http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/ The Relatively Unmussed-With Ruminations of Music Editor Jim Reed en jim.r@connectsavannah.com Copyright 2008 Connect Savannah 2008-03-22T19:23:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/marty-stuart-and-travis-tritt-thrill-a-packed-house-at-trustees-theater/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/marty-stuart-and-travis-tritt-thrill-a-packed-house-at-trustees-theater/#When:19:23:00Z
Tritt was filling in for the late, great Porter Wagoner who sadly succumbed to cancer just a few weeks after it was announced that he and longtime friend Stuart (who also produced Wagoners' final, universally praised, 2007 comeback LP) would share the stage at Trustees for an intimate acoustic set as part of the 2008 Savannah Music Fest. To say he rose to the occasion admirably would be a truism.

Tritt and Stuart are old pals who have collaborated in the past on each others' records as well as traveled together on the groundbreaking "No Hats Tour", which helped usher in a new and more rock and pop oriented form of country music that unfortunately wound up begetting the current crop of vapid, fiddle and pedal steel guitar-embellished schmaltz that gets marketed as so-called "country music" these days.

However, both of these men are avid disciples of country's true roots and it's legendary artists and traditions. All of that was on display last night as they ran through stripped-down versions of their own hits (both alone and together), as well as country and soul nuggets by some of their favorite artists (such as Waylon Jennings and Otis Redding).

Tritt stuck to acoustic guitar (and proved himself a PHENOMENALLY talented picker in a variety of styles), while Stuart swapped off between acoustic guitar, mandolin, and later, an electric guitar.

The entire show had the feel of a particularly spirited after-dinner jam session in the den of either of their homes. It was well-rehearsed, but equally off-the-cuff (with both of the two players and singers - whose voices blend together seemingly effortlessly in beautiful harmony - frequently cracking each other up with their own tricky, improvised solos), and is purported to be a one-time only show that will not be toured or repeated in any way, which made it all the more special to those of us lucky enough to witness it. At least one major country music television network was on hand to tape the first few songs for some sort of news story, but while the entire show was professionally captured on audio for posterity by the SMF itself, it's a downright shame the entire thing wasn't also shot with multiple cameras, as I could see it EASILY being a smash hit DVD for both artists.

The crowd was quite respectful and quiet (which bodes well for the quality of the audio recording) save for one lunkheaded jackass directly behind me. To think that a grown man of at least 60 years of age would not only forget to silence his cell phone (or worse yet, CHOOSE to leave it on, in an act so self-centered and disrespectful to not only those around him but to the artists on-stage) boggled my mind.

As if that weren't enough, his phone rang loudly and repeatedly during the emotional, whisper-quiet tribute song Stuart had composed for his dear friend (and former father-in-law) Johnny Cash. But what really took the cake was while half a dozen people turned to glare incredulously at the man, he not only took his time getting the phone out of his pocket (which only made it louder), but instead of instantly silencing it, HE ANSWERED IT WITH A LOUD AND COMPLETELY UNCONCERNED "HELLO?".

Seriously.

He started a loud conversation on the phone while sitting ninth row center at a packed theater show, in the middle of a quiet, acoustic, heartbreakingly personal tune in honor of the late Johnny Cash. Think it can't get any better than that? When the older gentleman next to me whispered a plea to the man to stop what he was doing, the cell phone guy loudly swore at him.

UNBELIEVABLE.

I'll be curious to find out if the sensitive microphones used to tape this show actually picked up this disgusting display of arrogance.

By the way, if the fellow with the phone happens to read this, feel free to get in touch so we can meet somewhere other than a quiet concert and I can throw numerous drinks in your face on behalf of everyone in the venue.

And Marty.]]> 2008-03-22T19:23:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/whoopin-it-up-with-the-mamou-playboys-at-the-new-charles-morris-center/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/whoopin-it-up-with-the-mamou-playboys-at-the-new-charles-morris-center/#When:19:02:00Z
There were only a few dancers, but then again, it was a 6 pm show, and bottles of beer or glasses of wine were $5 each, so that may have had something to do with it. I can only imagine that during later sets, things got a bit more rambunctious.

