Three days is hardly a tour by most band’s standards, but it’s likely the closest we’ll get to one, unless I win the lottery or just decide that living on the streets and playing music for a (non)living is not so bad.
I was excited to be hitting the road with Jim in tow; John was to meet us at our second show, in Greensboro, and for all three shows we’d be joined by my good friend John Harrison on North Elementary (whose fabulous new record will be released by eskimo kiss next month!). For the first two shows, good friends Jacque and Nina were also along for the ride (to ensure us at least two fans!).
On the way to Chapel Hill we stopped by my hometown of Kings Mountain. Our Mexican restaurant of choice was closed, so we opted for the local sub shop. Tuna salad was dang good, and just what I needed. A few hours later we arrived at our destination and with plenty of time to spare. It was fun hanging out with John’s dog Parker …
… who is the most rotten dog I’ve ever met. I mean even more rotten than Buddy and Churchill. She reminded me so much of Churchill too, which made me miss home a little less.
We were stoked to have received some good press from The Independent for this show, and were expecting it might help get some more folks out. After chilling out at John’s for a few hours, we headed on over. Jacque and Nina had been at The Cave for a couple of hours already and were ready to party! (Nina is so funny when she drinks; she had the funniest look on her face most all night.)
tGG kicked things off with a shorter than usual set (it was Chapel Hill … I know the rules – No more than 30 minutes unless you’re “the shit”, plus we were opening). We had a good time playing with our friend Jay Manley, who was filling in on guitar in John’s absence. It was a fun little set but I couldn’t manage to get comfortable. Didn’t like standing but didn’t like sitting. We joked that next time I should bring a big cushy chair. I think I’m getting too accustomed to practicing while sitting on the couch.
Anna Bullard went on after us and she was really great; her songs and voice remind me a little bit of Amy Annelle, but her twang at times even made me think of ATL’s own Anna Kramer. Good stuff.
After Anna’s set, we enjoyed a very stripped down version of North Elementary. It was cool to hear hits like “Golden Tigers” done on acoustic guitar. John seemed to have a great time on stage and we were all really happy with the first night of our mini-tour. The crowd was a little smaller than we had anticipated, and I missed seeing several familiar faces that I was expecting (ahem, you know who you are!), but all in all it was a nice warm-up and things were off to a good start!
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After The Cave show we stopped by Time Out for some funny photo ops and greasy late-night grub. I didn’t go all-out because I didn’t want to feel like crap in the morning, but did enjoy a little bit of mac ‘n’ cheese and home fries. We finally headed back to John’s after stuffing our faces and engaging in some fun conversation. I was fortunate to share the couch with Clementine the one-eyed cat.
The next morning we went to my favorite Chapel Hill breakfast spot, Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe. This place is so awesome, every time. I had waffles and hashbrowns, both of which were very tasty.
After breakfast we headed over to check out Jay and Jane’s new house. Such a nice place! And totally them. I’m so excited for them, and like I told them, I’m completely envious of their life. They’re making a living on music, but without the smokey clubs and sleeping on floors every night. How friggin’ cool.
After spending a couple of hours talking and listening to music, Jim and I headed back to Franklin Street to peruse the CDs at CD Alley. I picked up used CDs from Eggs and Galaxie 500, nice finds. Then we went back to John’s house for a little bit of nap time before heading to Greensboro.
I had never been to The Flatiron, but having played in Greensboro several times with previous bands, I knew I was in for a very fun night. Chris from Citified had set up this show for us, and he has never let me down before. When we pulled into the club we were starving, so the friendly bartender suggested a good pizza place that delivered. It was great but I didn’t want to fill up on cheese before singing so I just had a slice. Little did I know that I’d have the best pizza I ever tasted just a few hours later, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
After a slice and a beer it was about time for the show to start. This time John opened; it was cool to get to hang out a little longer instead of going on first. He played a great set, and I recognized a few new tunes from the night before. We were on next; we had expanded our set list a little bit from the previous night because there were a couple of songs that I wanted to make sure we did for Chris’s sake. Jacque came to the rescue tonight with her makeup stool; she had noticed my uncomfortableness with the barstool the night before and offered me hers, which she had in her trunk. Coincidentally, it was the exact same stool I use I home when I’m recording. Why had I never thought to bring it with me to shows? I guess I thought a stool was a stool … wrong! Anyway, Jacque’s stool was perfect, and if I do say so myself, we played one of our best sets ever. I felt really comfortable on stage, and while the crowd did get a little noisy at times, it was nice to play for such a large one and see some familiar faces. I particularly noticed some folks really getting into our new song “I Miss the 90s,” which was awesome. If someone reacts to one of your songs positively the very first time they hear it, that’s a good sign, no? I gave a shout-out to my old friend Lee before that song, dedicating it to him. Lee’s one of my favorite people, and I had hoped he could make it out to the show. I really missed him, but understand he’s been dealing with some health issues recently … some that are surely more manageable without cigarette smoke to deal with. Did I mention that the inside of the Flatiron was filled with smoke??? But for whatever reason (my trusty Claritin from that morning, I suppose), the smoke didn’t bother me all that much.
Our set was followed by a nice set of indie bluegrass from Our Horse Jethro. They were really great, and having met them earlier in the night I can say they were super nice folks too. It was awesome mingling amongst the crowd after our set, and I’m glad I got to see a few old friends. Based on the feedback, it seemed like people really dug our performance, so that’s always nice to hear.
After waiting a very long time at the bar to settle up, we got a too-generous payment from OHJ and headed over to Chris and Emily’s for the night. Once again, they outdid themselves for us. Leave it to them to make us feel like rockstars. We got to their house and Emily had already put out a fantastic spread in the kitchen, and she informed us that she had a pizza in the oven. As you might remember, I had just had a slice of pizza a few hours ago, but had built up an appetite from all the rock! (I kid.) Actually I probably wouldn’t have indulged in even more pizza, but OMG that smell. It just smelled (and looked) so dang delicious.
Anyway, so I figure, one slice won’t hurt, right? I mean, hell, it’s rock and roll! Who says it always has to be good for you? Well let me tell you, I scarfed that slice of pizza up like I hadn’t had food in years. It was heavenly. The best pizza I’ve ever had. Yummy cheese with veggie toppings (such as sundried tomatoes, which is always a win) plus — and here’s what really propelled it to its heavenly status — balsamic vinegar glaze. Note to self, that might just be the secret ingredient that even I, my non-cooking self, can use to make divine dishes! It was so delicious that I just couldn’t resist a second slice, and begged Emily to send me the recipe (Emily? are you there? Begging. Again.). So after a little bit of beer and way too much food for past midnight, I started getting tired and hit the sack. Four of us — Jacque, Nina, John, and myself — all got the sleepies at the same time so we all headed for the guest bedroom. We managed to all fit. I’ll let you figure out how (rock ‘n’ roll!!! remember???). I kid again. It was all rated PG. (But I do wish someone would have gotten a picture of all of us in that room.)
A decent night’s sleep and it was time for breakfast. Only this time we didn’t want Emily to go all-out again. So Jacque had the nice idea to go get donuts and coffee for everyone. I hopped in the shower while they were gone, but when I got out, I saw that it was too late. Emily had already hit the stove and was preparing french toast and pancakes for us. By the time Jacque and Nina got back we were already devouring Emily’s delictable cuisine (that didn’t stop us from also chowing down on some Krispy Kreme though).
After breakfast we slowly started getting motivated to leave. But first there were more friendships to be made … with Chris and Emily’s dog, Ernie. Now, a little background about Ernie. When we arrived the night before, Ernie pretty much freaked out. He’s not exactly social when it comes to people. Emily had said that the best way to deal with him was to just ignore him, so that’s what I had been doing. But while I was sitting on the couch, suddenly Ernie climbed up and sat right beside me. I started petting him and before I knew it he had crawled into my lap! Success! He must have sat there for 20 minutes.
So to recap Greensboro – great crowd, cool (albeit smokey) bar, good set, great friends, AWESOME hosts, incredible food, and sweet doggies. Sure to go down as one of my best musical memories ever!
On to Charlotte. We left in plenty of time to hang out there all day, and that’s basically what we did. Spent some time at Smelly Cat coffeehouse, ate some decent lunch, listened to Alejandro Escovedo soundcheck down the street, and even got to check out a guitar art show.
We were roaming around the NODA area, going from shop to shop, and stuck our heads in Beet, a gift shop/art gallery. The owner (well, I’m assuming she was the owner) was very friendly and happened to mention that they had two other rooms, with a guitar show in one of them. We all ran to the room and were instantly in awe of the guitars hanging on the walls. Crazy designs that recalled Dr. Seuss meets Prince, all hand crafted by a local artist. How friggin’ cool. But what was even better was that you could take them down off the wall and play them! We all had a blast trying the different guitars and taking fun pictures. Such an unexpected treat!
Finally the time grew nearer for our show at the Evening Muse. I had played the Muse a few times in the past with my old band, and remembered that it was more a “listening room” than a bar, which is always nice. We got there in plenty of time to load in and check out the early show. Headliner Mieka Pauley was especially entertaining, with a very powerful voice and a kick-ass backing band. After Mieka’s set there was a 30 minute break … some of the crowd filed out and were replaced with new folks, but some of them did stick around (including a couple who had downed two bottles of wine and were engaged in some heavy making out, get a room already!).
We had to run down the street during the middle of John’s set for the Good Graces’ tradition — shots before the show! Ah, Southern Comfort, what would I do without you? (I’ll answer that, I’d play with a big case of the nerves, that’s what.) We quickly ran back to the Muse to catch the end of the John’s set and get ready to rock. Man, did I mention that the sound at the Muse is a-friggin-mazing?? Well it is. I had the best sound I had ever had on stage, hands down. I could hear everything perfectly. I don’t think it’s possible for a room to sound better. Music venues take note — this is how it’s done. So we played a nice set, similar to the night before … started out quiet with “Promise I Can’t Keep” but then worked our way into the rockers. The crowd seemed to really enjoy it, particularly the folks sitting up front. Some people don’t like sit-down shows, and I can see how it could be a bit nerve-wracking, but I tend to really enjoy it. To me, it makes the show seem like less a performance and more like a conversation. I’ve actually come to enjoy making eye contact with the audience, feeling like there’s a connection and they’re actually into what I’m doing. Dare I say it … I think I’m actually starting to like performing! Don’t get me wrong, I love playing music, but I’ve always preferred the songwriting process to playing in front of people. I still do, but this little three-day tour definitely made me feel more confident about the playing out part.
After our set, we once again got to enjoy the music of Anna Bullard. Anna sounded amazing on that stage, and even though she had mentioned that she tends to get a little nervous when playing there, you sure couldn’t tell. She’s a very charming performer with an awesome voice and really endearing songs, and I look forward to hearing her debut CD which should be out soon on Pox.
After the show we headed over to Anna’s for a pajama party with of late-night grub, singalongs, and stuffed animals. At the end of the night two things were clear: I need to keep a better hold of my panties, and Anna Bullard is my long-lost little sister. Such good times! (Note: the pantie reference is another PG story that really is not worth the space here, but trust that I did keep it clean folks. I’s a married woman!)
10 AM came all too quickly, and it was time to say goodbye to my home state and our fabulous new friends. Our first little tour went far better than I would have even hoped. I missed my own bed, my pets, and my husband, but was inspired and rejuvenated from having spent so much time with such wonderful folks. I’m incredibly humbled when I think about how fortunate I am to be able to play music in front of anyone at all. When it’s in front of great people at great venues, I feel like I should pinch myself. Thanks NC, we’ll be back!
