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TOM PETTY, STEVE WINWOOD
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Walnut Creek

Tickets went On-Sale for this Event on February 6th so it took
awhile for Petty to hit town but good to his word the day has
arrived. I passed on the second row for $260 a pop and went
with the $120 upper level although for the 260 there was also
a Tom Petty coffee table book included but after Madonna’s book
of the same name had her in it naked I was gun shy of Tom’s.

It’s not 105 degrees or raining but in true North Carolina
tradition the humidity was jacked-up like most people in
attendance. This Event draws a widely varied crowd, all the girls
had their best party fashion out in force which those in
attendance are thankful for.

“GRAPE Me
 GRAPE me, my friend
 GRAPE me
 GRAPE me again
 I’m not the only one”

(Drop the "G")

Penned and performed by the grunge initiators NIRVANA you can tell the
great songs by the staying power of their relevance and with the
NC Legislators current bill that will legalize ticket reselling above
the face value it’s the formalization of the fornication I keep getting
while purchasing around 90 concert tickets a year.

The marketing spin has been applied as it’s now painted with another
color being called “re-selling” instead of “scalping”. Maybe “scalping”
isn’t a politically correct term any longer but it was initially given
that name for a purpose, it hurt like nothing else you’ve probably ever
felt, painful, bloody, the excess removal of something and in this case
most of that was from your wallet.

After the short last week with the Holiday, this week has dragged on like a tired dog on a leash but I see the party starting gate right up ahead and cant' wait to crash through it. In the morning that first cup of coffee is great but as the sun sets that initial brew is a very nice moment to arrive at. No wonder that first one goes down so quickly.

THURSDAY:
*Garner Music On The Main - 6:00pm - 9:00pmhttp://www.downtowngarner.com/calendar.php?calview=month&type_id=

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
July 2, 2008
Walnut Creek

Dave? “Dave who” I used to always wonder. This guy/band would hit the town years back for two sold out shows at The Creek and after a few rounds of not being interested it got to the point of asking myself; "Am I missing
something?

And Dave did use to sell out fast; it was a massive young 20's crowd that
was a higher percentage of ladies than guys which is enough reason right
there to cough up the bucks to attend.

Dave'itis has waned in the following years, down to having only one show
and if it sells out, which the Raleigh Show did not, it's not until the
last day. Possibly his dumping of sewage from the bus on the tour boat
below or his very addled appearance on late night TV when he talked of
feeding lit cigarettes to goats derailed the train somewhat.

DownTownLive packed them in last night, these Events are nailed down now and running like a well oiled machine but I just needed more venom with shocking electricity coming from the stage. All the music just seemed to be more of a day after, hangover café kind of thing but the cure for that is coming in two weeks: ALTER BRIDGE and TANTRIC will bring the heat and excitement by the truckload.  

A lot of good that might do me though, TOM PETTY is at The Creek the same night. Party decisions are so hard to make, even if you make the right choice it’s hard to really know. God forbid I make the wrong one.

Every Thursday, North Hills has a Free Beach Music Event, 6:00 to 8:30pm. I hit it for the first time last night: http://www.northhillsraleigh.com/EventsEntertainment.htm

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Thirty minutes in traffic getting to the lot then they tried to send me past the driveway to a far off parking land so I made an illegal turn and I now know that means making the “Legal” “Ill” cause the traffic directors didn’t like it. Worked out well for me though, I ended up in the employee lot which just seems kind of fitting.

You had to watch were you put your toes as there were a lot of cowboy boots back and forth down the aisles and getting stepped on by those was much more damaging than at the Buffett Event when everyone was wearing sandals.

Montgomery was sporting some wild ass Red cowboy boots that he was rightly proud of as he showed them off to the crowd. This guy is just damned entertaining, he is a crazy wild presence on the stage. The thing I love about country music is they are not afraid to write in plain English about drinking beer and raising hell where so many other types of music write around the reality with insinuation.

JIMMY BUFFETT
June 7, 2008
Walnut Creek

Although seated in the back I was parked in the next county
even hitting the lot three and a half hours before the show
started. As others around me arrived they went on their first
priority of setting up camp and a massive amount of portable
shade canopies sprouted quicker and thicker than those in a
graveyard after a disaster.

It was like a carnival suddenly broke out; everyone was playing
beer games, bean bags to the left of me, beer bongs to the
right. The neighborhood had competing stereo wars, one Buffet
song was playing in my right ear and one was playing in my left.

JAMES TAYLOR
Wed. May 28, 2008
Walnut Creek

Thousands of people woke up this morning, looked in the
mirror and were sHoCkEd to see their asses gone: they had
frozen them off at the JAMES TAYLOR Event at Walnut Creek
last night.

I know the weather man said the low was going to be "50"
and you think that's not too bad but it's just one degree
from "49" and that number in the forties would have set
alarm bells ringing.

Some had shorts and shirt sleeves on, most had their light
weight little rain slicker but Jack Frost just walked right
through that and carried his chill to the bone.

DURAN DURAN
w/Your Vegas
Wed, May 21, 2008
Koka Booth at Regency Park

The massive storm front slammed through Tuesday so today, Wednesday,
the only area under Emergency Watch is the Koka Booth Amphitheatre
in Cary, NC since that's where the biggest party in the county is
tonight.

You park in what is by day office building parking lots and as you're
hanging out the workers are streaming out on the half hour exiting the
workplace and opening more slots for cars. Can't you just imagine the
internal memo flying through the businesses, "Concert Tonight - Better
Leave Work Early"; Just one more excuse to get the hell out of Dodge
although to me it would be incentive to take a job there, "Work Here,
Party Next Door." Sign me up.