My thoughts on the show and the venue are as follows:

Acoustically, the "floating" construction of the floor and the inch or more of deadening material behind the high, wooden ceiling made for a definite sonic improvement over SCAD's old Orleans Hall building, which in previous years held the mid-sized Savannah Music Fest shows. There was greater clarity overall, and less of the harsh high-mid frequencies that sometimes plagued that converted hotel laundry facility which has since been turned into a gymnasium for the art school's student body.

The Morris Center's facilities leave something to be desired (given the almost ridiculous amount of hype afforded its opening), but overall, it's an above average place to see a live musical event, especially if the production is handled properly. In this case, it was. The band was situated on a 2-ft riser (which really could have worked better at 3-ft, but then, stage height has always been a pet peeve of mine) in front of a huge black curtain which covered the large windows of the brick building which normally offer a view of East President Street. behind that black curtain was an array of multicolored lights which brightened and dimmed in a slow chase pattern that some may have read as random. It was a nice touch and added a certain ethereal sparkle to the show.

Overall, the stage setup seemed like a scaled-down cross between the original Austin City Limits and a starfield from a low-budget sci-fi film, which was fine with me.

The band - featuring the stellar guitarist Sam Broussard - tore through both original tunes that leaned into a slightly alt.roots.rock vein, as well as meticulously played renditions of age-old Louisiana folk and dance tunes, complete with fiddle, accordion, drums, bass, guitar and triangle. Special mention must go to their young electric bassist, who was a model rhythm player, with great tone on his instrument and a rock-solid feel for blues, R & B, rock, folk and the pumping, dance-oriented music Cajun culture is known for.

The crowd was enthusiastic, if a bit reserved. There was little room to move, as all the seats were filled, and the corners of the room were crowded with SMF crew, local press and those who simply couldn't remain in their seats while such infectious, festive music was being played.

One other nice touch about the setup at the Morris Center is that the bar area (which, in Orleans Hall, had been in the same room as the performance stage) is actually located outside the building in a large, adjoining, semi-permanent tent. That means that folks buying beer, wine, water, soft drinks, or even SMF artist merchandise don't have to worry about interrupting the show or bothering other listeners. The fact that the SMF also pipes in the main signal from the PA system in the room itself out into the tent at a low volume means that if the folks in line for drinks don't yap too much, everyone can still hear the show while they're out of the main room, and not feel as though they have missed much while grabbing refreshments or souvenirs of the show.

In general, the Morris Center is a fine addition to the short list of multi-use venues in town that can be used for live concert events. Whether or not it continues to be used for such functions on a regular basis throughout the year remains to be seen.]]> 2008-03-22T19:02:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/gettin-a-witness-with-the-blind-boys/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/gettin-a-witness-with-the-blind-boys/#When:15:36:00Z
The crowd, which was overwhelmingly white and older, took a short time to warm to the no-nonsense charm of this esteemed and long-running traditional black gospel group which has (over the past couple decades) been embraced by the roots-rock, soul and Americana communities.

The group features three blind vocalists and a blind drummer ("The only blind gospel drummer we know of - and he's playing with us," chuckled front-man Jimmy Carter during his introductions of the band members) along with a singing electric guitarist (who boasts a Curtis Mayfield-style falsetto), a singing 5-string funk-oriented bass player, and a keyboardist offering piano runs and swirling Hammond organ fills. Amazingly, they've been going strong in one incarnation or another since their formation in 1939!

Jimmy Carter is now the sole original member of the group, and is still capable of deep-throated, growling lead vocals as well as the kind of good-natured humorous stage banter that has long been a staple of the Blind Boys' shows. Still, I could not help but miss the presence of Clarence Fountain, the group's former leader, who recently retired from the band due to health concerns. In many ways, Clarence seemed to be the heart and soul of the group, and although Carter is doing a great job of continuing on with the group's legacy, his slight frame and higher voice seems to carry less gravitas than Fountain, who frankly, seemed to prowl the stage at their shows with only a few small steps and an intense glance.

The set itself featured material from their latest album, Down In New Orleans, which celebrates the rich tradition of Cajun and swing jazz that emanates from the Big Easy, while finding truck with the Blind Boys' gospel background. They also sang and played some powerhouse traditional church tunes, such as "An Uncloudy Day", and their unique, inimitable arrangement of "Amazing Grace", which is actually set to the tune of the New Orleans hooker's lament "House of The Rising Sun." The audience at Trustees was also treated to the call to arms "I'm A Soldier" (in the Lord's army), and a stunning, swampy take on Tom Waits' "Down In The Hole", sung with conviction and no small amount of energy by Carter, who exhorted, "You GOTTA keep the devil WAY down in the hole!"

Throughout the night, Carter --who, like the other vocalists, alternated standing and sitting while he sung-- made cheeky mention of the copious number of CDs and other assorted merchandise that the group had available for sale in the lobby. It was funny to someone such as myself, who is familiar with this type of old-school, State Fair-style R & B hucksterism to watch the mixture of laughter and unease with which many in the crowd seemed to bring to Carter's increasingly over-the-top reminders that they should feel obligated to support the group through purchases.

Toward the end of the show, Carter seemed overcome by the spirit of the night, and broke free from his assistant (assigned to keep a close watch on this frail, sightless elderly man) and began to wander toward the lip of the Trustees stage. It soon became apparent that this was indeed part of the concert itself - traditional church showmanship on display. As his handler carefully assisted Carter down the steep, rail-less stairs that led down from the stage to the carpeted floor of the auditorium, Carter (wireless mic in hand) began to barnstorm up and down the main aisles of the theater, continuing to sing and lead the crowd (all of whom were on their feet by this point, including those in the balcony who craned their necks for a glimpse of the thin man in the white pinstriped suit) in a fiery call-and-response chant. The band played what seemed like the longest bare-bones funk groove in the world while Carter semi-recklessly careened through the crowd, receiving hosannas and gentle back-slaps from many in the audience.

When they had first taken the stage, Carter addressed the crowd, saying "We just wanna let you all know that the Blind Boys don;t like CONSERVATIVE audiences. We like RESPONSIVE audiences." It took a little while to get there, but by the end of the show, this crowd was as close as possible to getting their church on.

Opening act Adolphus Bell, an Alabama native billed as the world's first "one-man-blues-band" was scheduled to appear as well, but apparently (and unfortunately) did not arrive in time for his set.

The only downer of the night came nera the start of the Blind Boys' set, when Carter told the crowd they had been looking forward to eating some good soul food here in Savannah, but they couldn't find any. It seems they had been taken for lunch to Island Breeze Caribbean restaurant, but their style of "Jamaican ox-tails" did not suit Carter or his bandmates. Later on he actually mentioned how hungry he was, and asked a friend of his in the crowd to please take him somewhere good to eat after the show!

Next time, the SMF should remember to point their artists to The United House of Prayer's Madison Cafeteria on Ogeechee Road...]]> 2008-03-21T15:36:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/the-latest-on-locos/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/the-latest-on-locos/#When:01:33:00Z
I say most of the Council was there because Mayor Otis Johnson (who has publicly derided the local media for spending so much time on what he terms the "sexy" issue of whether or not this popular Broughton St. eatery and bar should be allowed to A) renew its liquor license in light of two recent incidents where underage patrons were illegally served alcohol and B) continue to *legally* call itself a "restaurant" while occasionally featuring live, late-night entertainment that sometimes requires a cover charge to be seen) was nowhere to be found. Mayor Pro Tem Edna Jackson announced to the packed house that he was away doing "the city's business."

Alderman Clifton Jones was absent as well, which was something of an anomaly. He's said to have a fairly sterling rep for rarely missing meetings, but according to the Council he was feeling quite ill today, and they wished him a speedy recovery. Then they got down to business.

While there were tons of important things on today's docket, it was clear from the outset that well over half of those in attendance were there specifically to either witness the deliberation on Locos' situation, or to show support for the Savannah branch of the small, Athens-based chain.

By the time the Council, City Manager Michael Brown and City Attorney James Blackburn got around to the hearing, which was virtually the last scheduled item of business, people in the gallery already seemed a little drained. There was more than a little pomp surrounding the Q & A of Locos co-owners Ben Everette and Michael Connor by the Council, including Alderwoman Mary Osborne's smirking (and seemingly catty) reference to the four million dollar combined annual gross of both Locos' Broughton St. and Southside locations, and Alderman Van Johnson's unusual emphasis on the word "offer" in the phrase, "I'm going to OFFER a motion" (as if to say to the young, harried restauratuers whose livelihood the Council effectively held in their hands, "I know I've been publicly villified for appearing to make an example out of your business through selective enforcement of a flawed and ill-conecived ordinance, but now the rest of the Council is going to shrewdly allow me to do some 'reserved grandstanding' and paint myself as a magnanimous cat who's deigned to allow you another chance at continuing to make money in this town"), just before ceremoniously announcing the punitive measures the Council had obviously agreed upon privately beforehand.

When all was said and done, after running none too short a gauntlet, Locos was allowed to renew their liquor license - under the following conditions:

1. Only for a probationary period of 120 days, after which their ability to serve alcohol for the remainder of 2008 will be determined (based on their conduct of the preceding four months)

2. They must be in full and total compliance with the City and the Revenue Dept. within 30 days in regards for developing and standardizing the way their employees are trained to prevent underage patrons from accessing alcoholic beverages on their premises (Alderman Jeff Felser stressed that this time frame must be honored so that Locos will be in good standing with the City BEFORE the craziness that is the St. Patrick's Day celebration)

However, Mayor Pro Tem Edna Jackson made no bones about the fact that she views this as the proprietors' final chance to keep such a license, declaring loudly and pointedly that she and the rest of the members of the Council were "dead serious" in saying that if there was even one more infraction of this sort at either location of the full-service restaurant, they wold immediately and instantly have their license revoked.

This statement drew a speedy and forceful response from Attorney Blackburn who reminded the Councilwoman that in fact that was not the case, and that the Council would be "out of order" to do such a thing. In reality, if there is another infraction of this sort at Locos, according to procedure, it would mean that another "show cause" hearing would be called for, and at that time, the Council would have the opportunity to vote on whether or not they would rescind the eatery's ability to sell alcohol by the drink.

No matter, as the majority of civic leaders on the dais made it abundantly clear that they would move swiftly to make that a reality in such an event.

Alderman Tony Thomas, no stranger to the downtown bar and club scene himself, spoke up to inform Locos owners and their legal counsel that he could go ahead and give them his "no vote" right then and there in case there was any confusion in their minds as to how he would lean should they be charged with illegally serving another minor. This statement came as part of one of several references he made to "having a problem" with the entire "culture" of their establishment, something he said he had brought up to the owners and their counsel in a past meeting in early December. He made it clear that he had no interest in revisiting such a conversation again, and would instead prefer to simply revoke their license in the case of further infractions.

While the issue of whether or not alcohol-serving businesses which are designated as "full-service restaurants" under the terms and conditions of what has come to be called the 2006 Minors Ordinance may or may not legally present, advertise and/or charge admission to see legitimate live entertainment without being branded strictly a "bar" or a "club" was not addressed in-depth, it was brought up fleetingly and obliquely a few times during the hearing. Also mentioned was the possibility that the City Manager's office might attempt to craft some sort of "hybrid designation" for restaurants whose clientele and atmosphere become more geared to nightlife after peak dining hours.

After the close of the meeting, Locos owners and counsel stood in the ahllway outside of the Council's chambers, looking timidly releived and more than a bit shell-shocked.

For now, folks 21 and up can stop by either location of their restaurants and have an adult beverage with or without their meal. If that privilege is allowed to continue would seem to boil down to two factors: whether or not minors keep trying to trick them into serving them alcohol, and whether or not their staff lets any of those minors slip by.]]> 2008-01-18T01:33:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/a-free-holiday-mix-tape-from-music-editor-jim-reed/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/a-free-holiday-mix-tape-from-music-editor-jim-reed/#When:19:03:00Z
In honor of the first anniversary of the passing of The Godfather of Soul, I have constructed a "virtual mix-tape" that's available for anyone to stream for free online.

It contains a ton of both well-known and rather obscure tunes by Mr. Dynamite himself, as well as dozens of others by artists he directly influenced, plus some oddballs I threw in there just because.

You can listen to it by clicking right here.

The songs rotate in a completely random order, so each time you fire up the mix, you'll likely hear something different.

