Merry Christmas to me. A bought these tickets for me for Xmas, so we headed up to Asheville for a night to see a band we were both super excited to see.
We're staying at the Hotel Indigo, and were lucky enough to get an upgrade to the penthouse suite. Nice! I've never had that before. It's a shame we're only staying 1 night. I could get used to this.
We were out the door not long after getting in, ,in search of dinner. We opted for Rhubarb, at the top of town. Wow! What a feed! We split a beautiful fresh salad, and I ended up with a great burger. It was a little cool, so we opted to sit inside, and I'm glad we did, as a drummer set up right outside the patio as we sat down.
After dinner we had a chance to wander around, only to find a big town festival taking place. People were out in full force, enjoying the weather, entertainment and local vendors. It felt rude to leave, but, you know, it's a concert.
Harrahs is back towards the hotel and we were able to get into the venue and to out seats as opener, Joy Oladokun took the stage. She has a magic voice and had the early crowd entranced. And her band was tight. Figuratively and literally. Packed in colse together on stage, the band knew the mission, and Oladokun played a set which easily won over some new fans. A and I included.
Our seats were stage left, level with the stage, not 30 feet from the stage, on an isle. You couldn't have wanted any better. Alabama Shakes came on stage just before 9pm, to thunderous applause, and then put on a show. Specifically Brittany Howard. Her powerhouse voice came to the fore early on. And the crowd responded accordingly. While I'm only familiar with a few songs from Sound and Color, Alabama Shakes were playing some great songs all through their set. Sound & Color was awesome and Don't Wanna Fight was even better than I expected. Though Howard spoke occasionally to the crowd, her best interaction came when a couple had a sign asking her to sing at their wedding. Her compromise - dedicating Give Me All Your Love to finish the set. Emotionally awesome. The crowd went crazy. The Greatest was the highlight of the encore. For me, that was because they did not play Over My Head (my favorite). They played almost everything else off the album, but in a stroke of genius, Alabama Shakes kept me wanting more, and hoping they come near by soon.
The Crap Facts
This is my 543rd concert.
This is my 2nd concert at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena.
This is my 19th concert in Asheville.
This is my 163rd concert in North Carolina.
This is my 343rd concert in the USA.
This is my 543rd concert.
This is my 2nd concert at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena.
This is my 19th concert in Asheville.
This is my 163rd concert in North Carolina.
This is my 343rd concert in the USA.
Joy Oladokun is the 633rd band I've seen
Alabama Shakes is the 634th band I've seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment