CHARLOTTE AUDIO 11-30-2007
CHARLOTTE PHOTOS 11-30-2007
We woke up and took our time getting ready. We went out for lunch at a really good Mexican
restaurant there in Clayton.
We got back to the house, and packed up everything we needed and hit the road. We got to listen
to Blind Melon during most of the ride, which was excellent! Most people that I have ever gone
on road trips with can’t stand to listen to one Blind Melon album during the whole trip. I was
traveling with like-minded folk on this journey! And even went it wasn’t Blind Melon, we would be
listening to the Avett Brothers. The music selection kicked ass. ‘nuff said. . .
We got to the hotel and got checked in. We hung out at a place across the street to get some
drinks before the show (and yes, we had a DD that evening ~ thanks Sonya!) We all sat around a
table and talked about our experiences so far on the tour. It was fun to hang out there with
everyone. Here’s a couple of pics of all of us hanging out together.
When we arrived at the show, I was surprised to see the venue. It is called the Tremont Music Hall,
and it ain’t much but a small warehouse. When I went up to get a beer, I happened to meet Noah, one
of the road crew. He seems very cool, and we all got to talk with him later after the show.
I got to meet a couple more melons from the forum at this show. I met Bam~Melon, and she was super cool,
and had lots of positive energy. I also met antares, and he was very fun to talk with.
The venue and security were super cool with taping of all sorts. And all of a sudden, I noticed a guy
with a tapers rig and microphone stand. I introduced myself to him and his girlfriend. (Aaron & Heather).
Aaron really knew what he was doing from what I could see. And later, Heather was able to get up front
with us and get some good photos.
Then I met Rick Ford who I had known about because some of my friends had traded melon recordings with him
before. He recorded the Charlotte show (and the Lancaster one as well). I believe there was also one more
audio taper there. And all four of us had different recording devices. In addition to the audio tapers,
there were two video tapers, and as I understand it, one of them was going to do the zoomed out perspective,
while the other camera would do close-ups. So they should be able to edit together a decent piece of footage
with several audio sources to choose from. I gotta say, in regards to taping, the Charlotte venue was very
cool, and it had a good turnout of people recording the show.
So the first band was not that great. Anything good about this band can be attributed to the bassist and no
one else. He IS that band, whatever their name is.
Then after a short break after the opener, the wait was over. We were all up front and had a great view of
the stage. This was the only show out of the three that I attended to have a barricade up front. So there
was some space between the stage and the first row. That’s where Colleen and Brooks (Glen’s wife) stood during
the show, where they could get some good footage.
Travis appeared onstage with the mask again, but this time, he had a full vest-tuxedo to go along with the
mask. This made it look much more like Phantom of the Opera to me, whereas the previous night, he looked more
like Jason from Friday the13th. So they opened up with Galaxie, and Wilt, which Travis wore the mask for both
of those songs before removing it.
We heard Glen use the gong for the first time at the end of “No Rain”. I had seen the gong on his set at the
Lancaster and Falls Church shows, but I don’t think he used it then. When “No Rain” was over, Travis informed
the crowd, “You just got gonged.”
During the show Colleen pulled Keith up in front of the barricade to do some filming with the vidcrew camera.
We were all stoked to see this happen. Keith totally deserves this. How cool that must have been for him!
^^^I got this off Keith's myspace, but I assume Doug, Kacie, or Carolyn got this shot.^^^
Travis gave another shout-out to the Forum at this show! Here is the audio clip, thanks to Aaron & Heather. . .
Forum Mention (Charlotte 11-30-2007)
One special thing about this show was that we got to hear Colleen sing on “Mouthful of Cavities”. The previous
shows they did not have “Cavities” on the setlist, but we got to hear it in Charlotte. Colleen has a beautiful
voice and does a wonderful job with the back-up vocals on that song!
Colleen and Travis singing "Mouthful of Cavities"
Travis came out and did a solo acoustic song that I had never heard before. I got to talk with him after the
show, and I asked him if it was a new song. But he said it was a cover of a Jeff Buckley tune called “So Real”.
