This year saw us going to more concerts and shows than we ever have before. This was in spite of the global economic situation and wasn’t something I would ever have predicted. I stopped going to shows long ago because they either were way too expensive (ahem) or the club was so smoky I’d come home smelling like Liggett and Myers. Screw that! But something about this year drove us to plunk down good money to see bands play, and for the most part it was worth it!
We began our musical odyssey with a Jimmy Buffett show in April. It was probably the ninth time I’ve been to a Buffett show: honestly I’ve lost count. Jimmy hasn’t played Raleigh lately so I was less inclined to go. He’s still one of the few artists who can coax me into going to Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. It ain’t the smoke that makes always want to take a shower after returning from Walnut Creek!
We followed up Buffett with another cult favorite, the Reverend Horton Heat show at Cat’s Cradle in May. What a solid, rocking show that was! The band played their asses off for two hours, Kelly and I were ten feet from the stage, and the only smoke came from Jim Heath’s guitar. I’d see the band again in a heartbeat. They rocked!
We then became fixtures around the Raleigh zydeco band, Zydecopious, seeing them play at Blue Martini, Big Easy, and Music on the Porch (a.k.a. Seaboard Music). Frequently, the kids and I can be seen onstage with the band, playing rubboard or tambourine and generally being a nuisance. It’s always a fun show, though.
June saw Kelly and I join my brother Jeff and his wife Suzie to see Elvis Costello play at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Elvis is all about the music. He’s a musician’s musician, and the show he put on was two hours of heartfelt songs. We all enjoyed the show, and my first visit to the Booth Amphitheatre contrasted sharply to my experience with Raleigh’s amptheatre.
Next up was a show for the whole family. We took the kids to see Dan Zanes play at the North Carolina Art Museum in July. For four years I’d begged Dan to play Raleigh and finally he did. The show was as cool as I’d hoped it would be. The kids had a blast, too.
In September, we treated the kids again to a show. This time it was They Might Be Giants playing the North Carolina Museum of Art. TMBG’s John and John are also musician’s musicians: guys who are always coming up with new music. Their show was a bit louder than Dan Zanes’s and the kids expressed some disappointment that the band didn’t play more music from the only TMBG kid’s CD we own, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. And while I wished their kid’s set had lasted longer I know the band had another, longer gig that evening to prepare for. (Funny how I never posted a review of the show on my blog).
So there you go. We saw more shows this year than in the last five years combined. I can’t say we’ll do this again in 2010 but we certainly enjoyed it this year.
I was at that Elvis Costello show too! It was great!!