Flanfire

So much has been happening, yet so little time to write. Let me back up a bit and rehash. On Tuesday, February 10, we stopped at Threadgill's North to see Brennen Leigh - with David Hamburger as special guest. David, for those who are not in the know, has toured with Joan Baez and is married to the wonderful Catherine Berry (see her one-woman show in April at the Blue Theater). He also has a new band - the Grassy Knoll Boys (www.grassyknollboys.com) - that plays real bluegrass, with David on dobro and resonator guitar.

On February 15, we started the day by visiting with Cade Callahan at the gospel brunch at Threadgill's. Later, after stopping by my friend Steve Urlich's to celebrate his birthday, I went to the barn dance, which featured Guy Forsyth and a band that included girlfriend Wendy Colonna (from Lake Charles), Ann-Marie Harrop (the Bayou Huntress from, well, Monroe), George Rarie on guitar, former Carolyn Wonderland drummer Eldridge Goins (a Texas country boy who also writes great jazz-influenced songs of his own), and Kole El-Salah (also of the Carolyn Wonderland band today) on keyboards. We rocked and danced and partied hardy -- it was the first decent evening after two weeks of cold, wet, wet, wet weather.

On February 17, we chose to go to the Warehouse District to the Ginger Man to hear a special concert by Slaid Cleaves and his current band - Rick Richards on drums (from Ray Wylie Hubbard's band), Ivan Brown on bass (literally ON the bass for some songs, including his own He's Old, He's Six!), Michael O'Connor on guitars (one of our cruisemates), and Jeff Plankenhorn who should have been on dobro but he left it at home, so he just played the standup lap steel and guitars). We ran into the lovely and talented Karen Mal in the audience - she's now playing with the Dimestore Poets in addition to her own gigs - and quaffed some very cold, very tasty draft brew.

The next evening we dropped by Artz' Rib House for dinner and a short visit with Shelley (the mom-to-be) and Floramay (the bride-to-be). And last night we were treated by my man Ryan Cornelius, chief cook and bottlewasher at Alamo Drafthouse Village and my son-in-law, to Fifty First Dates and some of Buster's Crab Cakes at the Alamo. Yummm!! I also trekked out to the far hinterlands of Round Rock (near the Dell Diamond) to find that Jackson's band was NOT playing at Pardner's -- a long, long story.

It has been relatively quiet musically of late, but in the next few weeks Floramay, Slaid, and others will be releasing new music -- and then, of course, there is Not SXSW and SXSW itself!