Want Front Row Tickets to See Tom Petty?

Besides being a major Tom petty fan I always like to try to help people do good for those in need so I am passing this information on.

The bidding is beginning for front row seats to see Tom Petty in selected cities and as the small ad says all proceeds will go to the flood areas of the midwest. I will see you at one of those dates soon.

If you want to bid on these tickets the link is below.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/735854?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=0630-TP-EML

George Carlin.

George Carlin. http://www.georgecarlin.com/

Moments ago I read George died last night. Although I had a bit of disbelief and sadness at first as I stared at my yahoo headline soon I felt a smile start forming.. I spent some time this past weekend looking through some old high school and college annuals I had just rescued from storage. I saw a picture of me in 1976 on a stage giving a weather report. I was lifting lines from George Carlin as his character Al Sleet. …”And tonight the forecast is Dark, continued dark tonight with light to scattered light in the morning…”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1uaw3WIOlc

George was a genius and his humor was so counter-culture back in those days I just loved it. And I still do. I always will.

Our lives go by fast and our memories get wrapped around our music and culture as the decades fly by.
George made some very cool contributions to comedy and he always made us think in a different way. I will miss him.

Humor is the absence of terror,
And terror the absence of humor.
Lord Richard Buckley

Faster!!!

Jake last night in Hendersonville.

There is a link below to a shaky video shot using my small Sony digital camera from my seat during the final song of the show last night. Jake didn't seem to mind the video as he said during the show that the Central Park video on youtube had really helped get him noticed as a solo artist. I uploaded this video to google video if you want to view it. I really wanted to hear this one. I had the cd version of this song before I went to the show and I really enjoyed the live version as you can hear from my crazy laughing in the background. Of course I cut the ending as I jumped to my feet for the standing ovation. What a show. I loved it. I can't wait 'til the next Jake Shimabukuro show. I will be back.

Here is the google video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7622370815603293846&hl=en

Faster that the Highest Shutter Speed....

As you can see from this shot the camera cannot stop Jake's hands.
(Thanks to my daughter Alex for this photo)
When you say you are going to see a Ukulele player many people smile and say "oh." Well they have never seen Jake play. He can play it slow, he taps it, he can hammer it and the harmonics ring. He can play it so fast you cannot see his hands move. He really is the Stevie Ray Vaughn of the ukulele world. In fact just looking the word ukulele will bring up all kinds of youtube videos of Jake playing all kinds of songs. He has played with all kinds of bands and players. Some notable ones are Bela Fleck, Cindy Lauper, and he is currently touring with Jimmy Buffett, In fact as I write this he is enroute to shows in Detroit and NYC to play Madison Square Garden. Yes he really is that good.

The venue for the two sold out shows was the Blue Ridge Performing Arts Center.
http://www.blueridgepac.com/ This is a 501C non-profit which is managed entirely by a non-paid staff of volunteers. What a cool place. It is located in historic downtown Hendersonville and the place just plain rocks. The crowd was awesome. It was so quiet you could hear the audience breathe. Jake could have played the show unplugged and you could have heard it in the back. The acoustics are fabulous. You should go visit this place before the word gets out and you can't get tickets anymore....

Jake Shimabukuro!

Here is a picture of Jake and me before the show last night in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/
Wow what a whirlwind weekend. As I got up from the late night drive home from the Buffett show in Raleigh yesterday morning I only had a few hours to ready for the 4 hour trip to Hendersonville. Nothing like a good road trip for a concert. I had been looking forward to this one for quite a while. I love the town, the venue is awesome, and the artist is one of a kind. Did I mention I had front row seats?

The Year of Still Here.

In the year of the "Still Here Tour" I thought I would bring out a button I have from a Carowinds show in 1981. Other than all my vinyl records, It is one of the coolest collectibles I still have from the old daze.
A quick story. I bought this button during the Coconut Telegraph tour at a show where I took a bottle, a whole fifth actually, of rum into Carowinds down the steep walkway to the aluminum bench seats in front of the stage. The entrance was lined with about 100 of Charlotte's finest standing shoulder to shoulder to prevent any trouble from the crowd. It seems the Buffett following had already gained a reputation as a big party crowd. At this was before parrot heads even existed. Anyway, the bottle slipped a bit but I made it in. A whole bottle in my short pants and this was long before the days of cargo shorts! I swear there was a female cop who smiled at me as I strolled with my hands in my pockets! As I recall that show was very crowded and very loud. Everyone stood on the benches the whole show and the party was going on down on the asphalt below! Yes that was a different day. Buffett shows for less than 10 bucks! And they were great!

At this point I have been to seventy-eight Jimmy Buffett shows starting back in the 1970's. That's what happens when you do multiple shows at Carowinds and three in a row in Raleigh some years. I'm still here. 'Nuff said.

Not too much to report from the Raleigh show last night. It was hot, very hot, and the non-core set list was different for sure. I really enjoyed "Miss You so Badly" and "Coast of Carolina." Sonny Landreth and his band took the stage for two songs and really rocked! Sonny is the man! Another year, another t-shirt....

The Margaritaville Shrimp Bus....

Another very hot Raleigh North Carolina afternoon. It is 102 degrees F! The bus is here with all the parrotware for the party. The parking lot is full of tents and cars. Almost time for another edition of the Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band show.