Turnpike Troubadours - Workplay

We made it to Friday!  Thank goodness!

This week has been long and weird.  I'm really glad that it's over. 

Wednesday night we went to see Turnpike Troubadours at Workplay here in Birmingham.  Workplay is definitely one of my favorite venues here.  Especially when the act plays on the smaller stage.  The opportunity to get close to the band goes way up there, and before you know it, you're right up on them.

These guys play Texas country (from Oklahoma), and this was their first time in Alabama.  I think we treated them right; the people that did end up going to the show knew all the words as did we.  Sometimes the people of Birmingham do surprise even me!  I was positive that we were the only people in this entire state that had heard of them!

If you're looking for something fun and country to listen to, definitely check these guys out.

Plus it was an awesome excuse to wear my cowboy boots.

 I already loved these guys before I got to see them; I loved them even more after the show.  

I hope y'all have a great weekend!! 

Gotta Love Bham!!

I have a small obsession with Pharrell's Happy.  So imagine my surprise when I came across this gem!

I don't know any of the people in this video, but I will tell you that it is pretty awesome to know where they are in almost every shot!

Enjoy!

Black Jacket Symphony does The Boss

I'll be as honest as possible; I did not know much about this symphony until the day I got to see them.

I honestly thought they were like a real orchestra type thing; you know, black tie, fancy champagne sipping type of folks.

So I was intrigued when I heard on BMR (Birmingham Mountain Radio...seriously, listen to them if you don't already) that they were coming and doing Springsteen's Born to Run on New Year's Eve.

BRUUUUUUUUCE!!

So, um, where do I sign up?!  

The night as I'm getting ready to go, I look them up.  Find out that, indeed, they are not a symphony orchestra.  At.  All.  Stupid feelings aside, I put on my sparkly skirt, heels and sweater and head to show.

I get there early, not early enough to get a seat, but early enough to get front row.  As in, I could park myself there until the show started.  

And when it did?  I freaking rocked it out.  Tim Brantley played Bruce, and he did an amazing job.  Plus, he's super pretty, so it was really fun to be that close.

Sorry for the blur on some of them; for some reason, I find it incredibly difficult to take pictures even though I'm in the front row. 

The one terrible moment during the show was when the drunk, overly plastic lady decided to shove her way to the front during Pink Cadillac.  I felt the need to say something to her, but didn't want to ruin my New Year's Eve with some crazy person.  That was the night I vowed to keep my elbows high at shows, like, why you running into my elbows, man? 

Fortunately for me, she left when that song was over.  

I will definitely go and see these guys when they bring their next show to the Ham.  Y'all should see if they're coming near you too.

Trombone Shorty

Today I'm flying up to Minneapolis for work.  The high up there is 5 degrees...the low ... -13.  I'm going to die.  

I'm just praying that it doesn't snow (20% chance), and that I don't get stuck up there. Because that would be no fun.  

Anyway, last Thursday night, we saw Trombone Shorty at the Workplay theater here in the Ham.  We've gone to several shows there and seen plenty of people, but this show by far was the best one I've been to.  He's a trombone/trumpet player/singer from New Orleans, and has been playing since he was tiny.  Hence, shorty.  

It was an absolutely incredible night.  It only made me wish for a more immediate move to New Orleans.  It's going to happen one day, y'all.  It just has to.

If you get the opportunity, download his new album.  You won't be disappointed.

Holly Williams

A few weeks ago, I went to a Holly Williams concert at Workplay  here in Birmingham.

 

Just as an aside, if you have a chance to see any show at Workplay I would go.  We've seen quite a few shows there, and I've never had a bad time.  The shows are usually pretty intimate, and this one was no exception.  We enjoyed the opener from the upstairs balcony, but saw an empty table down below right by the stage.

 

Just a little background, Holly Williams is the great grand-daughter of Hank Williams, Sr.  And her voice is absolutely incredible.  She is married to a band member of Kings of Leon, another absolute great band.  He played the guitar and sang with her on most of her songs.

 

And her bass player was this bad ass chick that played her instrument like a stand up bass, which is my absolute favorite instrument ever.

 

Here are some pictures from that night...

 

It really was a great show.  Look her up on iTunes or your downloading venue of choice.  She was really great.  She sang a lot about her life with her Dad and how her mother decided to cope with him being a big star. 

 

Plus, she's super pretty, and her boots were awesome.

 



Mumford & Sons

This week I had another music religious moment; quite like the one I had with John Boutte in NOLA.  On Monday, Mumford & Sons played for the first time in Alabama.

And it was unbelievable.  Their encore was incredible (minus the rendition of Sweet Home Alabama.  I swear to god, nothing will make you hate that song more than living in this state.  I tell you; the appeal to that song is gone), but the most favorite part of the encore?  They did a rendition of Springsteen's "She's on Fire," which promptly made me cry, because I'm a big baby.

Their show lasted about two hours, and the entire crowd stood on their feet for the entire time.  Which was a cause for me to take off my boots, because I felt like my feet were going to fall off.

That's right.  I took the shoes off in the middle of a concert.  Could have been the most hippie thing I've ever done in my entire life.

Ehh, so be it.

Honestly, if you have any way of seeing these guys in concert, I highly recommend it.  You will definitely not regret it.

* On a side note, some crazy ass meteor thing happened right in the middle of the second opener.  We all thought it was a flare, or a firework.