Double Concert Review!

It's been a busy weekend. I actually made it to two concerts! On Thursday I saw Scott Miller and Rayna Gellert. As I said, I used to see Scott Miller back in Knoxville in the early 90s playing in bars. He's no longer a full-time musician (which I believe he was for a while), dividing his time between music and cattle-raising. The venue was the Hard Rock Cafe (of all places!) which charged us $10 to get in the door. Apparently, this wasn't enough for a decent seat, though. The hostess asked us if we'd like to eat (it was shortly before 8), and we said no, we're here for some drinks and the show. So it's not like we weren't going to spend any money, we just didn't intend to spend it on food. "OK," she said, "well, we want to reserve the tables for diners, so you can sit at the bar." Fine, we thought. Only the bar turned out to have a view of the performers' butts! Hard Rock needs to decide if they want to be a restaurant or a concert venue. This kinda-sorta-both did not make me want to return.

The opening act was forgettable, so much so I can't remember their names. Scott and Rayna were great, if a little down. His music was kind of novelty-act-style when I saw him 20 years ago ("Sweet Home Ft. Sanders" sung to the tune of "Sweet Home Alabama"), but his more 'serious' stuff is, from what I heard, more of the cry-in-your-beer kind of thing. But a good show nonetheless, him on guitar and vocals, back up by Rayna on the fiddle.

The second show I saw was a benefit for Jude Odell, the best banjo player in Indiana! Unfortunately, she just got diagnosed with colon cancer, so some folks threw a benefit concert to raise money for her treatment. Many bands played, but the highlight for me was her in a trio with a guitarist and harmonica player. They played "Hot Tamales" - and did a nice, rollicking rendition. She played a Memphis Minnie song, and accompanied herself on a tenor guitar which she tunes like a banjo in G. That trio had a great, old-timey sound that was a lot of fun to hear.

A digression about Jude. She's a great banjo player - seriously the best clawhammer player in Indiana, hands down. But it can be hard to jam with her, because she's also a great talker! You play a tune, and then talk for two! But she's a great conversationalist as well, so you have a good time either way! Get better, Jude, I want to spy on your playing for years to come! Here's Jude and her band at the show: