NASCAR, the Irish and John Mellencamp...
Crossing the street from Lowe's, I saw that Home Depot has fashioned a shopping cart to resemble a racing car.
Both stores have championship drivers in the NASCAR Sprint series, but so far, I have NOT seen a Jimmy Johnson racing cart.
This lap goes to HD.
These stores tend to open across from each other which makes it easy for a comparison shopper like myself to browse both, looking for the best deal.
Online of course is the way many shop these days - me included - but I like roaming around in a true brick and mortar store.
Often I walk out with items I didn't even know were
Must Have things.
My fluorescent tube lights in my shop now have been replaced with strips of LEDs.
They are brighter, use less electricity and the label says they last 22 years. Yikes.
Walking around downtown after attending an event at the Circular Church on Meeting Street, I headed over to the Mills House with a few friends for a drink and a snack.
Oh, did I mention it was March 17,
St. Paddy's Day?
The colorfully-lighted Hibernian Hall was a vivid reminder with its brilliant green lights.
(Wonder if they've switched over to LEDs?)
That was a pleasant visual surprise and, as we sat on the Mills House patio, we were serenaded by the deep full male voices next door, singing familiar
Irish diddies.
They sure knew a lot of therm!
We chose not to sing along but waved a thank you later as the men streamed past us to join their patient wives who had sat out the male songfest.
And, speaking of singing. this was the third time I had seen
John Mellencamp perform.
He's still got it! Oh yeah.
He explained to the crowd at the PAC (North Charleston Performing Arts Center) that we would hear old songs and new songs.
Songs we knew all the lyrics to so sing along.
And there would be some old songs that he had re-arranged so they would be familiar ...yet new.
An acoustic
Jack & Diane for example.
I followed all of that and he did as promised, backed by a tight band that always knew what was coming next.
He brought back his opener -
Carlene Carter - to sing along with him.
This was a salute to the
Royalty of Country music, the Carter Family.
Her mom is June Carter Cash, her step-daddy was Johnny Cash and her grandmother the legendary Maybelle Carter.
Mellencamp stepped back to give her the spotlight.
Nice guitar backing!
Then he joined her for several duets.
The sound and lights were terrific.
That's a trademark of all of his shows I've seen.
He travels with very talented people and it's very obvious and delightful.
I remember the accordion player and the lady with the violin from previous performances.
Again, the lighting was superb all evening.
My calendar is filling up with shows the next several months, leading into Spoleto.
Charleston is fortunate to see bigger and bigger names passing through and stopping for our enjoyment.
I'm doing my part to help keep this trend going.
I support live music by buying a seat for the shows.
I also try to contribute to this growth with my event-oriented blogging.
The recent sell out at the PAC for
Santana speaks volumes to the talented performers as they plan their tour dates.
"Hey, let's take a look at Charleston, S.C."
(Click on the photos for more details.)
This was my first Mellencamp evening using my digital camera with a 20x zoom lens. There was a lot of dancing as we stood from our seats over and over.
I have the bruises to show from it.
Be sure to check out his newest (2014) studio album "
Plain Spoken."
He's Dylan-esque some critics opined.
I'll see Bob Dylan Friday April 17 at the PAC.
Support live music.
Labels: Carlene Carter, Dylan-esque, fluorescent vs LED, Hibernian Hall, Home Depot, Irish ditties, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Lowe's Jimmy Johnson, Maybelle Carter, Mills House, Plain Spoken 2014 album
Top Drawers Entertainment...
OK. Let's just start...toward the end.
Nathan Palmer is the lead singer for
Truckstop Preachers.
He led his band in an "open" manner last night at Tin Roof. Yes, his pants are down around his ankles.
Most of the set he was whipping his shirt on and off so the drop trou was a natural progression.
On my blog in the past, I have shown a
totally nude guy on stage, so this stopped just short of that extreme exposure.
Nathan had fun. We all did.
We were warned by the opening act
The Defilers that Nate was "sorta touchy-feely" with the audience. Arleigh Hertzler, lead singer for the opener, said they would stick around .... but at a safe distance.
The band is from Charlotte and were in town to play a wedding at Folly Beach today (Saturday).
Man, that must have been SOME beach party!
Nate sang Cash, Elvis and Buck Owens songs while holding up over-sized poster faces.
He explained the shirt he kept taking off and putting back on, was handmade by his 92-year old grandmother.
She died unexpectedly, he added.
Had not seen this group before so the antics may have been performance art rather than alcohol-induced.
Either way, the crowd seemed to enjoy his coming off stage and groping the fans.
A lot of booze and beer WAS being consumed so maybe the good feelings were shared.
Arleigh of the Defilers came back onstage for the final number together.
He was wearing his signature tattered straw hat and Nathan wore his ripped shirt.
Nate announced they had a good time and probably would just call in sick to the wedding.
I hope he was kidding.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
The
Tin Roof is a great spot for "different" types of music.
Every time I go there, I tell them they are terrific.
Check it out.
I got permission to pop in the back door onto the stage, crouch down and take a shot of the Defilers while they were performing.
That was cool.
Labels: Arleigh Hertzsler, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Nathan Palmer, Please click http://photo.meetup.com/687., The Defilers, Tin Roof, Truckstop Preachers
More Bar Room Portraits...
Speaking of
"Caddyshack" in the Park Circle community.
When I stopped in at The Sparrow a while back, this portrait of Karl Spackler (Bill Murray) was in progress.
Thought I'd see how it turned out.
If I were a gopher on a golf course in North Charleston, I'd watch my back.
Noted graffiti artist Doug Panzone finished off Murray and added a few more well-known faces to the walls of the new music venue and bar.
The star of
The Buddy Holly Story is
Gary Busey.
I remember the distinctive black-framed Holly glasses.
But I confess I don't remember him ever wearing a Viking helmet.
Maybe it's symbolic.
Doug spray paints good teeth.
I continued walking around the new club and spotted a few more "new" faces.
Naturally I had a draft craft beer as I sat down at the bar.
Did I mention this is a non-smoking establishment? I like my music without smoke when I can.
A person you seldom see hanging out with Bill Murray would be
Mohandas Gandhi.
Drop by The Sparrow and check it out.
Inspired by Gandhi, instead of arguing over sports trivia, I guess patrons would seek a peaceable solution.
And act in a non-violent fashion.
I think it was
Willie Nelson who commented "I like both kinds of music - Country and Western."
Johnny Cash has his fans and
George Harrison has his.
I like Cash and the Beatles.
And Willie Nelson.
And especially a non-smoking music scene.
I'll be back to The Sparrow.
(Click -twice- on the photos for more details of Doug's fantastic spray art).
Thanks for stopping by. Please come again.
Labels: Gandhi, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, The Sparrow, Willie Nelson
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