Best of all, this is a totally legal and licensed way to share interesting music with other folks. If you hear a song you like or an artist that you were previoulsy unfamilar with, but which piques your curiosity, I encourage you to support them by buying some of their music from the reputable dealer of your choosing, instead of just scamming a free download somewhere. The artists (or their estates) will thank you for playing fair - take my word for it.

Anyway, 2008 is upon us. I hope this lengthy compilation of great rock, pop, soul, funk and R & B helps you ring in the new year with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

Thanks for continuing to look to Connect Savannah for your local arts, entertainment and news coverage. All of us here appreciate your support.

Now, crank up your headphones or computer speakers, and get on the good foot - James Brown style!

- Jim Reed
Connect Savannah Music Editor / Reluctant Debutante / Elizabethan Unicorn





]]> 2007-12-25T19:03:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/belated-report-from-the-echo-project-festival-in-hotlanta/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/belated-report-from-the-echo-project-festival-in-hotlanta/#When:00:55:00Z
I'm a verbose bastard, so it's my unfortunate wont to ramble on - however, I'm trying to train myself to be brief when blogging, if only so that 45 minutes worth of hunting and pecking doesn't vanish on me like the 2 million bucks in David Copperfield's warehouse safe.

So here are some of my recollections of the recent Echo-Project Festival in Atlanta:

This was the very first year for this fledgling festival, which aspires to be a smaller Bonnaroo, but one which promoted environmental awareness and conservation along with the standard-issue loud music, counterculture activism seminars, hemp clothing vendors, tofu burrito stands and clandestine pot brownies.

While organizers reportedly were hoping/expecting approximately 40,000 to show up for the 3-day, $190 festival held on a 350-acre swath of private farmland only about 20 minutes from urban Atlanta, it appears that only somewhere between 7,000 and 12,000 showed. Ouch.

Hopefully the organizers (who I'm told assumed that the first year would be rough) had enough of a cushion to try this again next year (their promotional material claims they have a decade-long master plan for this project), because it'squite possible they lost hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars.

Due to a prior committment, i had to miss the final day of the festival, which means I could not see acts such as The Roots and Spoon, whom I had never had the opportunity to see live and was most curious about, but it did mean I didn't have to even inadvertantly hear any of The Dead's Phil Lesh and "Friends," even though one of his friends this time around is the AMAZING multi-instrumentalist and singer Larry Campbell.

My friend and travelling companion Keith and I arrived at the festival grounds about an hour latger than we'd hoped for on Friday, the first day of the event. This meant that we missed seeing the over-the-top indie-rock/choir/performance art troupe The Polyphonic Spree. No big deal to me, as they never really did much for me, and plus, the fact that band mastermind Tim Laughner used to be in that shit-ass Texas alt.rock group Tripping Daisy was 3 strukes against them from the git-go.

After getting settled in the parking area (no tents for us and no Kruggerands for David), we made our way past the already happening camping sections of the site (where hundreds upon hundreds of vans, campers, cars, tents, lean-tos, etc... were already bustling with folks who'd arrived earlier that morning, or in some cases, late the night before, to stake out great spots close to the "venue" area, so they wouldn't have to hoof it too far back to their campsite if they were tired, drunk, high, tired or high. Or drunk.

We got to the staging area just in time to catch some of GZA from The Wu-Tang Clan perform a fairly impressive set on the biggest stage (there were five or six of varying sizes and amenities spread out around the grounds for maximum sound separation) that ended with a VERY short guest slot from old-school rap star Slick Rick. GZA seemed a little out of it, doing things like asking people how they were doing "tonight" when it was a very bright, very hot 3:30 pm.

It should be said that the weather for the event was fucking beautiful all the way around. You couldn't have asked for nicer, clearer skies. Unfortunately, it took a steep drop in the low 40s once the sun went down, whcih left many (especially including Keith and myself) woefully unprepared as far as thick clothing and/or warm sleeping arrangements went. I'm feeling the affects from our trip in a nasty head and chest cold and sinus infection that I picked up while standing around in the bitter cold with nothing but a thin canvas jacket, turtleneck and jeans.

The sound was uniformly excellent at all the staging areas, even the giant ones. It carried far and wide, and there was not too much bleed over into the other stages (which could easily have ruined some shows, as it threatened to do at times during Cat Power's quiet, contmeplative set (she was situated immediately adjacent to the biggest stage, where rapper Common was doing his thing to a MASSIVE crowd.

