Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Kathleen Edwards, John Doe, Atkinsons, Rev. Horton Heat and more

Not a whole lot going on this week. I heard there was some kind of vote going on today (Tuesday). Did American Idol start again?

On Wednesday night at The National, Kathleen Edwards plays with John Doe (of X) opening. Tix are $15, doors open at 7 and show starts at 8. Kathleen plays singer-songwriter, alt-country and you'll like her if you like Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Aimee Mann or Emmylou Harris.

Richmond's own, The Atkinsons play the Highwater Restaurant at Toad's Place on Friday night. That's a FREE show and will start at 6:30. The Atkinsons play great Americana music so check them out.

After the Atkinsons, you can step next door into Toad's Place proper for a raging rockabilly (or psychobilly or punkabilly or whatever you want to call it) show featuring The Reverend Horton Heat, Nashville Pussy and Reckless Kelly. Doors open at 8 and tix are $22.

The Dropkick Murphys bring their celtic-punk sound to Toad's on Saturday night. Doors open at 7 and tix are $28.

Its time for the next installment of my "Tony Remembers the Spectrum" series. I went to see Rush on the Grace Under Pressure tour on either November 5 or 6, 1984. This show wasn't so memorable as far as the band goes, though I'm sure Rush played great as they always do consistently. This show was more memorable for my friend Jim's violently drunk brother. Jim was one of the nicest guys I knew at the time. He went to a different high school then I did but we lived in the same neighborhood and had been hanging out for a couple of years. Jim's brother was two to three years older than Jim and I and had pretty much been a f**k-up since I had known him. He was an alcoholic stoner and a bully.

Somehow he had talked Jim into going to the show with us. Jim wasn't too keen on the idea but reluctantly agreed. The concert went well, though Jim's brother (sorry I can't remember his name so we'll call him Frank) produced a bottle of Jack Daniel's from his jacket shortly after we got in, mixed it with a cup of Coke and finished it the whole bottle off during the show.

After the show, Jim had to call his grandfather to come pick us up. It was about a 15 - 20 minute drive from our neighborhood to the stadiums. As we waited next to the Connie Mack statue outside of Veterans Stadium, Jim and I spent that 15 - 20 minutes fending off Frank who kept trying to start fights with us. However, he was so drunk that we were able to contain him by pushing him to the ground where he would usually sit for a minute or two before getting up and trying to start a fight again. I wasn't really scared as much as annoyed by Frank, though he was stronger than Jim & I when sober, so I was a little worried that he could get a lucky shot in or grab a bottle or something he could use as a weapon. Needless to say, it was a great relief when Jim's grandfather finally showed up and Frank passed out for the ride home.

Jim and I lost touch after that, but not because of that night. We were both getting more involved in things in our high schools. Then, I moved to a different neighborhood, only a couple miles away, but enough that we couldn't do the casual stop-by when time permitted. Unlike his brother, Jim had it together and was in a pre-ROTC program for the Navy. I suspect Jim probably joined the Navy after high school and/or college and is doing well for himself. Unfortunately, Jim has a common last name so Googling him is pointless as you end up with 20+ pages of hits. Hopefully, his brother got it together too, before he hurt himself or someone else.

Anyway, sorry to end on such a somber note but that's the story. The next "Remembering the Spectrum" will be much more fun as it was Prince on the Purple Rain tour on Thanksgiving night.

Until then, have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

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