chuckography

Tin Roof musical treats..

An unplanned evening often is the best kind.

My buddy came by and we decided to go eat at Yo Bo Cantina in Park Circle.

It is well known for its big, fat, and tasty burritos and its large Mason jars of MargaRitas. During happy hour, they are extra reasonable and not too bad the rest of the night.

I sipped an IPA beer and noshed on the chips and guacamole platter as my buddy worked his way through a veggie Burrito-in-a-bowl.

Burp.

Then he remembered there was a 2-act show at the Tin Roof, so we headed there, arriving just as the first act -local Lily Slay - finished her sound check.

Naturally, I snapped a few photos with my cell phone.
As stated, this was not a planned event so my camera had stayed at home.

I have enjoyed comic and singer Lily Slay several times before when she teamed up with Mackie Boles and they perform as the Royal Tinfoil.

Tonight Lily was solo and opening for her friend Lara Hope, down from New York and ending a grueling regional tour with 3 weeks to go.

By herself - well, with a drummer backing her - I was thinking back to when I had met Mama Cass Elliott on a set at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.

Miss Elliott was starring in a film on the lot and I was a publicist at the time.

Tonight was a mix of comedy and song and I laughed while sipping a beer when she sang an original love song about a wish to make love with a friend's father. A strange May/December relationship if there ever was one

Lara Hope, the headliner, and her 3-piece band took the stage.

She was a whirling figure, in her black cowboy hat, her dress and even her boots were fringed.

Yes, the boots were black and fringed. A cowgirl from the Bronx!

Both ladies had fans who showed their support, loudly singing along, dancing and clapping.

I had worn a t-shirt that said MARINES and a fellow seated next to me at the bar, asked if I were a Marine? He had been one too and offered to buy me and my buddy a beer.

I accepted and added that I was probably more "Old Corps" than he.

We swapped dates we had served and I had him beat by at least 20 years. Both of us had served only a four-year hitch.

As we drank our beers, I noted he was sipping a $2 PBR while we were enjoying a $7 IPA.

I quietly asked Johnny the bartender to not only let me pay for the next Pabst Blue Ribbon for my new former Marine friend but also a meal if he happened to order food.

I wanted to close that gap between what he paid and my effort in returning the favor.

Glancing at the "merch table" for Lara Hope, I saw a posted lyric that I found amusing.

Wouldn't you know it, that was part of the song she sang at the close of her performance.

I hope she and her group safely finished their long, extended tour on the road.

It reminded me that they were "down South" while her hometown suffered through a third Nor'Easter in less than 10 days of blizzard conditions and flooding.

Kind of a good time to "be on the road again."

(Click on the photos and links for more details.) 

Thanks for hanging out with me for some cold suds and music.

Labels: $7 IPAs., Bartender Johnny Puke, Former Marine Travis Schultz for Custom Stonework, Lara Hope and the Ark-Tones, Lily Slay, PBR, Tin Roof

posted by chuckography @ 9:36 AM 0 Comments

"Life Imitates Art..." Oscar Wilde

So, I was reading the paper a few days ago and thought B.C. was funny.

Even funnier when I walked out front to see what all the noise was about.

Yikes. My neighbor was having her roof done. Yes...a metal roof.

I remembered the Oscar Wilde quote right away. "Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life," Wilde had stated.

Apparently they had just positioned the first sheet on the roof at the front of her house

I had a front row seat to watch the Roof Doctor crew from Ladson.

In keeping with the black & white nature of the cartoon, I converted this picture to just two colors.

The neighbor explained her decision to re-roof with black metal panels. Huh? I had taken a few photos before I realized the material was black.

But I was already visualizing how these pictures would look in high contrast non-color.

When I first got into photography, black and white was the norm and color was not something you would try to develop at home.

I made a darkroom at home back in the 1950s when I was in high school.

Before that, I was a regular customer, dropping off rolls of film at Walgreens downtown.

Wait a week and come back for your prints.

When I graduated from Bishop England high school, I was working at Norvell's Camera Exchange on the corner of Calhoun and King.

We sent all the color processing to Kodak in Chamblee, Georgia but Harold Norvell had a B&W darkroom built upstairs in the Francis Marion Hotel.
OK, my neighborhood is actually in color.

Here's a view later in the day as the guys on the roof followed directions from the foreman on the ground.

Still can't tell the panels are creating a shiny black roof.

I went online to see if there was any link still existing for the Camera Exchange where I sold cameras and equipment in 1957.

I did find a recent article that mentions another Charleston photographer's experience with the store and Mr. Norvell.

Click the link and check it out. It's written by my friend Jason Zwicker.

(Click on the photos for more details.)

I hope I am crediting the B.C. cartoon properly.

Thanks for stopping by. Please come again.

The new roof really is black!

Labels: B.C. by Mastrianni & Hart, Eddie Toporek, Francis Marion Hotel, Harold Norvell, Jason Zwicker, Norvell's Camera Exchange, Roof Doctor of Ladson, Signature Photography, Tin Roof

posted by chuckography @ 7:33 PM 1 Comments

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

posted by chuckography @ 9:22 PM 0 Comments

"1920s Dangerous Jazz...