Highlights of my time at the Echo-Project would have to include (in no particular order):

1. Getting to see the infamous and rightfully legendary Flaming Lips on their final show of their summer tour (at which they pulled out all the stops as far as props, special effects and gimmicks went - except for their large UFO stage set, which simply wouldn't fit) - including hearing them play a few older tunes less familiar to fans who've only come to the band post-Peach Pit. I was about 6 rows back, and got to push singer Wayne Coyne around a bit in his big, clear bubble thing that he rolls around in on the crowd for the start of the show. I got to spend most of the set showered in yellow confetti from several giant cannons which peppered the front half of the audience at regular intervals - and went on to blow around the entire grounds till well into the next day, and I did my fair share of punching huge orange baloons into the air about every 45 seconds, as they continued to drop on the crowd for the duration of the nighttime show (here's what that looked like from my vantage point). And, most of all, I got to enjoy a pretty damn impressive set (if marred by Coyne's rambling - if heartfelt - awkward, anti-Bush administration sermonettes) by a truly innovative and noteworthy American rock band.

More to come...]]> 2007-10-21T00:55:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/i-have-an-extra-ticket-for-this-saturdays-bob-dylan-elvis-costello-show-in/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/i-have-an-extra-ticket-for-this-saturdays-bob-dylan-elvis-costello-show-in/#When:04:57:00Z
I have one extra ticket for this Saturday night's major show by Bob Dylan & His Band with special opening acts Elvis Costello and Amos Lee.



http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/3/0/6/4/11274603-11274606-large.jpg


This is one of Elvis' first solo acoustic guitar shows in over a decade!

The concert starts at 7 pm at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA, just outside Atlanta, which I'm told is a new facility with great acoustics that's a wonderful place to see a big rock show.

The seat is located in Section 106, Row X, on the first raised level off the floor on the right hand side near the stage.

View the seating chart here.

Seats in this section are currently going for between $100 and $170 each on ticket resale sites, but all I want is to get the face value for it, which is $78 (this includes the standard Ticketmaster fees I had to pay).

If anyone would like to buy this ticket and see what promises to be a great and memorable show by two of the best pop lyricists of all time, just e-mail me at: "jim.r@connectsavannah.com" ASAP. You'd have to be able to meet me and purchase the ticket in person (here in Savannah) between now and Friday night. Cash or PayPal only.

Just to be clear, this is a friendly, private transaction, and in no way involves Connect Savannah, its parent company, or --for that matter-- Bob Dylan!

Hope there's someone out there who will appreciate this opportunity...

"Thanks, everybody!"

- Jim Reed



]]> 2007-09-20T04:57:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/thoughts-on-9-11-01/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/thoughts-on-9-11-01/#When:22:35:00Z
For whatever it is worth, if anyone is interested, the following is a slightly modified version of my response to his initial post. I welcome your coments.

--------------------------------------

I had been looking very forward to that morning, as were most Bob Dylan fans in the USA, because that was the day that Love and Theft was released.

It was his first album in 4 years, and followed Time Out of Mind, which had taken the Grammy for Album of The Year in 1997.

My plan that day was to get up, hit Best Buy or some other place of that sort that I knew would have the CD, and make a point to try to hunker down with some privacy and listen to it in its entireity.

My girlfriend and I decided on a lark to check out the new coffeehouse that had just opened on the Southern edge of Forsyth Park. It was The Sentient Bean, and if I am not mistaken, that was their second day of business.

When we got there, people were huddled in the back of the room around a small, 13-inch TV picking up a fuzzy broadcast signal with rabbit ears, and it was deathly quiet.

We were soon told what was going on. Everything is very hazy from that point forward. I know the first plane hit, but I believe the second had yet to show. We sat there with everyone else (some familiar faces, some strangers) alternately glued to the set and chatting quietly trying to make heads or tails of the entire situation.

At some point we both started to feel very queasy and anxious and headed home (which was about 3 blocks away). We sat in the living room glued to the set for hours, watching the entire thing unfold.

Try as I might, I cannot recall if I saw the second plane hit live, or if we caught it in instant replay. It was shown so many times that morning that it seems like one big loop.

