The Gig

As excited (and nervous) and I was about it, I totally forgot to write about the gig in Topeka! (See "Finally Gigging It Up".)

It had been at least 4 years since I stepped on a stage to perform in front of people. Probably about 6 years by myself as I usually had a band behind me. But overall, once the rustiness wore off, as well as being able to look out and see my friends in front of me with the mixture of bar goers, I think it went pretty well.

The start was the worst. I got there super early and ended up being set up and ready to go 20 minutes before my scheduled to start time. I got all tuned up and let the anxiousness burrow into me. When I finally sat down, I checked my tuning on my shiny new tuner and I just started to play the first song in my 40 minute set list.

It felt wrong from the get go and I didn't start singing like I was supposed to but I kept playing. When I picked up the vocal the next time around the riff, it felt very weird. It was then that I realized I was in the wrong tuning. I play in E flat and Dropped D flat. I was supposed to be in D yet I was in E. I had no choice but to stop and do one of the most embarrassing things you can do on stage. Admit that you messed up, re-tune, and start over. 

One thing that's nice being a musician and writing your own tunes is that most people can't tell when you mess something up. You're the musician, you can play your own song, or even a cover for that matter, however you want. Back in the band days I would just keep going, forget about the mistake and it would usually just go unnoticed by the crowd. But in this situation, it was close to impossible to cover and I had to take the hit.

Setting aside the minor embarrassment, I started up again and the rest of the set went how I had practiced for the previous month. Aside from ending about 20 minutes early from my scheduled time, I was pretty satisfied with my performance. As always, it was just getting up there that was the mountain to climb, getting down was the smooth ride. I look forward to doing the whole thing again sooner than later, minus the tuning mishap of course, and maybe with someone else to jam with me. Hopefully I'll have a nice shiny new guitar to go with my nice shiny new tuner by then so I don't have to borrow.

Rock on!

3 Weeks And Counting!

It's officially 3 weeks (yesterday) to the big show. I think I'm getting a little more nervous with each passing day but that will happen when you haven't played a real show in about 4 years!

I finally busted out a set list, 10 songs, originals mixed with covers, that I can hopefully cram into 45 minutes. I don't think it will be a problem. Now it's just down to playing that set list over and over and over and over and over. That and I kind of have to finish a song that I've got in there as well. It's a song that I have tentatively called "U Can't/I Can". It's on the heavier side of the scale, as far acoustic music goes. The song is more or less the basis of what I'm trying to do with my music these days. If I could just get a band together and fill this stuff out we'd be in business.

My current sound is also based around one of my older tunes called "Lost In The Fray". I'm definitely going to jam that one out on October 10th. After all these years the song has been around it's still one my favorite original tunes to play. Feel free to take a listen. I'm off to rehearse. Rock on!

Finally Gigging It Up

Thank you Reverbnation, because I now have a gig. A buddy of mine and I are going to be rockin' Joletta's in North Topeka on October 10th (10/10/10) for the Veteran's Aid Benefit.

It's been a while since I've played out. Not for lack of want, but mostly for the lack of motivation and put crudely, lack of balls. I used to enjoy playing out acoustic style by myself in college. There was never a shortage of open mics and music competitions to take part in. Before I was in a band, and even after I joined, that was my thang. Yeah, it was super nerve racking. It was hard getting up there in front of the varying size crowds that I used to play, but once I was up there it was like being in another world and all that mattered was playing and singing.

It would be nice to get back in the swing of the way it was back in those days. It's weird saying it like that, like it was a long time ago, but 5 years is a long time in the grand scheme of  things. So many things have changed since then; my job, new friends, living in a place 1500 miles away from home. But one thing has most definitely stayed the same; my passion to play music. It will be good to share again. I just hope I'm up for the challenge.

And it will be good to have someone beside me to jam just to take the edge off.

Rock on!

Yet Another Show and No Guitar?

