bare Jr though--- and how rockin those shows are.

Bare Jr is probably the vibe i felt most, maybe because we had talked about it before the show and it was simply on my brain, but maybe because they just love to play. One difference from Bare Jr though is that Bare Jr is kind of a revolving door of characters---- Bobby Bare Jr + whoever else is in the band at the moment. These guys are a band. And they've got it down. They are tight, and they rock.

I realized as I read over this blog that I hadn't seen a real rock show since my TX trip. I like singer/songwriter shows. I can't get enough of them. But sometimes I just need a good old fashioned rock and roll show. With Cracker on Sunday, and then Two Cow tonight, i got a healthy dose of it. And it was good.

Wednesday I hurt. And I hurt bad. To quote Bocephus "The hangovers hurt more than they used to". Mercy. I probably could have done without that Jager shot, or that last pitcher, or those couple of PBRs. It was all part of the rock and roll spirit of the thing though I guess. Thank goodness Bill was driving.

If you're not afraid of the loud, rock and roll country music hybrid, go see these guys. It's an awesome, high energy show.
If your ears are sensitive you might want to bring some earplugs when you see them though.

I couldn't believe how much i enjoyed the show since i didn't know their music and had just heard their name several days before. Sometimes i get lucky.

Blame Cracker

The first time I saw Cracker, I was a freshman in college, and had never been to a club concert in my life. I had seen a handful of concerts (Dylan, Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, HORDE tour), but they had all been arena/stadium shows. It was 1994, and I had just discovered them. At this point in time most of my musical tastes were pretty mainstream. Classic Rock, and a little bit of country, the Jayhawks and Steve Earle, and a couple alternative bands. Something about Cracker really connected with me. I really liked the strange, dry sense of humor that the band seemed to have, but the songs weren't jokes---they were good. My friend had just purchased "Kerosene Hat" and we listened to it a ton. They were to play at Trax, my hometown rock and roll club, with an up and coming band called the Counting Crows listed as the opener. We went. And it was great. I loved it. It was unlike anything i had ever experienced. Packed into a club, it was sweaty and dirty, and the music was loud, and everyone there was totally into it. And just like that, I was hooked. Hooked on Cracker. Hooked on concerts. Some folks think i've gone insane with my obsession with music. Perhaps it's true. Blame Cracker. I've seen probably 200 shows since then, and over the years I saw too many shows at Trax to even count. I almost cried when they tore it down-- bastards. I've seen Cracker 10 times, and always have fun at their shows. It'd been about 2 years though since i'd seen them though.

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven were both playing a relief concert on Sunday outside in Richmond. I had been looking forward to it for weeks for several reasons. 1. Because i hadn't seen a show in weeks. 2. A Sunday afternoon concert sounded fun. 3. There was a rumor of a bar nearby that had $3 PBR pitchers, and since the show was early, we would have time to go there afterwards, and 4. Cracker is one of my favorite bands.

CVB was playing an instore at Plan 9 before the show. I figured that'd be fun to catch, as we'd be closer to the stage probably. We got there a couple minutes late, but the band hadn't started playing yet. While browsing for CDs, I looked over, and there right next to me was Johnny Hickman, from Cracker. Very cool. I talked with him for little. And then CVB came out and sounded great. They played about 30 minutes.

We drank a little bourbon and ate a quick lunch and headed down to Shockoe Bottom after that for the actual show. We showed up just in time for CVB to take the stage. It was a little cold outside, but not bad. The concert layout was not the best. Since it was a benefit show, they had roped off the area in front of the stage, and had rows of seats for people who chipped in an extra $15. Not too many people chipped in the extra, so most of the fans were back behind all the rows. CVB was fun though. I always love hearing the CVB version of "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (featuring violin), after hearing Cracker play it for years. I also got to hear "take the skinheads bowling" twice that day, which was awesome. CVB played a number of songs off of their album, and I really liked them. I think i'll have to get that.

After the Cracker set, we went and drank a little more bourbon with my friend Jen who had come to rock out as well. The bourbon warmed us up. We got back to the stage just as Cracker were setting up. We were looking for a good spot to stand when David Lowery got onto the microphone and said he wanted the VIP area to be opened up, and for all the fans to come on in. He thanked the people that chipped in extra $, and told them that they would get free CDs and posters and stuff after the show, but that Cracker wanted to put on a rock show, so they wanted their to be a rock crowd right in front. That was awesome. Coolest moment of the day. Everyone was all excited, and all the fans moved up front and got ready.

