You can find the Flight of the Conchords season 2 premiere on the Funny or Die site. Flight of the Conchords is one of the funniest shows on TV and has a gathered a large cult following. They return to HBO for season 2 on Jan. 18. If you haven't seen them yet, here is "Business Time":
Also, Dave Matthews Band comes back to John Paul Jones Arena. Here is the official type annoucement:
Dave Matthews Band returns to John Paul Jones Arena for two concerts, Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. Old Crow Medicine Show will open both performances. Tickets will go on sale on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 10 a.m. The band previously performed at the Arena as the Grand Opening Event in September 2006. Tickets will be available at John Paul Jones Arena Box Office, all Plan 9 outlets, the Charlottesville Visitors Center and www.johnpauljonesarena.com, or charge-by-phone at 1-888-575-8497. Tickets may also be requested through the Warehouse, the official Dave Matthews Band fan association, beginning Monday, December 15, 2008 through Sunday, January 4, 2008. New for the 2009 tour, Warehouse members may request up to four (4) tickets per show. The ticket request period is not first come-first serve, the time at which you place your ticket request does not matter. Warehouse confirmations will be issued by the end of the day on Thursday, January 15, 2009.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Hamaganza, Ghost of Pop, Larry Keel, Parade of Lights
Hey there, hi there, ho there! Even though this is a music blog, I must give out a shout out to a movie and a TV show to start.
I watched "Children of Men" a few days ago and I'm still thinking about it. A haunting, troubling, moving movie with great action scenes too and a great soundtrack. It takes place in 2027 and humanity has been infertile for 18 years. All world governments have collapsed excpet for Great Britain ,where the movie take place, though GB is mired in decay, terrorism and the brutal round-up of illegal immigrants who are flocking to GB from the rest of the world. But in all that, a glimmer of hope appears and our hero must help deliver that hope from evil.
"The Wire: The Complete Series" is out on DVD. I'm not saying you buy it because its 23 discs. But set your NetFlix to pick it up or rent it. It is one of the greatest shows in the history of TV. Here is the review from Paste Magazine. They gave it a 96 out of 100 which is one of the highest ratings I have ever seen them give anything; TV, music, film or video game.
Now for this week's music. Ghost of Pop IV happens at Gallery 5 on Friday night. Gallery 5 is at 200 Marshall St in downtown Richmond. Ghost of Pop IV features a nice sampling of local bands: Prabir & the Substitutes, David Shultz and the Skyline, The Awesome Few, Palominos, Hot Lava, Orioles, and Zac Hryciak & the Jungle Beat. You get all that for just $5. The show starts at 7 and is an all ages show and it should be a cool atmosphere too.
Larry Keel & Natural Bridge come to Ashland Coffee & Tea on Friday night. Tix are $21 and the show starts around 8. Here is how they describe themselves on their web site: "Connecting traditional songs of yesterday with their own original and inventive sounds of today, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge create astonishingly powerful acoustic music rich in heritage, heart and hot picking!" Larry Keel & the band combine bluegrass, folk, jazz, and reggae into an excellent potpourri of music.
If you want some holiday stuff to do with the kids (or without) check out the James River Parade of Lights. This starts at Libby Hill Park around 6 and heads down river to the Varina-Enon bridge. The best viewing sites are Libby Hill and Dock Street in the City of Richmond, Osborne Park and Boat Landing in Henrico County, and Henricus Historical Park and Dutch Gap Boat Landing in Chesterfield County.
If you want to do something later without the kids, check out Hamaganza at the Capital Ale House Music Hall Downtown on Saturday night. This starts at 9 and I believe this may be the first time they are doing it somewhere other than Poe's Pub. While the atmosphere of Poe's will be missed (they are doing a friend and family of Hamaganza preview ther on Friday night) the larger venue means they can collect more money and hams (thus the name) for the Central VA Food Bank, a great cause. If you are wondering what Hamaganza is, its like a weird talent show in which you'll see music, poetry and some more bizarre acts (I remember seeing a champion whistler one year), all hosted by the hostess(?) with the mostess, and I do mean the mostess, the 500 lb. drag queen, Dirtwoman.
Alright, I'm outta here. I'm going to get the Christmas music out since we are officially 2 weeks from Christmas. But here, just the heck of it, Ween's "Mutilated Lips":
Have an excellent weekend!
