The Outfield ‘Bangin’

I’m getting very sick of being sick and tired. Last week, I had some kind of stinking head cold and this week, it has been allergies.

I stopped by a Walgreens yesterday to find some sort of relief along with cough drops before hitting the Blind Tiger. The shelves had been pillaged before I arrived by the suffering masses with runny noses and watery eyes. The usual stuff that I go for wasn’t in stock. I settled for a Wal-Vert something or another. I made sure to get the non-drowsy formula. Because generally speaking, it’s not a great idea to mix cold or allergy medicine with Yuengling beer or any other alcoholic beverages. Unless you want to pass out.

The BT was having a myspace party put together by Frank Pyrtle, the drummer for a local cover band called The Dickens. Seven bands for seven bucks and there was a damn good turnout for a Sunday evening. It was an all ages show because wunder kid Josh Thompson from Winston-Salem was second on the bill.

Lube opened up the evening shortly after six. Although the band was sounding tight, they were a little more relaxed than they were on Saturday night for their CD release party. Evan and company was dead on even with their changed up show from an “R” rating to a “G”.

All through Lube’s performance, I couldn’t help but notice families and kids pony up seven bucks a head to get in. They were there for Josh Thompson.

He’s the Ryan Cabrera or Howie Day of North Carolina. Thompson, if I heard right, is sixteen years old. His music for the most part is whiny, teenage flavored drivel. What the kid needs is a woman to come along and emotionally disembowel him. Then… Maybe…his music would interest me. Just keep in mind that this is only my assholic opinion as a former Greensboro News & Record concert reviewer.

But! He did pack them in and it shows that he’s striking a chord with some folks out there. If Thompson were to start up a slumber party circuit, he would clean up. That’s the kind of feeling that I got from watching teenage girls looking into each other’s eyes and singing along with the young man on stage.

I ran into Scott Yost, Rick Farmer, Mike Klein, Marcia Gan, Josh in the box, and the lovely Kristina. It was the same kind of party as the night before except with more youngsters and a few different faces.

Saturday night, I ran into Bradford “Hinzy” Hines, Chris Roulhac, Danny Fonorow, Tim Beeman, Tina Sutton, and Erin McCarthy.

I’m glad that I went on Saturday night because I really didn’t feel up to it. But eventually I got in a better mood and it was cool catching up with everyone that I hadn’t seen in a long while.

Erin once worked at Dick Broadcasting. Her last week was like my first week. And every time that I see her, she’s always smiling. She’s an attractive and eye-catching woman but yet she manages to sneak up on me with ninja-like stealth. She would make a superb assassin.

The BT was packed and many of the male eyes were watching the televised basketball game between Duke and North Carolina. Hinzy gave me a little grief about my attitude of indifference concerning the game. He’s a northern transplant and perhaps he believes that I take it for granted.

Once the game was over, all eyes and ears could concentrate on the music. The opening band kept that in perspective and kept smiles upon their faces. I can’t remember their name because they weren’t that memorable. So, in that respect, I was torn between watching the game or them. I choose conversing with friends and drinking Yuengling.

For the first time in a long time, I was at the Blind Tiger three times within five days. The BT used to be kind of a hang out for me when it came to live music. I think that I surprised Shane and Doc with my many outings. Hopefully, I will get back into the groove with local live music. Last summer for me was quite the downer where live music was concerned. I couldn’t get out as much as I wanted because of the schedule that I had to keep.

And before I forget, Lube is a band that you need to see. It’s great that Evan Olson once again has an outlet for his original music. Although, there are too many covers thrown in, the Olson penned gems are worth waiting for in a live situation. Evan is the consummate rock n’ roll front man. He commands your attention and he keeps it without any boredom creeping in.

Also… Over the weekend, I managed to watch ‘Old School’, ‘Flightplan’, and ‘The Third Man’.

‘Old School’ is kind of like an ‘Animal House’ for thirty or forty-somethings. I thought the movie was hysterical. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars on the Netflix grading scale.

‘Flightplan’ wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. As a matter of fact, there were so many things about it that I found quite cheesy. It’s only getting 3 out of 5 stars from me.

‘The Third Man’ is an old film with Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles. It takes place in a post-WWII Vienna. It’s black and white and beautiful. Carol Reed, the director, really made me look twice at his choice of shots and angles. The man was an awesome director that has been forgotten over time. I highly recommend it because the film had managed to stand up over time. I’m giving it full 5 stars.

I still have ‘Junebug’ and ‘Doom’ waiting for me on the entertainment center. Just sitting there mocking me as another postal day goes passing by.