Holy Crap. They rocked hard. Very hard. I loved it. The last couple times i've seen Cracker they played their country stuff, and some other stuff. I like that stuff too, but sometimes I'm just in the mood for rock. And lots of it. Sunday was almost all rock. It was awesome. The highlight for me was "Another song about the rain", which I don't think i've ever seen them play live. They played for about an hour, and seemed to be having a great time on stage. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Cheers to David Lowery for letting all the fans come up in the roped off area. That made a big difference.

It was a fun day of music. Afterwards we found the supposed bar with the cheap PBR. The price had gone up: it was now $4 for a pitcher. That was still a good deal, so we got a couple and then headed home.

The end.

The legendary Billy Joe

I was going to title this post "The legend of Billy Joe", but I thought people might think i was talking about the classic 80s film starring the Slater siblings (Helen and Christian). In truth though, probably no one would have even gotten the reference. Which is okay too, because i'm not talking about a movie.

I'm talking about the one and only Billy Joe Shaver. It's possible you might not know him, but you should. Everyone should. Truly, he's one of the greatest songwriters around. Willie says so, Kris Kristofferson says so, Johnny Cash says so, and I say so. What more do you need? Well, have you ever heard of the outlaw country movement? The seminal record in that movement--- Waylon's "Honkytonk Heroes", featured 10 songs. 9 were written by Billy Joe. "Old five and Dimers Like Me" is perhaps one of the most perfect country songs of all time: simple, yet to the point, capturing exactly what the lives of most ordinary folks are like. I can't adequately enough put into words how legendary he is.

And Thursday night he was playing in Falls Church, only 2 hours from me. He doesn't leave TX a whole lot, so whenever he comes close by I have to go. I was really looking forward to this one.
Before I had a chance to purchase tickets, they put a call out to the Billy Joe fans that he was needing help selling merch at some stops on this tour. The Falls Church show was one where they needed help. So I volunteered. By doing so I'd get a free shirt, free show, and get to help out one of my musical idols. What did i have to lose?

Well... the merch booth was set up in the lobby and NOT in the actual auditorium. That totally stressed me out. It worked out okay because not too many people were buying stuff during the show so I'd sneak into the back of the auditorium. But it was kind of distracting trying to keep an eye on the merch table. It made it hard to totally get into the show, but I tried my best.

Bob Brown, the guitar player in Billy's band told me before the show that half the band (including Billy) had come down with bad colds and were feeling pretty miserable. You wouldn't have known it from the performance that they put on. The band was rockin,and Billy Joe was more animated than usual (and he's usually pretty animated anyway!). They sounded great, and played almost 2 hours, taking requests from the crowd. It would have been easy for them to just put it on autopilot--going thru the motions for 90 minutes and heading back on the road.
But Billy Joe wouldn't do that. I've seen plenty of legends who just go through the motions these days: collecting their pay from the club singing a couple tunes, and never engaging w/ the crowd. Not Billy. He always gives 100%. He loves playing music. And he loves that people are there to listen to his music. He doesn't take that for granted. After every show he graciously signs autographs and poses for pictures. I've met him several times, and I can honestly say that he's probably the most down to earth performer you will ever meet.

It was a good turnout for the show, and I'm glad. And I'm sure they (the fans) are glad. They were rewarded with a tremendous show from one of the all time legends of country music. Billy Joe played most of the songs that other's had hits out of: "honkytonk heroes", "you asked me to", "just an old chunk of coal", etc. He also pulled out some rare ones, which was great. After playing "Live Forever"---one of my favorite songs of all time, he strayed from the setlist, and announced to the band that he wanted to play one solo. He talked for a minute or 2 about losing his son Eddy to drugs, and then got a little choked up before playing a powerful version of "Star in my Heart".

The fans there that night were lucky. Anyone that gets to see Billy Joe is lucky. If he ever comes anywhere close to your town: GO. You won't be disappointed. I guarantee it.
Check out his tourdates at www.billyjoeshaver.com
Pick up a CD while you're there too if you want. His most recent official studio CD is called "Freedom's Child" and is as good as any album he's ever put out. And way better than anything you'll hear on the radio these days.

It's rare that you get to see such a legend. It's even more rare to see one that's still at the top of their game. Unlike many of his contemporaries who have faded away (or passed away unfortunately) Billy Joe is still out there , putting out tremendous music, puting on tremendous shows.

Go see him. Or at least check out some of his music. It's your loss if you don't.

It's amazing how humble he is considering how talented he is. Countless other people have sang his songs, and made millions of dollars. Billy Joe still lives in a modest brick house in Waco, driving his white van from show to show. And I think he's okay with it. I don't think he ever set out to become a platinum selling artist. I think he was blessed with a gift to capture the truth in song, and he just wants to share his songs w/ the world, for any one that will listen.

You should listen.

"Old Five and Dimers" by Billy Joe Shaver

I've spent a lifetime making up my mind to be,
More than the measure of what I thought others could see.
Good luck and fast bucks are too far and too few between,
Cadillac buyers and old five and dimers like me.

She stood beside me, letting me know she would be,
Something to lean on when everything ran out on me.
Fenced yards ain't hold cards and, like as not, never will be,
Reasons for rhymers and old five and dimers like me.

It's taken me so long but now that I know, I believe,
All that I do or say is all that I ever will be.
Too much ain't enough for old five and dimers like me
Too far and too high and too deep ain't too much to see.
An old five and dimer was all I intented to be.

Joe Ely

Tuesday night I had 'one of those nights'. Not a bad 'one of those nights'---no no... far from it. One of those nights where everything is just about perfect, and you want it to go on forever.

Tuesday after work The Bills and I met up to head out to Richmond to Ashland Coffee and Tea to see the legendary Joe Ely. I had just seen him at the ACL fest last month, but he was with a band there, and I assumed he would be solo here, and was really looking fwd to it.

My buddy Bill drove, which was awesome, since it meant I could relax, and drink a little more. The Bills are just as hardcore about getting a good seat as I am--perhaps even more so, and as a result we got to the venue about 40 minutes before the doors even opened. Ashland is a small little town, so we strolled down the street to find a bar and grab a drink beforehand. We found a bar, but they had nothing on tap. Unfortunately that was the only bar to be found, so we drank there anyway. I ordered up some kind of Legend beer, and was presented with a 22oz bottle. Nothing like that to start the evening off right (except the beer was $8, but Bill ended up picking up the tab there). So... on we go...

We drank our gigantic beers (the one Bill had ordered the same beer as me), and strolled back to Ashland Coffee and Tea. They were just starting to let people into the listening room. Our timing was almost perfect. About 15 had gone in before we did, and had staked claims to most of the prestigious tables. (There's not really a bad seat in the house, but it's nice to get a table right in front). As I quickly scanned the room, I saw, there in the middle of the other occupied tables, an empty one DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE STAGE. It couldn't have been more centered, or closer. It was directly in front of the microphone. It was perfect. And it was ours.

We sat there, and after the Bills giving much grief about how bad our table was--- we ordered food and drinks. The food and drinks were excellent, service was great, and we lucked out and got the most attractive waitress in the place to be our waitress.

Oh yeah... and there was music.
There was an opening act. He was pretty good.

And then Joe Ely came out. He announced that there was another performer that would be joining him at some point in the evening, but that he was caught up in traffic. He said if we'd never seen Joel Guzman (pronounced 'Jo-El'), then we were in for a treat. I was a little discouraged, because I had been hoping for a solo show, but I figured I'd at least get a solo show for a couple songs and hope for the best.

Ely played about 3 songs solo. They were really good. Joe had just started the 4th song when I saw movement to the side of the stage, and saw this guy stroll in. He threw his bags in the dressing room picked up his accordion, started playing--- while walking thru the crowd, and hopping up on stage---never missing a beat.

It was incredible. From that moment on there was just a tremendous amount of 'electricity' in the room. Ely was already great. The addition of Joel Guzman took it to a whole new level. Joe's guitar and Joel's accordion were just in sync the entire night. It was amazing to watch. I don't know how long they've been playing together, but it seems like they were born to play music together. It was simply tremendous. Bill H. said one of the songs was so beautiful he actually had tears well up in his eyes.

Joe told some great stories about Townes van Zandt, and about Joe Strummer. Unbeknownst to me, The Clash were big fans of Ely. In 79 they met in England, and Ely arranged a tour for them through some cool TX towns, and in 1980 they arranged some tourdates for him in the UK. Wacky stuff. Very cool.
The concert lasted about 2 hours. It was 2 hours of pure musical goodness. I've seen literally hundreds of shows. This one was one of the great ones. Joe Ely has a great stage presence and an impressive resume of songs. Joel Guzman, who I had never heard of before, just wails on the accordion. The second coming of Flaco Jimenez. Together they were mind blowing.

