Live Music

Live music has been playing a more prominent role in my life recently. I have been catching live tunes in a variety of places. This week I went to Memphis on Thursday night with some friends to see the Black Keys, a blues-rock duo out of Akron, Ohio. They were awesome and rock hard. They are only two guys but their sound is huge. The show ended at about 12:30, but I live 2 hours from Memphis and had school in the morning. G… and I were exhausted. We took turns napping and driving, switching roles every thirty minutes to ensure our safe home.

Friday night I went to Poor Monkey’s, a dilapidated shack a few miles down a gravel road towards the middle of a cotton field. They have live music about four times a year otherwise their regular night is Thursday evening and I have been told they employ ‘full service strippers’. Lightning Malcolm and T-Model Ford were playing. There was no one there. The Delta was blanketed in exceedingly thick fog preventing people from heading out for entertainment. At the high point there were 8 people in attendance. By 11pm I was the last one in the establishment, and received a song played solely for me, which was awesome.

There is a regular circuit of musicians that play at the local venues. I have been developing a taste for the blues. It is cool to hear the same guys and get a feel for the different nuances in their music. New Year’s promises to be fantastic. Super Chikan is in town playing the Ground Zero blues club and he always rocks the house.