November 2004 Shows
11/20/04 :: The Evening Muse (Charlotte, NC)
Again, we arrived too early and walked around for hours with nothing to do. There was an early show happening at the Muse so we couldn't load-in until 15 min. before the late show, our show, started. We hung out forever in this little thrift store next to the Muse. The owner keeps a fridge of free soda and PBR for his customers. Nice. I think Will bought jeans. He always does that. He owns more denim than all the cowboys in Texas. Well, maybe just all the straight cowboys in Texas. Hey, also, you might not think this is funny, but I fell on the ground laughing. We were window shopping at this little art gallery and there was a piece that was of 3 oranges on a tan background. I said, "it looks like they are sitting on sand". Page says, "They are probably wandering in the desert... because they're juice." Damn that is funny. Page is the queen of puns. What a nerd. So, we opened up for Sea of Cortez which is a mostly instrumental band made up of members from Pyramid. Sea of Cortez is SO, SO good, just like Pyramid. They are captivating and almost bring me to tears. Seriously, it is really beautiful stuff. And they are all local to Charlotte. What the hell? I wish they would play ALL THE TIME, but they are working on an album right now. sigh. We played okay, but again, w/o Jamie and Deb it is always a little weird and quiet.
11/19/04 :: The Wherehouse/PS211 (Winston-Salem, NC)
This is pretty much my all time favorite place to play. It is a 3 story commune w/ a stage, art gallery, coffe shop/bar on the main floor that is run by everyone who lives there. Rad. Why can't we do this in Athens people? This night was on a crutch from the get go: Magicicada (opener) cancelled, we were w/o Deb & Jamie, and Golden Dawn (who filled in for Magicicada) was a 2 piece rather than the regular 8-piece, and Hellblinki was w/o trumpet and fiddle. Also, the local paper got confused because 2 bands had the word "Golden", so the billed the whole night as "Hope For A Golden Dawn". We played well, but timidly I think. Golden Dawn was rad, very quirky, very lovely. Hellblinki was awesome as usual. Will and I waltzed. At some point I went to sleep on the couch in the cafe/bar. Will and Page stayed up drinking red wine with the Hellblinkis until like 7am. We all woke up around 11 and went to eat w/ the Hellblinkis at this really, really good brunch place. I got a huge cupp of hot chocolate. This little toddler stumbled by us. He had on a black one piece jump suit that said "I already know more than the president."
11/18/04 :: The Earl (Atlanta, GA)
This show was also with the Wandering Sons and the Nu South Subterraneans played as well (that is Roger Ruzow's band)(Roger is a frickin AMAZING trumpet player that lives in Atlanta). Nu South played well, but the room was mostly empty so YOU PEOPLE MISSED IT. The Wandering Sons rocked out again and I still love them and want to travel Midwest and play shows with them. We played well, but for some reason things were weird and I can't exactly remember why... Oh wait, now I remember... innerband turmoil. I cannot reveal the cause because some things are better kept as secrets. Also, Deb was in Holland. Things sound weird w/o her.
11/11/04 :: Flicker Theatre (Athens, GA)
For the record, I love playing Flicker because it is intimate, tiny and they have popcorn to go with the red wine. The Wandering Sons opened the show and, holy shit, they are good. I mean, really, really good. Definitely they bumped they're way into the top 10 bands we played with this year. They are on the Wish List label out of Atlanta, but they all live in Wisconsin. I was seated next to the xylophone during they're set and I plunked around on it for a few songs, and I heard Dave "Freelove" Mundy playing harmonica from the back row. Our set was easy and fun. That is how we like it, but we don't always get our way. I mainly am just writing here to tell you that I love the Wandering Sons. Okay. I did it. Bye.
11/5/04 :: Ladyfest South (Atlanta, GA)
Okay, this was a bizarre scenario. Appx. 3 days before the fest, which was supposed to be at My Sister's Room, the organizers decide to move everything to The Mambo Room. Apparently My Sis was going to charge outrageous production fees which would have eaten up a lot of the profits (which were going to a charity), but Mambo room didn't have any production fees. And we found out exactly why that was in five, four, three, two and who borrowed their big brothers crappy PA from when he was in a highschool garage band? The buzz on this PA was heretofore uncharted. When we arrived there was a solo performer and the buzz was so loud it was hard to make out her music. So, we got set up and the sound guys were like, woah, you gotta lot of stuff. Yes. That is true. But what we didn't have was a monitor for Jamie. And, friends, if you weren't there, you missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch Will Taylor get so annoyed with Love Letter that he actually STOPPED THE SONG midway through it. No shit, Will Taylor, classically trained who has always said, "Never stop a song, just play through it and work it out", actually raised his hand and said , "woah, woah, woah, stop the song, this sucks." See, if Jamie doesn't have a monitor, then that means he can't hear what we are playing, and Love Letter is all about some timing. Will was playing one thing, Jamie was playing a completely different thing, and the three ladies were on their own time as well. Botched. Botched real bad. The rest of the set was cute. We tried to be charming amidst the hiss of the PA and the dead silence of the crowd. Did they like us? Or were they just in awe of our 4th grade antics. My parents redeemed us by singing a song.
11/4/04 :: The Soul Bar (Augusta, GA)
The problem w/ composing these entries months after the fact is that the finer details are lost in the depths of my subconscious, an area which I never plumb except in dreams, and that is only to compose amazing songs that I cannot recall upon awakening. sigh. What I can tell you is that Sean Piazza headlined but we had to leave fairly early so missed some of it, but I can guarantee that he and the band rocked because they always do. The big "event" of that whole trip was our visit to the tapas restaurant in Augusta, The Bees Knees. The waiter who came to take our drink orders says to Page, "Those are really nice." And I was trying to give him the benefit of doubt. Page says, "What?". And the guy says, "Your breasts, they're really nice. I mean, they're just so bug and full." And, for real, everybodys' jaws were on the floor. I mean, in the middle of a restaurant, our waiter is elaborating on my sister's breasts. Then he turns around and leaves. And our table was dead silent because we were just kinda in awe. So he leaves, comes back again, and says, "Hey, I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to embarass you." And I am like thank god this kid has some sense. And then he adds, "But your breasts. I mean, they are just SO nice." And at this point I am ready to kill. But instead I say, "Dude. Shut the fuck up." I said it loud enough for it to get back to his boss because after that we saw him walking outside. Then a number of waiters take on our table and I can't tell who is who, but sometime during the end of the meal the original waiter COMES BACK. What the hell?!?!? And again comes up to our table and says, "Listen, I am really sorry about earlier. It's just that I am a DJ on this local station and we play your music sometimes." ??? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Is that some sort of mind boggling, arbitrary, irrelevant excuse for completely inappropriate behaviour. I don't remember what was said after that. Page swears if she ever sees him again she will killkillkill.
11/3/04 :: Belle Muse Art Space (Charleston, SC)
This was a rad night because we got to play w/ my favorite C-town band: MATTER
You may never get to see them because the play shows so rarely. Bastards. I would go see them ever day if I could. Anyhow, Kevin Taylor set this whole show up and got a keg and all the sound equipment. We played to many new faces and also our favorite faces (like Bill Carson, Cary Ann Hearst, Reba, etc). We drank wine. Matter played an amazing dynamic set. It is hard to describe how rad they are. You just need to hear it. After the show we all went back to Kevin's house in the low-country of Mt. Pleasant. He lives on a dusty road. His house is amazing, I think he built it himself. Anyhow, between copious amounts of wine and s'mores over a campfire, someone managed to lose the keys to the Vangina. We spent about 5 hours the next morning combing the ground. I looked through my bookbag about 25 times. Seriously. I emptied it out onto the ground numerous times. Like it was gonna change. Turns out that Will's AAA account includes a free thing where this awkwardly silent husband and wife team finds your van, does some magic, and hands you a new key. Will, afterwards, made a copy for each of us because he blames all of us and holds each of us personnaly responsible for wasted time. Will's original keys, to this day, remain unfound and I am pretty sure they are in the fire-pit with the empty wine bottles and skewers.
11/1/04 :: Tasty World (Athens, GA)
This was a benefit for "What's Left?". I am not sure exactly what they did with the money being that the presidential election was the VERY NEXT DAY. Who can say? So, there were about 40 people in attendance, including the other performers. This is why you have to publicize, people! I am writing this 2 months after it happened. Let me just tell you that I remember on very striking thing: the woman who spoke before us. If only I could remember her name because she BLEW MY MIND. I have no idea what she was talking about because it seemed like one run-on sentence, I just know she had dressed-up different tin cans and was using them as props to make a political declaration. My mind was blown people. That is all I can say.