octette

this sign entertained me for a while tonight. rent a fence!!!!

went to illinois to see emerson hart. that is not the big deal that it sounded in my head beforehand; it took less time to get there than it takes to get to steph or annie’s. i was a little nervous since the venue had been described to me as “shady” and “sketchy” but it turned out to be totally okay — it’s a 24 hour bar in a giant parking lot that it shares with, like, two strip clubs and a gas station.

it kind of reminded me of new jersey.

the opening band did not suck. they are called cavo, and they sound like black lab. they did an acoustic set, and played the first song twice. i mean, it wasn’t the best thing i’d ever heard, but my ears did not bleed. i was sitting close to the front, so i didn’t pull out my book and read — it would have been rude. i was tempted, though. the line between sucking and being boring is thin and easily strayed across.

emerson hart RULED, though. he had the audience in the palm of his hand the whole time. we were all enraptured by his stories about his family (his dad was murdered when he was a kid, like 10 yrs old, and they never found the body. and his mom is apparently a cold waspy type — from new jersey. i do not picture jersey as being the land of the wasps, but okay! i can go with it). there was also a great story about how at almost every show, someone will come up to him and tell him that “if you could only see” is a great cover for him to do because he sounds just like “that dude from tonic.” ahahaha.

yes. yes, emerson hart does sound exactly like himself.

he did not play my favorite song (“run to”), but he did play “if you’re gonna leave” and “cigarettes and gasoline” (which is about his dad), and “blueberry hill” (which is about his newborn baby), and HE COVERED MY FAVORITE TOM PETTY SONG IN THE WHOLE WORLD. which is apparently his favorite tom petty song too! (for the record, it is “breakdown”.)

then i stood outside and giggled at the fence, and now i am home. i am kicking myself for forgetting my digital camera, because he was so fucking adorable, but whatever.

this was one of his last shows for a while because he’s going to go home to nashville and record a new album. how bad do i want to move to nashville and go to all the hometown shows he is bound to play? A LOT, but not enough to actually do it. haha.