AMA

The weekend was good, but no real rest. Friday afternoon, I had to finish up some papers and then head to dinner for my niece's birthday. Following dinner, Jessica and I made the drive to AMA to see Nikki, the Josh Grider Trio and Adam Hood.

I had never been to Hoot's before. The show was a lot of fun. JG3 was already on stage by the time we got there. I really like Grider, but this is the first time in at least a year that I remember seeing him playing anywhere in the area. His originals are great, and he has a knack for picking perfect songs to cover.

Adam Hood took the stage and Washington Apples made their first appearance. There was some chair-dancing as well. I loved the set, it included a trio of Drive-By Truckers songs and a lot of on stage chatter. At one point, the calls of Roll Tide and War Eagle started from some people in the crowd. This led to Justin J proclaiming that he loved Alabama, loved Tuscaloosa...and finally, "I am Alabama." I also got a "B" salute from stage. LOL With the exception of no "Soulshine," I was very happy.

Afterwards, Nikki regaled Adam with pick up lines and Chuck Norris "facts." One of our conversations was heard at an inopportune time by Keegan. HA We left, but the night still had a couple of surprises. First, we're met with a creepy, leering man in the parking lot parked right beside us. Then, we opt for a stop at Whataburger. Mistake. The drive-thru lane is backed up, so we decide to go inside. Mistake #2. There is a drunk woman in there that insists on talking to us. The people in the drive-thru are enraged, and we're beginning to think we're not going to get out of there before four in the morning. At one point, some kid (that I assumed worked there) goes and locks the doors to prevent an angry man from entering the place to assault the workers. Luckily, that never happened...but we all exchanged looks saying "Oh, F!" After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got our order and high-tailed it out of there.

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Saturday

A second viewing of Juno after a lazy start to the day...a Made marathon on MTV sucked a good ninety minutes of our life away. There was also a trip to Barnes & Noble where I crumbled again at the sight of their Bargain Table...after I said before walking in that I would be buying nothing. Then, it was time for the show - RRB and EYB.

Fact - I have not seen EYB in 2 years (this will come into play later)

There was a good crowd out...many more than I'd expected...and the venue was MUCH bigger than I thought. The crowd - big in size, young in age. I've never seen so many high school girls outside of a mall. Sequins aplenty.

I think we saw half the EYB set (the show started at 8:30). We visited with Manuel and Veronica between sets and then made our way toward the stage for RRB. I would say I loved it, but let's say I liked it. The sound was just TOO loud...no matter where you were in the venue. It was distorted at times. My ears didn't stop ringing until about ten o'clock last night. The setlist was pretty much what I expected. Randy sang a new one by himself (the "lonely too long" song) and came back for an encore with Brady to play "Come Pick Me Up."

The place cleared out pretty fast, we joked it was curfew for all the kids. Hung out for a bit...spotted by Mike E. Da da dum... He gave Nikki and I hugs and asked how we'd been, where we've been...grilling us on why we haven't come to see them...why hasn't he seen us... I told him it's not like they're in LBK every weekend or anything. He said "more often than most."(Not true.) I said the times I have been, I've left early. (Not so true.) He said, "Elbow your way to the front, to at least say hi!" (Giving me no out...) I also fed him a line that I'm fairly certain he didn't buy...but what can I say? I can't deal with the crowd at their shows. At least not when Mike McClure's 1/2 a block away in my favorite bar. (This has happened the last 3 times they were in town.)

Wrap-up:

• Mike E is an expert at laying on a guilt trip

• Don't go to the Whataburger on Georgia after 2:30 on the weekends

• Don't make eye contact with the creepy guy

• Don't expect everyone to think "pork swords" is as funny as you do. LOL (Seriously, maybe 3 or 4 people laughed in the theater...and I'd seen it before.)