brainsplotch

I saw two concerts in two days, which is a first for me. There was Sloan at Saint Andrew's Hall (Detroit) on June 22 and Yo La Tengo at Bell's Brewery on June 23. It was a live music marathon that truly tested my middle-aged stamina. As I may have mentioned in here already, my Sloan fandom was a slow burn until fairly recently, when I finally made the deep dive and wondered what the hell took me so long. I'd considered seeing Sloan on a few of their previous tours, but for whatever reason it never seemed to happen. This time, however, I was determined that I'd see them, and wanted to see them more than ever before. I've seen more concerts at venerable old Saint Andrew's Hall than any other venue, yet every time I drive down there, it always seems to be more of an "adventure" than it should be. After some glitchy Google maps navigation, and a few wrong turns, we pulled into our pre-paid parking garage a block over from Saint Andrew's. L. and I then ...

Before I forget it ever happened, I need to take some time to write about seeing Drive-By Truckers in Detroit on Friday, March 10. This was my/our first indoor concert since before the pandemic, and guess what? L. and I both have colds now. We assume from being in a small space with hundreds of people in close quarters. Oh well, at least it isn't covid. The show itself was fun. DBT always brings it and last Friday at Saint Andrew's was no exception.  Since DBT has no "hits" per se, and a rabid fanbase that has in most cases followed them for decades and knows the entire discography front-to-back, the band plays whatever the hell they feel like playing that night. In fact, they are famous for not using a setlist. So every Truckers show is a unique experience and you're never sure what you will get. Young singer-songwriter Margo Cilker was the opener. Despite some technical glitches--her guitar-playing partner on stage seemed to have some problems with his amplifier...