Arrive Charlotte Century 7-27-2008

An easy drive from Columbia back into NC to go to Charlotte, the queen city. Brent Bagwell set up a date for us at Century, a vintage shop that hosts concerts in it's back room. AS the drive was short we didn't leave Columbia until about 4:30, got into twon around 6 and got some BBQ foods around the corner. The heat really started getting intense this day. Thankfully in the south people recognize this as a fact of life and have the AC to deal with it. (Unlike in NYC where I'm writing these posts from.)
Brent brought his Project Bluebird this night. It's a six piece group made up of 4 musicians from Charlotte and two from Raleigh / Durham over in the eastern part of NC. The full lineup is Ben Kennedy on cello and violin; Carrie Shull on oboe and English horn; Crowmeat Bob Pence on alto and baritone saxophones and bass clarinet; Brent Bagwell on tenor and baritone saxophones and clarinet; Ron Brendle on bass; and newcomer Molly J. Brown on tuba. Nice instrumentation with interesting arrangements and a distinct aura of musicality happening. My favorite group we've played with on the tour yet.
Our set went well - though the room is dry, it's not difficult to play in, and as a listener, everything is clear. Afterwards we hung out at the Snug Harbor and got into a nasty game of cornhole - a good time. Stayed at Brent's new place and was able to hang out a little bit with him & his son Charlie the next day. Thanks Brent!

Arrive Columbia 7-25 & 26 2008

Back on down to the capitol of South Carolina, Columbia. Our man Ross set up two dates for us, the first at the Columbia Museum of Art and the second at the Whig. Both places are on Main Street, separated by a few blocks. The Museum show was first, on Friday night. There was a good amount of press for this show and there was quite a good turnout - a close to full house in the auditorium. We played two sets, the first a bit longer than the second and the audience was quite attentive and appreciative. Someone took a few videos of the concert and have posted them up on youtube - here's one - On Time:
We went back to Ross's for a cookout after the show - Mahi Mahi. (Being at a Museum it was a earlier show than ay of the other ones on the tour and finished by 9pm.) We enjoyed the southern night and I fell asleep watching Sans Soleil by Chris Marker.
The next day was basically a day off as our show at the Whig wasn't to start until after 10pm. We got some great food at the Blue Cactus and wasted time in little 5 points before we went back to Ross's and had a second cookout in as many days, this time with Salmon and Chicken. Delicious. By the time we got to the Whig to load in there was already a good sized crowd and the two sets we played were punctuated by plenty of applause and a fair amount of bizarre comments from random folks. The particularly memorable ones made by a fellow wearing sunglasses and mardi gras beads. A great stay in Columbia, two shows with more than a hundred people seeing the music. Got our tour on the right track.

Arrive Asheville Bobo 7-24-2008

A short 2 hour drive to Asheville from Knoxville in the late afternoon. Shane Perlowin set up a date for us at the Bobo Gallery - a home away form home for many of us from Chicago. Brad, the owner, is a genuine good fellow and is so supportive of what we do. It's a good thing. As we got into town, barricades were being set up all around the downtown district, and keeping us away from the Gallery. After about a half hour of circling, we finally found a place to park about 4 blocks away and had to hike in all the equipment. We set up and took a walk around downtown Asheville, getting some dinner. This was a our first real show of the tour. A good crowd formed by the time we played - Shane opened with a quartet of Joe & Michael of Mind vs. Target plus a bassist Trevor Stoia, an improvised set with a structure. We played all the new material and it's starting to feel really good - Shevitz really came our of the gates - his first solo was super on, just navigating all over the bars with the four-stick mallets - fun to watch and hear. The added energy from the crowd really pushed us on throughout the set. There Was is now working.

Arrive is the quartet of Aram Shelton, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke, and Tim Daisy. They are on tour from July 21st to August 6th.

Arrive Knoxville Pilot Light 7-23-2008

Had to get up early in Bloomington - on the road at 8:00 in order to get to Morehead State College an hour east of Lexington for a workshop. A few hundred high school students in a summer program. Most of them played music, but not all. The workshop was largely an open rehearsal. We worked on a piece called "There Was" that I first wrote several years ago, but have not yet been able to get the kinks out. This was a good opportunity to work on the piece, I explained as we worked through the different sections, describing the way we were playing cells of different lengths to create overlapping parts. We answered questions and played two more pieces. Lots of the kids were enthusiastic afterwards ad came up to the stage to ask us questions. We had lunch at a taqueria in Morehead and then took a break in a city park for an hour before heading down to Knoxville and the Pilot Light. It was a low turnout there - an inauspicious beginning to the tour to have two slow nights in a row. But, we were able to work on music before the show and once again we stayed with very generous people, this time Van and Margaret Walker, so this night was definitely worthwhile.

Arrive is the quartet of Aram Shelton, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke, and Tim Daisy. They are on tour from July 21st to August 6th.

Arrive Bloomington Cinemat 7-22-2008

First night of the tour - a four hour drive from Chicago. This date was set up with pretty short notice as our usual connection in Lexington had to cancel the date due to fire marshal regulations. David Miller, a trumpet player, set up a date for us at a space called Cinemat. My first time in Bloomington. We shared the bill with two other groups - a trio of Dan Wicks, Tony Salas and DeRobertis; David Miller's group DMC Improvisers Trio with Marty Belcher, plus guest Vicky Alexandra. Due to the turnout it was more a night to hear each others music. Each of the opening bands had nice moments and were similar in that there was no drummer in either group. We played a set of 4 newer songs and two older. There are a number of new parts, so this date was definitely a bit on the unrefined side but still felt good. Marty put us up at his place slightly on the outside of town - a beautiful home surrounded by trees with lots of windows and space. Thanks to him & David.

Arrive is the quartet of Aram Shelton, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke, and Tim Daisy. They are on tour from July 21st to August 6th.