We hit another live show last weekend. Hell, that's all I seem to write about these days. But to be honest, hitting shows is the only interesting thing I seem to have going on right now. Besides a trio of Red Sox games I plan on catching in Kansas City in early April, the only other thing I have to be excited about in the very near future is another show which I paid a pretty penny for. But we'll talk about that one later.

Last weekend, KJ and I caught the VD Party (Valentine's Day Party, get your mind of the gutter) in DT Kansas City. The motivation for this show wasn't so much for the bands playing but the price. It was absolutely free, well, minus the gas money and the parking garage....and the meal we ended up having at Chipotle which was scrumptious. (Yay, tacos.) But anyway, the show itself was free and you really can't pass that up.

The headliner was OK Go, a band I've never really listened to. Going in, I thought I only knew one song, turns out I know two. The band I was looking forward to seeing was Company of Thieves who we caught at the free Halloween show with Our Lady Peace. (Refer to Slutterfly, Slumblebee, Slirate, and Our Lady Peace.) It was quite a bit different not seeing them in their Wizard of Oz get ups but they put on another great show and busted out a few new tunes.

The band I was really impressed with was called Crash Kings. I'd never heard them and had no idea what to expect. When they first came on and I saw they were a three piece I was a little skeptical. From my experience it seems that a lot of three piece bands, especially up and coming bands, sound too hollow and incomplete without those layers that I so crave. My skepticism went up a couple of notches when I noticed there was no guitar player, just keyboards.

But they proved not to need one. Hell, half the songs sounded as if there was one, or two. With the crunching bass, drums, one hand rocking the rhythm on one keyboard, and the other hand rocking the solo (The thing even had a giant whammy bar! I know it's nothing new for a keyboard to sound like another instrument, but damn, it was still pretty cool to watch.) they filled out really well and were actually pretty heavy sounding in some places. The recorded versions, not so much, but I recommend checking them out anyway.

Maybe I'll go play some guitar now that I have the place to myself for a little while longer. I'll probably just end up falling asleep on the couch with the Olympics on. Not so rockin', but it's been a long week.

Rock on!

Ending The Year With A Bang...Not So Much

The fact that I'm just now writing this post about my New Year's Eve says quite a bit. This new year was supposed to be different, not the same 'ol hum-drum, sitting in front of the tv to watch the ball drop and pretending that I enjoy drinking a few. (Which I really don't.)

I mentioned in my post, "The New Year's Eve Let Down", back in November how ringing in the New Year is never what it's cracked up to be. Though the transition from '09 to 0-Ten (definitely doesn't sound right when you say it out loud) wasn't the same kind of let down, I'm thinking I hyped up this year's celebration a little too much in my head.

KJ and I headed to downtown Kansas City to catch a rock show put on by 98.9 The Rock featuring local band Red Line Chemistry, Cavo, and Rev Theory. Overall, the show was decent, Rev Theory was definitely the highlight, with Cavo almost putting me to sleep and Red Line Chemistry being pretty impressive. No offense to Cavo, they have some great tunes, but they followed the local opener who came out ripping as a 5-piece group (2 guitars, bass, drums and lead vocal), as a 4-piece (only 1 guitar) which was a major step down the intensity meter.

Compounded with a long, short week at work, it being way past my normal bed time (I'm usually in bed by 10:00 at the latest), many more drunk people in comparison to other shows, and the countdown being a little bit of a dud (you need to work on that for next year 98.9) I was most definitely ready to hit the door once Rev Theory finished their set.

So as for ringing in 2010, the new decade, this show was a major step up from most other countdown nights of my adult life, but I feel that it could have been a little better, even with my insane expectations.

What's the moral here kiddies? I enjoyed myself and that's all that really mattered. I have to quit with all the hype and enjoy things for what they are from now on, I think that will make all the difference. Rock on to 2010!

Oh, and the hell with resolutions! Let's just write some tunes and leave it at that.

Let me know how your New Year's Eve went!

It's Definitely A "Twisted Christmas"

It's going to be another weird Christmas this year. Since KJ and I can't make it home once again, we're trying to make the best of it and thankfully the live rock shows have been plentiful to compensate. Our Christmas season got a little "twisted" last night as we caught 98.9 The Rock's Twisted Christmas show at the Midland Theater in Downtown Kansas City. The show featured Adelitas Way, Sick Puppies, Papa Roach and Breaking Benjamin.

This was the second time in a few months that we got a chance to catch Sick Puppies live. We first saw them back in September here in Lawrence (see "Hard Rock, Sore Throats, Hot Bass Players and Getting Old"). I missed Emma. It was nice to see her rocking the bass once again. This was also Breaking Benjamin show number 5 for us. And honestly, I would see them again...and again. Ben (the lead singer) was a little under the weather but they still put on a good show and even rocked out a great version of Dream On by Aerosmith.

As for Adelitas Way and Papa Roach, this was the first time we'd seen either. Adelitas Way was decent, they brought some energy and some good tunes. But Papa Roach was nothing short of amazing. I like their music and although I've never been a huge fan, they most definitely know how to bring the rock. Jacoby, the front man, was all over the place, dripping sweat from song one and all while sporting a giant smile on his face. It's so much easier to get into the music when you can see the band enjoys what they are doing.

Aside from the music it was one of the most interesting shows I've ever been to and that might mean that I need to be in the pit a little more often. We saw at least 3 sets of women making out (I think there was one girl that was the common link to all 3 sessions), two sets of naked breasts (on a couple of different occasions, one occasion that won our side of the floor a little contest), and at least 3 fights, all of which my bad ass girlfriend broke up. This show was truly what a rock show is about.

It's nice to think that in about 3 weeks we'll be heading back to the same place to catch Cavo and Rev Theory for The Rock's New Year's Eve party. It'll be a huge change of pace to be counting down the new year like we've seen on tv all these years. It will no doubt be a great experience and an even better reason to rock out like we love to do.

By the way, sorry for the crappy cell phone pics of the show (Not that the pics on here are ever stellar anyway). It was hard whipping out the camera in the surging crowd and though we were close, it was necessary to use the zoom on my cell phone camera, making the pics a little grainy. But with me being a bit of a cell phone photog wannabee, I couldn't help myself.

Rock on!

The New Year's Eve Let Down

I think it's a common happening that New Year's Eve is a severe let down. There's high hopes that it's going to be a spectacular night, an insane celebration of the year passed and the year to come. But plans always seem to fall through or expectations are never met. It ends in wasted money, lame parties or like my normal New Year's Eve night, sitting at home for a forgettable night of struggling to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop in Times Square.

I know it's a little early to be thinking about New Year's Eve, it's only the day before Thanksgiving, but I can't help but be excited for this year's festivities. For the first time in my adult life, I actually have plans to do something that barring an unseen catastrophe are going to blow away every other New Year and no doubt make 2010 actually memorable. (Especially compared to last year when I "celebrated" my first Central Time Zone New Year, super lame.)

This year I snagged tickets to see a show headlined by Rev Theory (who I got to catch acoustic-like back in August in my Music Weekend To Remember.) in Kansas City. They will be joined by Cavo and a local band Red Line Chemistry. The local radio station that's putting the show on is talking up the show pretty hardcore and I didn't want to take a chance of missing out so I ordered the tickets today, the second I got home from work.

I'm literally ending this year with a bang. I promised myself that I would start going to more shows and there hasn't been a shortage in the last 3 months. I caught Sick Puppies in September, Our Lady Peace in October, Chevelle and Halestorm in November, and in December Breaking Benjamin, Sick Puppies and Papa Roach as well as the Rev Theory show. This crazy goal of mine definitely isn't cheap but what's the point of working to make money if there's no time to use that money for some play. Work hard, play harder. My motto.

When it comes to the New Year 2010 I've had enough with trying to be cool, drinking my lemonade and vodka, playing Wii and falling asleep at 11:45. Here's to a memorable New Year rocking out, even if it is a bit of a wait.

