Last.fm Playlist: 4/27/08

Note: the tracks on the playlist are put on shuffle, and will almost certainly not be played in this order.

1. "Black Snake Moan", Blind Lemon Jefferson - What was I thinking when I left out Blind Lemon from my inaugural playlist. That oversight has now been corrected.


2. "Blue Balloon Girl", Blue Petal - They'll be opening up for Rahim Quazi at Club Dada for his CD release party. Speaking of CD's, you can find this track on the Ultraviolet compilation CD. Buy it. Now.


3. "The Boy The Story Wrote", The Chemistry Set - I saw Corey Helms play with Polyphonic Spree Thursday night, and watched Josh Hoover fill in on drums for Sunward Saturday night. Mr. Hoover also plays with Johnny Lloyd Rollins and Fate Lions. While I'm glad to see these guys from Chemistry Set still playing around town, there is still a void from the demise of this band.


4. "Gravitate", Chomsky - After a three year hiatus, the guys in Chomsky are back playing shows again. In fact, they will be playing this Saturday at the Granada Theater, which will certainly feel less cramped than the Double-Wide reunion show.


5. "2 Or 3 Chord Punk", Clay Pendergrass - Trivia fact: Clay was the first person to ever post a comment on this blog. He can be found spinning tunes at Club Dada Wednesay nights. Go harass him and tell him "The Ghost" sent you.


6. "Julianne", The Crash That Took Me - They'll be joining Chomsky this Saturday at the Granada Theater.


7. "Acrobat", Fishing For Comets - Not much happens in the North Dallas area in regards to the music scene. Fortunately, Fishing For Comets will be playing at the Cottonwood Arts Festival Saturday afternoon. No word on whether or not they'll play this track, yet another from the Ultraviolet compilation CD.


8. "Teenage Dope Fiend", Flickerstick - It's probably just as well that this playlist is randomized, because can you imagine following up Fishing For Comets with this song? It hurts my head just thinking about it.


9. "Parking Lot Nights", GhostHustler - I got into discussion about this band at the Quick Big Thing show. The person I was talking to said that he felt that GhostHustler was pretty much a Ghostland Observatory ripoff. Personally, I never understood the hype around Ghostland Observatory, while I feel that GhostHustler is a really good band for those looking for party music that sounds like the halfway point between The Human League and 90's techno. On a separate note, I wonder if these two artists are going to start a wave of sound-alike bands with "Ghost" in their names.


10. "Just Like Everyone", I Love Math - It took forever, but I Love Math finally released Getting to the Point is Beside It. That CD is not available on last.fm yet (hopefully that will change soon), so for now settle for this track from the debut album.


11. "Background", Macon Greyson - I have often said that Macon Greyson is the best country band in this town, and I'll keep saying it until everyone starts to agree with me. Take a listen to this song and let me know if it helps persuade you to see things my way.


12. "She'd Walk a Mile", Nourallah Brothers - I am so accustomed to hearing this song performed live by Salim that the version from the Nourallah Brothers CD is a little jarring to me. It's still good (obviously); it just may take a little time for me to get used to this version.


13. "Victoria (LP Version)", Old 97's - If I were to do a Top 5 list of Old 97's songs, this one would definitely make the cut.


14. "Who's That Girl?", PPT - Summer may be another month or two off, but I'm going out on a limb and calling this "one of the defining tracks of the summer of 2008." Come on, wave yo, wave yo, wave yo hands hands high. Don't stop.


15. "If I Had Known", Radiant - They'll be headlining the Granada show this Saturday.


16. "Last Second", RECORD HOP - Was it just me, or did this band steal the show Thursday night at the Palladium Ballroom? My only complaint with their set was that it seemed way too short.


17. "Taking Its Toll", Smile Smile - One last track here from the Ultraviolet compilation CD. Are you tired of hearing me talk about the CD yet? Then go out and buy a copy to get me to shut up.


18. "Bridges", Sorta - I've often told people that I feel Little Bay is the best album this decade, local or otherwise. Although it's hard for me to choose a favorite song off of the CD, "Bridges" just might be my personal favorite. Don't let the catchy melody fool you; the lyrics are as dark as the melody is light.


19. "Low", Telegraph Canyon - Last week, the band offered up free downloads of several tracks from All The Good News on MySpace. Did you miss out? Better luck next time. Guess you'll have to buy the album now.


20. "Blown Away", Tripping Daisy - This is the track that convinced me to buy Bill. I so regret never seeing this band live.

Places To Be That Are Not the Ultraviolet Benefit

First of all, if you choose one of these shows, PLEASE either donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, or better yet, purchase the Ultraviolet Compilation CD. All of the $15 for the cost of the CD go straight to that organization. There's some mighty good music on here from artists like Lovie, El Gato, Baboon, Tim DeLaughter, Fishing For Comets, THe BAcksliders, The Felons, and Somebody's Darling (whose track "Love That Leaves" is my new favorite song). That's just the abridged version of the CD lineup.

OK, now for the other shows happening tonight:

the cut*off, Airline, Binary Sunrise (The Moon)
This is a tough show for me to sacrifice. It's the CD release party for the cut*off's Packaged Up for Beginners, which I predict will make my top 10 CD's of the year list, along with Airline's Farewell Republica. I still haven't seen Binary Sunrise, but as I've said before, Steven Holt is in the band. That is a promising sign.
Salim Nourallah, Fishing For Comets (Opening Bell Coffee)
When a Salim & FFC show is your number 3 pick, that just shows how incredibly awesome the weekend is. By the way Salim, nice job covering "Act Naturally" with King Bucks at the Quick Big Thing.
Stella Rose, Goodwin, Nicholas Altobelli (The Cavern)
Nicholas Altobelli seems like an odd fit for the bill; it's sort of like having Iron & Wine open up for Queens of the Stone Age. Nevertheless, it is a solid bill in terms of talent, plus you can pick up a copy of Mr. Altobelli's EP, Streetcar Visions. Also, I'm glad to see Stella Rose doing a Dallas show, something that happens too rarely.

All That Is Ultraviolet

If you want to know what show is "the show" to go to tonight, look no further than the above flyer. Club Dada is hosting the Ultraviolet Showcase tonight. There is a $5 minimum donation to get in the door, and 100% of the proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is a cause particularly near and dear to the hearts of Kirk Dixon (El Gato) and Rebecca Dixon (Lovie), as their daughter Violet has Cystic Fibrosis (hence the name Ultraviolet).

This is a great night of not just music, but art. Many local artists, including Ange Fitzgerald, Erica Fellicella, Frank Campagna, Fred Holston, and over 15 others, have donated works of theirs for auction tonight. Again, all proceeds of the auction go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. And while you're there, go to Hal Samples' "Cash and Carry Booth" and have a photo taken to commemorate this fine evening.

Here is a schedule for the evening:

9:00-9:20pm - disconnected in '73 (outside stage)
9:25-9:45pm - Blue Petal (inside stage)
9:50-10:15pm - Lovie (outside stage)
(auctions end at 10pm)
10:20-10:50pm - Sunward (inside stage)
10:55-11:25pm - The Felons (outside stage)
(auctions end at 11pm)
11:30-12:00pm - El Gato (inside stage)
(auctions end at midnight)
12:05-12:35 - Bridges and Blinking Lights (outside stage)
12:35-1:15ish- Wonderfool (inside stage)

Finally, don't forget to get your own copy of the Ultraviolet compilation CD. It features tracks by all of tonight's performers, as well as as twelve other local acts and a live track by the not-so-local Sebadoh. I hope to see a lot of friendly faces out at Dada tonight.

3,000+ Words

I don't have time (again) for a proper write up, so here is the story in pictures:

This is where I'll be tonight.





















If you're in Grapevine, go to the Palace Theater to see Paul Slavens (pictured below).

















Finally, this show happening Saturday is REALLY, REALLY, important. Good music + good cause = near perfection.

Review: THe BAcksliders, You’re Welcome

Some people may know THe BAcksliders as last year’s Dallas Observer Music Awards winner in the Blues category. In spite of some blues influence in their songs, one would be hard pressed to call THe BAcksliders a true blues band. With the release of You’re Welcome, it would be near impossible to regard them as blues artists.

Now that it has been established what THe BAcksliders are not, let us know state what the band is. The answer to that is quite simple: THe BAcksliders are quite possibly the best, most straight forward rock band in this town. If you’re looking for alt-rock, post-modern-rock, post-psychedelic-screamo-soul-rock, or any other overly hyphenated forms of rock, then this CD isn’t for you. There are no clever gimmicks on You’re Welcome, unless if you count great songwriting and exceptional musicianship “gimmicks”.

The album is filled with plenty of rockin’ ear candy. Songs like “Typically I Don’t Mind”, “Fat Girls”, and “Wedding Day” feature straight forward melodies that will most likely stay stuck in your head for days, if not weeks or months, on end. The songs are only half the story on You’re Welcome. It helps to have a lead singer with a soulful, passionate voice like Kim Pendleton. Whether the song is raucous and energetic (“Fat Girls”) or slow and introspective (“Pass on All Your Fears”), she manages to capture the essence of the song through her voice. Chris Bonner’s skills on guitar manage to inject plenty of life into every song. Last, but certainly not least, Taylor Young’s handy work behind the drum kit show why he is one of Dallas’ greatest treasures on percussion.

So while the blues influence may be much harder to find on their latest effort, you’ll be thanking the band for making an even stronger follow up to their debut album. So follow my advice, buy You’re Welcome, and you’re welcome for the advice. Trust me, you’ll be thanking me later.

The Music I’ve Discovered Through “The Tara”

One of the most interesting aspects of my journeys in blogging is the number of fascinating people I have met. Many of these people I have discovered through the Ghost of Blind Lemon MySpace page. “The Tara” is one such person. She is one of the few people I know whose passion for the local music scene can even rival mine. We have spent hours upon hours talking about everything from the profound to the trivial, and of course, there has been much discussion about the local artists each of us likes. I have introduced her to a number of cool local bands, and she has returned the favor. Right now, I would like to shine a light on three artists that I might not have discovered had it not been for “The Tara”.

Kristina Morland – File that name in the back of your head, because I suspect that all of you will see a LOT more of that name around town. Her voice is similar in tone to Sarah Jaffe, and the songs I have heard so far are simply beautiful. I’m not the only fan of hers. In fact, I ran into Camille Cortinas a few weekends ago, and one of the first things she said to me was that she loved the Kristina Morland song that she heard on my MySpace page. Although I have not yet had the privilege of seeing Ms. Morland live yet, I cannot imagine the live experience being anything less than wonderful.

Darrin Kobetich – Mr. Kobetich is a member of both The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang and Blackland River Devils. Both bands are good bands, but I found his solo material to be more intriguing. This is a particularly impressive feat, considering that almost every song I have heard is all instrumental. Some songs sound like what Nick Drake would have sounded like if he had been born in Texas, while other tracks have a stronger Eastern and Indian influence. All of the music maintains a distinctly Texan sound that manages the impressive feat of staying interesting without vocals, and that is no small feat indeed.

jZ & Dirty Pool – The band rarely seems to venture out of Fort Worth. I would love to see that change in the near future. John Zaskoda (aka “jZ”) blends together blues rock with a slight Americana influence thrown in. The music works best, however, when the band cuts loose on more rocking numbers like “Going Crazy”.

My thanks again go out to “The Tara”, for being a friend and for introducing me to great new artists. And after all, isn’t that what friends are supposed to do for each other?

Me playing DJ... sort of

I have always wanted to have the ability to have my own radio show where I can shine a spotlight on the best music to come out the metroplex, whether it be current or older. Radio shows don't come easily, and major record labels and songwriting companies are making it cost prohibitive to create internet radio stations. Fortunately, I think I may have found a way to let the masses (okay, "masses" might be too strong of a word) hear music that gets my stamp of approval.

You see, last.fm allows you to create your own playlists of songs from their library. Admittedly, their library of local music is somewhat limited, but it's the best I can do for now. My hope is that as time goes by, more artists will upload their music on the site. If you do upload music on last.fm, please let me know either through my last.fm page or by email (found in my blogger profile). My understanding is that is free for artists to upload their own music. NOTE: DO NOT UPLOAD MUSIC UNLESS IF YOU ARE THE ARTIST OR THE RECORD LABEL OF THE ARTIST. Sorry, had to get the legal disclaimer stuff out of the way.

Each sunday, I will post a new playlist on the blog, and will feature a list of the tracks as well as some random commentary on each song.

1. "Big Scar", Blackheart Society - Their new CD, OH!! OH!!, was panned by the Observer. Haven't heard the entire thing, but thing song is pretty darn catchy. It features lead singer Ben Fleming doing his best Lou Reed impersonation.


2. "Move Along", Blue Petal - Don't miss this band Saturday at the Ultraviolet benefit at Club Dada.


3. "These Are the Dead Days", Calhoun - Until songs from the new Calhoun CD wind up on last.fm, you'll have to settle for this Calhoun classic.


4. "Adults We Know", the cut*off - Speaking of new CD's, the CD release for Packaged Up for Beginners is Saturday at The Moon in Fort Worth. The mere thought of the new CD causes me to salivate.


5. "Honey", Erykah Badu - Have you seen the video yet? Pure genius.


6. "Pent Up Brunette", Fury III - One of my faves from the Summer Break Records compilation Sunny Teriyaki Hamburger Breakfast. My one beef? What's up with the name of the band being part of the song title in the player? Looks like sloppy tagging to me.


7. "The Vice and Virtue Ministry", The Happy Bullets - Pure pop happiness. No further comments necessary.


8. "Target For Tonight", Johnny Lloyd Rollins - Have you checked out Johnny's blog yet? If not, shame on you! Correct that NOW!


9. "Carolina", Lifters - Is it just me, or is that one of the most delicious song intros you've heard in awhile?


10. "If I Only Had a Brain", MC 900 Ft. Jesus - This is a genuine classic right here.


11. "It Covers the Hillside", Midlake - This song kinda reminds me of Belle & Sebastian for some reason. Hey, that's a good thing in my book.


12. "Barrier Reef", Old 97's - I knew that my first playlist absolutely had to have an Old 97's song. Not having an Old 97's song would be pure sacrilege.


13. "Only a Mountain", Pleasant Grove - One of the joys of last.fm is that you can download certain tracks like this, free of charge. Of course, any self respecting local music fan owns The Art of Leaving, so what's the point?


14. "Lithium", The Polyphonic Spree - This cover works far better than one would think on paper.


15. "Giant Babies", Record Hop - Turn up your computer speakers to 11 for this track.


16. "Gettin' By", Rose County Fair - John Pedigo is greatness. That is all I have to say.


17. "So Down", Salim Nourallah - This one is dedicated to the memory of Anju. You will never be forgotten.


18. "Billy Prichard", Slobberbone - If there was a "How to Write a Song That Tells a Story" class, this track would be mandatory listening.


19. "Digging Deeper Holes for the Future", Sparrows - Just like I had to do an Old 97's song, I had to have a song on here featuring Carter Albrecht.


20. "Motivational", Toadies - Rubberneck brought Toadies mainstream success, but their follow up CD Hell Below/Stars Above is their true piece de resistance, and this track is but one reason I believe this.