Bill H. is an old Deadhead. He's seen over 100 Dead shows. After the show he told me that this show was as good as any Grateful Dead show he'd ever seen.

That's saying a lot. It's probably blasphemy to the other Deadheads out there.
But that's how good this show was.
It's not blasphemy if it's the truth.

a taste of Austin in Cville

Last night I went to the Gravity Lounge to check out two Austin musicians: Jon Dee Graham and Danny Schmidt. Danny actually used to be a Charlottesville musician, but I never saw him during his years here. I'd never personally heard Jon Dee, but I'd heard lots of good hype, so I decided to go.

I had a great time. Danny and Jon Dee each played solo acoustic, and they took turns singing: Danny for 30 minutes, Jon Dee for 30, Danny for 45, Jon Dee for 45. I was pleasantly surprised by Danny Schmidt. I'm actually sorry I never saw him when he was a regular in Charlottesville. I got a chance to listen to 2 of his CDs before the show, and on CD he reminded me a little of John Prine or Slaid Cleaves. In concert, I didn't feel either of those vibes too strongly, but he sang some really great songs. He's got 10 or so songs on his website that you can download and listen to. DO IT NOW! Seriously. What have you got to lose? www.dannyschmidt.com
My favorite song is "Stained Glass". "This too shall pass" is pretty excellent as well, and "Circus of Clowns" is perhaps appropriate concerning the time of year that is. Go check out his stuff now.

Jon Dee was quite impressive as well. I really knew nothing about him at all. His vocal stylings are very Tom Waits-esque, and he has a really good stage presence. I researched him a little after the show. He has a pretty eclectic resume-- played in some punk bands in the 70s, and opened up for the Clash and the Ramones, then played in an americana band in the 80s called the True Believers w/ Alejandro Escovedo, played in a couple New Wave bands also, and has worked w/ John Doe, from X, Kelly Willis, and a bunch of other people. Now he's out there just playing songs. I think he usually plays with a full band, but he was solo. It was really good.

I'm so glad I went. I love going out on Sunday nights. It's a different kind of person that goes out on a Sunday night. I'm one of those persons. And I saw three or four people I knew at the show. I guess they're my kind of people.

Last night was fun. If i had more nights like last night i wouldn't be so inclined to move to Austin.
Austin could come to me.

Joe Ely is tomorrow. Billy Joe is Thursday. It's shaping up to be a great week.
Texas is everywhere.

Mindy

Last thursday I saw Mindy Smith at Starr Hill Music Hall in Charlottesville.
I have been too tired to write about it until now. But here's the quick lowdown:
I really liked her. I'd seen her once before-- at the Philly Folk Festival, and that time she was solo, acoustic. This time she had a full band with her. The band was quite rockin.
A decent amount of people came out for the Starr Hill show. Unfortunately a good number of them were idiots who distracted me all night. There were 2 drunk girls in the back who talked the entire night, numerous other people who felt like carrying on conversations nonstop, and several cell phone calls and people talking on cell phones.

My head hurt so bad at the end of it, from trying to focus on Mindy while ignoring the idiots.
Sometimes I hate people.

I hate Starr Hill. I felt like they're staff should have shushed people. It shouldn't have been my job to do that. But I had to. During one very quiet, sentimental song I had to turn around and tell the people in the back to be quiet. And my buddy Bill had to tell a cell phone user to take his conversation somewhere else. That shouldn't be our responsibility.
I emailed Starr Hill to tell them this but got no response. I'm not really surprised-- they're a poorly run club.

Why do people like that even come to shows? Stay home, put on a CD and save your $15.
Did I mention that sometimes I hate people?

But i really liked Mindy Smith. The encore of "Come to Jesus" and "Jolene" was pretty awesome. I wish she would have played those two earlier though, because i think some of the dissrespectful folks were just there to hear those two songs and didn't care about the others. I guess that's the catch-22 of having a top 40 hit: more people come out, but how many of them are real fans, and how many just wanna hear that one song?

Unfortunately, in addition to the constant crowd noise, her vocal mic seemed a little low. The sound is often less than stellar at Starr Hill, which is a shame. It could be a really cool place. But it's not.
Hopefully next time Mindy comes to town she can play at Gravity Lounge.
The Starr Hill management and crowd don't really deserve to have her there.
The 3/4 of the crowd that was there to actually listen to her would have a much better time at a better managed club.