Tony Jordan
I watched "Children of Men" a few days ago and I'm still thinking about it. A haunting, troubling, moving movie with great action scenes too and a great soundtrack. It takes place in 2027 and humanity has been infertile for 18 years. All world governments have collapsed excpet for Great Britain ,where the movie take place, though GB is mired in decay, terrorism and the brutal round-up of illegal immigrants who are flocking to GB from the rest of the world. But in all that, a glimmer of hope appears and our hero must help deliver that hope from evil.
"The Wire: The Complete Series" is out on DVD. I'm not saying you buy it because its 23 discs. But set your NetFlix to pick it up or rent it. It is one of the greatest shows in the history of TV. Here is the review from Paste Magazine. They gave it a 96 out of 100 which is one of the highest ratings I have ever seen them give anything; TV, music, film or video game.
Now for this week's music. Ghost of Pop IV happens at Gallery 5 on Friday night. Gallery 5 is at 200 Marshall St in downtown Richmond. Ghost of Pop IV features a nice sampling of local bands: Prabir & the Substitutes, David Shultz and the Skyline, The Awesome Few, Palominos, Hot Lava, Orioles, and Zac Hryciak & the Jungle Beat. You get all that for just $5. The show starts at 7 and is an all ages show and it should be a cool atmosphere too.
Larry Keel & Natural Bridge come to Ashland Coffee & Tea on Friday night. Tix are $21 and the show starts around 8. Here is how they describe themselves on their web site: "Connecting traditional songs of yesterday with their own original and inventive sounds of today, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge create astonishingly powerful acoustic music rich in heritage, heart and hot picking!" Larry Keel & the band combine bluegrass, folk, jazz, and reggae into an excellent potpourri of music.
If you want some holiday stuff to do with the kids (or without) check out the James River Parade of Lights. This starts at Libby Hill Park around 6 and heads down river to the Varina-Enon bridge. The best viewing sites are Libby Hill and Dock Street in the City of Richmond, Osborne Park and Boat Landing in Henrico County, and Henricus Historical Park and Dutch Gap Boat Landing in Chesterfield County.
If you want to do something later without the kids, check out Hamaganza at the Capital Ale House Music Hall Downtown on Saturday night. This starts at 9 and I believe this may be the first time they are doing it somewhere other than Poe's Pub. While the atmosphere of Poe's will be missed (they are doing a friend and family of Hamaganza preview ther on Friday night) the larger venue means they can collect more money and hams (thus the name) for the Central VA Food Bank, a great cause. If you are wondering what Hamaganza is, its like a weird talent show in which you'll see music, poetry and some more bizarre acts (I remember seeing a champion whistler one year), all hosted by the hostess(?) with the mostess, and I do mean the mostess, the 500 lb. drag queen, Dirtwoman.
Alright, I'm outta here. I'm going to get the Christmas music out since we are officially 2 weeks from Christmas. But here, just the heck of it, Ween's "Mutilated Lips":
Have an excellent weekend!
Tony Jordan
Friday, December 5, 2008
IMDB for Music
I've been waiting for someone to do something like the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) for music. And now its here. Check out Soundunwound, the new music site from, well, IMDB & Amazon. The timeline feature for bands is pretty slick. Also, links to videos, web sites, member bios, etc. Me likee alot!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Grace Potter, Christmas Delights, Black Cash
After a little Thanksgiving break, we are back and ready for action. Though I'm still eating turkey sandwiches and I'm still enjoying it. Mmmmmm! Loves me some turkey!
There is a whole host of Holiday festivities in downtown Richmond this weekend. On Friday night, Celebrate Illuminate begins with the Grand Illumination at the James Center, the Holiday Market at the 17th St Farmer's Market, Main St. Station Holiday Open House, and the Capitol Square Tree Lighting. For the full dope on all the family friendly activities check out this site: http://www.venturerichmond.com/events/vrevents.html#illuminate.
Also Friday night, while you are downtown, you can check out First Fridays Artwalk on Broad St. Here is more info on that: http://www.firstfridaysrichmond.com/.
