Thursday follow-up on Friday

I had a couple of stories this week in the Gazz. Sorry, I've been slacking more with blogging in general due to the work load. I. Am. A. Slave.

Anyway,

John Legend/India.Arie --Really, a hell of a show. The music was swell, but the spectacle and the energy level were off the charts. I've seldom seen a crowd that into a concert and was pleasantly surprised that India.Arie was as good as she was. I also expected more political stuff out of her than she gave, but she was charming. Legend was as good as his hype and really the whole show felt about three or five times the size it was. In a place like the Clay Center, it makes you feel like you're really in the thick of things, even if you're up in the nosebleed seats -which is where I was.

Suburban Graffiti -A local band. I don't do enough local stuff and I'm aware of it. I was impressed with their musical direction and the shape of what they're trying to do. Naturally, they're not going to stick with it. All of them are pretty bright, are going to decent schools and will figure out a career in music is nearly as rewarding as a career in writing. Still, I liked what I heard and they had a nice naivete about them.

Gary Puckett- Hmm... well, can't say this was a great one. He was amiable and I knew his music, but I was never much of a fan. Lady Willpower and Young girl were played a hell of a lot on the oldies station I had to listen to at the pizza parlor where I worked when I was about 20. I got sick of it, but the interview came off okay. Just nothing new revealed to me other than Prince Charles was a bigger goober than I thought.

James Price -modestly bitter about the falling out with Ralph Stanley, who, by several reports, is kind of an asshole. He had a nice origin story, but I'd have given five bucks if he'd said something like, "that motherfucker Stanley fired my ass."