After all that talk about seeing Holy Ghost Tent Revival ...

(House of Fools) ... I didn't even end up seeing them. I did go to the show, and I did see the openers, House of Fools, who I liked a lot. But a series of unrelated events conspired to suck the live-music spirit out of me and had me leaving the Pour House earlier than I anticipated. First was Michael Jackson's death. Talk about a shock. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was talking about it. Every TV downtown was tuned to the CNN coverage, which included the disturbing shot of his body being loaded off the helicopter and into the coroner's office. My two companions for the evening both admitted to crying when they heard the news. So basically there was just a damper on the evening that wasn't going to lift no matter what happened. Second was dinner at Gravy. I'll admit that as I write this I'm eating the leftovers that one of my companions left in my car. And I'm having the same reaction tonight that I had last night: After two bites I feel like I've consumed an entire bottle of olive oil and I'm imagining that someone has injected my veins with lead. I advise anyone who wants to go to dinner downtown then go out to stay away from Gravy. After eating there I just wanted to go home and sleep.

I will say the service is impeccable. Thirdly, I underestimated the hippie element that would be at the HGTR show. Personally I don't have a problem with hippies. I've been accused of being a hippie myself because of my love of comfortable footwear and natural remedies. By and large, they're just really happy people who really FEEL the music, who love to dance and don't give a damn that everyone else is laughing at them. And yes, I know that happy feeling usually has to do with the amount of drugs consumed. But by and large, I'd rather hang out with a group of happy people than the average jaded hipster. But my companion (only one went to the show with me) was freaked OUT by it all. Toward the end of House of Fools' set, I got a call that she was at Tir na Nog, so I went over to calm her down. "I just couldn't take it anymore!" she said, on the verge of hyperventilating. "there were too damn many hippies and I just can't handle jam bands! I just had to get the hell out of there." I kept telling her that House of Fools weren't really a jam band. If anything, they're straight up Southern rock/Classic rock with a little big of glam thrown in here and there. They reminded me of a mix of Atlanta Rhythm Section, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Kansas and My Morning Jacket. So, for me anyway, the evening was a good one, even if I didn't see the band I originally intended to see. Check out the video of House of Fools. And see more photos here.

House of Fools from Mann's World on Vimeo.