And finally on Friday, after all that holiday cheer, change into your black clothes, head to the Cary Street Cafe, grab a beer and enjoy Black Cash & The Bad Trips, the excellent Johnny Cash tribute band. That show starts at 10 and tix are $7. Perhaps they'll do Johnny Cash doing the "12 Days of Christmas":
If you are still in a holiday mood on Saturday, the Ukrop's Richmond Christmas Parade heads down Broad St from the Science Museum to 7th Street. We'll be down at the 7th Street end so if you are down there, be sure to look for us. Zach is pretty excited this year even for the large balloons. When he was 2, we went to the parade and this is what happened when he saw the giant Alvin (of Chipmunks fame) balloon:
There is a whole host of Holiday festivities in downtown Richmond this weekend. On Friday night, Celebrate Illuminate begins with the Grand Illumination at the James Center, the Holiday Market at the 17th St Farmer's Market, Main St. Station Holiday Open House, and the Capitol Square Tree Lighting. For the full dope on all the family friendly activities check out this site: http://www.venturerichmond.com/events/vrevents.html#illuminate.
Also Friday night, while you are downtown, you can check out First Fridays Artwalk on Broad St. Here is more info on that: http://www.firstfridaysrichmond.com/.
And finally on Friday, after all that holiday cheer, change into your black clothes, head to the Cary Street Cafe, grab a beer and enjoy Black Cash & The Bad Trips, the excellent Johnny Cash tribute band. That show starts at 10 and tix are $7. Perhaps they'll do Johnny Cash doing the "12 Days of Christmas":
If you are still in a holiday mood on Saturday, the Ukrop's Richmond Christmas Parade heads down Broad St from the Science Museum to 7th Street. We'll be down at the 7th Street end so if you are down there, be sure to look for us. Zach is pretty excited this year even for the large balloons. When he was 2, we went to the parade and this is what happened when he saw the giant Alvin (of Chipmunks fame) balloon:
Yes, we were there all of 10 minutes.
On Saturday night, the Hackensaw Boys play at the National. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and tix are $15. The Hackensaw Boys hail from Charlottesville and play rollicking contemporary bluegrass.
Sunday night the beautiful and talented Grace Potter and her band, The Nocturnals, comes to Toad's Place. Doors open at 7, tix are $14 in advance and $16 day of show. Sons of Bill will be opening. If you are a fan of blues rock like Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, or Lucinda Williams, do yourself a favor and see Grace and the band. Just in case you missed it, here is my review of her show from the last time she played Toad's: http://handfulofbrains.blogspot.com/2008/03/review-grace-potter-nocturnals-11508.html.
And gentlemen, if great rock n' roll alone isn't enough to get you out to the show, here is a patriotic picture of Grace:
Finally, instead of me remembering the Philly Spectrum this week, how about Trey Anastasio, once & future guitarist for Phish and fellow Flyers fan, remembering the Spectrum:
I knew that Trey was a Flyers fan. In the late 90s, he was interviewed on a show on Philly's local Comcast sports station. The interviewer, Michael Barkann, seemed to have no idea who Trey or Phish was. However, once the interview started and Barkann saw that Trey knew the Flyers and hockey and knew what he was talking about, Barkann completely warmed up to him and the two of them had a great time. I think Trey had fun because he wasn't answering questions about the band, he was just talking hockey as a fan.
Have a great weekend!
Tony Jordan
Friday, November 21, 2008
Moshe Dayan at The Canal Club
My friend Tom wanted me to mention these guys so in Tom's words: "Would you mind doing a special post on the blog about Moshe Dayan playing Saturday the 22nd @ the Canal Club? They are a hard core Christian band formed by some of the members of the ROC (Richmond Outreach Center) band. I do love this kind of head banging hard core stuff. They are in the same vein as bands like Disturbed, Stained & Drowning Pool. There should be about 200 sold out ROC Christians down there for the show. Hope you can make it.
You can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/moshedayanrock."
Moshe Dayan will have the middle spot between headliners Hollywood Undead and openers Against Grace. Doors open at 7 and tix are $13.
You can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/moshedayanrock."
Moshe Dayan will have the middle spot between headliners Hollywood Undead and openers Against Grace. Doors open at 7 and tix are $13.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sleeveface
Here's something fun you can do with your old albums.
Sleeveface: one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion.
Enjoy!
http://www.sleeveface.com/
Sleeveface: one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion.
Enjoy!
http://www.sleeveface.com/
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Yes, Umphrey's, Radiators, Shelby Lynne
Not a bad week for shows in Richmond.
Wednesday sees the best of the progressive art rock bands, Yes, come to the National. Tix range from $30 (general admission) - $125 (VIP Fan Access) and the show starts at 8 with no opener. Yes's configuration this time (they have had quite the convoluted personell history) is Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass) and Alan White (drums) with keyboardist Oliver Wakeman (son of classic Yes keyboardist, Rick Wakeman, who is ailing) and vocalis Benoit David, filling in for original vocalist Jon Anderson. There was some drama around the band touring without Jon Anderson, who is recovering from acute respiratory failure earlier this year. (Man, these classic rock bands used to have problems with drug and alcohol addiction. Life was simpler then.) The band didn't tell Jon they were going to tour and he felt disrespected but all seems to be okey-dokey now and Jon will return next time if he is able. All I know is that Chris Squire is one of the best rock bassists ever and he is worth the price of a ticket alone.
Here's Chris doing The Fish > Amazing Grace in '91:
Thursday night at The National is jam band Umphrey's McGee. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with The Heavy Pets opening. Tix are $20 in advance and $22.50 day of show. Umphrey's has started to gain some critical acclaim along with their growing fan base with their latest album, Live at the Murat, getting four stars from Rolling Stone.
New Orleans favorite The Radiators bring their 30th Anniversary tour (has it really been that long?) to Toad's Place on Friday night. Doors open at 8, tix are $20 and this is a benefit for SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now). It seems like only yesterday I saw them at Tipitina's during Mardi Gras (was actually 1990). I just wish I could remember that show. But it was Mardi Gras. All I can remember is leaving Tipitina's at dawn and the band was still playing.
Next Tuesday, Americana singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne is at Toad's. Doors open at 7:30 and tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $30 in the Gold Circle of hell. If you dig people like Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, you'll probably dig Shelby. I believe she is still out promoting her well recieved album, Just a Little Lovin', her tribute to Dusty Springfield.
A few other shows of note:
Mark Erelli at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Thursday night. $15 advance, $20 day of show. Think Ben Harper, Chris Smither, Dylan, Allmans.
Chris Knight at Ashland Coffee on Friday night. $15 advance, $20 day of show. Think Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Rodney Crowell, Dwight Yoakam, John Prine.
Sunday at the Canal Club: an Alt-Pop/Rock, Punk show featuring Aiden, Civet, God or Julie, Halflit Halo and Reasons. 6:00 show time, $11 in advance, $13 at the door. If you go to the show, get there in time for God or Julie (a name inspired by a friend who always writes songs about God or about his wife Julie). Think Stone Temple Pilots, Bowie, Beatles, Queen.
That's all for now. Have a great weekend, Richmond!
Tony Jordan
Wednesday sees the best of the progressive art rock bands, Yes, come to the National. Tix range from $30 (general admission) - $125 (VIP Fan Access) and the show starts at 8 with no opener. Yes's configuration this time (they have had quite the convoluted personell history) is Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass) and Alan White (drums) with keyboardist Oliver Wakeman (son of classic Yes keyboardist, Rick Wakeman, who is ailing) and vocalis Benoit David, filling in for original vocalist Jon Anderson. There was some drama around the band touring without Jon Anderson, who is recovering from acute respiratory failure earlier this year. (Man, these classic rock bands used to have problems with drug and alcohol addiction. Life was simpler then.) The band didn't tell Jon they were going to tour and he felt disrespected but all seems to be okey-dokey now and Jon will return next time if he is able. All I know is that Chris Squire is one of the best rock bassists ever and he is worth the price of a ticket alone.
Here's Chris doing The Fish > Amazing Grace in '91:
Thursday night at The National is jam band Umphrey's McGee. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with The Heavy Pets opening. Tix are $20 in advance and $22.50 day of show. Umphrey's has started to gain some critical acclaim along with their growing fan base with their latest album, Live at the Murat, getting four stars from Rolling Stone.
New Orleans favorite The Radiators bring their 30th Anniversary tour (has it really been that long?) to Toad's Place on Friday night. Doors open at 8, tix are $20 and this is a benefit for SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now). It seems like only yesterday I saw them at Tipitina's during Mardi Gras (was actually 1990). I just wish I could remember that show. But it was Mardi Gras. All I can remember is leaving Tipitina's at dawn and the band was still playing.
Next Tuesday, Americana singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne is at Toad's. Doors open at 7:30 and tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $30 in the Gold Circle of hell. If you dig people like Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, you'll probably dig Shelby. I believe she is still out promoting her well recieved album, Just a Little Lovin', her tribute to Dusty Springfield.
A few other shows of note:
Mark Erelli at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Thursday night. $15 advance, $20 day of show. Think Ben Harper, Chris Smither, Dylan, Allmans.
