All the Roots Grow Deeper When It's Dry

Summer lasted a generation

A generation - and then the winter wind

The bounty harvest that seemed so endless

It seemed so endless until it gave what it could give



Prosperity will have its seasons

Even when it's here, it's going by

And when it's gone we pretend we know the reasons

And all the roots grow deeper when it's dry.



It looked so easy, we change the weather

We would turn this world ourselves our world so small

But slower rhythms - still unheard of

Said that every blessed summer someday has to fall

- David Wilcox
© David Wilcox, All rights reserved.

MUSICAL WEEKEND AHEAD !!! UPDATED !!!

(click banner to see the schedule)

Guess the top five acts on my list of "must see" artists

and win a CD by one of those artists, my choice.

( in the event of multiple correct guesses, winner will be

chosen with extreme prejudice )

You can leave your guess in comments or, e-mail me.

If you leave your guess in the comments, be prepared

to give me your mailing info off site.

Time is short, act now !

_______CONTEST FINI_______

Well, the musical weekend is behind us now...

A fine weekend indeed.

The atmosphere downtown made it seem

like a different place. People came from miles

around and enjoyed the novel ability to stand

with one foot in Tennessee and the other in Virginia.

As for the contest, I had two very close

guesses with a correct three out of five.

No one got all five...

Awwww.......

Sam Bush Band

Mike Marshall

w/Big Trio (Alex Hargreaves & Paul Kowert)

Darrell Scott

Scott Miller & The Commonwealth

Robinella

These were the top five on my list of artists

to see.

There were several bands in the second tier

selection process that could have easily been

bumped up a notch but, I had this list set

before the contest and I'm sticking to it.

Click on the links to each and learn why...

More later.

A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY

MY BELEW MARBLE CELEBRATES IT'S 5,000th VISITOR WITH A SONG, OF COURSE...

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Nashville Parts & Pieces

Adrian's cheat sheet for "partial lyrics" : The Construction of Light,

in which, as an experiment, he assigned words to certain notes.

Nashville Trip, Over Due Report

OVERDUE REPORT ON MY JOURNEY TO NASHVEGAS

( not that anyone was really on the edge of their chair )

This trip was divided in purpose:

a. To visit with family

b. To witness the return of King Crimson ,Version VIII

I will address the "b." section of this journey in the two

following posts as to not cause those interested in show reports

to have to wade through the personal aspects.

Franklin is home to my oldest sister and her husband, my nephew,

his wife and daughter, live in the same neighborhood.

It is always nice to be able to combine pleasure with pleasure.

I arrived in Franklin on August 1st after making

he 4.5 hour drive from Eastern TN.

It was a lovely day, hot though it was.

carried with me boxes of family photos which

haven't been seen for many a moon, some I don't

know that I have ever seen or was too young to

appreciate.

These photos date back to the 1800s through the 1980s.

My other sister, here in the east, has been the keeper of

said boxes, not necessarily by choice.

So, it was to be a weekend of travel through history.

We started this process very soon after arrival pictures

pread out across the dining room table.

Lot's of memories, many of which had been buried and

were, suddenly, back in the light. More good ones

but some, I'd just as soon forget. Oh well, we must

face the past to understand the present, no ?

Friday evening was to be composed of dinner followed

by a nice evening of music under the stars.

As reported in an earlier post, we were to see jazz

songstress Annie Sellick and her band with

guest artist, Jeff Coffin of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones.

As it turns out, Jeff Coffin had to cancel, no matter.

My sister had invited a friend to join us for dinner

and the concert, a lovely woman whom she

had met on the local Mah Jong circuit, which

seems to have quite the following in the community.

We enjoyed a nice dinner of lasagna ( taken from

a Southern Living recipe, can't go wrong.)

, fruit, bread and great company.

Then it was time to load up and head over to the concert.

I really like the community and the town of Franklin.

My sister's neighborhood is pretty new, in fact, building

is still in progress and eventually, they will have their own

shopping area which will eliminate the need to really go anywhere.

By contrast, I live in an older neighborhood from back in the day

when everyone has a good sized yard, no neighborhood organization to speak of

and, no rules per se. Of course we look out for each other and respect

our respective spaces, with some exceptions, but that's another story.

The sense of community there in my sister's 'hood is

something to behold, very attracting. This concert series

is a good example. Of course, lots of people of the music

industry reside there so, music has to play a part.

The homes are all magnifico and designed after older,

landmark architecture of downtown Franklin.

So, the neighbors gather on the lawn around a grand,

sculptured fountain with chairs, beverages, some with

food, to enjoy some fine music and witness the setting of

the sun.

I always keep a couple of bag chairs in my car for just such an occasion.

Annie Sellick and her band were very enjoyable.

Upright bass, drums,keyboard,trumpet and vocals. Mostly jazz standards.

( Editor's note: Blogger has an issue with line spacing after adding a picture in the body of a post, until I learn how to deal with said issue, we are stuck with double spacing, arrrgghhh. )

The company was the more enjoyable aspect of this concert on the lawn. My nephew and my sister's friend joined us. Eventually, we wandered up the street to finish the concert on the front porch of more friends of my sister's. We could still hear the music as long as it lasted but, conversation was now the order of the evening, most enjoyable.

The rest of the weekend in Franklin was pretty laid back, which as fine by me. Visiting, looking through the boxes of memories, enjoying good meals.

Sunday afternoon, I had my first lesson in Mah Jong when my sister invited yet another friend to join us and to give me some pointers and rules. Very much fun though, more complicated then I imagined.