M2S2 - Today

Here's what you get for your $7 cover charge at Mokah (add $3 more if bringing adult beverages):

• You get to hear some great music


• You get to attend a discussion about the local music scene featuring experts within the scene, moderated by Cindy Chaffin


• You get to hear lots of great music.


• With your donation, you are supporting the Carter Albrecht Music Foundation.


• Did I mention you get to hear some great music?

Here is a schedule of the performers. Thanks go out to Smile Smile for the schedule, this one actually including times for the lounge performers.


IN THE VENUE
Flat People, 3-3:30;
Airline, 3:45-4:15;
Jayson Bales Band, 4:30-5:00;
Miles From Nowhere, 5:15-5:45;
Salim Nourallah & The Noise, 6-6:30;
The Slack, 6:45-7:15;
Smile Smile, 7:30-8:00;
Bridges and Blinking Lights, 8:15-8:45.

IN THE LOUNGE:
Something at the Wheel, 5:40-6:00;
Taylor Davis, 6:25-6:45;
Blue Petal, 7:10-7:30;
Camille Cortinas of Fishing For Comets, 7:55-8:15;
Rahim Quazi, 8:40-9:00.

Friday Night Shows

I'm sitting on a virtual mountain of things that I need/want to write about, and not enough time to write everything. It also doesn't help that I have this thing called a "real job" to deal with (you know, that thing which allows me to afford to go to shows and blog). So this list of shows to see tonight is just that: a list. You've heard me rave about almost all of these acts before, so look at your options, and choose one.

• Dove Hunter, Sarah Jaffe, Sean Kirkpatrick (Club Dada)


• The Slack (Gezellig)


• Somebody's Darling, Salute (City Tavern)


• Greater Good opening for Blind Melon (House of Blues)


• Strange Fruit Project, PPT, The Theater Fire (Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth)
  

Proper Denglish

When it comes to Dallas hip-hop, Pikahsso, Picnic, and Tahiti (collectively known at PPT) have set the gold standard. Their debut, Tres Monos in Love, manages to blend 70’s soul inspired melodies over a smooth lyrical delivery from the members. I have only heard bits and pieces of the new CD, Denglish, and I have to say that this CD seems to be a more ambitious undertaking, with many of the tracks (“Who’s That Girl?”, “Electricity”) relying less on traditional rap delivery and more on the vocal skills of the three members. If you’re curious to hear the album for yourself, then head over to Tephejez tonight for the CD release party for Denglish. Check out the flyer above for all the necessary information.

By the way, did you catch PPT on the Gordon Keith show? If not, then take this opportunity to check out their performance of “Electricity”.

This Weekend, in Brief

I use the word "brief" because there seem to be fewer good show options than usual. Here is the quick rundown on shows.

Friday:
The Slack (Barley House)
Tonight is Chris Holt's birthday, and he wants everyone to come out to help him get "shitcanned" (his words, not mine). Come watch in amazing as he gets "shitcanned" and still pulls out a performance that most musicians could only dream of.
Somebody's Darling, Graham Wilkinson (Gezellig)
Sorry guys, I'm at a loss for new and creative ways about raving about Somebody's Darling. Maybe I'll find some new adjectives in time for the next show.
Nicholas Altobelli (White Rock Coffee)
The White Rock Coffee MySpace has him listed as playing tonight, but he's not. I have been wanting an opportunity to see him play, but tonight won't be that night.

Saturday:
The Mullens, The Bug Nasties, American Werewolf Academy (Double-Wide)
For the past three years or so, I have always believed American Werewolf Academy to be one of Dallas' most underappreciated bands. Quick has shone its spotlight on AWA, so I can only hope that maybe it will translate into a larger following. The Mullens will headline tonight, and based on the songs I've heard, the performance will a sloppy mess, and I mean that as a compliment, not an insult. The Mullens take the sloppy energy of 70's punk yet infuse it with just enough of a pop sensibility to keep it from being the wrong kind of sloppy mess.

