$18 for two beers

 I could ruminate on a lot of things about the new Raleigh Amphitheater after last night's opening. I could discuss the good things, such as how walking with the crowds downtown made Raleigh actually feel like a real city,  how you can get food from your favorite Empire eateries, or how the shimmer wall is really pretty stunning when viewed from that angle. And I could write about the not-so-positive things, such as how the amphitheater itself is really pretty charmless and is in fact built RIGHT BESIDE the railroad tracks. The Amtrak and a CFX came through during the short time I was at the show, and both times the train horn drowned out the music.  And then there's the ultimate insult-to-injury of having to walk by the empty lot where Kings once stood. It truly appears that the City of Raleigh bought that building and tore it down for nothing. 

But the thing that just kind of stuck in my craw was having to pay $18 for two beers. Granted, they were local micro brews (a Big Boss Bad Penny and a Lonerider Shotgun Betty), and they were the 24 oz. variety. I know this is probably what I would pay for a beer if I went to RBC or Walnut Creek, but I wasn't at either of those out-of-the-way venues. Three blocks away I could get both of those beers for $5 apiece. And the truly irksome thing is that the $9 per beer price tag was actually kind of a deal; the $16 oz. varieties are $8 apiece. 

Basically that means if you're going to a show at the amphitheater and don't feel like going through the hassle of sneaking something in, go across the street to Deep South, or next door to Poole's and get your drink on beforehand. 

We got to the show right before

The Loners from Mann's World on Vimeo.
">I Was Totally Destroying It's last song, which was a cover of "In a Big Country," which they nailed. If they're going to keep doing the '80s covers, I want to hear them do Paul Young's underrated "Come Back and Stay."

I could have gotten a little closer, but they started playing this song right as we got there, so I just stopped where I was and started recording.

After IWTDI, Raleigh legends The Connells played to a sedate but appreciative crowd. It really did seem like family night at the amphitheater with small children running everywhere. I wonder how many of those parents are aware of the Connells kid-friendly off-shoot Mommie. I honestly wasn't in the mood to do much shooting last night, and just retired to the small lawn area to enjoy the ambiance and my overpriced beer.

Afterward we ended up at Isaac Hunter's Tavern, a place I really don't go to that often (usually I'm at The Remedy or Landmark). It took over the spot formerly inhabited by the Capital Room/Fayetteville Street Tavern, which used to be the one unpretentious place to get a drink downtown. It's a little more upscale now with a good North Carolina beer selection, a DJ, and a Wii. If you were there last night and saw a couple aggressively playing Wii tennis (and knocking over a Dewars in the process), that was me and the Wiz. The place was packed, but I didn't see anyone I knew, which can be a very good thing.

After Isaac Hunters we headed over to Tir na Nog, getting there just before the end of The Loners set. I got a quick photo and video, then got a quick photo of Red Collar before leaving. Both bands put on energetic shows as usual.

Yes, I went to an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day

And it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, Tir na Nog was crowded, but not the most crowded I've ever seen it (last year's Raleigh Undercover gets that distinction). And the majority of the patrons, aside from wearing some truly stupid-looking faux Irish ensembles, were well-behaved and seemed mostly interested in downing another Guinness.

So for those of you who deliberately avoided seeing I Was Totally Destroying It do their U2 set simply because of the date and the place, well, you kind of missed it. John Booker lived up to his promise and had a very respectable mullet going on. That mullet seemed to inspire him too because he truly did channel Bono - much more so than the January show where he lost his voice. Not wanting to run afoul of any copyright laws, I only got a short snippet of "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," and you can only see it by downloading it here.

If you're a U2 fan at all, you really need to check them out because, not only are they dead on, but they play a wide variety of songs, including the old stuff that I love so much.

IWDT $100

If you remember my January post about IWTDI's U2 covers set, I offered John $100 if he would cut his hair into a genuine Bono-mullet for their St. Patrick's Day show this Wednesday at Tir na Nog. Word from the band is that it's really going to happen. And if the band's twitter feed offers a clue (check the part about "frosting"), it looks like he's going for the '83 era 'do. In which case my second offer still stands to buy him a beer if he wears a black sleeveless Western shirt.

While I'm not looking forward to forking over the cash, I AM looking to seeing the band play this Wednesday, cause I bet that mullet will have John channeling Bono like never before.

IWTDI on the State of Things

 I Was Totally Destroying It will be on The State of Things on NPR today at noon. 

IWTDU2

I've been hearing great things about IWTDI's occasional U2 tribute, and since I spent my junior and senior years of high school obsessing over U2, I had to check it out. John (Bono) started losing his voice during the show, and that seemed to inhibit his energy, but other than that they were spot-on. And they played the good, deep cuts - the early stuff that I absolutely love. I was thrilled to hear "A Celebration," and "A Sort of Homecoming."

I'll wait to check them out again (on St. Patrick's Day!) before fully judging them, and I look forward to seeing John in top form. I think any tribute Bono needs to be as campy as possible. When a group of girls started dancing drunkenly in front of the band last night, my companion leaned over and said, "The real Bono would have one of those girls on stage." So I advise John to let his inner Bono loose during the St. Patrick's show. Have the bouncer grab bring some random drunk girl on stage for a slow dance during "Bad". March around the pub with a white flag during "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Over-emote as if you believe every single line is going to save a starving child in Africa.

I also decided last night to begin tweeting video from shows, and got about two minutes of "New Year's Day," but when I heard the results, it sounded terrible. Anyone have advice for recording loud music over a Blackberry? Is recording over an iPhone any better, because I'm thinking about getting one when my contract runs out. I also got video on my camera of the band doing "Sunday Bloody Sunday," but decided against posting it. I'd like to think St. Bono would be magnanimous and not sue me for copyright infringement, but I'm not going to take my chances.

Forgot to add this: As you may have gleaned from my Twitter feed, I have offered John $100 if he sports an '80s era Bono mullet at the St. Patrick's Day show. This is a real offer. He must actually cut his hair into a mullet. Wearing a wig does not count. This is what I'm going for:

Or better yet, the 1983-style mullet:

I'll buy him a beer if he wears a shirt like that too!