Saturday night, at the first King Crimson show, I was fortunate enough to secure a second ticket for the Sunday show, my hope was that I could persuade my sister's friend ( from the Friday evening concert ) to join me. Sadly, due to health reasons, she had to decline. I was somewhat disappointed as I didn't see her again for the rest of my visit.

Monday was a relaxed leisurely morning, I loaded up and headed east around noon. I only made one stop on the way home, at a doomed Starbucks where I filled my cup and purchased five pounds of "Pike Place" whole coffee beans. ( Saving 10 bucks by bulk. ) ;-)

I'm enjoying a cup as we speak...

Read further if you are interested in the King Crimson shows.

( Which got posted in the wrong order, oops. )

King Crimson V.VIII August 3rd, Nashville (Night Two)

After the show Saturday night and, before dinner, we stayed around
the venue for a while, chatting with other fans, absorbing the glow
of the aftershow.
We noticed that the car next to mine had a parking ticket on it, $50.00. Ouch !

The venue sent out a last minute e-mail stating that we could use the lot
for free but, we had to get a ticket by using a special code.

Pat and Gavin came out and chatted with those of us hanging about, signed some
stuff, the usual escape / meet & greet stuff.
Gavin eventually got in the vehicle with the ticket on it. ( Maybe Pat too )
I hoped they wouldn't have to pay that fine.

Sunday afternoon, I arrived in Hillsboro Village a little later then I did Saturday,
my brakes sounding somewhat similar to the discordant section of Sex, Sleep,
Eat, Drink, Shave (optional), Dream.

Tickledrop was holding our place in line this time and I was able to stand in line
for a shorter period. Thanks Tickle !
Her sister was to join us also, she arrived a little later.
Again, it was fun getting to know our queue mates.
A young couple in front of us from Arkansas were there for their first K.C. experience,
they can be seen in a Sid Smith vid on the DGM site as well as Tickledrop ( Rena Faye).
The edge of my white shirt also made the cut .

Second row tonight, directly in front of the Twang Bar King.
I managed to stay with Tickledrop and her sister for the duration this time and
what fun it was.

After we settled, we took turns making our way back up to the lobby for more merch
perusing and bathroom breaks.
The ever lovely Martha was at the top of the aisle with Ava & Leah. My, Ava has sure grown.

We spoke briefly, exchanged hugs, and then got ready for showtime.

Merch, merch, merch...

I picked up the Gavin Harrison cd "Drop" and # 12 of only 500 of the lithograph

of the In The Court of the Crimson King cover art. Tickledrop has # 13.

( Too much money on merch ! )

Tickledrop gifted me with a Discipline "celtic knot" mousepad, which made great personal

fans when the room got too warm. ( the A.C. in The Belcourt actually works very well )

Thanks Tickledrop !

The same intro music, the same announcement except, this time the announcer allowed
a little more space for thunderous applause after the "40th Anniversary Tour" part.

The Crim hit the stage to an a standing ovation , to which Adrian replied, "Thank you, goodnight !"
Always good for a laugh, that one.

Drum Duo
Construction of Light
Red

I think they got a standing ovation after each one of these...
Correct me if I am wrong, anyone. I was prepared to give them a

standing O after each song but, I don't think the crowd was up to that idea. lol

Neurotica
Three of a Perfect Pair
( Adrian wasn't quite in effects position for the solo part in this one, recovered nicely )

Vroom / Coda

Walking On Air

( Replaced "One Time" from last night, a gorgeous rendering, beautiful ! )

B'Boom
Dinosaur

( Always a crowd favorite )

Level 5
Talking Drum
Larks

( Scorching ! )

Encore:

There was a drum barrage intro here that included
the band and sounded like a new song was taking shape.
It held great promise. Tickledrop and her sister said that Tony sounded like a hellicopter while Robert sounded like a train. )

Thela

Encore again

We knew they were coming back out because
Martha, Leah and Ava were up at the stage clapping
along with the crowd...

They knew something we didn't.

Indiscipline
Elephant Talk

E.T. is always special with Tony on the finger extensions, which look to me like sawed off drumsticks after seeing them a little closer, the tapping effect adds something to the performance. ( Though I do appreciate Trey Gunn's additions as well )

They were even tighter this night, more confidant after
first night jitters were swept away, which were undetectable
to this audient.

Again we stuck around the venue for a while, getting to know attendees and

releasing some of the electricity accumulated from another electrifying experience.

Stood around with Martha in the lobby for a bit, meeting a member of her family and

chatting about "the name" for a bit.

I was gifted with a coveted laminate, Access All Areas pass. ( as seen above )

Not wanting to be a pester, yet, not wanting to waste the opportunity, I decided to

wander back stage, passing Robert in the hallway, he did not speak, as expected.

I had to cross the stage to access the Greenroom, only way to get there. It was a mighty treat

to cross the Crimson stage while crew was busy with the load out. I half expected someone to

say something to me but, the power of the laminate made me invisible.

I went to the Greenroom where Adrian, Gavin and others were hanging about.

I got Gavin to sign my copy of his cd, "Drop", a collaboration with 05ric.

Adrian signed the gig poster.

I didn't stay long I didn't want to abuse the privilege or seem like a stalker

type fan.

Again, we strolled down to Bosco's and again, we were seated next to Adrian and company.

Adrian came over and sat with us for a while and signed some more "stuff".

It was a fabulous close to the wonderful musical portion of a great weekend.

I headed back to Franklin after saying goodbyes to new friends, brakes grinding and

scrunching all the way. They would have to wait... after all, I didn't need to use them

much on the way home.

When I did get home, I got my brakes repaired, the next day, my driver's side door

nearly fell off. It was kind of like the car in The Blue's Brothers Movie when it fell apart

at the end. lol

Glad it waited.