mystery date part 2

whooooo-eey! am i beat. but i am one lucky girl.

there are several reasons i never get to go to concerts even though there are always shows i'd love to see. reason #1 is that i'm old and they run late and are usually on school nights when i have to get up at 6:20 teh next morning. reason #2 is that all our babysitters have our same taste in music and are also going, or they themselves are the ones playing.

lucky me, my husband found out about a concert that i had heard NOTHING about, and planned it well so i could still get a little sleep.

we got in the car, unfortunately with not enough time for anything other than wendy's drive through, and headed to raleigh. he put in a cd, but for some reason it wouldn't play. he said, oh, well. we'll just have to go see them live instead. i looked at the cd case, and it was son volt. we discovered this band about 9 years ago, and they have a wonderful rock/country beat with vocals reminiscent of michael stipe.

so we headed to raleigh's disco rodeo... doesn't that sound like a place you'd like to go ALL the time? it was a large club with a balcony, but unfortunately they ONLY served beer in cans. corona somehow doesn't taste as good out of a can! we found a fantastic spot on the balcony at center stage and waited for the opening act, tift merritt. now i had only heard of her before, but i know she's a local girl who just got a grammy nomination for best country album. and i also heard she puts on quite a show.

the rumors were true, the music AND the show were fabulous. she's got a bluesy style and a bonnie raitt inspired vocal. she sang and danced her guts out until she was hoarse and out of breath. fantastic! now i have to buy some of her stuff on itunes.

son volt came on, and the guitar player for tift merritt filled in for them. he was incredible, how he could play such an energetic show, then go right on again with a band that wasn't even his and rock the house for another couple of hours. this band's show style matches its' music exactly-- very low-key and mellow. however, it was extraordinarily loud, and i had no ear plugs since i didn't know where we were headed! i plugged my ears with my fingers, and enjoyed the songs much more. i could have hung out all night listening to them croon! alas, the coach was going to turn back into a pumpkin, and cinderella had to leave the ball before she turned into an ogre. okay, i'm mixing my fairytales.

we left with a few songs to go on the playlist, but i really wanted a couple hours of sleep. and i got them! but this morning i feel like crap... like after any really good night... and i have a zillion things to do! cheers to the excellent husband who gets the good husband award for the day, week, and month. it was a great night out.