Roll Tape!
Two Urban Licks: Nikki and I met David and his lovely wife, for pre-show dinner.
I doubt I’ll ever be crazy about the name, but if the food is always so interesting, I can overlook the oddity. So how is it? Tasty. Creative without being too poncey about it. And I covet their massive warehouse-type space. Two Urban Licks is just off Ralph McGill, practically hidden behind the Telephone Company Lofts. For once, I was pleased to encounter valet parking. Self-parking would’ve taken forever. As it was, I’ve no idea where they took the car. Maybe they stack the automobiles just out of sight.
Beer in bottles. Wine in kegs. Mixed drinks called infusions are poured out of these hanging lucite containers. And the dining room surrounds an open kitchen. It’s like Iron Chef, only without the commentary and soundtrack. So what about the food? We had a couple of appetizers, the salmon chips and shaved calamari. I’m not a calamari fan, but this was exceptional. Kind of sweet, kind of spicy, and not at all rubbery. We were told that the salmon chips were a fan favorite, but while they were quite good, I’d probably opt for something else when next we visit. Dinner for me was their NY Strip, served in a trough-shaped, deep-dish plate with asparagus and wee little potatoes. It arrived medium, as ordered. And it was really, really good. Juicy throughout, tender with a hint of good marinade.
From there, we went to The Tabernacle.
Lucinda Williams: We arrived just in time to catch the last three or four songs of her opening band, a three-piece called The Heartless Bastards. I’ve not bothered to look just yet, but I’d imagine that there is a MySpace band page with their name on it. And if so, a visit might be worth your time. The Heartless Bastards consist of a drummer, a bassist and a girl with a Gibson who can wail when her voice demands it.
As I’d heard so often, Lucinda William’s live set was incredibly good. And as I’d suspected, there is something raw and honest about her live performance that makes her studio work start to pale, but only a little. At 54 years old, her delivery is bolder than most artists half her age or younger. Her set was made up with songs from Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten, Drunken Angel, Lake Charles, Joy and the title track), World Without Tears (Fruits of My Labor, Righteously, Atonement), Essence (Get Right With God, Bus to Baton Rouge) and her newest effort, West (Fancy Funeral, Everything Has Changed, Come On, Unsuffer Me, Where Is My Love?). I’m sure I missed a few, but all were exceptional. She was incredibly appreciative of her audience. And they were equally pleased to hear her. One guy in the balcony near us kept showing his appreciation with wolf whistles.
And not enough can be said about her guitarist, whose chrome-faced Les Paul filled my backslidden-guitarist’s heart with jealous longing.
(Must get new strings.)
PodCamp Atlanta: We rolled out of bed with just enough time to hop in the shower and then into the car. Our destination was Emory. Our purpose was PodCamp. There, Nikki and I joined Alyssa with only a few minutes to spare before our scheduled session. We led a discussion about the positive effects of podcasting as it related to our work with North Fulton Drama Club. Thanks are due to Rusty and Amber, not just for suggesting that we do a session, not just for attending ours, but for making PodCamp Atlanta happen in the first place.
The end result was a lively session that started with the reason why we did a podcast to begin with and ended with a still relevant segue into American Idol and how the losers are more interesting than winners. But to make perfect sense of it, you’d just have to be there.
And as fate would have it, you can hear the whole conversation over at Georgia Podcast Network. We’ve posted it as our latest NFDC Podcast!
[tags]podcamp, podcampatlanta, podcamp atlanta, north fulton drama club, lucinda williams, two urban licks, atlanta[/tags]
