Long Time No Post

My concert load has reached a crawl as opposed to what I am accustomed to.  Usually, by this time in the year I have been to too many shows to count.  So this is more of a catch up blog on what shows I have been lucky enough to see this year.  I did finally get to see The Who in Louisville after re-schedule dates.  I was lucky enough to see an intimate performance from Bruce Hornsby and then even luckier after the show to meet this extremely personable and kind man.  I was also able to catch a Jason Isbell show with a very good opener in Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls.  If you haven't heard of either of them check both out immediately.  

One of the better concert experiences this year has to being in the pit for Dead and Company.  I never truly understood the feelings people said they had at a Dead show until this show.  My first experience with DeadCo (as they have been called recently) was in Columbus on Friday the 13th.  This show turned out to be more of a healer than anything due the events that transpired thousands of miles away and across the pond in France on that evening.  I won't go into the details of that event, but it was amazing to see the music community come together to help everyone through that ordeal.  The Columbus show was good, the seats not so much, but I was there.  I got to hear one of my favorite Grateful Dead covers, "Good Lovin".  I also got to hear a phenomenal rendition of "Standing on the Moon" at the Columbus gig.  The gig when I was in the pit though just had a different feel.  I could tell I was going to be in for something special.  I got to hear a blazing solo on "Sugaree".  I was able to just see how much fun DeadCo were having together.  The magic on that stage is hard to explain.  Every member of that band just meshes so well together that I have a feeling that they could ply almost anything together and it would never be the same performance twice.  If you get the chance to DeadCo do yourself a favor and do it.

I've also seen a couple of shows that were at smaller venues this year.  For me it is kind of a throwback to high school days and seeing the bands that no one really cares to see or knows about.  Some of these shows have happened right in my backyard at a venue in my hometown.  It is nice to see a venue close to home starting to bring in national acts that are good and not the popular things.  The smaller venues sometimes make for better shows because of the intimate setting.  This may be something that I forgot about.  It's been a good change of pace to cut back on shows, but I need to back out and see more.  Next up is a surprise show.....Black Sabbath The End Tour.......Time to get back on the bus.