Halestorm and My Ongoing Obession

I've mentioned before about how I can't help but dig women lead singers of rock bands. Bands like Flyleaf, Guano Apes, Paramore, and more recently Halestorm have been lighting up my iTunes playlists and blasting out of my car stereo. There's just something about those upbeat, raspy, intense, vocals that sends my music craving mind mad.

I had a chance to feed my obesession live and in person last night at the Uptown Theater in KCMO. (Kansas City, Missouri for those of you not up on the midwestern lingo.) Chevelle headlined a show featuring Halestorm, which as I mentioned, has one rockin' chick as the lead singer slash rhythm guitarist. Sporting the full body, striped, spandex body suit and flexing those amazing (amazingly hot, that is) golden pipes, Lizzy Hale truly rocked my world and was definitely the highlight of the show for me. And not only do I dig her slamming rock vocals because she's a woman, but I am just truly jealous of the power that those vocal chords blasted out at us. Me want some of those.

I can't come close to explaining how amazing her voice is so I included the video below of the band performing acoustically on the Johnny Dare Morning Show live on the radio here in Kansas City. I've had the song, It's Not You, stuck in my head since they opened their show with it last night. It so happens it's their new single so it's obviously doing it's job as catchy radio tune.

Definitely check out the video and keep rockin'!

Slutterfly, Slumblebee, Slirate, and Our Lady Peace

I have to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. Sure, I love candy (and roasted pumpkin seeds, oh so good), but the stress of finding a costume and the idea of dressing up to begin with hasn't been my thing for a while. That and I never feel like I'm even close to creative as the other guy. I'm always one upped, or totally skanked out, which brings me to this Halloween.

Since I'm not much for Halloween, I never really get out and do anything. I'm the kind to chill and watch a couple of scary movies. A little boring, I know, but that's how I roll. This year was a little different as my favorite band, Our Lady Peace, was playing a free show in downtown Kansas City. They played a covered outdoor stage at a place called the Power & Light District. I'd heard some mixed reviews about the venue but overall it was pretty sweet with it's restaurants, clubs, giant courtyard, heat lamps mounted to the ceiling, and the jumbo big screen television tuned to a college football game.

Being the kind of boring guy I am I showed up sans costume which I can't say about a good chunk of the people there. Even the opening band, Company of Thieves, was dressed in full Wizard of Oz gear. There were some pretty inventive costumes (Jesus hanging out with the Pope and the Devil to name a few.) There were also quite a few of unoriginal costumes that made me feel good about not wearing one. (Come on guys, you're only supposed to find Waldo once, not 6 times.) But the ones that are always stand outs are the young ladies who find Halloween as an occasion to skank-it-up. These are the ladies that I will never be able to compete with. I can't say I can complain, if they want to dress like that who am I to stop them (wink, wink), but it does baffle me a little thinking what some people will wear in public. The whole thing is a game for me, coming up with names for these wonderfully skanky costumes that seem to get racier every year.

Example #1: slutty + butterfly = slutterfly

There were a quite a few of those this year.

Example #2: slutty + bumblebee = slumblebee

I think I spotted a handful of those. Now, I think you get the point, see if you can figure out slirate.

Overall, the show was great. It was a cool atmosphere, especially with everyone dressed up. This was the third time I'd seen Our Lady Peace and it definitely won't be the last. I'm anxious for the next show I'm attending in December, a show I just spent a little too much money to be able to attend. But what's the point of having money if you don't spend it every once and a while and what's the point of being young if you don't get out, stay up late, and take advantage of it? There is none. So let's rock on!

Hard Rock, Sore Throats, Hot Bass Players and Getting Old

I'm only 26, but when did I get so "old"? It's like it happened with a flick of a switch, when I wasn't paying attention, just trying to pay the bills and keep myself happy. Last night, though it was a Thursday (wow, that makes me sound real lame), I braved the unknown nightlife of Kansas to try to regain a semblance of my youth by doing something as simple as staying up past 9:30 and seeing a real rock show, something that I haven't done in the longest time.

Last night was the big show I had been waiting for for months, Sick Puppies in downtown Lawrence playing with The Veer Union and headliner Hurt. My excitement was in the chance to see Sick Puppies, who I've been a fan of since their first album was released in 2006. With the show being right here in town and their new album "Tri-Polar", which I just had to go out and snatch the day it came out (see Those Are Some "Sick" Sick Puppies) blasting holes in my car stereo speakers, I felt this was my opportunity to strip myself of my old man status and act like the rocker of old days that was seeing rock show after rock show excited over every riff and lyric.

The show was at The Granada, an old school looking music venue on Massachusetts St. in downtown Lawrence. KJ and I showed up in time to see the opener, a local Kansas City band called Black Oxygen. They put on a decent 20 minute or so set and made way for The Veer Union, who is known for their single Seasons, which gets quite a bit of play on the local alternative rock stations around here. Their set was highlighted by a dangerous looking mohawk, a drum set set off to the side of the stage due to lack of space, and some kicking tunes. As enjoyable as they were, we stood back at watched from the back of the pit, taking it in and waiting for our chance to truly rock out.

Once The Veer Union finished, I set aside my walker, grabbed KJ and walked to the floor in front of the stage and rocked out like you're supposed to at a rock show as Sick Puppies commanded the room. The modest sized crowd surged around us as we were pushed forward to the very front with Shim (the lead guitarist and vocalist) hovering over us and bating us on to keep moving and making as much noise as we could. I sure as hell didn't hold back. I belted out every lyric that I could, which was most of them, and shouted my excitement like I did in my college days, rocking it out for Foo Fighters or Three Days Grace. (We saw some very good shows back in those days.)

Shim really owned it song after song and Mark truly held his own behind his kit, but there's really no way to sugar coat it, Emma, the bass player, was smoking hot. There is nothing much hotter than to see an attractive woman rocking out on a stage, ripping the hell out of her instrument and looking damn fine in the process. At some points it was hard taking my eyes away, seeing her so intense and into the music, head banging in her tall black boots and short skirt. Heck, even KJ admitted she would tap that. That's saying something when your girlfriend tells you that. It's sad that I didn't have the guts to go say hi and check out her hot Australian accent at the meet-and-greet after the set, but watching the show was a treat in itself.

Sadly, after Sick Puppies, our geriatric ways kicked back in after a couple of songs into Hurt's set. I'd never heard of them until this show and I didn't know any of their tunes. (I did really dig their tune "Ten Ton Brick".) Their music was heavy, intense and most definitely gut busting in the best of ways, but we were both exhausted and dreading the work day that was to follow.

I hate to admit I left early, at only 10:30 to boot, I'm usually the last one to want to leave early from a rock show, especially after paying good money to be there, but we'll take it one step at a time. Me protecting my lady from the moshers and screaming myself hoarse to the lyrics of Sick Puppies was more than a small step to my reintroduction to non-loser-dome.

Music Weekend To Remember

It's been a while since I've had Internet and it feels good. Better late than never I guess. We're finally settled into our new apartment, well, sort of. There's still boxes here and there and we don't have a home for a bunch of stuff but it'll get there.

We officially moved last weekend after being in limbo and living in three different places over the past couple of weeks. Of course, moving weekend not only happened to fall on one of the most scorching days of the summer, but also on one of the busiest and best music weekends I've had in quite a while.

I've mentioned before that going to more shows, along with doing more writing, is a top priority in my music world. Last weekend was a good kick in the butt. After a long day of moving, my girlfriend (KJ) and I, went to downtown Lawrence to check out one of the great places that makes up the music scene here in town, The Replay Lounge.

Also, as I've mentioned before just about everyone that I work with is in a band or was at some point and we finally got a chance to see one of those bands in action. Two of my co workers make up half of a band called The Gleaners. After quite a long wait (we got there a bit too early for an 11:00 show.), the show rocked. The acoustics were better than I had expected for the little club that consisted of a bar and wall of pinball machines, you could hear every piece of the band like you should, and my ears weren't even ringing by the time the 40 minute show was done like they always used to back in my band's days. I look forward to hitting some more shows down there soon, and hopefully getting to see The Gleaners again at some point too. Check them out at their Myspace, it's good stuff.