When I read about the type of music to be played, Tin Roof was where I wanted to be last night!

Oh yeah!

Ragtime. Blues. Mardi Gras. Saints Marchin' in. Yikes.

Add to that, members of the local Swing Dancers Club were there in force contributing to the merry musical mayhem.

Blair Crimmins & The Hookers filled almost the entire stage area.

The Atlanta-based group includes a 3-person horn section, stand-up bass and drums.

Crimmins played keys, a banjo, guitar, tambourine and cow bell.

Well, not all at the same time.


The many black lights can make you go ape as you look at the bright and shiny wall image and they cast an eerie glow on the bands and the crowd.

Nice touch for this funky - always entertaining - music venue in West Ashley.

Did I mention you also can expect gourmet hot dogs, unusual craft beers on tap and an endless supply of PBR?


Megan Jean & The KFB were playing when I arrived.

She announced that Crimmins & The Hookers had already played a short set and would be on again shortly.

Sounds like the role of "opener" was being flipped back and forth.

Worked fine with this music-crazed crowd.

I asked Megan about her blond hair and she laughed and said "Yeah, I changed it from black. I looked too much like someone else."

It was just that kind of night.


(Click on the pictures for more detail. Lighting here is tricky for a camera but it's always a fun setting. Thanks for tuning in. Come back often and tell your friends that I avidly support Live Music.)

Labels: 1920's Dangerous Jazz, black light, Blair Crimmins and The Hookers, Mardi Gras, Megan Jean and the FFB, Support Live Music, Tin Roof

posted by chucker @ 2:49 PM 2 Comments

A "Mixed Bag" of Music...

The band's former name was The Bill Murray Experience.

Now it's "Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess."

She played at Tin Roof last Tuesday night and I was pleasantly surprised by the unplugged acoustic effort.

"You people in the back might want to come in closer," Jessy advised. "We're not amplified tonight."

The guitar was sometimes covered over by the clarinet and/or the banjo as Mario Maggio switched back and forth, but she was belting out a gravel-throated Bessie Smith 1930s sound like crazy.


























Just a few weeks ago, I was at the Performing Arts Center enjoying Lyle Lovett and his "Large Band."

Charleston is on a Happy Holidays musical hot streak right now!

We're being treated to national and regional entertainers and on December 15, local jazz artist Ann Caldwell presents her "Acoustic Porch" monthly arts jam session near Park Circle.

Keep your eyes and ears tuned. It's Santa's bag of goodies.

(Click on pictures for more detail. Photoshop was used to enhance the background at Tin Roof. Can you tell? Thanks for checking my blog.)

Labels: Ann Caldwell, Jessy Carolina and The Hot Mess, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, South of Broadway Theatre, The Acoustic Porch, The Bill Murray Experience, Tin Roof

posted by chucker @ 6:53 PM 0 Comments

Syncopated Musical Madness...

I just scared my cat by humming on my Kazoo. I had received one FREE last night at The Tin Roof.

The 1920-ish Two Man Gentlemen Band
had come down from New York City and handed them out. They wanted the crowd to join in. We sure did! And there were dancers too.

Bassist Fuller Condon played backup Kazoo to Andy Bean's lead Kazoo and banjo. Hey, introducing the band didn't take long.

"You name an activity you like and we'll compose a song for it," announced lead singer Andy Bean. They had us laughing and singing along with songs about badminton, croquet and even drip drying after a shower.

There were double - and triple - entrendres galore and enough innuendos to shock everyone. It was great.
And, best news of all, they are coming back to Tin Roof on Tuesday January 27 so you can go and enjoy their talented antics.

Be sure to pick up a Kazoo. Your cat will thank you.

Labels: banjo, bassist, kazoo, Tin Roof, Two Man Gentlemen Band

posted by chucker @ 2:04 PM 0 Comments

The PHOTO in Photography....

Just as I blog to be a "blogger" I take pictures to fulfill that part of my online identity.

When I go to a Blogger Meetup, I usually do both.

Even though sunlight streamed in and the small stage was empty, I'm glad I went to Home Team Bar-B-Q to see how it looked daytime as opposed to 10:30 at night when live music is playing.

I had some sweet pulled pork and met the Bike Taxi Guy.

Surprisingly, he arrived on his conventional two-wheeler and Heather introduced him all around.



That weekend I was just down the street at Tin Roof to enjoy Miss Tess & The Bon Ton Parade.

I had seen her before at the late Map Room and remembered this lady from Boston was very talented and put on a high-energy show. She said they had played in Savannah the night before so they were riding a southeastern-style circuit.

Speaking of photos, hopefully to the right is a link to my recent vacation shots.

I created an album each on London, Amsterdam and Bruges, Belgium. I have a lot to learn about setting a link.

If it's still there, click and check it out. (If it's NOT visible, click on one of the labels listed below. I don't know why it comes and goes?!)

Labels: Bike Taxi, Blogger Meetup, circuit, Heather, links, Map Room, Miss Tess and The Bon Tons, pulled pork, Savannah, Southeastern, Tin Roof, two-wheeler

posted by chucker @ 12:35 PM 2 Comments