Finally, I'm uncertain of the status of the Saturday night Dada show featuring Birds of Avalon, The Felons, and Tober Omi. The Dada MySpace says Birds of Avalon cancelled, though I thought I heard Amanda Newman say that it was The Felons that cancelled. Wilderness in the City makes no mention of the gig, and Bill ALWAYS takes the opportunity to plug a Felons show. If you want to see The Felons at Dada, you'll probably have to wait two Saturdays from now, which is sure to be the biggest show of the month. More on that later, that's another entry for another day.

So You Think You Can Blog?

One of the great things about blogs is that the rules for writing are much less rigid than in traditional journalism. A website is judged not so much on grammar or writing style as it is on content and presentation. If you think you can blog, then you can. It’s just that simple, and that is the beauty of the blog culture.

Most of you are probably familiar with the main local music blogs. You’ve got We Shot JR covering the underground scene. You’ve got Sam Machkovech writing about Dallas music from all the way in Seattle, and what his site lacks in frequency of entries, he makes up for in content and well written articles. You’ve got Adventures in Live Music, an amusing yet intelligent look at great local shows filtered through beer goggles. You’ve got Boca Tinta, a great blog that needs far more entries than have been posted lately. And saving the best for last, you have The Fine Line, started by Cindy Chaffin, the definitive local music blogger in these areas. When I decided I wanted to start Ghost of Blind Lemon, she was the one I went to for advice. Why? If you have to ask, then you neither know Cindy nor have read her site, and I insist you leave my blog and read hers right now.

But I am digressing from the original intent of this entry. While you probably know all the blogs about the music makers, you may not be aware of the blogs written by the music makers. It’s time to change that. This is by no means a comprehensive look at all the blogs out here by musicians, but rather a small sampling of some of the better choices.

Black Man With Blog: If you’re one of Pikahsso’s friends on MySpace, you have most likely seen him promoting his new blog. His topics range from music to politics to pop culture and whatever else might be on his mind. His writing style is unique to say the least, as he often comes up with wierd (intentionally spelled that way as a tribute to Pikahsso) spellings for words, and punctuation is rarely found in his entries. Once you get past his grammatical style (or lack thereof), what you will find is an intelligent and thought provoking blog. My only advice to Pikahsso would be to rely less on posting outside articles and to add more personal commentary in the entries. That is the one thing that I think could take this already great blog and make it exceptional.

Cameras And Clocks: This blog is run by the exceptionally sweet Camille Cortinas (Fishing For Comets). Unlike Black Man with Blog, this site is more personal in nature. And yes, you can practically feel Camille’s sweetness emanating through the site. Hey, it’s Camille, what do you expect?

Manifesto Moments: If you’re expecting Jayson Bales to write about the local music scene, you may find yourself disappointed, as that is one topic rarely mentioned in the site. If you’re looking for baseball talk, however, this is the sight for you.

Song in My Head: While Mr. Bales tends to avoid discussing music, that is the sole topic of discuss on Johnny Lloyd Rollins’ blog. He talks about the music that served has inspiration, as well as the music that brings him joy right now. By the way, his review of Airline’s new CD is spot on.

There is one last blog I’d like to mention. It’s not by a musician, and it’s extremely new (only one entry as of yet), but it holds an enormous amount of promise. Go to domino-takeonmusic.blogspot.com and see what you think. My apologies to any worthy blogs that I neglected to mention.

Greater Good and Blind Melon vs. Blind Lemon

Before I explain how Greater Good fits into this article, I would like to give a little background information for you.


Blind Lemon is the man pictured at left. His birth name was Lemon Henry Jefferson, but he was best known as Blind Lemon Jefferson. He made Dallas his home in 1917, and many would say he is the founding father of Deep Ellum and the Dallas music scene. I would be strongly inclined to agree with these people. The name of this site is a tribute to Mr. Jefferson.