To top off the weekend, the following afternoon, KJ and I drove to Kansas City, Kansas to visit the brand spanking new Best Buy and watch a small acoustic performance by the band Rev Theory. They are currently on tour as part of the second stage with Motley Crue and Crue Fest, but since the Sprint Center in KCMO isn't big enough or have the capability for that stage, they set up an intimate acoustic show to compensate.

They set up in front of the Musical Intsruments department, something I didn't realize that Best Buy was in to. The whole section looked pretty intense with the guitars hung to the ceiling and it made a good back drop for the short show. After wading through the Monster Energy drink girls (short shorts anyone?), the crowd of about 100 or so ended up on the floor as Rev Theory rocked out 5 acoustic versions of their hit songs which included Hell Yeah, Light It Up, Wanted Man, Far From Over, and their next single to be, Broken Bones.

From our view point with our backs against $30 Blue-Ray copies of Trading Places starring Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy, it was definitely worth the trek, exhausted from the late night and the hectic moving in. We were tempted to stay for the autograph session and the signed guitar raffle, but the line was pretty daunting and we didn't have the patience or the energy. (Even with an endless supply of energy drinks in the place.) Instead I gave one last glance toward the Monster Energy girls (how could I not, come on) and drove home to the mess that is our new apartment, even a week later.

But it's good to have a new home, it's good to have the Internet, and I can't wait to get to a good comfort level where I feel like I can play my guitar without bugging the neighbors. (I always have that feeling when I move in to a new place where I don't feel 100% comfortable playing, it just takes some time getting used to.)

I've been thinking more and more about getting with someone to do some jamming on the acoustic guitars, it would be good to get a new pair of ears on the songs I've been milking for the past 2 years. With more music weekends like I just had I'll definitely be feeling the motivation!

Rock on!

Live Shows, I Dropped The Ball On This One

After my visit to Kansas City to see Bela Fleck a couple of weeks ago, I really started to think about how much I miss going to shows. (It was a great story. If you missed it check it out here.) I also thought about how it would be give me a good chance to share my experiences, pictures and all.

Bela Fleck and the African Project was a good chance to expand my musical horizons a little a bit, get a little cultured, and truly get a different perspective on music. (It's easy to get in a "rut" by always listening to the same music and not giving those other genres a chance.) Back in college and the couple years after I used to hit up a lot of shows, not only because I was in a band, but because it was so fun and intense to catch my favorite bands in a live show. I'd really like to get back in the habit of seeing shows consistently, and I can't help but want to hit up the hard rocking shows that I'm used to.

Though I really don't want to spend the money, I've been consistently searching for shows in the area so I can start to get my rock on once again. Being only about an hour away from KCMO, the odds of finding big shows is definitely up. Also, living in a great music town like Lawrence gives me the good chance to hit up local bands on a nightly basis. My search usually starts at Jambase.com, which is a great concert directory for any area you're looking to see a show.

A couple of weeks ago, even without the help of sites like Jambase.com, I learned about an amazing show put on 98.9 The Rock in Kansas City. It's an annaul festival called Rock Fest that we heard about last year but just missed as we moved out after it took place. I thought this was going to be the show to get me out of my drought.

The festival is ginormous. We're talking about close to 20 bands including Korn, Buckcherry, Shinedown, Theory of a Deadman, Saving Abel, Rev Theory and Drowning Pool. We're talking two stages set in the middle of Kansas City. We're talking all day, rockin' hard with 50,000 people around you. I've never even imagined being part of a crowd this big and a show this hardcore but this year was going to be the year. Pre-sale tickets were only $20 a piece, we'd snag them before they sold out, and we'd be heading to KCMO on May 30th.

Or so I thought.

When it came down to actually getting the tickets I kind of procrastinated. As excited as I was about the show, it was still hard justifying the $40, $40 that I really don't have. (Don't forget, jobless dude here.) So I waited. The first day of pre-sale passed, the second day passed, and by the third day the need to buy immediately passed my mind until about 20 minutes after it was too late.

The price more of less doubled (I definitely couldn't justify it then, not matter how bad I wanted to go) and as of right now, all 50,00 tickets are sold out. I totally dropped the ball on this one and I know I'm going to be kicking myself all summer. Maybe I got the punishment I deserved with this ridiculous sinus infection that's had me in bed for the past 3 days.

Needless to say I'm going to be getting right on the next tickets that I want to purchase if I want to get this live show trend on a roll. Either that or I'm getting started slowly by hitting up some local bands and testing the local scene's waters. I like supporting local artists because I know from experience how hard it is to get those people in front of you.

Eh, for now, back to bed. It's Sunday, and I'm alone all day. I'm feeling ok about that.

Bela Fleck and the Africa Project in KCMO

I was worried that today's story about the show in KCMO (Kansas City, Missouri for those unaware) would end up "running out of gas" like yesterday's story about the KU women's basketball game. Boy, was I wrong. In fact, I'm not sure how I thought that this trip would let down, especially with the outcome.

Last night I went to the famous Uptown Theater in KCMO with a couple of friends to see Bela Fleck and the African Project. If you aren't familiar with Bela Fleck, he is a 11-time Grammy winning artist that is considered one of the premier banjo players in the world. He has gained extensive notiriety with his group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and has performed all around the world showcasing a style of banjo playing that makes you see the instrument in a brand new light. (belafleck.com)

Minus his Flecktones, this show showcased collaborations with a group of mostly African performers whose instrumental talents ranged from acoustic guitar and kalimba to a harp called a kora and a tin can full of broken glass attached to a stick. The modest sized crowd was even treated to a taste of incredible bluegrass fiddle playing which blended almost seamlessly with the African vibe despite some technical difficulties with the mics. The speed, accuracy and passion that these performers displayed left my mind blown at the talent that these musicians hold.

Each performer brought their own cultural and personal touches to the mix as they performed individually or in duets while also collaborating with Bela on his banjo. The end of the night culminated in a 2 song, stage crowding finale that brought the whole night together into a rhythmic chorus of strings, percussion and vocals that filled the room, kept your foot tapping and forced a smile upon your face.

Though this music isn't usually what's adorning my music playlists, the night was a true cultural awakening and a major eye opener to the musical possibilities that surround us. A show like this gives you a great appreciation for music as an art form that goes way beyond radio singles, charts, and popularity contests. I highly recommend dropping your pop music expectations and checking out Bela Fleck in any of his collaborative incarnations. Our tickets were free from a friend, but I would have paid good money to gain this great experience.

And though the music truly showcased the night, the story does nothing but get better. The doors opened at 7:00pm and since we were about 40 minutes early, we decided to hit up a bar that was across the street. The minute we walked into the bar, a sports bar no less, we had a weird vibe, but not being familiar with the area we brushed it off. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes to realize something was up as one of us noticed a pair of golden testicles hanging from the ceiling. This is where we pieced things together.

With the fear of being stereotypical here, things started to become obvious. The bar was full of men, not odd for a sports bar, but these men were pretty friendly with each other, namely the pair behind the bar serving drinks. Along with the cherry in my friend's drinks and the poster of a shirtless David Beckham behind the pool table, it was rather obvious that we had stumbled into a gay bar.

A quick cell phone internet search proved our theories. After the drinks were finished we leisurely walked out of the place with what seemed like a hundred pairs of eyes on us, although that was probably in my head. But the story doesn't end there.

We turned the corner and walked toward the theater only to be accosted by what I assumed to be a homeless man who spun us a story about how he had just been released from prison after a 25 year jail sentence and he needed any contributions we could muster so that he could buy a pair of boots for $7.50 at the Salvation Army for a construction job he had lined up for the next day. My friends handed over some leftover change from our gay bar experience to help the man out. Can't say I believed the whole story but the guy had a firm handshake going for him.

Overall, it was a very exciting night. Sorry for the novel, just had to get this out, I couldn't make this stuff up!