Chris Knight at Ashland Coffee on Friday night. $15 advance, $20 day of show. Think Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Rodney Crowell, Dwight Yoakam, John Prine.
Sunday at the Canal Club: an Alt-Pop/Rock, Punk show featuring Aiden, Civet, God or Julie, Halflit Halo and Reasons. 6:00 show time, $11 in advance, $13 at the door. If you go to the show, get there in time for God or Julie (a name inspired by a friend who always writes songs about God or about his wife Julie). Think Stone Temple Pilots, Bowie, Beatles, Queen.
That's all for now. Have a great weekend, Richmond!
Tony Jordan
Friday, November 14, 2008
Robert Earl Keen, Amy Ray, Kelly Joe Phelps, Maxwell
Good day or evening, depending on when you read this.
Saturday night, great Texas singer-songwriter and rockin' country dude, Robert Earl Keen, comes to Toad's Place. Doors open at 8, tix are $20 advance and $25 day of show. REK always puts on a great show, at least all the times I've seen him. If you want to check out a show, he has a free download of a show from January 2008 available on his web site if you sign up for his email list. In a random REK note, I am finally catching up on watching Generation Kill, the HBO mini-series about Marines in Iraq. While the Marines are parked in their convoy, two Marines are singing with each other, trying to figure out the words to REK's "Merry Christmas from the Family". Since its almost the holiday season, and since the song is a classic, here it is for your listening pleasure.
Also on Saturday night, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls performs at the Capital Ale House Downtown. Doors open at 8 and tix are $15 in advance, $18 day of show.
Kelly Joe Phelps plays at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Friday night. Kelly (a dude) is a blues singer/songwriter and according to the Ashland Coffee & Tea web site, is "Portland's Blues King".
If you are in the mood for some smooth R&B check out the neo-soul artist Maxwell Saturday at the Landmark Theater. Tickets are $49.50 - $125 and the show starts at 8 with up and comer Jazmine Sullivan.
That's it for now. Have a great weekend.
Tony Jordan
Saturday night, great Texas singer-songwriter and rockin' country dude, Robert Earl Keen, comes to Toad's Place. Doors open at 8, tix are $20 advance and $25 day of show. REK always puts on a great show, at least all the times I've seen him. If you want to check out a show, he has a free download of a show from January 2008 available on his web site if you sign up for his email list. In a random REK note, I am finally catching up on watching Generation Kill, the HBO mini-series about Marines in Iraq. While the Marines are parked in their convoy, two Marines are singing with each other, trying to figure out the words to REK's "Merry Christmas from the Family". Since its almost the holiday season, and since the song is a classic, here it is for your listening pleasure.
Also on Saturday night, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls performs at the Capital Ale House Downtown. Doors open at 8 and tix are $15 in advance, $18 day of show.
Kelly Joe Phelps plays at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Friday night. Kelly (a dude) is a blues singer/songwriter and according to the Ashland Coffee & Tea web site, is "Portland's Blues King".
If you are in the mood for some smooth R&B check out the neo-soul artist Maxwell Saturday at the Landmark Theater. Tickets are $49.50 - $125 and the show starts at 8 with up and comer Jazmine Sullivan.
That's it for now. Have a great weekend.
Tony Jordan
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Conor Oberst at the National
Hello, hello.
Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) comes to the National on Wednesday night. Tickets are $25, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with two openers, Rig 1 and Ben Kweller. Conor's indie pop rock has been critically acclaimed since he started his Bright Eyes project in the late 90s. I'll actually be attending this show thanks to the good folks at Jambase.com, who I won tickets from. Yay me. So if you are going drop me a line or call me and we'll hook up.
If you are interested, you can listen to Conor's entire show from the 9:30 Club in DC on Monday night. It was recorded and is available at NPR.
Just wanted to get that one out there. More on Thursday.
Tony Jordan
Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) comes to the National on Wednesday night. Tickets are $25, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with two openers, Rig 1 and Ben Kweller. Conor's indie pop rock has been critically acclaimed since he started his Bright Eyes project in the late 90s. I'll actually be attending this show thanks to the good folks at Jambase.com, who I won tickets from. Yay me. So if you are going drop me a line or call me and we'll hook up.
If you are interested, you can listen to Conor's entire show from the 9:30 Club in DC on Monday night. It was recorded and is available at NPR.
Just wanted to get that one out there. More on Thursday.
Tony Jordan
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
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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