Summer of 2010: Welcome

Oh, where to start...?

Well the Summer is supposed to start at Trudy's, on the first day with no school, this year a Wednesday. The picture below is of the Trudy's parking lot on that day. Plenty of parking, no? That's because they're no longer open for lunch or breakfast, except on weekends. Change is bad.

Plan B worked out fine, as Carrie and I went to El Chile on Manor Road, for the requisite margaritas, nachos and quesadillas. They have a nice covered patio, good food, drinks and service, and feels more like a neighborhood place, instead of the hipster hangout vibe it had when they first opened.

Welcome back to the blog. I've been out of school for nearly three weeks, and this is my first entry of the Summer of Jay 6. I view the blog as a celebration of Summer; more specifically my Summer. In previous blogging summers, I've been in the mindset of the celebration almost immediately after school ended. This year, for a number of reasons, it has taken a while to become inspired, and I did not want to force it. But I've taken today, the first official day of summer, to begin again. I thank you all for your patience, and for your requests for the resumption of the blog.

Let's get to the music. For years, Waterloo Records in-store performances have been my favorite way to sample a wide variety of music. I go to in-stores during the school year, but the pace picks up during the summer.

Of the two main guys in the local band The Gourds, Kevin Russell is the better songwriter and performer. He has a solo project that he calls Shinyribs, which sounds just like the best stuff from The Gourds.

Sometimes music sounds like where it comes from; think Motown and Detroit, the Beach Boys and California. Well, The Gourds, Shinyribs, and Kevin Russell sound like South Austin. For this nearly one hour set, Russell seemed more clean-cut than usual, with a trimmed goatee and a clean shirt, but the music was pure South First, Tex-Mex Mile, South Austin. He turns a casual phrase, like he's your slightly embarrassing uncle, but there is genius in how simple he makes it sound. It is also fun to see a guy unafraid to switch out his electric guitar for a song or two on the ukulele.

Josh Ritter seemed very much like a kid when I saw him last week. He is 10 years younger than I am, but that, sadly, no longer qualifies one for kid-dom. I'd heard of him before, but was really not familiar at all with his music. I looked him up on Wikipedia, and his background is interesting. Useless fact (if Wikipedia can be trusted as factual) : he was married last year in Branson, Missouri. Funny, he did not seem at all like a hillbilly redneck biker for Jesus.

His first three songs were void of any pop-sounding hooks, and he seemed to be more interested in showing off his songcraft. He followed that with more fan friendly folk/pop, going completely solo for his full set. The store was nearly full, and he held the room's attention well, not an easy task, even when the place is full of fans. He impressed me because he was playing later that night at a sold out show at Antone's. He could have cruised through a short set and left, seeing how there was no need to further promote the show. Instead, he played for an hour, was more than gracious, and gave John, Waterloo's owner, a big ol' hug before and after the set. Nice kid.

Sage Francis is nearly the same age as Josh Ritter, but a completely different kind of performer, though he also took the stage solo. I'd read that Francis was a hip hop artist, but that's not what I saw. No music, just poetry, delivered in a hip hop, freestyle way, but definitely not your garden-variety hip hop. It was more like a guy who had won poetry slams for 5 years running, getting semi-famous, and going out on tour. With a gig later that night at The Mohawk, he was intense, political, engaging, and only rarely slipped into paranoia about the government. With several dozen fans in the audience, I was thinking that the crowd was younger, more disaffected, and more likely to download music than buy a CD, than any crowd in recent memory at Waterloo. It was different than other shows at the store, but he threw a verbal barrage at us with undeniable intensity, which made it well worth being there.

Pictured below is Annie's, a breakfast, lunch and dinner spot on Congress, just across from Manuel's. Carrie had half of a huge burger with fries, I had a chicken salad sandwich, and both were very good. It's a nice place, with lots of natural light from the multi-windowed storefront. We have been there a few times, but have never sat outside. It looks like a delightful place to enjoy the street scene, but it was way too hot, and judging by all the empty tables, everyone else thought the same thing.

If you have read this far, you are obviously a committed blog reader. Thanks. Check in as often as you like. I may post a few times a week, or I may combine things into one entry per week. Either way, I hope you'll be back, and that you enjoy another Summer of Jay.

Comments are always welcome. Needed, craved, etc.

Peace,

JS4