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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