Since I had seen him perform “That’s The Way” two nights in a row, I am glad he switched it up with something
different for the Charlotte show. I tried to upload this to Megavideo, but it didn't work. If I can find
a way to get it posted, then I will upload it somewhere.
The tail-end of Hypnotized, then Soak the Sin
Out of the three shows that I saw, this one went the quickest. It’s like it started and then it was over.
And please don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that Blind Melon played a short set. They did indeed rock that
place for a decent amount of time. It was more that my perception of the evening was that time was going too
quickly. I knew this would be my last Blind Melon concert for awhile, and there was nothing I could do to
make it last longer. See, there is a feeling that you get when you are at a Blind Melon show, and when it’s
happening, you never want it to end.
So after the show was over, the band hung out and talked with people for quite some time. I got to thank
Rogers for taking the time to get us into these shows on the guest list. He in turned thanked me for being
involved with the Forum and promoting the band. What a great trade-off! ! !
I also got to talk with Glen and meet his wife Brooks. I told him that I really dug his video (which was a
take on a portion of Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same”). And Brooks let me know that she was the
‘mailman’ in the video. There were a few times where I thought Glen was kind of done talking with me, and
before the awkward silence set in, I would get ready to say “Thanks for your time – you rock, Glen!” But
then he would start talking with me again, and I was thinking, “Is this for real? Glen Graham keeps talking
with me!” It was so cool getting to talk with Glen! ! !
Glen Graham and me at the Tremont Music Hall
I also got to talk with Christopher again, and it was pretty interesting. He told a group of us that he was
the most pessimistic about the idea of Blind Melon reforming. He felt like he was the one saying, “that might
not work.” But he turned it around and said that Travis was this missing piece that fit with the rest of the
band, and that none of them could refute that.
He also said that the one thing that sometimes gets him a little fired up is when people accuse the band of
reforming for the money. And I think it is totally justified for him to feel that way. From the clubs I have
been seeing them in, I can say that they aren’t performing at the Carnegie Hall or anything. It looks like
they fully intend to build this thing back up from a grass-roots level by playing the small clubs and working
their way up again (not that they ever want to play arena rock again, but surely they will graduate to some
better venues). And CT said that he was making more money when he was producing other artists, and that this
endeavor was largely being payed for by the members of the band. So I can see why people taking cheap shots
and saying that it’s all about the money could get him worked up. And besides, you can hardly accuse a band of
“doing it for the money” if they are charging $15 a ticket. That’s just insanely cheap. I can’t think of many
bands I have seen in the last few years where the ticket price was near as cheap. In talking with him you could
definitely tell that it wasn’t about the money. He said that he was very humbled from having gone through the
experience of being on top of the world when Blind Melon started, and then having a best friend and band-member
die, and most of that momentum disappearing. He said that if they can keep playing to audiences like the ones
he has been playing to this past year that he would be overjoyed. He was so sincere about this. He was happy to
talk with us, and he was very happy to be playing music with Blind Melon again.
Christopher Thorn and me at the Tremont Music Hall
When Sonya was giving her home-made “Brad” shirt to Brad, he was talking with a group of people. And I was
just sort of listening to him answer questions. I wasn’t trying to be another person crowding his space, but
he noticed me behind a few other people, and I think he must’ve remembered me from the shows the previous
nights, and he extended his hand out to me for a shake, and said, “Good to see you again!” That is how cool
this band is. I was just sort of waiting and listening to him talk with other fans, and he made it a point to
say hello to me. In many ways, they are indeed rock stars, but in other ways, they are such down-to-earth,
normal people.
So even after we left the venue itself, we got to hang out in the parking lot for awhile. We got a few
pictures of people hanging around the bus with each other. And Travis returned to say hello to everyone.
And we also got to talk with Noah for awhile. That guy is funny! And even though most of us had already met
Rikk the guitar tech, I got to talk with him for the first time that evening. He seems like a pretty cool
guy. All in all, Blind Melon is just downright cool: from the band members, to the vidcrew, to the road crew,
and the fans ~ they are all cool people!
And later that evening, we arrived back at the Embassy Suites for some much needed rest.
^^^ Thanks for the pic Karen! ^^^
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