Blind Melon is a band from the early 1990’s best known for the song “No Rain”, with the song’s video featuring the infamous “Bee Girl”. The band formed in California, with members coming from various states, including Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Indiana. None of the members are from Texas. The blog was NOT named after this band. I feel compelled to state this as I have had more than one individual think that the name of the blog comes from the band, not the blues artist.

Now that we’ve established the difference between Blind Lemon and Blind Melon, let me proceed with the real point of the article. The band Blind Melon has reunited and obtained Travis Warren as its new lead vocalist, taking over the vacancy left when Shannon Hoon died of a cocaine overdose in 1995. They have started touring, and they have gotten local boys Greater Good to open for them on this tour.

If you’ve never seen the band, the best way I can describe it is a mixture of 60’s rock and soul influences (Spencer Davis Group, The Kinks, early Rod Stewart) filtered through a 90’s alternative indie vibe (Supergrass, The Stone Roses, or Charlatans with less organs). The result is a sound that seems familiar yet fresh all at once, and the songs are filled with enough hooks to bring you back for seconds. You can check these songs out on their MySpace, or you can by their CD, Shake Till I Let You Go, when it comes out May 20th.

The Ghost of Blind Lemon is thrilled that the band will get the opportunity to perform with Blind Melon on their tour. You can check out Greater Good with Blind Melon on Friday, April 18th, at House of Blues. Many of the dates on the tour have sold out. It appears that tickets are still available for the Dallas show, but it is probably just a matter of time until this show sells out too.

But please, whatever you do, don’t tell people that the Ghost of Blind Melon recommended you see Greater Good open for Blind Lemon. That would be really annoying to me.

Brother, Can You Spare a Burrito?

The Fort Worth chapter of the Burrito Project has organized a massive set of benefit shows today. The purpose of this group is to bring food to the homeless (including, but not limited to, burritos). I particularly recommend going to Bronx Zoo to check out Kristina Morland (9:15 p.m. or so) and Darrin Kobetich.(11:45 p.m. or so). For more details, check out the flyer below.

Overdue Thank You's

The original intent was to do a thorough entry reviewing my showcase last Saturday night. I wanted to give detailed descriptions on the greatness of Klickitat, Tonite Tonite, Lovie. I had the best of plans laid out. I don't remember how exactly the cliche goes, but I have no doubt it's fitting here.

What follows is less of a review, and more of a simple list of thanks.

• For any great musical showcase, great music is needed. What better place to start the thank you's than with the musicians. Thanks to Michaela Kuenster of Klickitat, Tonite Tonite, and Lovie for agreeing to play. Simply put, every last one of you is an awesomely talented individual.
  
• Next, I'd like to thank Opening Bell Coffee for providing a venue for my second showcase. Thanks to Pascale and to Taylor Davis for allowing me to play booking agent for an evening.
  
• I thank Dave Hickmott of The Felons. He came to the show as a spectator, but ended up being the "sound guy" for all the sets. Thank you Dave, because I would not have had the slightest clue what to do. Left in my hands, it probably would have been an acoustic mess. In your hands, however, the sound was great.
  
• Thanks to the Crazy Picture Guy himself, Scotty Mankoff. Scotty's mere presence turns an average night at a venue into an event. Scotty has a way of getting the best (and sometimes most interesting) poses out of people. I would strongly encourage you to click here to see his fine work from that evening.
  
• Finally, thanks to everyone who came out. I would like to thank (in alphabetical order by first name) Beth, Christine Cochran, Debbie, Jerrett, Kathleen, Lacey and Carter of The Liking Strikes, Nick, and Tara. And to anyone else in attendance whose name is not listed, I thank you and apologize for the omission.
  

Give me a little time to recoup, and I'll start plotting showcase number three.