I know I cried a lot that day, both for the victims (both direct and indirect), for the city, and for our country. But mostly, I cried because I could very clearly predict much of what would come in its wake.

Not the specifics, mind you, but the overarching shift in the entire world's view of the USA and our view of almost every other country.

It was plainly obvious to me that in many very real respects we (as a people) deserved that blow. It was also plainly obvious to me that it would be hard to imagine it happening on the watch of a less competent "President."

It wasn't long before that insipid, insulting pablum about Islamists "hating us because they are jealous of our freedom" started getting bandied about by anyone with a combover in earshot of a microphone, and so much of the world who had felt TRULY sorry for the U.S. public began to just "feel sorry" for us for being such easily placated and controlled sheep - and for our government using their undue influence and power to annex/bully much of the rest of the "free" world into the same flock.

I picked up the Dylan album the next day, and listened to it virtually non-stop for the next few weeks while screenprinting, still in a haze.

Interestingly enough, people who obssess about a certain breed of literate, mysterious rock stars being oddly prescient about major upheavals in society (much the same as some folks find whatever truth they're looking for in the Bible or Numerology) would repeatedly theorize about the "importance" or "meaning" of that record being released on that day, and find in the cryptic poetry of Dylan's lyrics on Love and Theft many supposedly clairvoyant references to Islamic fundamentalism and the 9/11 tragedy -- specifically on the opening track "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum."

i.e.: "Throwin' knives into the tree"; "Two great big bags of dead man's bones"; "Trustin' their fate to the hands of God / They pass by so silently"; "Lots of things they might want they would never buy"; "Neither one's gonna turn and run / They're makin' a voyage to the sun / His Master's Voice is callin' me"; "They're lying low and they're makin' hay / They seem determined to go all the way".

I never subscribed to that sort of myopic, messianic approach to Dylan's admittedly impressionistic lyrics, which are famous for being open to interpretation, but I also can't deny it's a tantalizing thought that someone who's been so amazingly plugged into the zeitgeist (at least a few times over the course of his long career) might have found himself picking up on some sort of clairvoyant stream of societal unconsciousness, "Fat Men From Outer Space"-style.

Two and a half years later, my band Superhorse was lucky enough to be invited to play live in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

That evening, after it was over, we headed to the American Legion Post on Bull St. (the birthplace of The Mighty 8th Air Force), just a few doors from The Bean, and along with the packed bar of drunken revelers, were able to have the bizarre sensation of watching brief snippets of our own rain-soaked, rock & roll performance on a float from earlier in the day cycled through every 20 minutes on CNN Headline News in between live coverage of the our fearless leader demanding that Saddam Hussein step down, and the U.S. military prepping for the first assaults on Iraq which would begin a few hours later.]]> 2007-09-18T22:35:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/peter-case-wowed-em-at-the-bean-were-you-there/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/peter-case-wowed-em-at-the-bean-were-you-there/#When:21:41:00Z Peter Case was treated to an intense solo show that more than lived up to expectations.

After a solid, impressive opening set by the flat-out fantastic emale North Carolina string band/quartet The Near Misses, Peter took the stage for an extended headlining set that found him featuring songs from his brand-new release Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John, as well as nuggets from his back catalog (he opened with the standout track from his second solo LP, "Put Down The Gun"), as well as covers of tunes by Blind Willie McTell, Sleepy John Estes, Blind Lemon Jefferson, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix (an wild and affecting acoustic version of "Waterfall").

In between songs he bantered with the mostly respectful and quiet crowd (many of whom were intimately familiar with his ouvre) and spoke fondly of his formative years as a musician playing in garage bands in Buffalo, NY and later in Los Angeles at the dawn of the L.A. punk and new-wave movements.

Kudos to The Bean for bringing in such an esteemed artist. It was a shame there weren't more people there - especially high-schoolers, as this is one of the only places to see top-quality live music in town that is open to ALL-AGES.

Where are all the kids who dig live music? Where are all the college freshmen who aren't old enough to get into bars? Why aren't they showing up to these inexpensive, intimate shows and soaking up all this great talent, history, enthusiasm and art?

