May 10, 2008
So I had made my donation last week and had my ticket/pass to the last night of the Songs for Kids concert at Smith’s Olde Bar. I had a family commitment, so I wasn’t able to get there until after 11. But since I had a guaranteed ticket, I figured I’d have no problem getting in. When I entered Smith’s I saw a line waiting to get upstairs to the venue, so I walked around them figuring I could show my ticket and go on up. As I’m passing the line of people waiting to go up, I hear someone yell out my name. It turns out it’s Patrick Lochridge, the piano player in Audrey Spillman‘s band that I had seen the week before. He saw that I had my ticket, so I told him I would see him when he got upstairs. With my ticket I got right in with no problem. They were into the final 20, so I grabbed a spot to catch the show. The night I got my ticket, they had announced that Ceelo (of Gnarls Barkley fame) would be singing the last song, “Hey Jude”. But before they reached the final 10, Ceelo jumped on stage to perform #77 on the countdown, his own hit “Crazy”. This was an unexpected treat. Other great performers were there. Levi Lowrey (who I had seen the night before at Eddie’s Attic) was there and performed Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Places”. A neighbor of mine, Masonic lodge brother of my Dad’s, and co-owner of my favorite Pizza place in Tucker (Enzo’s), Kenny Creswell was there playing drums. Kenny’s company provides a lot of the equipment for concerts, so I’m sure he provided most of what was on stage. I even caught where on one song, one of the volunteer drummers didn’t seem to know the song, so Kenny went over the top of him (and the guy ducked out) and Kenny finished the song. Peter Stroud (Atlanta guitarist who’s tours with Sheryl Crow and who I saw perform with Shawn Mullins at The Variety Playhouse) was pulled on stage to help play guitar for a lot of the rock ballads. Angie Aparo sang Don Mclean’s “American Pie”. Shawn Mullins performed John Lennon’s “Imagine”. Butch Walker performed Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian”. The final song, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, was sung by Angie Aparo, with Kenny Creswell on drums, Peter Stroud on guitar, Butch Walker on keyboard, The group Heavy Mojo , and Backing vocal by Kevin Spencer and the Songs for Kids staff.
Words can’t reveal how incredible this concert was. If you missed it you missed out.
Video’s I found on youtube:
Ceelo performs “Crazy”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJOhDCNd8uo
Closer clip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oeOsVXM0Yko
Angie Aparo performs Don Mclean’s “American Pie”.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GBasgGrt3oM
Kiss’ “Rock N Roll All Nite” performed by Tim Smith. Peter Stroud, Kevin Spencer, & Kenny Creswell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wov4s2rnkPo
Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” performed by Butch Walker, Kevin Spencer, Peter Stroud, Tim Smith, & Kenny Creswell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN18H-um1BE
The Beatles “Hey Jude”
Part 1:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-GE-uhgQxmQ
Part2:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y66k_ceR0RQ
Posted by Tom under Angie Aparo,Butch Walker,Ceelo,Levi Lowrey,Main Blog,Peter Stroud,Shawn Mullins,Smith's Olde Bar,Songs for Kids | Comments (0)
March 8, 2008
I received a notice through Myspace that Shawn Mullins was releasing his new CD in March. And he planned to have a release party/concert at Eddie’s Attic. Knowing how small the venue is, I knew that this was going to be a great show and a perfect opportunity to see Shawn. I knew with the lay-out Shawn would have to walk through the crowd to get on and off stage and that it would be a perfect opportunity to have him sign his new album. I contacted the friends that went to the Variety Playhouse show and found out approximately how many wanted to go. Tickets were going to be available online. So on the day and time they were for sale, I quickly got on and purchased a table with a few extra tickets. We didn’t have enough people for 2 tables and I figured we could work out who would sit at the table and switch off if needed.
When the day of the show arrived, we all met up in the side bar area before going into the concert room. They were selling the new Album, so we bought it before the concert. Shawn decided to make his album available on vinyl. If you bought the 2 record set, you also received the CD. I don’t have a record player anymore, but thought it would be cool to hear the songs on vinyl. Plus I know they now sell record players that have USB connections so that you can save them as MP3’s. They started letting people go in, so I went to see where our table was before the rest of the group. I must have been one of the first ones to order tickets because our table was real close to the stage. And we sat right next to the area where Shawn would go to get to the stage.
The concert was great. Shawn is such an amazing talent. He played several songs from the new album. Some we had heard from the Variety Playhouse concert in November. He played a few of his well known hits as well as some songs that had not been recorded. After his last song, he left the stage and walked off stage. Knowing there would be an encore; I didn’t try and get his autograph then. Cheers from the crowd, brought him back up on stage where he gave the audience what they wanted. As he walked off stage, I quickly got my sharpie and the album ready and had it ready for him as he walked by. He noticed me, stopped to sign his album and thanked us for buying it. What a great night of music.
Posted by Tom under Eddie's Attic,Main Blog,Shawn Mullins | Comments (0)
November 25, 2007
Had my friend Neida email me about a concert that Shawn Mullins was going to have on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Variety Playhouse and was wondering if anyone wanted to go. I have one of Shawn’s CD’s and have always been a fan of his music. I thought it was cool that he started out in Atlanta and was still living in the Decatur area. I had always meant to buy his other CD’s but had never gotten around to it.
Neida knows I’m a fan of acoustic artists and we’ve been trying for years to go see Edwin McCain in concert, but haven’t ever been able to go. Something had always conflicted with the night he was in concert. I had tickets once to see Edwin in Connecticut, when I lived up there, but it happened to fall on the weekend that my Dad was going to be in NJ for his High School Reunion. So I decided to drive down and see my Mom and Dad that weekend and ended up giving away my tickets to the concert. No one in my family ever came to visit me when I lived in Chicago, NJ or CT, so I thought it would give me an opportunity to at least show my parents were I once lived and worked when I was in NJ. Plus my dad being an only child and his parents dieing when I was young, he hasn’t ever told us much about growing up in NJ. I figured this would be a great opportunity to find some things out.
Anyway, I’ve strayed from the subject, which is my inclination to do.
So a group of us met up for dinner and headed over to the Variety Playhouse in Little 5 points to see Shawn. I’ve been to several concerts in Atlanta, but I had never been to the Variety Playhouse. The venue is different. It’s set up like a movie theatre but there are seats with tables on the sides, with normal theatre seats in the middle. Evan McHugh opened the show. When Shawn came out, it was just him, which seemed strange because there were instruments set-up all over the stage. He played a few songs by himself. Then he had an intermission. After a 15 minute break, he came out with his full band. The show was unbelievable. Shawn truly is the prolific singer/storyteller and was amazing alone and with his band. I can’t believe I only paid $20 for the concert. It was more than worth it. They were video taping the show, so hopefully it’ll show up on DVD and I can see it again.
Posted by Tom under L5P,Main Blog,Shawn Mullins,Variety Playhouse | Comments (0)