Gerald R. Lucas

Thanks to A being on top of all things music in middle Jawja, she got us tickets to last night’s Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “fifth annual reunion farewell tour,” according to frontman Glen Phillips. They were good, but I wish they had some new stuff to perform. Seriously, it felt like I’ve heard it all before. I had. Still, it was a good time. They played all the standards, but I wish they had included “Fly From Heaven,” “Crowing,” and “Throw It All Away.”

Thanks to Glen and the boys for a good show. Have some new tunes when you come back again.

Yesterday, we spent the morning touring the Georgia Aquarium. The weather was still rainy from the night before, so this was a perfect time to look at fishes and take some photos.

Speaking of the night before, we saw Ben Folds at the Tabernacle. It was a great show at one of my favorite Atlanta venues. We decided to stay the night, so we rented a room at the Daze Inn, just a couple of blocks from the Tabernacle and the Aquarium. I’m glad we did because Ben played until after 11:30. I didn’t take any photos from the show, but Autumn should have some posted soon.

After the Aquarium, we went to Rosa Mexicana for lunch. Yes, we had the guacamole prepared table-side. Yes, it was simply amazing. In fact, I would go just for that and margaritas, though the rest of the meal was also good. The day before, we went to Six Feet Under, a local seafood restaurant. I had blackened shrimp tacos, so it was a Mexican food kinda weekend. Thanks to BJ for recommending both.

After our wonderful guacamole, we checked out The Bodies exhibit at Atlantic Station. Though we had our ticket already, we had to stand in line for about an hour-and-a-half. Yes, then we had to walk through the exhibit. I think I would have enjoyed it more had it not been for the wait. The show reminded me of something out of a Wells novel: Victorian vivisection in all its grotesque detail. Cool, but probably not worth the wait or the ticket price. We should have just gone to the High.

Great weekend.

The evening of September 20, 2008, was a cool night at Chastain Park Amphitheater, and I’m not just talking about the weather. David Byrne, he and his band dressed all in white on an equally austere stage, opened with his latest single “Strange Overtones” from his collaboration with Brian Eno, Everything that Happens Will Happen Today.

He played songs from this new disc, as well as some Talking Heads stuff, including “Once in a Lifetime,” “Life During Wartime,” “Cross-eyed and Painless,” and a cool arrangement of “Heaven.” He even had dancers on a number of his songs, including a bit in office chairs. The show, and the crowd, started out pretty mellow, but by the end of his set, everyone was up and showing their best eighties moves, especially the dude next to us. Byrne played three encores to an appreciative crowd.

A little video I forgot I took at the Steely Dan concert in Atlanta. My wife’s birthday present to me were two tickets. They played only their classic tunes — nothing from the last couple of years. It was the best show I’ve seen in a while, despite the oppressive heat. Thanks, again, A; I would do it again in a minute.

Oh, if you listen closely, you can hear us sing along. No, we weren’t drunk. It was too hot to drink.

I’m posting this picture of Donald Fagen for a couple of reasons. One, I’m getting psyched for the Steely Dan concert coming up on August 7 in Atlanta. Autumn bought me tickets for my birthday (also in August). Secondly, I wanted to test the Flickr posting of a picture to my new Blogger account. I think it looks pretty sweet. Blogger does have its perks.

What a shame about Owen.