]]> 2007-09-01T21:41:00-05:00 http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/test-post-from-jim-reeds-account/ http://connectsavannah.com/index.php/blogs/inthetimeofmyruin/test-post-from-jim-reeds-account/#When:15:46:01Z
Welcome aboard the brand-new Connect Savannah website.

It's about time.

For all of you faithful readers who have long lamented our peculiar and not particularly user-friendly website of the past few years, allow me to say that those of us who create the majority of the content in our print publication had little to no input on the look, feel or browser compatibility of said site.

We've had some measure of input on this new one, however, and I'm told that will continue as the site is expanded upon and improved. It's a work in progress, so bear with us.

At least it doesn't look like an explosion in a pizza factory anymore.

One of the new attributes of this site will be these Editors' Blogs. In theory, you all are supposed to anxiously check here on a daily (or nearly daily) basis to see what new and glistening pearl of wisdom I've dropped on the public at large. In theory, I'm supposed to reel you in like a tape measure.

We'll see how this works in practice as opposed to theory.

Now, for what it's worth, you may have noticed that the title at the top of this page is rather stupid.

That's because it was meant as a joke. When my boss asked me what I wanted the title of my blog to be, I replied with what I thought was a chuckle-worthy list of uber-ridiculous names, including:

"Bitch, get DOWN!"

"Loose Shoes, Tight Pussy & A Warm Place To Sleep"

and, "In The Time of My Ruin," which I was actually quite partial to. That's why I put it last. You see, the titles got more serious as they went along.

"R U 4 Real" was at the top of my list.

Unbeknownst to me, no one got the joke, and apparently, there's a lot of back-end cyber-juggling that has to go on now in order to change the handle of my stream of unconsciousness to "In The Time of My Ruin," none of which is particularly appealing to the cat who's got to make all this happen. I actually found myself saying "R U 4 Real?" under my breath when informed of this.

Hopefully soon this can be rectified wihtout too much hassle and I won't feel like I'm running a New Kids On The Block fanpage for too awfully long.

Now, it should go wihtout saying, but in case it does not, I'm new to the blog-tastic technocracy. Please keep in mind that I rarely read blogs, so I'm not at all sure how to approach this new outlet for my witty barbacisms.

I'm sure I'll make a jackass of myself and say/write/print something I'll live to regret. Oh well. At least I'm not RUNNING FOR MAYOR.

So whaddya wanna know about me that you might not have gleaned from my weekly articles and occasional opinion pieces in our humble free weekly? Isn't that the purpose of these blogs - to get more of a feel for someone's own private bag? The whole thing seems a little distasteful and narcissistic to me, but hey, maintaining this is an official part of my job description as of today, so I'm along for the ride.

I'm 38 years old.

I have only read one complete work of fiction in the past decade.

I see nothing wrong with wearing black socks and dress shoes with shorts.

I think Hello Kitty is extremely cute, but I am not enamored at all with her friends. They seem like hangers-on, and insincere hangers-on at that.

I have very little disposable income, and would gladly spend most of it travelling to see Bob Dylan in concert.

I walk a fine line in about twelve different directions every day that I wake up above ground.

I have found to my eternal shame that I often treat many of my closest friends much worse than I treat complete strangers. It seems that on some level I rationalize this as being acceptable behavior because I feel that I also can be counted on to regularly treat my closest friends far better than I would ever dream of treating a stranger or mild acquaintance. I bet many of you are guilty of the same thing.

My life is in storage. Frank Black said that. It applies to me as well.

I work very hard to make things happen in Savannah that I feel would likely not happen otherwise, like live concerts and cult film screenings. I usually lose money on the film screenings, but lots of folks have told me how much they enjoy them, so I suppose it's worth it.

People absolutely hate waiting on me because I am usually running late, but I hate waiting on them even more -- which is selfish, unfair and (in some measure) outrageous on my part.

My younger brother recently gave me a wonderfully captivating biography of the late, maverick American film director Sam Peckinpah. I started it in the middle and am almost done with it. As soon as I get to the end, I'll go back and read the first half. Lots of things in the book are confusing because they refer to information and protagonists presented chronologically from the beginning. It was a stupid thing to do, but once I started, I found myself incapable of rectifying the situation.

Your turn.
]]> 2007-08-17T15:46:01-05:00